What Jeweler Ben Baller Can’t Live Without

I’ve had an addiction to Japanese and Korean treats since I was a kid. When the pandemic started, I stocked up on cases of two drinks: One is UCC Coffee, which is in all the Japanese markets. I get up around 6:30 a.m. and have a UCC coffee over ice. I haven’t gone a day without it for more than a year now.

The other drink I stocked up on is Pocari Sweat, which is Japan’s version of Gatorade. It has a very light lemon-lime taste. Walk anywhere through Shibuya or Harajuku, and you’re going to see red vending machines with Pocari Sweat in them. I’ll drink four to six cups of it in one day.

My wife told me about these face wipes. She uses them to take her makeup off. They’re double-sided: One side exfoliates and takes the gunk off, and the other, softer side wipes off the rest. Even though they’re not hot, the wipes feel like using a hot towel; your skin feels refreshed and clean. All I can say is, since I started using them, people don’t think I’m 48 years old when they see my face.

Master & Dynamic makes headphones for audiophiles who are really serious about their sound. These fit my ears perfectly, the sound doesn’t get distorted when you play it loud, the aesthetic is great, and the experience is just elite, whether I’m listening to Bob Marley, the Smiths, or Playboy Carti. I love how Master & Dynamic collaborates with other companies, like streetwear brand A Bathing Ape, with which it made the pair of MW07 headphones I have.

Just a good, wholesome OG soap. While there are a lot of different smells, Rain Water has stuck with me. It’s so good. I also like how much comes in one bottle. I have some in every bathroom in my house and in the bathroom of my RV. It’s my favorite soap, and I would be bummed out if I couldn’t use it.

They are so damn comfortable. At my age, everything becomes about that. There’s a reason so many doctors wear them: They are not only comfortable but so easy to clean and breathable, and they can be worn with or without socks and as a clog or with the strap on the back. It’s just an all-access shoe. My two pairs are collaborations with Takashi Murakami, one of the greatest contemporary artists of our time.

I first came across this company last February. My wife was getting an ultrasound and the technicians were wiping her belly with something, so I asked what they were using, and they told me it was a medical-grade sanitizer from a company called Sono. I ended up buying a few cases, went through them, and have been restocking ever since. It doesn’t dry out your hands and doesn’t smell like tequila. You know when you put lotion on your hands after a shower, and an hour after that your hands feel pretty good? That’s what your hands feel like immediately after using this. I have it in my car and all over my house.

This may be too much information, but I previously overcame ulcerative colitis. I don’t wish it on anybody. On a good day, you might go to the bathroom seven or eight times — but you go a lot more if you have bad food. These flushables wipes for adults are just much better than baby wipes. They’re plant-sourced, paraben-free, dye-free — and changed my life. I like the tiny travel-size ones; they’re smaller than a credit card and I can carry them with me just in case.

My oldest son has a respiratory illness and has spent much of his life in the hospital. This virus specifically attacks him, and because of that my family probably left the house less than six times in 2020. That’s how hard we quarantined. I’d been looking at getting an RV for a really long time so we could travel safely. A buddy of mine, John Mayer, also owns one. It was a big decision because they’re so expensive. As soon as we got this, though, my kids’ faces lit up like I’d never seen before. It has three beds that sleep six, a full kitchen, outlets, chargers, a shower. We’ve gone somewhere every weekend since; we’ve done Joshua Tree, the Grand Canyon, San Diego, Big Sur, Half Moon Bay, Ojai, San Francisco. My kids are in school, and the RV’s Wi-Fi isn’t good enough for Zoom classes during the week, but if it was, we’d have taken this to all 50 states already.