Malibu vs Venice: Two Coasts of LA

Patriarch of the Carbon Beach Estate

Soft-spoken, allergic to vulgarity, never raises his voice because he has never had to

Wants: Hold the family name above the tide line for one more generation

Foundation Chair & Hostess of the Bluff

Gracious in public, surgical in private, runs every charity board west of Topanga

Wants: Curate the season — guest lists, donors, husbands — without leaving a single fingerprint

West Gate House

Glass walls, bougainvillea, a security gate that opens for the right car

Wants: Hold the western edge of the bluff

East Gate House

Spanish-tile roof, infinity edge above the cove, never photographed from the road

Wants: Hold the eastern edge of the bluff

Gallerist of the Bluff

Linen shirts, opinions on light, knows which painter is about to be in the Whitney

Wants: Decide what counts as taste this year

Wellness Counsel to the Family

Speaks softly about breathwork and somatics, books a six-month wait list

Wants: Keep the Calloway nervous system regulated through the season

The Polo Heir

Loose-jointed, easy laugh, gets up at dawn for the string at Will Rogers

Wants: Win a chukker without his father watching

The Trail Rider

Quietly furious, rides the canyon switchbacks alone before sunrise

Wants: Outride every rumour the bluff invents about her

Mayor of the Boardwalk

Knows every vendor by their kid's name, holds court from a folding chair near the basketball courts

Wants: Keep the boardwalk weird and the rent down

Boardwalk Fortune-Teller

Reads tarot at a card table under a beach umbrella, sees everything, says less

Wants: Move the cards faster than the gentrifiers can move in

West Pen

Open-air weight pit, rusted bars, chalk on the platform, a crowd at all hours

Wants: Hold the west end of the boardwalk by sheer presence

East Bowl

Concrete bowl with grip-tape scars, a soundtrack of trucks scraping coping

Wants: Hold the east end of the boardwalk on four wheels

Mural Artist of Abbot Kinney

Paint-flecked overalls, fluent in spray-tip sizes, debates colour theory at the taco stand

Wants: Cover the next blank wall before the developers cover it for him

Yoga Teacher on the Sand

Teaches at sunrise on a faded blanket, holds donations in a jam jar

Wants: Hold the morning practice through the noise of the boardwalk

Bowl Skater

Wires for nerves, dropped-in at six, still skating barefoot at forty

Wants: Land the line nobody else has

Roller-Skating Diva

Glitter laces, satin jacket, weaves through the crowd to a Donna Summer loop

Wants: Make the boardwalk dance behind her