I never thought I'd say this,
but after five months of quarantine,
I'm actually starting to miss seeing people and going places.
I miss going to SantaCon
and peak-hour subway rides.
My old fight club
and, of course, my illegal strip club.
I miss everything.
But recently, a tech company in Los Angeles
released a plan for what they think could solve this problem.
It's called the Micrashell future suit.
I wanted to talk to the genius scientist
who developed this technology.
And, yes, he's also a DJ and EDM producer
who would only talk to me if I dressed cool.
Micrashell has an air tank
that goes through a high-efficiency filter
that provides you a safe, uh, way of breathing.
So you made a breathable head condom.
Y-Yes.
This could be go to a concert.
Um, this could be go to a rave.
Young people is not caring that much about safety,
so unless you make it cool, nobody is going to wear it.
Fun and, uh, sex appeal
needs to be very important in our safety.
This is kind of like PPE for Coachella.
Exactly.
CHIENG: This suit is perfect for Coachennials.
It has speakers and a microphone
to let you communicate with friends
and a lighting system to let you express your moods,
from totally faded to lit AF.
And that's not all.
In here, you have, like, a little canister.
You can fill that with a drink
and you could fill that with vape.
So, you want to be able to vape in this thing.
Yes, we want to be able to vape
-in this thing. -Wow.
Bro, I don't even vape, but that looks cool as hell.
And there's another design feature.
The suit only comes down to waist level, but why?
It's a suit that allows you to have sex.
You're telling me someone would want
to have sex with me if I wear that suit?
I just think a lot of people would like to have sex with you
only because of this suit.
CHIENG: Okay, sold.
But there is one concern.
How would it work for people who are too cool
to go to EDM raves?
Where else can I use this suit?
-Can I wear it to yoga? -Yes.
-A Black Friday sale? -Yes.
-A COVID party? -That's stupid, but yes.
My a cappella group practice? We spit a lot.
Uh, you could, yes.
CHIENG: Like my a cappella group,
the suit sounded almost too good.
♪ I know. ♪
Could this actually work?
I had to try for myself
and see if people on the streets of New York
would embrace this innovation.
-No, I would not. -No.
-No. -I think this is a hard no.
-Yeah. -No.
-Why not? -It looks stupid.
It's not, like, cute.
You look stupid.
What about this makes you not want to dance in it?
Your face right now.
-It's perfectly fine. -I'm sure it is.
-You would wear this? -Yes.
-Go swimming in this? -Yes.
-Would you have sex in this? -No.
Would you have sex in this suit?
-No. (chuckles) -Yeah, probably not.
-I'm married. -(woman laughs)
-Okay. -Yeah, but...
-So I... -But it might be fun.
(laughing): I probably would wear it.
I'll just finally settle down and get married
so that we can just, like, have an agreement
and not wear the suit.
You would rather get married
-than wear this suit to have sex? -Yes. Absolutely.
So, would this actually protect you against the virus?
Is it totally safe?
You know what, that is a great question,
and I should probably have found that out
before I put this on.
I decide to talk to one of those science nerds
who knows everything about stuff,
epidemiologist Saskia Popescu.
When I first saw it, I honestly thought
it was a Halloween costume.
-It's... Yeah. -Right.
It's, um, being labeled
as personal protective equipment or PPE,
and that's pretty much everything it's not.
Just for the record, can you state your education
and how many EDM concerts you've been to?
I have a master's in public health
and infectious disease epidemiology,
a master's in international security and policy
and a PhD in biodefense,
and I have not been to any EDM concerts.
So, you're really not expert in any of this, really.
On paper, this thing sounds awesome.
It would protect you against coronavirus.
You can drink in it. It's got speakers.
You can even have unsafe sex safely.
Okay, so, why are you hating on this thing?
So, this is a great example of people trying to be innovative
to go do unsafe things like a concert.
But unfortunately, it's a filter
that it's saying is protecting you.
Hasn't been approved by any regulatory body,
which means you don't even know if it's working effectively.
If the suit doesn't work, how are we supposed to get back
to enjoying live events?
Um, we need to stay home.
The faster we can get numbers to drop,
hopefully things will go back to normal.
Probably not gonna be until 2021.
Or...
we get these funky Tron suits
and go out and party now.
I don't think that's gonna happen.
Saskia left me with some serious doubts.
If the suit might not protect me,
was it even worth going out to a crowded event,
listening to terrible music
and inhaling toxic chemicals?
I wanted Miguel's reaction.
It's good to be critical,
but you need to be critical and constructive.
So at least we are trying to solve a (bleep)-up situation,
rather than just staying on our couch, watching TV.
It's an ambitious product.
If something is not safe, we won't do it.
But I could see my grandma wearing this.
I cannot believe you would trust this suit
to protect your grandmother at live events.
Eh...
My grandma is pretty dope.
Is she single and available?
Uh, that is going to be on her.
I cannot tell you about that.
Okay, send me her photo,
and I will consider your offer.
I will think about that.
CHIENG: And maybe that's the point.
The Futuresuit isn't about air filter certifications,
exhaust fan mechanisms,
and disinfection processes.
It's a dream
for a future in which humans can be together as one again,
living our lives to the fullest,
and doing the things we really love without being afraid.
(coughing)