Two years later, the LABMC has grown exponentially with members joining from greater LA County and beyond. Each new member that shows up to a monthly meeting reminds me of my own first meeting…

January of 2011 I was enjoying a drink with some friends at the local, crappy karaoke bar. I was in a bad place personally. Unhappy with my situation, I was looking to relocate – San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, somewhere – anywhere but where I was.

A man with a beard walked in the door and we made eye contact. He walked over, pulled a card ... Read More »]]> The LABMC was founded by John Myatt upon his return from the first Beard Team USA National Beard and Mustache Championships in 2010. Recognizing that Los Angeles was not well represented at the National competition, he vowed to bring bearding to LA.

Two years later, the LABMC has grown exponentially with members joining from greater LA County and beyond. Each new member that shows up to a monthly meeting reminds me of my own first meeting…

January of 2011 I was enjoying a drink with some friends at the local, crappy karaoke bar. I was in a bad place personally. Unhappy with my situation, I was looking to relocate – San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, somewhere – anywhere but where I was.

A man with a beard walked in the door and we made eye contact. He walked over, pulled a card out of his wallet and said to me simply, “you should join my club.” Gazing down at the starched paper, it read “Northern Los Angeles Beard and Mustache Club.” I was honored.

I had been growing my second mustache for just over 3 months, it was small but the bearded man took noticed and thought I belonged in his club. We continued to talked that night over drinks, he telling me a bit about himself and this club and how it came about, me telling him about myself, and he telling me the next meeting was coming up in but 10 days right down the road from my office in Santa Monica. I agreed to go.

Fast forward 10 days and I park along Main St. in Santa Monica. Walking to Rick’s Tavern and blue Scion in the left turn lane rolls its window down and yells “Hi Steve!” It was John, he had remembered me.

As I enter the back patio of Rick’s Tavern, there is a “U” shaped table layout – looked like a board room to me. I took a seat close to the door. John walked in with his friend Joe, then more joined. Soon enough we were pulling in additional chairs and tables, the meeting was alive.

That night, I met many new people, many people with beards, mustaches, goatees, some were clean shaven, and there were ladies there accompanying their beaus to this monthly meeting. The atmosphere was lively, and everyone was friendly and welcoming.

We finished up at Rick’s and the idea was proposed to migrate to the Basement Tavern. Having a good time, I agree to join. In retrospect, I’m glad I did.
As we enter the bar, we had to walk through a packed front patio to enter the building, and heads turned. We entered the bar, which resembles an old victorian house, and more heads turned. I heard murmurs from the other patrons, “look at those mustaches!”, “what’s with the beards?” We belly up to the bar to order drinks and are treated like rock stars. It was like nothing I had ever experienced before, but I felt like I belonged.

I attended the subsequent monthly meetings, each one a bit larger than the previous. We grew, we drank, we threw competitions and events.

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 How To Win

There were several highlights from our trip, including:

Enjoy the video and these photos of our wonderful outing Hope to see you all next time!!

The Whirly Whisker Wride - Video

What was a whirlwind trip for myself (Steve McQuaide) and John Myatt, was a successful trip for club members Jeffrey Moustache and Gabrielle Moss – who both took home trophies in their respective categories.

But the real winners were Steve Scarpa and Savannah Flansburg. Not only did Steve bring home the 2nd place trophy for Styled Moustache over 6 inches, but he also brought home a wife!

After what was a very well run competition that included 12 categories (10 men, 2 fake beards) that we’re very big-beard focused. And it made sense. Portland is the land of big natural beards – with impressive face parkas around every corner.

The LABMC also attended our first meeting of the North ... Read More »]]> 7 members of the LABMC traveled northbound in late January to compete and watch the 2012 West Coast Beard and Mustache Championships in Portland, Oregon.

What was a whirlwind trip for myself (Steve McQuaide) and John Myatt, was a successful trip for club members Jeffrey Moustache and Gabrielle Moss – who both took home trophies in their respective categories.

But the real winners were Steve Scarpa and Savannah Flansburg. Not only did Steve bring home the 2nd place trophy for Styled Moustache over 6 inches, but he also brought home a wife!

After what was a very well run competition that included 12 categories (10 men, 2 fake beards) that we’re very big-beard focused. And it made sense. Portland is the land of big natural beards – with impressive face parkas around every corner.

The LABMC also attended our first meeting of the North American Competitive Beard and Moustache Alliance, which is a collective of the nations top B&M clubs who are looking to  standardize regional competitions andincrease consistency across the country. It’s an exciting initiative with a bunch of great minds, enthusiasm and facial hair behind it; we are honored to be involved.

Without further ado, please enjoy the photo gallery by the incomparable Jeffrey Moustache (the crappy photos that are far away and out of focus were taking by yours truly…)

Partial Beard: Nate Johnson, 3rd pace

Groomed Beard: John Myatt, 1st place.

Enjoy the gallery of photos taken by our very own, Jeffrey Moustache.

Check out some of the coverage via these links as well as a few photos from the top placed competitors.

www.BeardTeamUSA.org | www.LATimes.com | www.HuffingtonPost.com

www.BuzzFeed.com | www.ManJr.com | www.TheSoundLA.com

Tune in this Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 8:30AM Pacific Standard Time to KROQ 106.7 for the Kevin and Bean Show where John and Jeffrey will be questioned about the competition as well as the new Television Series :Whisker Wars”

http://kroq.radio.com/shows/kevin-bean/

Also tune in later this week to NBC LA where John and Jeffrey will be featured on NBC’s Online News show “The Filter” hosted by Fred Roggin.

www.NBCLA.com/TheFilter

Other Medalists included Burke T Kenny, Keith Ghandi Jones, Jack Passion, Giovanni Dominice and more.

Check out the rest of Beard Team USA and more results soon via:

http://beardteamusa.org/news/six-golds-for-usa-passion-toppled/

John Myatt to represent the Los Angeles Beard and Mustache Club and Beard Team USA in the Verdi Category at the World Beard and Mustache ChampionshipsJeffery Moustache to represent the Los Angeles Beard and Mustache Club and Beard Team USA in the English Mustache Category at the World Beard and Mustache Championships

As the days near, We all have been getting nervous, and finalizing our outfits, with accessories and finishing touches to work on setting us apart from the competition at the 2011 World Beard and Mustache Championships in Troneheim Norway.  Phil Olsen has been keeping everyone up to date on who to look out for as well as what else there is to enjoy while abroad.

From the Northern Los Angeles Beard and Moustache Club, President John Myatt and Vice President Jeffrey Moustache have been  exchanging notes on what works ... Read More »]]>

Jeffery Moustache to represent the Los Angeles Beard and Mustache Club and Beard Team USA in the English Mustache Category at the World Beard and Mustache Championships

John Myatt to represent the Los Angeles Beard and Mustache Club and Beard Team USA in the Verdi Category at the World Beard and Mustache ChampionshipsJeffery Moustache to represent the Los Angeles Beard and Mustache Club and Beard Team USA in the English Mustache Category at the World Beard and Mustache Championships

As the days near, We all have been getting nervous, and finalizing our outfits, with accessories and finishing touches to work on setting us apart from the competition at the 2011 World Beard and Mustache Championships in Troneheim Norway.  Phil Olsen has been keeping everyone up to date on who to look out for as well as what else there is to enjoy while abroad.

From the Northern Los Angeles Beard and Moustache Club, President John Myatt and Vice President Jeffrey Moustache have been  exchanging notes on what works well in their categories: John, in the Verdi category based after the famous composer, which consists of a full natural beard under 10cm in length with a styled Mustache, and Jeffrey in the English Category consisting of a symmetrical flat

John Myatt to represent the Los Angeles Beard and Mustache Club and Beard Team USA in the Verdi Category at the World Beard and Mustache Championships

mustache with a slight lift on the ends and cannot be grown further than 1.5cm of the upper lip.  The competition is going to be stiff as usual but both members are in the rankings to place and possibly win their categories to bring home 2 more medals for Beard Team USA.

Check out the rest of Beard Team USA’s World Competitors here:

http://beardteamusa.org/btusa-norway-starting-lineup.pdf