Past Classes

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2013

2014

2015

2016

Winners of the Maui International Moustache Competition

2001: David Hindman
2002: Yoichi Hatanaka
2003: Andrew Dickenson
2004: Michael Hulmes
2005: Andrew Schiller
2006: John Olson
2007: Josh Friedman
2008: Juan Nuñez
2009: Glen Botto
2010: Graham Banfield
2013: Ian Rowe
2014: Stephan Kane
2015: Aaron Cardenas
2016: (tie) Ben Werdegar and Zak Werdegar

Reigning Moustache Champions' Exhortations to the Next Year's Contestants

Juan Nuñez, 2009:

My absence in this year's annual Mr. Maui Moustache competition is nothing short of heartbreaking.  I am with you in spirit as you and your upper lip follicles reach the culmination of these long days of hard work.  I am honoured to know that Mr. John Olson's moustache will be there to pass on the crown.

Winning the Mr. Maui Moustache competition changed my life in ways I can't begin to describe.  And I must say that, although I was a bit skeptical at first, winning this competition has had an almost magical effect on my guitar playing.  

To the lucky winner, I can only say this: your a finger will be stronger, your sight reading prowess will improve, the soulfulness of your playing will multiply, and the ladies will be eternally charmed if they are so lucky to hear the music emanating from your six strings.

May your fingers be nimble and your moustaches forever Suave.

Graham Banfield, 2013:

Ladies and gentlemen, and mustaches of all ages:

If you're getting this message, it can only mean that my reign as current laureate of the maui international mustache competition is coming to an end. I weep not, however, for every ending is also a beginning, and starting on this fine day of August 1st, 2013, one of you most noble competitors will be crowned the 2013 mustache champion. Of course, with great power comes great responsibility and this most venerable honor is no exception. You will be tested. You will be tired. You will find yourself in major need of a trim. However, remember that you're here tonight because you're the best, the boldest, the most compassionate, and the most suave. If ever the shadow of doubt darkens your 5 o'clock shadow, look deep into your mustache's heart for guidance. Believe in the force of your Facial follicles and rule with steady hand and thicketness of upper lip. To the fair and wise committee, I offer you the strength in your decision and To you noble competitors I offer you so much more than luck.

Ian Rowe, 2014:

Aloha from San Francisco,

As my time as the reigning mustache champion draws to a close, and the rise of a new champion approaches, allow me to offer a few encouraging words to our esteemed judges, and our pool of fuzzy lipped lads and ladies.

To our judges, remember that the mustache is not merely the hair uponst ones lip, but the man or woman who gives the stache its home.  The mustachioed man is brave man, a man who isn’t afraid to say “yeah, I got a mustache, so?”  Keep your judgments free of bias, and keep in mind, it is not the mustache that makes the man, but rather, it is the man that makes the mustache.

And to our competitors and the champion among you, be quick in wit, be strong in heart, and remember, when you have whiskers, every day is a victory beyond measure.  Whether it be handle bars, a Charlie Chaplin, the Ron Jeremy or the pencil-thin, a mustache is a symbol of bravery, a beacon of light, or simply the absence of a razor.  You competitors are the elite few who had the courage let it hang, let it go, and let it grow.  

I leave you with the creed of the mustache aficionado:

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his lip for his mustache.”

Aloha, Mahalo, and Godspeed.

Signed this twenty seventh day of July, two thousand fourteen.

Stephan Kane, 2015:

Gentlemen of the 2015 Benjamin Verdery Maui Guitar Class, I am honored to be in your presence during this momentous occasion. As the 2014 Maui Guitar Class International Mustache Champion, I feel it’s my duty to share a few words of encouragement and wisdom before the competition proceeds in hopes to ignite the flame within your hearts and facial follicles. 

This past year was life changing for me in so many ways. I won’t go into detail other than what you have already heard. Yes, meeting the president twice and being interviewed by Oprah during my stay in Russia to have lunch with Vladimir Putin was all great, but there’s more to being the international mustache ambassador than that. 

The guitar playing reaches new heights that you could only dream of. And you will spark interest in others who would otherwise have no idea what classical guitar is. My new friends Mark Wahlberg, George Clooney, Katie Perry, and Pope Francis are talking of starting a classical guitar quartet together.

As guitar players, we are a different breed. We do not succumb to the reeds, the brass, nor the bows. Police officers have authority, naval officers have authority, Ron Burgundy has authority. What do all these figures typically have in common? The MUSTACHE. 

It should be no surprise then that we, as guitar players who celebrate the mustache so colorfully, must have the authority deep within us fighting for its way out. The last time the mustache was in style was in the ’80s. Look what happened then. Major change happened, Tom Selleck, and The Cold War ended. 

In the Chinese Zodiac, 2015 is the year of the sheep. You look at sheep and what do you see? They are noble creatures covered in fluffy white mustaches. But sheep need a Koyunbaba, or shepherd. 

So gentlemen, 
this is the year. 
Our time is NOW. 
This is the year the Classical Guitar regains authority! And the mustache is our ticket!

To the future 2015 Maui Guitar Class International Mustache Champion, it is true what past champions had to say, with great power comes great responsibility. But I trust that you — whoever you are — will be given the tools and grace to be the Koyunbaba to lead us all!

Thank you.

Aaron Cardenas, 2016:

Hear ye, Hear ye!

We gathereth here today in the year of our lord, Aaron Cardenas, to partaketh in the greatest test of human strength and wit. Look around at the fine follicled warriors that surroundeth thee, and bask in the glory of your fellow fuzzied lip challenger. All hath made it here today by staving off the urge to snip thine own glorious lip turf. Let us all take a moment and laugh at that one patchy fellow who can’t seem to grow hair in certain places. Bwahahahahaha. To that one patchy fellow, I say, fret not m’lady, for these trials are not meant to measure a man from the base of his follicle. These trials were crafted by the gods to see which mustache is quick in wit, and true to one's own heart. Here’s to you my furry faced friends, I bequeath thee with the strength of a thousand suns, and the wit to rend the judges asunder. The end of my reign draweth nigh, so with shield and sword in hand, make haste and take thine throne. Cheers!

Your lord and Savior,
Aaron Cardenas