Brandon Dean

Pilafias raises the victorious Tate Frost’s hand; spectators take videos and some sit atop lockers.

  The lights shut off. Roughly a hundred high school boys turned on their phone flashlights— waving them side to side—until they found their targets: the Moggers junior Tate Frost and junior Tucker Bonter. 

  On May 12, at 3:15 in the afternoon, the “Mog-Off” was scheduled. It was supervised by West’s West Coach James Wagner, organized by West students, and publicized by numerous social media outlets—such as Instagram posts announcing the winner.

   “We had 20 kids in the middle of the section. I sit down, and more kids just follow,” attendee and sophomore Jake Trust said. “We had kids on top of the lockers […] all around maybe 100, 100 plus [students].” 

  As clarification, to “mog” means to look better physically—one may think of it as a Mr. Universe contest by and for aspiring teen Schwarzeneggers. The event was well attended, but the attention was not random; the Mog-Off was advertised, orchestrated, and networked. 

  “We got some flyers around the school and in the locker room, so everybody was telling everybody about it,” mog-judge junior Brandon Dean said. 

  While the event had its fans, some were more lukewarm than others.

  “I think people should mog… if they want to,” junior Kathrine Lamphere said. 

  On the other end of the spectrum, some Titans were not as supportive as Dean and Trust.

  “I think it’s stupid,” junior Leah Clark said. “Why would anyone do that?”

  Furthermore, no Frost and Bonter Mog-Off can happen without judges. Showing muscles and sharpening jawlines are essential to mogging, and someone had to be there to say who was “looksmaxxing”—flexing and looking attractive—the hardest.

  “Brandon Dean, Cason Ford, and [Anastasios] Taso Pilafias were the judges,” Trust said. 

  To let the judges do their work, the dozens of attendees grew quiet as the short ceremony reached its climax. But the vibe was, well, anything but quiet. 

  “I was hyped. Tate wore a robe, that was hype. Tucker was just being Tucker. They just walked in, stood there—mogged—then the judges left. We were taking our bets. Everyone was just so hype. Everyone was going crazy. I mean, there was just an electric feel to it,” Trust said.   

  Eventually, as the judges made their decision, the winner was announced in a wrestling-match, arm raising style. 

  “Taso went in between the two, and raised Tate’s hand. He took the robe off, started flexing and everything. Everyone was going crazy,” Trust said.

  With Tate Frost declared West’s “Mogger,” so ended West’s first ever Mog-Off. It is not expected to be the last. 

  “Everyone was excited. We also talked about the next one, taking ideas and suggesting what’s making [the Mog-Off] better,” Trust said.

  Answering the question as to who is mogging next, Trust offered what can only be dubbed the Battle of the Logans.

  “I think there should be a next one,” Trust said, “and I think it should be Logan Grant versus Logan Bliss.”