"They look like you're going to get kicked out of the stadium at some point"
An interview with Doug Myers about style, work, and life.
I asked Doug Myers to be my first interview for this newsletter because I’ve always loved his writing, his sense of humor, and his style. He’s one of those people who inspires me to be myself.
I met Doug a decade ago through Tumblr, a microblogging / social media platform that provided* space for people to connect across a wide range of interests. It really thrived for a while (until they banned NSFW content). Doug and I connected through what I’ll refer to as “media tumblr” (lol), a loose collection of people who read the same blogs. Imagine the comments sections of various blogs from ~2007-2012, copy-pasted onto another site so everyone can just fight it out. A thunderdome full of blog commenters. Sounds terrible, right? Somehow it was amazing.
*technically it still exists
Molly Malone: How would you describe your occupations? (includes labour performed in exchange for money, and other activities/interests into which you put your time)
Doug Myers: I guess you could say I'm in the dreaded "in Between Careers" that my high school guidance counsellor warned me would happen if I didn't take school seriously. Well I didn't take school seriously at all, but in my defense I guess that didn't matter?
I think about how my life choices would've panned out a lot since the service industry closed and either I would've worked under someone who I would've testified against, been someone testified against, or found something anti-black and problematic in the ten to fifteen years since I decided to be a bar junkie. Like any service guy, I like to think about painting or writing for a living. TBH, now is the time! Spent too much of those moments in fear for my life and the lives of others!
What do you wear to work?
Well guess I should answer the first question. Because the service industry has paid less in the years running into Covid, I worked two bar jobs. I managed a baseball bar down by the [Baltimore Orioles] stadium. There? No uniforms so I guess I wore Mac wear. Just a random assortment of t-shirts, paired with cargo pants.
People talk trash about cargo pants but those things were like driving around in a Dodge Ram. I carried anything I needed, from a pocket knife to cut boxes, to chapstick, to lighters, to change for the bus. Very useful! Maybe not fashionable but if you need to carry a bunch of cash in a different pocket from your wallet while walking home at night, perfect! Before the dreads got out of control I used to wear a different baseball cap every day. Sometimes I'd make up an entire story about being from Milwaukee or St. Louis, depending on who was in town. It worked, occasionally.
The other restaurant (featured on a Food Network show! I met Guy Fieri's production team), all black. Black t-shirt, usually, black pants, black shoes. I would occasionally flair it up by wearing something underneath.
For both jobs, I'd carry a bag so I could put something on when I came back from work, 1. So people on bus stops wouldn't see me and assume "This guy's coming back from work," and 2. So I wouldn't smell like french fries when I went out to other bars.
I used to wear black tennis shoes, but because bartending and serving really wears out your shoes, my friend Jas bought me a pair of black Shoes for Crews. Absolutely perfect for double shifts and not slipping and falling in a kitchen.
What do you wear in your leisure time?
I kind of do whatever whenever, depending on the mood. Before Covid I really tried to look nice. Granted, that meant khakis, shoes, and "t-shirt with funny thing on it." Catholic School life means I also love wearing a nice sports coat and tie on occasion. #Saltlife meant that I love a good pair of flip flops, but between sports and working in the service industry, my feet look terrible, so I've reduced that over the last couple years. However, they've made a return since Covid because anytime I'm out, I figure that no one is judging me on my couture. I wear whatever I want! Sometimes I dress up to go to the supermarket. Maryland life, however, means I don't mind a good pair of shorts and flip flops, and a white t-shirt, so I don't die halfway down to the light rail stop.
What style subcultures do you consider yourself a part of?
I don't know to be honest. Someone once described my style as "Urban Doctor Who" [Ed. note: 😂]. Still not sure if that is a compliment or what. I try to toe the line between "People see me out on the streets and say 'that guy is eccentric,'" but not enough that they actually approach me. I like to mix and match things to fit my mood. I wore a Wild Bill Hagy hat last time I was out. Some people thought it was fun, but the teenagers on public transportation raked me against the coals. Put that hat right back into my bag.
You're a sports fan, and you also work in sports-related hospitality (if that's still a thing? I don't even know what's going on right now). Tell me any and all sports-related clothing opinions you have.
Well I'm not sure if I'm going back to sports-related hospitality, but I have a lot of opinions.
I love soccer jerseys. I think they look good. I think they don't require a lot of fuss and muss when going out, and to be honest I love meeting people in town from other countries who strike up conversations about Liverpool. I have some extreme takes about the new jerseys going back to those abysmal Arsenal jerseys of the nineties, to the fucking Crest commercial Liverpool put out this year. I love the collars, because I like to imagine scoring a goal, flipping them up, and shushing the hostile home crowd. Maybe that's the Catholic School thing, I don't know. But I think a soccer jersey, even if it has Man United on the front, looks good on most people. Same thing with rugby jerseys. I used to wear a bunch of American Eagle rugby sweaters back in college, because I loved the idea of someone thinking I just got off the field playing Harvard.
However, all the other sports jerseys? I think they look like trash for most people. They look like you're going to get kicked out of the stadium at some point.
My old roommate got me a Miami Heat jersey (He bought a bunch from some place in Saudi Arabia, and they didn't fit him. He didn't want to return them and gave them to me.) I hated wearing basketball jerseys because I've got a bird chest and chicken arms. For the most part, I think basketball jerseys look awful unless you're 6'6".
Football jerseys look like you're trying too hard to support the team. Same thing with baseball shirts. Also, they're extremely pricey for a dollar wing night, don't you think?
Hockey jerseys look great for some, but not for me. Once again, I'm too small for them. I once had a Canadiens jersey and I looked like a monk. I only wore it to make fun of all the fair weather Caps fans in this town, and all of a sudden they were making fun of me!
In general I just think if you're cool wearing a Bam Morris jersey out in public, hey good on you. I wish I had the ability to not feel self-conscious looking like Ronny from Dundalk. It's not for me, god bless.
One thing soccer has taught me is to never get a jersey with a name on it, unless that guy retires with your team. Got burned on a Fernando Torres jersey a couple years ago.
-You can follow Doug on Instagram here and Tumblr here
-You can read “Douglas Myers’ Rock and Roll Circus” here
More interviews coming down the pipe, and a special two-week edition of the roundup this weekend because I was too tired to do it last week #momlife.
Got some questions for the next mailbag? Send them my way. It’s fall, for real.
Thanks for reading hypemommy! You can find me on Instagram here.
Molly i wish I had a picture of the maryland flag face mask which is some 100% bona-fide doug shit
Such a good interview! I love this.