Max Headroom
Low clearance warning: The Austin Tall Club is looking for statuesque members
One of the great things about Austin is the ease of finding small communities of people with your same passions. Whether it’s cycling or facial hair, chances are you can find a group of people who love it just as much as you do, and who you can socialize with on a regular basis.
Austin's latest niche social club is predisposed to the folks who have to constantly deal with high-water pants and low clearances. The Austin Tall Club will hold its first meeting at the Rattle Inn on Tuesday night. Before the first meet-up, founding member, Matt Mandrella of Do512, tells CultureMap the story behind the club — and important details like how tall you have to be to join in the fun.
CultureMap: How did you get the idea for an Austin Tall Club?
Matt Mandrella: My buddy Jonathan Braden and I met about five years ago when we had both just moved to Austin. He's 6'7" and I'm 6'8". One of the first ever conversations we had was about how awesome it would be if Austin had a "tall club." We talked about getting one going for years, but it never seemed to take shape until recently. We were kind of just like, "Man, we've been talking about this for years now, let's just run with it and see what happens."
CM: What do you hope your members will get out of meeting with other tall people?
MM: There are some other "tall clubs" out there, but they're focused around singles. We wanted ours to be much more inviting and casual. We want the club to sort of "define itself" over time to see where it goes, so in the early phases we're just gonna have some "meet and greets" where good people can just get together and hang out in a friendly, no pressure atmosphere and just have a good time.
We'd love the events to be a mix of people looking to make new friends, connect with old ones, network professionally, find out the good spots to find clothes and shoes that fit, etc. — all this while putting together recreational league basketball teams that will dominate YMCAs all over Austin.
We definitely want to do some good work for charities as well. I think a putt-putt tournament for charity at Peter Pan is definitely something that needs to happen this year.
CM: And what exactly are the parameters for making it into this club?
MM: To be an "official" member, ladies need to be 5'9" or taller and men 6'3" or taller. Pretty much all of the events and get-togethers we're throwing will be open to the public regardless of height, though. We want members to bring their significant others, friends, family, etc. regardless of how tall they are. We'll be doing some "members only" events that will be focused around raising money for charity, which will be a series of events themed "Tall People Doing Small Things."
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If you meet the minimum height requirement and feel like mingling with people you can talk to eye-to-eye, then head over to the Rattle Inn on Tuesday, July 9 for the first official meeting of the Austin Tall Club. To keep up with the latest news from Austin Tall Club, follow the organization on Facebook and Twitter.