Anyone But Glen

Austinites select Glen Powell look-alike with help from actor's mom

Max Braunstein and Glen Powell's mom, Cyndy

Max Braunstein is the No. 1 Glen Powell look-alike in Austin.

Photo courtesy of Case Ellis

On November 24, 2024, Austin resident and physician's assistant Max Braunstein made history, winning the first-ever Glen Powell Look-alike Contest.

This competition was "very much a spontaneous event," said organizer Kate Carpenter. She was inspired to put this event together just a week in advance after seeing how successful these look-alike contests in other cities have been.

"Why not take something that other cities have done, put it in our city that already accepts things like this with open arms, and celebrate a hometown hero?" Carpenter said.

Timothée Chalamet famously crashed his own look-alike contest in New York, and there were some hopes that Glen Powell would show up to his. Powell couldn't make it, but he did contribute a video message and sent his mother, Cyndy Powell, in his stead.

Powell was also a good choice because he was presumed to be a top contender for People's Sexiest Man Alive, who was announced on November 12. The honor ended up going to John Krasinski.

Glen Powell look-alike contest All the Glen Powells lined up from Number 1 to 19.Photo by Natalie Grigson

The contest started up just after 1 pm at Auditorium Shores, beneath sunny skies and in front of a crowd of almost entirely college-aged women. The 18 Glen Powells (and a Torchy's Tacos mascot) gathered close to the trees, all adorned with name tags that simply stated their numbers. There was some resemblance between them.

"I think I've found some cousins," one of the Glens told CultureMap.

Prizes for the winner included an undetermined amount of money, a cowboy hat, a Torchy's Tacos Gold Card for free queso for a year, an offer for a family member to cameo in a future Glen Powell project, a quick congratulatory FaceTime call with the actor, and of course, the recognition and adoration that comes from looking kind of like Glen Powell.

Before the voting began, Braunstein was feeling good. He walked over wearing a partially unzipped flight suit, à la Top Gun, which he borrowed from a friend who is a veteran. When he arrived, a few women in the slowly-building crowd gasped and pointed.

"I'm feeling pretty confident," he said. "If I'm ever going to own a cowboy hat, it's going to be through this."

Torchy's Tacos mascot Glen Powell look-alike contest The contest's "Glen Powell Number 2" was none other than Torchy himself, of Torchy's Tacos. Photo courtesy of Case Ellis

The first round was judged by the crowd's applause and screams; the second round was determined by a group of judges — friends of Carpenter's. The real decider, though, was the man of honor's mother.

"It's just fun," Cyndy Powell said before the contest. "When Glen's not in Austin, I need like an emotional support son. So maybe I can find one here."

She added that the whole "Glen Phenomenon" has been really fun, and that it hasn't necessarily felt sudden. "He's been doing this for 25 years now. So it's not an overnight thing. But it's something he loves."

Max Braunstein and Glen Powell's mom, Cyndy Winner Braunstein is all smiles with the real Glen Powell's mom, Cyndy. Photo courtesy of Case Ellis.

Although the real Glen Powell was busy filming in Europe, he did whip up a video the day before the contest. Carpenter played the video for the crowd on a big TV. Unfortunately, most of the crowd couldn't hear the audio. However, the video is now available on YouTube.

Glen Powell look-alike contest The real life Glen made a video appearance before the winner was chosen.Photo courtesy of Case Ellis

After the video played, the contestants each got 15 seconds to step up in front of the crowd and make a case for why they should be Austin's Glen Powell Number 2.

"If Glen Powel's momma says [I look like him], I'm not going to argue!" Braunstein said. Other Glens referenced the actor's many movies. There were many exclamations of "Hook 'em"; two Glens said they were looking to find their Sydney Sweeney, who co-starred with Powell in Anyone But You; one Glen just ripped off his shirt; and another doused himself with a bottle of water.

One contestant showed some skin to garner some points with the judges. Gratuitous shirtlessness is a necessary part of any Glen Powell look-alike contest, according to the actor himself.Photo courtesy of Case Ellis

Once the votes were in, the top three Glens were awarded with the sort of medals a player would get in a recreational soccer league. Glen Number Four, a.k.a. Max Braunstein, was given a giant check that literally said "some money," and was promptly swarmed by the crowd of women.

Among the throng of adoring new fans were two local students who showed up because "this is hilarious." While they were half-expecting the real Glen to show up and were a bit disappointed that he didn't, they were still happy to wait in line to get a photo with Braunstein.

Max Braunstein Glen Powell look-alike After Braunstein won the title of Austin's "Glen Powell 2.0," he was swarmed by the crowd for selfies. Photo by Natalie Grigson

"I did tell people I was going to win!" he said in between photos. One would think he was the real Glen Powell with the crowd that was jostling to simply get near him.

When asked if he was expecting this sort of response, he said, "No, not at all!"

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Belles of the Ballroom

9 Austin bar and venue experts take over popular Old Austin space near UT

29th Street Ballroom/Facebook

Changes are coming at the 29th Street Ballroom, but the goal is to preserve what already makes it special.

The evolution continues at the 29th Street Ballroom, the music venue formerly attached to Spider House Café. It's no secret, Resound Presents CEO and co-founder Graham Williams says, that he and a large team of other industry pros are taking over the space; but now they're ready to talk about what comes next for the venue and adjoining bar.

Although Spider House Café closed in 2020, the Ballroom stayed open, and has continued serving University of Texas students and anyone else who wants to see a show outside of the ordinary: punk shows, burlesque revues, fundraisers, and more. It'll stay open through most of the renovations, scheduled through January of 2025, and is expected to hold a grand opening in March.

Now Resound — one of Austin's top live music organizers, which was itself born from the ashes of another Austin institution — is lending two of its co-founders to managing the space going forward: Williams and Ian Orth. They're joining seven other team members from venues around town, many of them overlapping: Amy Mullins, Brian Tweedy, Jason McNeely, John Yaklin, and Shannon LeBoeuf of Hotel Vegas, Chess Club, Kinda Tropical, Tweedy’s, and Yellow Jacket Social Club, in varying capacities; and Brian Buscemi and Mike Sanchez of the Little Darlin’.

Williams emphasizes that although things will be changing at the Ballroom, the goal isn't to change anything people already love.

"Over the next few months as we kind of ease into the spring, we're using this downtime to revitalize things, decorate, revamp some of the stuff in the venue and the bar, and just kind of get things moving in the right direction," Williams says, "taking what's already popular about the venue and just adding to it, really."

Bar updates
The biggest shift will be turning the bar from an accessory to live shows into its own entity that's open even when there's nothing else going on. Amy Mullins, best known as a co-owner of Yellow Jacket Social Club, is overseeing that transition. She's never operated a venue that is primarily focused on music, and has been enjoying learning more about how to do it; she even worked the door recently when a staff member called out sick.

Mullins echoes Williams in assuring that the change is more about logistics than tone. It'll still feel like Old Austin, but she does express a hope to run more than the "typical venue bar," handing out simple drinks as quickly as possible. She's working on a new menu that includes wine, beer, craft cocktails, and non-alcoholic options like tea, kombucha, or mocktails. Regardless of what's on the schedule on any given night, Mullins says the menu will stay the same.

"There's no drink too complicated for us to make, however busy we are," she says.

Food options
Another goal for the team will be making sure the space works when there's not someone onstage to crowd around. They'll expand the front and side patios and create a food truck food court that features the same trucks that are there now, plus one newcomer. All in all, that includes Yalla Burger & Wings, Gyro Center, Li’l Nonna’s Vegan Pizzeria, Guppy’s Indian Fried Chicken, Waylon J’s BBQ, and Ay Chihuahua Tacos.

The expanded patio will connect to Tweedy's Bar next door, which also has its own food trucks. The idea is to create a space to hang out after shows that feels fit for the purpose. It's possible to stick around after events now, but the layout does create a vague feeling of loitering.

Artist and fan-friendly tweaks
On the entertainment side, Williams says some of the renovations include putting in a new sound system, redoing the green room, updating the facade, and repainting signs. Since the winter is a slower time for live music, they'll be taking advantage of the extra time to work on things before packing the calendar with more events than before. Resound will handle most of the bookings in live music, comedy, and DJ sets, welcoming both national and local talent.

Whatever the details end up being, this team has proved to Austinites that they know how to run venues worth visiting. And since they're all friends and business partners on multiple levels, it sounds like having this many cooks in the kitchen just isn't an issue.

"Some of us have been roommates and known each other since we were young," says Williams. "It's a good mix of people who are all very like minded, so a lot is being brought to the table per decision. So yeah, it's it's really exciting. Sometimes that's not the case. .... But with this project, it's a lot of really great, creative people that are good at what they do [and] they trust each other."

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