As far as I can remember, when I was 19 years old, I competed in my first flair comp at the bar where I was working at that time, because I could catch a bottle behind my back my boss kind of forced me to enter.
I messed up big time like everyone does on his first comp but it didn’t take long before I got the hang of it and started practicing more and more and entered the circuit of comps all around Europe.
My second competition I did was in Munich, Germany. The European Flair award. I got dragged along with my good friends from Barsupport in Holland that convinced me to go international and meet the guys that compete overseas and see that there is more than just the Dutch bar scene.
It wasn’t so much all the press, the crowd that turned out or the level of flair that caught my attention, it where the bartenders that really got me. This was my second flair comp ever and I only knew these guys from VCR (at that time). I was so surprised of the relaxed atmosphere between the competitors and the tight friendships among everyone. At that time I knew that this was it for me.
It didn’t take long before I got invited to a comp in Romania (M.B.A.’s first back in ‘03). I didn’t know anyone that competed or any of the organizers but I decided to book a flight to Bucharest and go for it. I traveled on my own and knew that everything would be okay after from what I saw in Munich.
It was a great comp and here I met ‘The Neil’s‘, Tom and Stretch, Captain Boogie and Mr Collinson, all guys that were doing the same as I, traveling, competing and enjoying the bartender lifestyle.
What I’m trying to say in this story, is that the international flair community is not just about bartending but also about meeting great people from all over the world, everyone speaks the same language, which is flair. Wherever you go in the world there are always bartenders that you’ve never met but they will take you into their house and show you their city and local bars.
So I have met some amazing people worldwide and got to know their drinking culture and habits.
I remember back in the days when Amsterdam hosted his first flair comp organized by the Hard Rock Café. Six hours before the comp, Tom Dyer phoned me up saying him, Stretch and both of the Neils where standing at the train station asking me if they could crash on my floor, after the comp was over. It turned out I had seven bartenders lying on my floor all having a great time and shared stories on where we’ve all been.
From great comps all over the world, to the scariest taxi ride of my life with some local bartenders thru the streets of Hong Kong doing gigs in Asia, dodgy bars in Prague with the ‘professor’ and great night views in Shanghai were I was setting up a new venue.
The people you meet along the road of bartending is just amazing, since everyone is just busy and focusing on one thing which is traveling and competing. The amount of different drinking cultures you experience while being overseas and habits that you can pick up from bartenders is just an amazing experience.
Being able to show the best of the best guys from Europe at the Roadhouse this year, but also seeing youngsters like Ivars from Latvia and Marcin from Poland stepping up the plate is such a privilege.
I can keep on talking about stories that I have lived through bartending but I guess I just want to say one last thing…God I love this industry, and I’m even more glad that I’m in the position where we (Delirium TV) can show the world more and more of this industry and give visibility to our stories.
For everyone who is reading this, whenever you are in Holland call me and we will show you our cities.
For now keep on checking out Delirium TV
Mike Breuker
Delirium TV
Mike Breuker started as a professional bartender at the age of 18.After working in the Netherlands he progressed his career overseas and worked as a bartender in different countries in Europe and Asia.
He entered the world of the competing bartending industry at the age of 20. After taking the National Bartending Championship at the age of 24 and competing in more then 30 international flair bartending competitions he started what you all know as, Delirium TV.
