The Fine Gentlemen

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Steve is a Kung Fu master. The perfect choice to guard to groom.

Best Man Stephen Chao

Dustin and I were best friends since he moved to little neck where I grew up. We bonded over our mutual love of science, comics, nature and martial arts. We started training in grappling while also competing in science competitions and coming as boy scouts. Later, I went away to specialized high school as well as college but we kept those connections throughout that period until we realized our childhood dream of being roommates in college after transferring to Stony Brook from the University of Illinois. As adults, we have watched the other go through all sorts of failures and successes in life and career but was always there for the other…but most of all now as my best friend gets married!!! Super excited and look out everyone for my best man speech…its gonna get silly, then a little weird, then awesome..so stay tuned!

Funny story: Dustin and I go camping a lot…sometimes we needed to check each other for ticks. When you check for ticks, you need to look everywhere…EVERYWHERE…
Also, once I tossed him down a ravine in a collapsed tent…cuz, you know…dude in tent, ravine…what was I supposed to do…not toss him in it?? Geez…

 

Mike Fabbri

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Mike is a native New Yorker currently residing and working in Portland Oregon with his wife Meghan Phair. He will be our impromptu expert in all things public transit, bitcoin, and technology related. Dustin and Mike met at SUNY Stony Brook somewhere in the early 2000s while they both worked for The Press, arguably the best college newspaper ever produced. Since then Dustin and Mike have been glorious friends, roommates, and confidant. Mike was lucky enough to get Dustin to beautifully, and flawlessly, officiated his marriage to Meghan back in September 2013.

Sam Goldman

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The son of Russian Jewish immigrants, Sam Goldman was born in Brooklyn, NY, where he spent the first 22 years of his life. Upon transferring to Stony Brook University in the summer of 2002, he met a group of friends who would change his life, and one of the closest ones was Dustin (you know, the guy who’s getting married). After Stony Brook, Sam returned to New York City, where he began a career in media. He currently lives in Northwestern Queens and works as a proofreader and copy editor for a financial media company. He has been told that he looks like Seth Rogen, but he does not see the resemblance.

Dan Hofer

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Dan is honored to be a part of the wedding party. He and Dustin have known each other since junior high school, even though they were never in the same class. They also knew each other from the Boy Scouts, even though they were never in the same troop. No one is exactly sure how they first met, but their friendship continued as they went to the same college and worked at the same student newspaper. While this may cause most people to request a restraining order against Dan, Dustin has claimed it never crossed his mind and the two continue to be friends. They also have the exact same initials.

 Mike Prazak

41025_792903358155_1941226_nBorn in the mountains and raised by Yeti, Michael experienced his first truly supernatural encounter after living with Dustin for 6 months in 2003.  Since eating those pizza filled pretzels whipped up by the groom, the wonders have yet to cease and the friendship has grown stronger by the year.  Working for the New York State Parks Commission, Michael is used to witnessing the wonders and miracle of nature unfurl before his eyes. That said, seeing the jubilance experienced by his friend at finding the woman who will soon be his wife, Michael is even more awestruck to be considered a part of this wonderful celebration of their love.

Ary Benmayor

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After meeting the half man/half manbearpig you all know as Dustin Herlich in the 5th grade, my adventures with the individual were equal parts fun and fear with the a healthy sprinkling of “what the hell happened here?”. I knew that my life would forever be altered when he debated the veracity of the Hanukkah story as a religious story yet accepted without much question the Legend of Zelda. His unusual mix of passions in French culture, Japanese swords, and a hunger for all things edible strengthened out friendship as our mutual love for both delicious and destructive cuisine made our adolescent playdates a little more tolerable. Our un-traditional loving friendship extends from Manhattan, to London, to Edinburgh and back to our home town of Little Neck. It is amazing how in the many years we have been together, our safety and sanity remain intact. Between late night raids to the diner, enjoying sci-films reserved for the dorkiest of society, and our unsupervised experiments with bar-b-ques, it is astounding that we have made it past the age of 25. However, it is in those exploits and missteps that I found a righteous friend and doting brother from another mother, whose lasting happiness has been a personal quest of mine for many years. I have much love for Dustin and his beautiful bride Mandy, and I wish them 80 years of joy together.

Daniel Panzella

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class Danny extends Human
                       implements Bearded {
  function __construct() {
    parent::__construct();
    birth(‘male’);   }
  function isCoder() { return true; }
  function quote() { echo “Indeed.”;  }
  function drink() {
    $time_of_day = date(‘a’, time());
    if ($time_of_day == ‘am’) {
      return array(‘coffee’);
    } else { return array(‘beer’); }
  }
}
$danny = new Danny();
if (isMandyDustinWeddingFineGentleman($danny))
woop_woop_celebrate();

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