Meet John Morgan, the ‘most interesting’ man in Arlington. (Photo by Rachel Kurzius)

It only took 20 minutes to crown the Most Interesting Man in Arlington.

“I came out tonight and I didn’t even think I’d compete, but now I’m the most interesting man in Arlington,” said John Morgan moments after his big win. He beat out five others for the honor.

Morgan, “an economist, if you can believe that,” has only lived in Arlington for a year and a half, after growing up in North Carolina. He won a refrigerator’s worth of Dos Equis (which partnered with FM 107.3 to hold the contest), as well as a crown and a cut-out of the Most Interesting Man from their advertisements.

The competition consisted of a series of six questions asked by Melanie Glazener, co-host of 107.3’s morning show, at Don Tito in Clarendon. The crowd chose who to eliminate after each question. Organizers handed out printed out thumbs to onlookers so they could give a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” to the answers provided.

The first question—Why are you at Don Tito’s today?—didn’t differentiate the contestants much. Answers ranged from “to drink whiskey” to “to do shots and take names” and “to watch football and drink ‘til I can’t feel feelings.”

Morgan broke away from the pack when he handled a curveball question with finesse. Down to only three contestants, each received a random word to work into a story. Morgan got “kumquat.” He ably turned a gardening tale into a euphemism about pleasing a sexual partner.

In his final answer he revisited the word “kumquat,” to the delight of the crowd.

Members of the crowd ran towards Morgan after his win. “It’s like you’re a mixture of Fergie and Jesus,” one of them said, giving him a big high five.