Trivia host Justin Mora crossed the country looking for answers, now he’s back asking questions

The flyer says 8 p.m. That’s when trivia is supposed to start.

It’s now 8:07 and trivia host Justin Mora bursts through the door, carrying a bag and portable P.A. system.

It’s a Tuesday night and Mora, who seems frazzled running inside, quickly sets up his rig and in an almost lightening fast transition, changes into an enigmatic and collected game show host, reminiscent of a lost form of host, the likes of Bob Barker.

The cheesy 70s game show music kicks in and a deep and confident voice bellows:

“Goooood evening folks and welcome to Just Trivia. I’m your host, Justin Mora!”

And the game is on.

Mora, the creator, owner, writer and host of Just Trivia! provides an original style of trivia every week  that is a stark contrast to the run-of-the-mill trivia most bars have on hump days.

While most places host bland trivia nights run by a rotating crew who ask questions created in a corporate office, Mora provides an in-your-face, hand-crafted and off-beat  style of trivia that guests agree can’t be found anywhere else.

Every week, his bellowing voice and wry humor help beat away early week/post weekend blues that drive most bar patrons to their nearest watering hole.

His overflowing exuberant personality, towering presence and distinguished voice give the air of someone who was born to be a host, but Mora did not always know trivia was his calling.

A Citrus College alumnus of 2008 and University of La Verne alumnus of 2010, Mora graduated with a communications degree focused on broadcasting. However, he did not end up behind a mic until fall 2013. Instead, he spent his post-graduation days working to get by.

“I took on any type of odd job just to make money,” Mora said. “My first job with a degree was at Domino’s Pizza as a ‘Pizza Delivery Expert.’”

Mora said working at Domino’s was “incredibly humbling” for him, after delivering pizza to the parents of friends who could not understand why he could not get a job with his degree.

“After that I delivered once to people I knew at a party and once to the department that I had graduated from,” he said. “It was a good thing it wasn’t to anyone I actually knew.”

Though this epiphany should have been his turning point, Mora jumped from Domino’s to working as a barista at a Target Starbucks.

Realizing he was working boring jobs and itching for something different, Mora knew he needed a bigger change in his life. When an opportunity to move to New York presented itself to him in fall 2011, Mora transferred out and took the chance without hesitation.

“I was unhappy with my life in California,” Mora said, “and decided that it was time for me to see something else and finally go for whatever it was that I was chasing.”

A performer at heart and a natural behind the mic, Mora tried his hand at stand up comedy and also began recording his own YouTube series called “Exploring Mora,” where he would travel to different states and cities across America, and provide a comedic twist on each location.

Still, nothing panned out.

One year, one job and a comedy career later and in a new city, Mora found himself unemployed and with another fresh opportunity to recreate himself.

“I had an incredible amount of free time and the openness to pursue whatever I wanted,” he said.

It was during that time that the ‘trivia bug’ first bit him.

“I started going from bar to bar and trivia night to different trivia night to see not only what the prizes were but also to get out of the apartment and see something different.”

He soon began hosting for the East Coast trivia company Trivial Dispute. Drawing from his natural charisma and confidence entertaining a crowd, Mora started making a name for himself in the New York bar trivia microcosm he had stumbled into.

Even after leaving Trivial Dispute in 2015, Mora still found himself with a strong following. He knew he might have been on to something.

His friends in New York consistently encouraged Mora to create his own trivia company so he could expand to different bars. However Mora did not want to create competition in the area out of respect for his friend and boss at Trivial Dispute, Adam Kesner.

Mora’s girlfriend, Becky Pressman, was accepted to grad school in San Diego, California close to his family, creating another pull towards the West Coast.

Before he finally returned to California, he found himself inspired by a Final Jeopardy! question featuring a quote from Horace Greeley about Manifest Destiny:

“Washington is not a place to live in. The rents are high, the food is bad, the dust is disgusting and the morals deplorable. Go west young man, go West and group with the country.”

As a history buff, hearing this struck a chord in Mora.

“Although I wasn’t living in DC and the food in NYC was amazing, I decided then that I had to return to California and strike gold on my own the way so many others have gone to California to do so.”

Upon returning to Southern California, Mora turned his sights to his hometown of Covina after discovering he could not break his new style of trivia into the San Diego bar scene.

And so he started Just Trivia! at Bread & Barley in February 2015, replacing the long running King Trivia night at the Covina gastropub on Tuesday nights.

As of September 2016, Mora is now expanding Just Trivia! across the San Gabriel Valley and Inland Empire. In addition to his Tuesday nights in Covina, he now hosts at Old Stump Brewery in Pomona on Mondays and Progress Brewery in El Monte on Thursdays.

Unlike that of standard trivia, Mora’s night does not end when the speakers are put away and his mic is turned off. He spends time after the game connecting with the winners, losers and patrons.

This is a quality his followers and regulars favor in addition to his trivia. They very often follow him from town to town, so they never miss a night.

Like Jonathan Cornwell, a Just Trivia regular from San Dimas, who has been following Mora and his trivia nights for years.

“I have seen him at Bread & Barley, at (Old Stump brewery) and Progress Brewery,” Cornwell said.

Cornwell and his wife overheard one of Mora’s trivia nights at Bread & Barley and realized they might be able to win.

“We’ve done other trivias but the shout out rounds is our favorite thing,” Cornwell said.

Shout-out rounds are a signature Just Trivia! favorite, where patrons are given the opportunity to shout out answers for free beers from the bar.

“You allow people who do not answer anything otherwise in those write it down sections of the night to shouting out an swear to at least get a free beer,” Mora said.

He said the shout-out rounds keep players interested and enjoying good beer even if they are not winning.  

His trivia nights are often themed and specialized to different fandoms– he has done specialized nights on “The Office,” “Star Wars” and a soon-to-be Harry Potter trivia night he will be hosting in January.

His regulars agree that even if when they think they know their trivia, Mora finds a way to stump them still.

Mora’s girlfriend, Becky Pressman, who has been with him since his days in New York, said she is excited about the direction in which Mora’s company is moving.

“I think that it was a move to diversify,” Pressman said about his new weeknight gigs, “He’s at three really different bars, with really different clientele.”

She believes that expanding his trivia to three nights week speaks to Mora’s flexibility and appeal.

“It has been less than a year and he’s already in three different locations, people know him and follow him and that is really fascinating,” Pressman said. “He really considers the population at each bar when he posts internet questions or writes rounds for that week.”

Pressman and Mora currently live in San Diego while she attends school. Mora makes the two to three hour drive to attend his trivia nights and stays in Covina during the week.

For Mora, the need to perform has always been worth it, even as early as middle school when he was one of the anchors on the morning reading of Royal Oak’s Intermediate School’s Daily Bulletin.

“I’ve always been the loudest person I’ve known,” Mora said. “I learned young to project my voice and speak clearly and distinctly.”

Now, Mora uses his voice and his background in history and comedy to appeal to his crowds. Since he has established himself back in the San Gabriel Valley, Mora has long-term plans of hiring employees to assist him on his trivia nights and possibly expanding to East Los Angeles.

“Now it’s not just one set of bars and owners he’s working with,” Pressman said. “He’s working with multiple parties and they’re signing contracts and it’s really becoming more of a business and a full time endeavor.”

Despite his background in broadcast, history and comedy, Mora said tries not to give the appearance he is more “nerdy” than his followers, but since he is also the sole question writer of his company, he has to be well-versed on a number of topics and pop culture reference.

“I definitely do diligent research on topics and questions,” he said. “But for as long as it takes for the information to go into my brain it goes out just as quick– if not quicker– because the next week there is another six rounds of things to ask about.”

Mora said his company is an ever-changing and growing entity that can be tailored to any bar, birthday party or group that requires his blend of uniquely hand-crafted, DIY style trivia.

“You show up because you heard tacos on a Tuesday, nice” Mora said. “Then you experience trivia, you have a good time…You are then coming back because trivia happens every Tuesday.”

Mora’s determination to expand all began with the belief he was capable. He said he knew how to write and host trivia, how to gather a following and no matter what he provided the same authentic experience.

“I’ve seen other trivia hosts and there is a disconnect of personality through other companies and companies that I’ve worked for,” Mora said. “and I’ve seen what kind of personalities are available for that.

A specialized experience is what Mora always wants to bring to the table.

“There are no corporate heads to go to, the buck starts and stops with me,” he said. “I’m the craft beer of trivia, everywhere else is just Budweiser.”