Due to the unexpected resignation of the International Mr. Bootblack Coordinator and IMBB staff, The Renslow Charitable Foundation is announcing the cancellation of The IMBB contest for 2023. We will take this year to thoroughly examine the evolution of the contest and solicit community input and interest as well as explore better ways to grow and increase participation in the event. This examination includes exploring the idea of creating a complete stand-alone IMBB Weekend event. For some years, the IMBB team has struggled to find contestants, donations for winner’s prize packages and delivering a quality product and, as a result, has led to less participation. At the same time, they have implemented significant changes which have created a vastly improved IMBB Contest experience, especially for contestants.

This year (2023), we invite bootblacks from around the world to meet, greet and provide shine for the guests in the area that would normally be reserved for our contestants over Memorial Day Weekend. The invitation is open to anyone who is passionate about boots. More information will be available at www.imrl.com in the near future. We also recognize there is much more to be done to increase bootblack visibility in our community and we welcome everyone’s input, suggestions and, most importantly, their participation in this process. We also invite anyone in our community to share these thoughts and/or their ideas on the subject of inclusion at community@imrl.com. Your participation in this process is vital.