The Face of Norman Nation

Four years ago, the halls of Beverly Hills High School were lifeless, the sports games were meagerly attended and school spirit was deemed, like, totally uncool.

"Adults see [BHHS] like it is on 90210, and most of the students are not really excited about high school. They just want to get out and go to college," said senior Josh Rezvani, 17. "My freshman year, no one cared about the school, no one had any spirit. I didn't like that at all."

Rezvani, then a wide-eyed freshman looking to get involved in activities, suspected Beverly was ready for a change. That change came in the form of a bearded, narrow-eyed, square-jawed headpiece complete with a sleek black cape and oversized Viking horns.

"There's usually an application process, but no one was interested," Rezvani said. "I was basically handed the costume."

And he wears the mascot costume well. As the Norman, a French warrior of the Middle Ages, Rezvani has become Beverly's fun-loving leader and an enjoyable fixture at football, basketball and volleyball games.

A typical weekday for Rezvani—who's also a member of the school's varsity wrestling team and student council—begins when his alarm sounds at 5:30 a.m. Between classes, wrestling practice, weight training and mascot duties such as sporting events and pep rallies, he does not leave campus until 5:30 p.m. Homework comes next, keeping him busy into the evenings and leaving little time for watching television or scrolling through Facebook.

Preparing for mascot events takes some time too. Before donning the much-too-large headpiece, Rezvani listens to dozens of techno tracks and watches music videos for inspiration, especially Michael Jackson—though he admittedly has yet to master the moonwalk.

In addition to Jackson, another influence is a whole different kind of pop culture phenomenon: Jersey Shore. It's the addicting MTV reality show from which Rezvani picked up his crowd-pleasing "fist pump."

Last summer, Rezvani even attended a mascot training camp in Downey with other student mascots from towns up and down the West Coast, from San Diego to Portland. The six-week camp focused on making the most out of the costume you're wearing.

"[The instructors] taught us how to break dance, pop lock and drop it—all the 21st century dance moves," Rezvani said. "They told me that as a mascot, don't be afraid to go as crazy as possible."

Rezvani describes himself as "community oriented." It's only fitting then that Norman Nation now stretches far beyond campus grounds. Since his junior year, Rezvani has proudly paraded the Norman around Los Angeles hot spots, including Rodeo Drive and Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, where he joins numerous costume characters in a sea of tourists—and is perhaps the only masked figure there not interested in loose change. Armed with fliers, a boombox and his trusty microphone, Rezvani dances, cheers and spreads Norman pride as if it were one giant pep rally.

He also struts his warrior stuff at the Beverly Hills Farmers' Market and frequently visits local businesses and restaurants.

"As I'm walking around the city as the mascot, people are saying, 'This is the Norman. This is representing not only the high school, but Beverly Hills,' " he said. "I've noticed that more and more people have been coming to the games since I started going into the community."

As the Norman, Rezvani has not only instilled a sense of identity within the students of Beverly Hills High School, but throughout the community as well. He describes the Norman Nation as "strong, energetic and free-spirited," traits that Rezvani feels all Beverly Hills residents should take pride in.

"If I wrestle in college, I can't imagine myself wrestling 'red and white' or 'orange and white.' I always imagine myself in all black with orange lettering that says, 'Beverly Hills,'" Rezvani said. "I was born and raised here. If I ever left, I wouldn't feel right. I wouldn't feel like I was home."