They say Rome wasn’t built in a day…and neither was Starving Student Movers. Fittingly, the origin of the 47-year-old Los Angeles-based company is like a Hollywood movie. There’s drama, comedy, action and a happy ending.
Let’s travel back to September 1973, where two best pals just out of Fairfax High School we’re looking to make some summer money before heading to college. Darryl Marshak and Ethan Margalith, the co-founders of Starving Students, decided to sell used items at the Rose Bowl swap meet. They got stuff from friends on consignment and even found some “interesting pieces” from garbage cans behind art stores in LA and Beverly Hills.
They were given an old truck – a 1944 Dodge Weapons Carrier – from a friend as a favor for helping him dig out from a mudslide. The boys loaded the truck and slept in it all night to keep their place in line at the Rose Bowl.
And then…nothing. They put in about 100 hours and didn’t sell a darn thing. Lady luck stepped in when a woman at the swap meet asked if they could move some chairs to San Diego for $20. Cha-ching! The boys were in business.
Swap meeting selling was out and moving was in. They painted “Students – Mover for Hire” one side of the truck. On a lark, they painted “Starving” on the other side. They liked it, so did everyone else and Starving Students was born.
Ethan and Darryl are still best friends and Starving Students is still the company to call about moving.