The 71-year-old ran such a place until six years ago. It was called De Snor, or The Moustache, and it was here that, in 1978, he started the Snorrenclub Antwerpen, or the Moustache Club of Antwerp.

Pretty silly, you say? Yes. Publicity stunt for the bar? Maybe. But over the last three decades, Willy has appeared on national and international television, including the BBC. He's been in newspaper articles too many times to count. He hobnobs with the rich and famous moustaches of Belgium - jazz master Toots Thielemans, for instance, and FC De Kampioenen star Marijn Devalck. He was featured in the comic strip Kiekeboe, is called on by the city to host events and is currently featured in a photography exhibition.
Oh, and he founded his own country: the Republic of Snoravia.

"Most people think that we must be pretty proud of these things under our noses," smiles Dupon. "But mostly it's an excuse to come together and have fun."

Like any group, even though one thing defines it, connections are made far beyond that border. And the public adores them. In costumes that resemble a barbershop quartet, they are official representatives of the city - sometimes turning up to greet crowds at festivals or to welcome shoppers to Antwerp's Meir on the first day of the sales.
Dupon began organising The Moustache of the Year award almost immediately after founding the club, and there have been some big Belgian names over the years, including Toots Thielemans, comedian Leo Martin and television weatherman Frank Deboosere - who since shaved off his moustache. "A deserter," sighs Dupon.

In 1987, Dupon led a hardy band of moustache-wearers to the Voeren region, the only Flemish piece of land not actually in Flanders. Located between the Netherlands and Wallonia but officially considered Limburg Province, the Voeren region has been an infamous source of political strife, particularly since it used to belong to the province of Liège and about one-quarter of its people are Dutch.

Tired of the constant arguments over who should control the Voeren, Dupon decided to take matters into his own hands: he hung a plaque in the middle of a rural area (which, aside from a harbour, is most of the Voeren) and pronounced it Snoravia. Every June, he and the other 27 members of the club make a pilgrimage. "I've done it for 17 years," he says. "Every year, the plaque disappears, and every year we come back and put it up again."

Since Snoravia is so close to Maastricht, the annual journey finds them also visiting the Dutch city's statue of d'Artagnan, the central character from the novel The Three Musketeers. "He had a huge moustache," notes Dupon.

If politics led to the founding of a land, it also led to the breaking up of a tradition. A few years ago, after ongoing disputes with the board, Dupon left the Moustache Club of Antwerp. Rather than retreating home to lick his wounds, he started a whole new club: The Europese Snorrenclub Antwerpen, or European Moustache Club of Antwerp. Many members went with him. "There are enough moustaches to support two clubs," he states.
With no more control over the Moustache of the Year, now he chooses the Moustache of the City every other year. The last one was former boxing champion Jean-Pierre Coopman. For next year, Dupon has his eye on the food critic Dirk de Prins, host of the Radio 2 show Kook and appearing right now on the popular Flemish reality TV show Mijn Restaurant!

He has also just organised Brussels' new moustache club, which launched at the end of last year. Brussels' moustached mayor Freddy Thielemans immediately declared he would be honorary president.

Although you won't find a lot of young people in the European Moustache Club (the youngest member is 50), you will find a few women. I immediately ask if they have to have moustaches; Dupon finds this very funny. "No, they just like us," he explains. Any man who wants to join, though, of course has to have a moustache. But absolutely no beards are allowed. "It's the typical British style; you can't have anything on your chin."
There are moustache clubs in nearly every European country, and the beard situation appears to be a source of contention. "When I go to moustache competitions, there are clubs from all over the world," explains Dupon. "You see the Germans coming, and the Italians, they have beards down to here - like Santa Claus. It's too much. When you see a fine looking man with a nice moustache, it's a whole different thing. I prefer Brad Pitt to Fidel Castro. I think most women do, too."

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