Bernie Mangiboyat

Born and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina,[1] Mangiboyat developed an interest in music at an early age. As a child, he was a fan of KISS,[1] and then around 1984 he discovered Mötley Crüe, right after the release of their album Shout at the Devil, and he became interested in their style of music.[1] He started playing the bass guitar, learning the chords by ear.[1]

While attending Westover High School in Fayetteville, he performed with various local bands, including an encounter with Sully from Godsmack.[1]

Mangiboyat and Roy Cathey (lead singer of The Fifth) met in their early days of the Fayetteville music scene. Cathey played in a band called Gibraltar while Mangiboyat played for another local band. They met when Cathey called Mangiboyat on the phone one day to ask him to be the opening act for his band.[1] From then on, Mangiboyat and his band performed alongside Gibraltar and his future The Fifth bandmate.

Mangiboyat's band broke up in the early 1990s, and he considered leaving Fayetteville and going to nail school to do manicures like his mother.[1] He continued to go from band to band for quite some time after that.[1]