Twitter

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Shit Brooklyn Beards Say

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"We wear pants, you know? Someone had to do that, had to go through that, wearing pants, you know? So, um, I figured, you know, I'm a fuckin' try a beard."

If we believe Jack Passion, which we do, that the epicenter of US beards is undeniably the pacific northwest... it has to be told that it is so in mass, not per capita. That title belongs to Brooklyn, period, full stop, moving on.

Case in point, see Jana Schmieding (@janaunplgd) exposé on Brooklyn Beards... which we renamed, Shit Brooklyn Beards Say.

 

 

Braun's NYC Demographics

Thanks to the myriad of beard scouts we have out in the field, whether they are aware of their roles or not (in this case Mido Aboshihata aka @mid0 is not) we find or stumble on awesome gems... we love them even more if they are in New York or San Francisco (B-a-B home markets)...

Check out this awesome (and accurate) ad by Braun, a frenemy of B-a-B, near NYC subways.

Dear Braun, we'd support you buddy, if you ditched the 'shave' part of this 'business strategy' of yours... style and trim is ALL you need. Take note, Braun... if that is your real name.

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Soup Just Got Hairy

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Happy weekend beardos! We love being woken up by a buzzing phone, especially when it's with a new hairy find attached to a face of an old friend attached to it.

Check out the new beard kid on the tumblr block, {Beardsoup}, whom today featured a great old friend of B-a-B, Gary W Norman of The Society of Bearded Gentlemen (aka THE Buddha Bear).

 

Good stuff. Looks like Tumblr is getting quite the influx of late in the beard food category; cupcakes, soup... what's next, cream cheese? pizza?

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NYC BMC FTW

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Just like after a wedding (or an engagement... read on), the party that was the NYC Beard and Moustache Competition has left me with the inevitable feeling of "well, now what?!"  The copious amount of planning that went into it, the tons of anticipation this brought on, so many nerves and butterflies filling many a stomach, the myriad of press and out-of-towners with millions upon millions of hairs filling chins and lips and descending to my hometown of Brooklyn... sadly, it's all over now... so, what do we do?!

   

Sob stories aside, I'm glad that my wife (and future son) gave me the opportunity to attend this monumental event... which is my long winded way of saying that I am still an expectant father and didn't get "THE Call" on Saturday, and was able to cover and partake in the festivities.

Myk O'Connor's rallying call prior to the event (as reported here) rang truer and truer as each category was moving through judging... fake beards out of the way, onto goatees, straight into freestyle, recession beards and finally... the piece de resistance, the full natural category... Myk ran the show like a smooth yet hairy operator of sorts, taking shots and quoting bearded literature sages (achem) while boosting the matchups and giving the IFC "Whisker Wars" people plenty of competitive fodder for their storylines.

  

That said, the one storyline that we took away from the event was the expertise that Build-a-Beard has bestowed on us, and the insane amount of information we eagerly retained through our hairy tribulations over the last few years... I, like Riss, am now an expert on beards... insanity.

To exemplify this, just look at the winners and our predictions:

  • Full Beard --
    • Prediction: Jack Passion (unless Mark Krayenhoff enters and brings the Brooklyn thunder)
    • Result: Jack Passion wins, shocker (Mark enters Freestyle, gets bronze), Aarne Bielefeldt garners 2nd place for his gnomish effort.
  • Moustache --
    • Prediction: Ben Davidson (unless he hasn't been working out his arm strength and loses in the run-off arm wrestling)
    • Result: Ben got 2nd place (should've exercised more...), a Ned Flanders lookalike steals the stache gold.
  • Goatee --
    • Prediction: Steve Cline (since Paul Beisser is sure to have severe jet-lag)
    • Result: Steve Cline takes the local gold as expected (surprisingly, Paul went the "ZZ Top" Route).
  • Freestyle --
    • Prediction: A German Pretzel
    • Result: No Germans in attendance, so a US Born pretzel got the prize (our favorite twisted beard of the night, Jon Rice, got robbed...).
  • Recession beard --
    • Prediction: Someone from Detroit
    • Result: not sure where that guy was from... but he had a great outfit.
  • Fake beard -- 
    • Prediction: A girl with a bigger bosom than beard
    • Result: her fake beard was so mesmerizing I forgot to look at her bosom...

The highlight of the night for me, other than being treated as said expert by IFC production team (and even by the one and only Thom Beers himself!), was the marriage proposal that Myk surprised his fiance Karolina Gwiazda with, it was adorable... see it for yourself below:

With the cutesy formality out of the way, below are the videos of all the winners being announced... it was our pleasure to report on this for you all, both here and live on twitter/facebook... so just know, the source of all your up-to-the-minute hairy news is right here, www.Build-A-Beard.com... Major thanks to all those that showed B-a-B love at the event (and for those that didn't, surely you'll change your mind sooner than later)... to quote an IFC exec: Thank you Big Apple, you've been delicious.

P.S. You can find our entire collection of photos from NYCBMC in our Hairy Pics tab, or just click here (you lazy ass).

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America, Your Beard Is Here!

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This is amazing, so amazing in fact we are a bit speechless... so we wont go into describing the below video...

John... Thank you  for your heartfelt plea and offer of inspiration for all those that are beardless, smiles for all of us that are... and entertainment for everyone. (and for Beard Team USA for finding you)

Everyone should send in their votes, and you know... We'd like to keep you out of the Freestyle category (for clear reasons)... but fate is fate, so if you meet El Beardo at the squared ring bearded circle at Bend... we'll rumble together.

However, we vote for Natural Beard category for your beard... El Beardo would've loved to enter that category, alas, the mass is just not there for us... but not for you, John. Godspeed!

The way to vote:

Tweet with #AmericasBeard tag

DM John at @AmericasBeard

Or leave a comment on americasbeard.posterous.com

 

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Of Poets and Beards

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 Earlier this week our good friend @Dissentertainer pointed us in the direction of an awesome post about poets ranked by their beard weight... and we thought, hey they wont out do us! So, here we are... and yes, while the post was great (see the compilation photo below and the link to the story) we will not stand idly by and wait for others to dictate their beardly decision to us!!

So, before you peruse their findings (which are excerpted and abridged from The Language of the Beard, originally circulated by The Torchbearer Society, London, 1913... with Commentary by Gilbert Alter-Gilbert) and can be found at the bottom of our post... take a look at our Top-3 Poetic Beardos, and of course... they are part of our community!

Judge for yourself... one of them even comes with his own poem! And speaking of Beardly poems... we found a nice batch of them: Derrick - Beard Poem,  Wallace Stevens - The Well Dressed Man With A Beard, and ghostwolf - Ballad of the Lost Beard.

1) Magnus Holmgren (aka @poetisk) -- We've known Magnus since almost the first day we went live on twitter... and have been trying to get him on B-a-B ever since. He tweets very interesting stuff, and frankly, his facial hair style is nearly unmatched... we love him so much we are willing to look past the New York Yankees hat (dude you're from Sweden, you MUST root for the Red Sox!)

2) Johnny Park (of The Oh Eeks)-- A lady friend of Johnny's got in touch with us about using the below shot... we were smitten rather immediately, but Johnny can thank our Facebook follower Rachel Commerford for this inclusion (even though your beard is rather nice), as we're not even sure that you're a follower of B-a-B... Rachel, you get a gold star.

3) Michael Sesling (aka @poeticmindset) -- We came to know Michael (who resides in my home town of Brookline MA) by way of Magnus... and his Haiku's lighten up our day from time to time. He's a great addition to the B-a-B family, but alas, this short beard will only get you as high up as #3... grow it out, grow it proud!

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Poets Ranked by Beard Weight

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Mane 'n Tail: Fear and Loathing in MHT

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I was somewhere around the office, on the east edge of Manhattan, when the fear began to take hold. I was headed to LaGuardia Airport just as I read a headline about flights to Canada being delayed or canceled because of the ash plume... I got worried for a second, I remember saying out loud "NH is not that high up north..."

Heading to Manchester for a 30 hour business romp, I jumped in a cab, got through security and to the terminal in record time... now facing more than an hour at the gate before boarding... So, as always, I was scouting beards... While there were surprisingly many there that day, for some reason, I wasn't on my game... the blame has to be the rigid environment of airports and the overarching loathing of travel that would preclude me from approaching other high strung beardos... or we can just blame Eyjafjallajokull.

That said, I did see a gent with an interesting and very neat beard style (thick but short trimmed side burns, with a twice as bushy goatee)... Finally, I get on the plane; a worn looking sucker with two propellers, with the landing gear that somehow folds in side them... Scary... Res ipsa loquitur… Let the good times roll.

Upon landing in MHT, and making a B-line to the men's room, like clockwork I came across that very beardo! Clearly, the beard gods were making me tell him about B-a-B and comment on his awesome facial hair DIY... it worked before... so we get to talking, and lo and behold Mr. JD Wilson divulges the secret to his tidy bushiness... it's a product called MANE 'n TAIL... yes, as in horse.

JD went on and on (about bees wax) and on and on (about mineral oils)... all to assure me that yes, while it's true this product was originally intended for horses, it does work wonders AND has a cult following, for HUMANS... all while we're standing in the men's room of the arrivals terminal.

And so dear B-a-B fans, I'm proud to present my bounty of beard scouting from New Hampshire... Search and ye shall find... Per their own Facebook group info:

Mane 'n Tail products were originally developed for horses. People started using the products to achieve the beautiful results they saw with their own horses manes and tails. This is where the legend of Mane n Tail products comes from, by nourishing, conditioning and fortifying the hair and scalp to aid healthier hair growth.

Wow, seriously? Yes, for real... The sages have spoken, the truth is here, the follicles will rejoice...  Bushy, itchy, medium length beards need this product, bad! You can get it here, and by clicking on the magic jar below...

 

P.S. As hairy fate would have it, I had the seat right behind JD on the loud and bumpy ride up north. He was reading the whole time with the overhead light on, it was the right time to snap a candid... which I did, twice, not yet knowing the wisdom his beard was to hold. So I guess the trick is on you JD... cheers.

    

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Patrick Melcher: Beardo, Stache Champ (Skater)

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Thanks to our good friend Scott Baldwin (aka @scbaldwin) for alerting us to a beardo interview deep within the pages of GQ... we know, we know, we're pretty shocked too (but it's about damn time)... upon closer review,  we here at B-a-B have found a new hero, in one Patrick Melcher.

While we've written about awesome skater beardos before (Scott Herskovitz: Proving it Doggy Style) and we've supported beardo skater art for some time (i.e. Art Bombs creations on Tumblr)... Patrick's feat is not to be outdone -- and we're not just talking about being a proud beardo in the pages of GQ). In addition to throwin it down on the street (do skaters throw down?), Patrick got 2nd place at the World Beard and Mustache Championships, yeah that's right... 2nd place! And how could he not, check out his awesome facial DIY creation below, as well as an excerpt of the GQ interview.

Check him out, he's worth it...

"GQ: How did the 'stache come about?
Melcher: My teammate Richie Jackson was the direct influence. And I grew this really neat mustache, then put it on my webpage, and this dude contacted me. "You should join our beard club." So I joined the Bristly Chaps of Los Angeles beard club, and they invited me to the world championships in Anchorage. So I went and won second place for the Imperial Mustache. It was in the L.A. Times, TMZ, and on CNN."

Melcher has Gentlemanly Qualities from 2HeadedHorse on Vimeo.

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Build-A-Beard on Tumblr

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Many of you are wondering whether the Tumblr site we created will take over B-A-B.com... the answer is a resounding and forceful : NO, it will not. This will forever (and always) be our long form home... but as you know, we love Social Media and community engagement, as such we must tap into the various opportunities out there to promote awesome facial fuzz goodness... as such, we have been building out our bearded site on Tumblr.

If you haven't yet seen, you can find it here: http://buildabeard.tumblr.com/

Look forward to many Q&As and longer features on this site, but if you need a quick bearded fix throughout the day, check out our Tumblr or Facebook and Twitter pages (all linked up of course... so look at all if you like double up).

 

All the best and bearded,

El Beardo and Riss

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The Story of the "Power W"

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While out and about in my favorite Lower East Side bar, or should I say holy beer shrine (aka Burp Castle aka Shush Central) this past weekend catching up with Riss post the hairy awesomeness that was 2010 Beard Ball... I stumbled upon Glenn Chocky (aka @ChockyDude) sitting comfortably and quietly at the bar (next to a lovely facial hair enthusiast of the fairer sex), and was immediately drawn to his certain je ne c'est quoi... ahh who am i kidding, just LOOK at this gorgeous specimen of facial hair DIY!

Upon closer examination and discussions with him (and his lady admirer) I discovered that Glenn calls this fantastic facial fuzz iteration (he has had various styles for 5+ years) the Power W, works as a producer in the beauty industry and refers to beards as "a version of Samson on your face" ... i mean, how can you NOT like this guy, right?!

Well, we'll tell you how... you see, Glenn also resides in Brooklyn and even admitted to us that he was talking about the Beard Ball earlier in the night we met him, and how he should've gone, was encouraged to by others, read about it... but, in the end, he didn't... Dude, how you gonna miss an event like that so close to home, have you no sense of community?! Also, awesome Tumblr site (no really, keep at it!) and non working namesake website... you probably couldn't find your way from Park Slope to Greenpoint anyhow.

Truth be told Glenn, the Power W intrigued B-A-B enough to stick with you, but to be brutally honest here... if your Twitter bio didn't quote my (non bearded) idol Hunter S. Thompson, your pics may have found the cutting room floor (like your chin hairs)... but you've redeemed yourself in the end. We better see you next year (or sooner) if you want to avoid another hairy situation.

Anyway, thanks for being a good sport (we kid those we love) and remember... I wouldn't risk getting thrown out from Burp Castle just for anybody... consider your story told.

P.S. I hope you wound up going home with that lady friend that night... the Power W deserves to.

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RIP 'Beardtard'... or ShayCarl's Massacre

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Outside from a fuzzy-avatar and a few polite one sided exchanges on Twitter we've never seen or heard of/from ShayCarl before... we never watched his show or looked up his vlogs (no use clicking on his personal site as it's still under construction), but we knew he was of the bearded persuasion and, what we thought to be, a friend to the beards... Last night, he proved us wrong and right all at the same time... with a few swift buzzes it was gone, a beard unadulterated between 7/23/2009 and 1/1/2010 (but been around since 2007 apprently); too beautiful to live, too young to die...

See above for a touching eulogy from STL Pixurs for the poor beard (which was 'lovingly' dubbed the 'beardtard'... smh), it takes some of the sting out of the bite; but conversely, it also grabs our bearded soul and strokes our mental beard with thought of 'what could have been'...

While we are not in the business of publicizing shaving and beardacide of any kind... we did want to show you the event from last night (see the segment below from blogtv.com, also #RIPBeardtard was trending on Twitter yesterday, toward the 2nd half of the broadcast ) for two big reasons...

1) Shay did a good job in showcasing different beard/stache styles throughout his shaving escapade:

  • 7:30 -- First buzz into it
  • 9:00 -- Full Goat with burns
  • 10:30 -- Fu Manchu of sorts (+burns)
  • 14:15 -- Horseshoe (or U) Stache
  • 15:00 -- Creepy (pedo-looking) Stache
  • 18:00-21:00 -- The final shave

2) What we really wanted you all to see (and hear) are the insecurities of a man without facial hair... this dude went from a confident head of the family, to a mewling baby asking his children, chat room fans, wife, god, whomever would listen for approval of his newly bald face. The mic overloading scream ShayCarl is known for mutated into a fearful purr at best and a girly cry at worst... this, fellow beardos, is the fate that awaits us all the day we choose to shave... and for the value of this PSA alone, he deserves a big thank you and deep appreciation from the bottom of our fully bearded heart... Now, GROW IT BACK!

 

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A New Year's Resolution Success Story

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As some of you may recall, earlier in the holiday season Build-A-Beard staff stumbled upon an NYU student with an awesome beard (named Sven or something) and a tale of cursing off the razors since January 1 2009 as a new year's resolution. Since that chance meeting, and numerous twitter searches later, we are convinced that there are many like minded individuals out there looking for the push to make the one new year's resolution that works... with just a little more resolve than combing your hair, growing a beard is probably one of the easiest ways to accomplish that.

That said, let us tell you a story… as story about a man, in a town, with such resolve and dedication that should serve as a model for all those who want to walk in the shoes of giants, and grow awesome beards in 2010… that man is Matt Hensleem (aka @mhenslee), a rockin' pastor in Little Rock, Arkansas who lists Jesus, his wife as well as his beard alongside each other (love that btw). Matt made a promise to himself at the end of 2008, he vowed no longer shall his face be fuzzless and bald, no more will he deny his chin the right for privacy... he made a covenant with facial fuzz for 2009 and beyond.

We present this photographic study to you with mere hours left in 2009 to showcase what a year can bring... this could be you, in 365 days... Along with Matt, you too can join the 64 million like minded men who honor a timeless tradition of courage and test of not only character, but a test of will against a society who might not fully understand your DIY artistic expression.

Matt, if you turn even one man to the hairy cause we will deem this year a success, but while we have you... would it be too much to ask you for a blessing on the Build-A-Beard house, our friends and family, and the new decade that is upon us?

Either way, may you all have a Happy and a Healthy New Year!!! Tune in, turn on, grow out. 2010 IS the year of the beard.

FROM   TO

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BREAKING NEWS: Gary IS growing a beard

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"2010 will be a really big beard year..." -- Gary Vaynerchuk

The beard, or lack there of, on the face of VaynerMedia co-founder Gary Vaynerchuk (aka @garyvee, the host of Wine Library TV and author of “Crush It!”) has been a topic of discussion in the Build-A-Beard halls since we crossed paths with VaynerMedia staff, and documented our hairy meeting with the post: VaynerMedia - Now Is The Time To (Grow Beards).

Since that time, we've been checking in with their head honcho regularly to get him on the bearded ball, and follow the lead of his staff by listening to our hairy call... then, out of the blue, through all of the cussing we managed to gather that Gary is planning on growing a "Playoff Beard" in 2010 (so that to focus on growing his new biz assets @vaynermedia and @corkd). The bearded calling came out during Loic Le Meur’s Fireside Chat with Gary at Le Web 2009 in Paris earlier this month.

Given Gary's recognizable clean shaven face, we were understandably weary; that is we were, until today... when Gary went public with his hairy ambitions:

Then once our staff pinged Gary with the #proveit request, we received -- along with the rest of his Twitter and Dailybooth communities -- the below mildly hairy proof...

Granted, this isn't the flowing beard we all expected out of the hyper passionate and cause dedicated style that Gary is known for, we are certain that by the end of 2010 (aka the year of the beard), we will all be put to shame with Gary's facial mane.

We don't know about you, but we'll be on the look out... listening, engaging, crushing it, Build-A-Beard style.

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In My Beard -- A Welcome

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We'd like to welcome @inMyBeard (Josh Hamilton of Huntsville, AL) to our bearded family... the site he created is dedicated to a picture of stuff in (attached, smeared, etc.) his beard a day, what's even cooler is that he's dedicated to do this for a full year (ending March 10, 2010)!

From hand-gels to red bull shots, zippos and christmas penguins... Josh brings the #proveit culture to a new high. Check him out and suggest stuff to put in his beard on twitter. Brilliant.

Our favorite: Conjunction... in his beard

Cousin Itt: B-a-B 'True' Hollywood Story

You ever wonder to yourself, hey, whatever happened to that gibberish spewing Addams Family hair in chief, Cousin Itt? Where did he wind up after the taping stopped and the show turned off? Hmmm...

Well, we will may never know, but like Elvis (Michael Jackson, et al.), from time to time, we may get a clue about what they are up to now. Thanks much to fellow beardo aficionado @tailorjanes for the heads up, or down, we're still not quite sure what the hell is going on over there to your right.

Either way, and on a serious note: Long live Cousin Itt, and the real man behind the hair, Felix Silla (72 years young).

 1964

...2009

 

 

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The Neck Beard That Woofs

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We've all heard of cat neck beards, a popular activity among feline owners with a wannabe beardo fetish:

Today, we finally got the K9 equvalent by way of fellow bearded tweeterer @chrisbawesome who even reccomends a specific breed... the Cairn Terrier, which we must say, creates a fantastic salt and pepper neck beard worthy of us picking it's poop.

That said, Chis, your beard doesn't look like it needs enhancements, but feel free to send us more pictures as you experiment with more wildlife. Keep being into growing epic beards and mustaches, but we'll be the judge of your unapologetic awesomeness...