hey, beardo....
May 20, 2011 1:43 AM   Subscribe

The World Beard and Moustache Championships 2011 were just held in Norway.

I just came across this flickr set on said championships, and I am swooning over the amazing facial hair, and the fact that there are national moustache and beard clubs.
posted by monkey!knife!fight! (28 comments total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
I'm wondering how big a fan one would have to be if seeing only the winners' names & country of origin on the Results page was enough to satisfy you.

(plenty of amusing pics on the site, and some of the "tale of the tape" commentary is hilarious, but come on, how about a winner's photo gallery?)
posted by ShutterBun at 1:55 AM on May 20, 2011


Where's the women's league?
posted by GoingToShopping at 2:06 AM on May 20, 2011 [2 favorites]


Some people prefer Katie Holmes but Nicole Kidman will always be my favourite beard.
posted by londonmark at 2:17 AM on May 20, 2011 [8 favorites]


This page has a photo of the man who won best in show, which is fairly spectacular.
posted by Touchstone at 2:19 AM on May 20, 2011


bin Laden should have received an honorable mention. He's done more for the image of the beard than just about anyone in recent memory.
posted by three blind mice at 2:19 AM on May 20, 2011


Thank you, Touchstone. I meant to pull that out from the Flickr set, but in all the excitement I must have forgotten.
posted by monkey!knife!fight! at 2:41 AM on May 20, 2011


GoingToShopping: "Where's the women's league?"

Italy.
posted by bwg at 2:43 AM on May 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


Not surprised that Jack Passion was there:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wsogmm/5736968652/in/set-72157626732601134
posted by rmmcclay at 2:43 AM on May 20, 2011


It's not the same since hair spray was allowed.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 2:50 AM on May 20, 2011


It's not the same since hair spray was allowed.

It's become so consumerised. I caught my dad using Pantene Pro-Beard the other day.
posted by TheAlarminglySwollenFinger at 3:23 AM on May 20, 2011


after my wife noticed this beard contest last year, ever time i don't shave after 3 days growth, she states are you planning to enter that contest? then always i hear next - go shave right now!
posted by taxpayer at 3:47 AM on May 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


freestyle?
posted by Windigo at 4:32 AM on May 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


I've been spending a lot of time in Australia's Northern Territory, and I will stand on Rollie Fingers' coffee table in my cowboy boots and tell him that NT mustaches and beards are the greatest in the whole world.
posted by GamblingBlues at 4:42 AM on May 20, 2011


Dusan Lalos of Germany (lower left) seems to have just about the perfect beard. I mean, it's flawless. It's a beard that would be welcome anywhere. Sends shivers down my spine, it does.
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:28 AM on May 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


I definitely have some beard envy with some of these guys. I've had a beard for the better part of a decade, but I've never had an opportunity to grow it out (but even if I did, it would not be as splendid as some of these extraordinary specimens).

But the thing that gets me, though, is that, yes, you have an extraordinary three-foot mustache and it looks awesome all waxed up and primped, but when you come out of a shower, you must look like a fucking nutjob. Well, a different kind of nutjob.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 5:54 AM on May 20, 2011


The trouble with facial hair grooming is that there is a sharp line between someone who takes pride in their appearance, and someone who is putting on airs.

Example: The top, middle mustache in Faint of Butt's link is perfect. Fits the face, and is in congruity with the slight twinkle in the eye. The lower left beard is your kindly old man, also fits the face. The one above that, while it is functionally the same beard, looks contrived.

Another example is Ben Bernanke. It's a fine beard, but it doesn't fit his face. There is a guy who needs to either edge it more, or less.
posted by gjc at 6:19 AM on May 20, 2011


I had to Google Ben Bernanke to see what he looked like. You're so right. It's like he woke up one day and stuck it on.
posted by londonmark at 6:26 AM on May 20, 2011


GoingToShopping: "Where's the women's league?"

https://www.facebook.com/TheWhiskerinas
posted by felix at 6:28 AM on May 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


Lutz Giese Germany
Ted Sedman UK
Bob Gengler Alaska


For the purposes of this contest, I approve of being able to list ones country as "Alaska" as apart from "US." It only seems right.
posted by otolith at 6:35 AM on May 20, 2011


The USA seems to be sweeping the board, and Scandinavia's making a strong showing; and I thought that the German-speaking nations and India would, between them, clean up.
posted by acb at 7:06 AM on May 20, 2011


This guy is really freaking me out.
posted by sveskemus at 7:26 AM on May 20, 2011


This post reminds me of this song. Which is awesome.
posted by mysterpigg at 8:39 AM on May 20, 2011 [2 favorites]


This guy is really freaking me out.

That must be the beard version of a mullet. "Business in the north, party in the south!"
posted by m@f at 8:44 AM on May 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


This page has a photo of the man who won best in show, which is fairly spectacular.

That guy doe that kind of thing every year.
posted by kenko at 9:18 AM on May 20, 2011


Whenever I hear about beard growing contests I think of the contest with Marty Feldman where they sit in chairs, fiercely straining to get their beards growing. Unfortunately, I can't find the video.
posted by eye of newt at 9:50 AM on May 20, 2011


I had the pleasure of interviewing Bill Mitchell (winner, Sideburns Freestyle) just about two weeks ago, when he and Team USA were stopped in Iceland on their way over to Norway. Reykjavík's not a huge town, so when dozens of uniquely bearded gentlemen are parading around town, it stands out. All week long I'd been seeing these guys, and when curiosity got the best of me, I just stopped one of them on the street and asked if anything beard-related was going on. He happily pointed me in Bill's direction.

Talking with him was a lot of fun. His regime, as it were, is to shampoo his beard, blowdry it, use a curling iron on it, then wrap both curled halves around a pair of cans, and hairspray it into place. He's passionate about competitive bearding without taking himself seriously, which, I believe, should be the essence of any past-time.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 3:54 PM on May 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


Note to my husband: You know how when you shaved your beard into that Colonel Puff-Puff look that one time and looked utterly silly and unsexy and I couldn't look at you without laughing and I said I didn't think I'd be able to kiss you until you grew the beard back or trimmed the sideburns or something? Yeah. Don't go getting any ideas from these guys.
posted by Lexica at 8:34 PM on May 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


An instructive guide: The Trustworthiness of Beards
via the splendid sweetbeard.com.
posted by hippugeek at 8:22 AM on May 21, 2011


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