This past month has been incredibly exciting for Team Beardilizer. In addition to the new Marty Ray Project album, many members of the team and staff went international. Where in the world did the beardos go? Austria – the land of delicious sausage and the World Beard and Moustache Championships. No spoilers (not yet anyway), but this event was really momentous for everyone involved. Who from the Beardilizer Dream Team went? Well, only the best of the best! We obviously had to bring Jeff Langum aka “The Langum Lion,” who placed 1st in the 2013 World Beard & Moustache Championships in the Full Beard Natural category. Also representing Beardilizer USA this time around was Josh Black, Anthony “The Stache” Fontes, and the highly charismatic Garey Faulkner. Next, representing the UK were Michael Legge (Garey’s non biological twin), Andy Teague, Chris Wall and Michael Wallage. Lastly, but certainly not least(!) was Arthur Supertramp, who repped Beardilizer France. A Beardilizer party is the best kind of party!
Having the chance to go abroad is always a big deal, however being able to compete in an international beard and moustache competition is a Very.Big.Deal. Almost as big as Jeff and Garey’s beard! Meeting up with fellow beardos is part of the fun of competitions. Connecting with like-minded people and hearing about their experiences is part of the Beardilizer project. Uniting beardos with people and products that build each other up in the interest of a better, beardier world! The competition was similar to the Beard and Moustache competition in Louisville (that was blogged about earlier this summer) in the sense that there were multiple categories with sub-categories. Team Beardilizer held it down, as you would expect.
Since this was an international competition, placing was challenging. The entire world of beards was there! Team Beardilizer did however make sure that its presence was known and placed in the top 10 and top half of many of the categories, which is no small feat for an international competition. Garey Faulker, with his infinite charm, placed 5th in the Freestyle Beard category. 5th best freestyle beard in the entire world is nothing to sneeze at! Michael Legge placed 7th in the Full Beard Natural category. Truly though, being in the top ten, in an international competition, is a tremendous accomplishment. The accolades continued for Team Beardilizer with Josh Black, the Vice President of the RVA Beard League, crushing it by placing 3rd in the Full Natural Beard with Styled Moustache category. Jesus, what can’t he do? The Langum Lion (aka Jeff) placed third in the Full Beard Natural World Champ category. While there may have been some contention regarding The Lion’s loss, Team Beardilizer is not Team Sore Loser. Everyone who competed was there to have fun, meet some new people from around the world and enjoy themselves. Isn’t that what the beard community is all about?
Team Beardilizer in the Media
Also notable from the event was a photo of Garey Faulkner that took off in the media. The photo appeared on outlets including CNN Style, TMZ, USA Today and many others. It was even featured on the LIVE with Kelly and Michael show. Getty Images also happened to publish a photo of “The Stache,” for which we are very honored!
All in all, everyone returned home with their prizes, some fantastic new friendships and energized for the next year of bearding competitions to conquer. Team Beardilizer held it down, showing up with an international group and placing very well. Everyone had a great time and left with a better idea of how they could kick ass next year. We’re all rooting for the return of The Lion to his throne.