Updated 2/24/16 For the past ten years, beardos from all over the world have been traveling to Austin, Texas for something other than the amazing weather, burritos and Shiner beer. The Austin Facial Hair Club puts together a great competition every year that draws in attendees from around the country and beardos from around the world. Founded in 2007, the group formed so that they could create a larger bearded community within Austin and increase their presence at competitions both in the state and outside of the country. The group is open to both men and women and is always seeking new members who are facial hair fans. This year, the team from Austin is preparing for a great 10th anniversary edition of the Beard and Moustache Contest!
Some of the great stuff to look forward to in February are the categories of competitions. Beard competitions are such a great part of the beard community; there is a common misconception that you have to have a huge beard in order to compete. That isn’t the case in Austin. The six-month competition category invites new beards to show off growth over the past six months. Baby beards, chops, side burns, and other categories exist to help encourage diversity in the beard world. Team Beardilizer will have the good fortune of having several of our Beard Hall of Fame members: Joe Reagan, Dennis Morgan, Petey Cash, and from across the pond, Phil Rigney! Plus, there’s the possiblity of additional members going (we’ll update this post with a finalized roster as we get closer to the event). Our team will be traveling to Texas in order to bring home some sweet trophies for the Beardilizer team! While the beard viewing competition may only last for four hours, the list of events shows that there is an awful lot to look forward to that weekend!
Phil looking dapper for the competition
One of the best parts of beard competitions is the networking; a chance to get together with people who are into the same stuff as you and have a ton of fun. In order for the beard community to grow, having attendees come from different parts of the world does nothing but bring awareness to the different types of work that participants live in, the charities that they are involved in and how successful beards are obtained. Many competition events include happy hours and mixers that give everyone a chance to check in and get to know each other. While competition is stiff with the beard community, the sense of community makes the competition that much better. This year, over two hundred applications will be submitted for the competitions!
In order for a beard to grow, both literally and metaphorically, there are a lot of elements that need to be taken into consideration. Socializing your beard (or your fake beard) is half of the battle. The other half is learning how to use your product and then learning what works best for you and how much ass you can kick at your next competition. In order for you to be the best beard you can be, everything that you learn from the competition veterans can put you that much closer to bringing home a trophy. Each event has its own crowds and comes with its own unique categories. Learn, make some new friends and remember that your people at Beardilizer have your back the whole way to the trophy ceremony.
Update: As promised, we’re updating this post after the event. Our boys did a fine job representing Beardilizer at the event. Just days before the event, Dennis Morgan decided to join the #Chopsquad by turning his mane into mutton chops. This risky move paid off, however, as he won second place for the Fiercest chops category. Congrats, Dennis! Andy Teague also won 3rd place and Petey Cash took 5th place in the highly competitive full beard natural under 12″ category. We’re so proud of you guys!
