DC Beards

I'm just gonna leave this here. 

When I asked for his name, Bobby handed me a distinctive business card, identifying him as the co-founder and COO for "Cupid's Undie Run". Of course, I couldn't resist checking out the website-cupidsundierun.com. So, who's up for a little running?

Available for purchase at: http://www.sneekis.com/collections/frontpage/products/dc-playoff-beard

Country music concerts are always a prime beard-spotting opportunity! Here we have Tim, who hails from Bradenton, Florida (and was accompanied by a friend wearing a hat supporting my own alma mater- University of Florida!). I met Tim (and his woefully nameless lady friend- the concert started before I could ask her name...) at the recent Jason Isbell show at The Birchmere. Clearly, Tim has good taste in both music and facial hair.

I ran into these bearded gents at Burger, Tap & Shake near the Foggy Bottom metro station. By "ran into", I mean that I had jumped out of my seat and was prepared to chase them down the street when they conveniently came into the restaurant. Dwight (l) and Darryl (r) are brothers who are originally from Pennsylvania and were visiting the DC area. Of note is the fact that the last beard post came from a BBQ and this one from a burger restaurant- apparently good food and good beards go hand-in-hand!

DC weather has been wildly skipping back and forth recently between sunny and HOT and sudden storms. Last Saturday was one of the few days that stayed sunny and hot all day long. In order to make the most of it, I spent the afternoon enjoying a BBQ (and winning a game of cornhole!) While there, I came across Dave, pictured here. Dave was manning the grill, making him a very popular guy at the party. He lives in Sterling and was happy to pose for a blog photo! 

I think my favorite part is the "Beard Success Stories", featuring quotes like this one from Glenn: "Growing a full beard has added a different dimension to my being. I don’t feel I am the same man -- I feel I am a better man."

I'm sorry that the blog has been absent for the past few weeks! Last night, I was telling someone about this blog and I figured that if I'm going to brag about running it, I had better update it from time to time! I've had some phone troubles recently (for several weeks I was using one without a camera, which made beard-hunting a bit more complicated!). I now have a new phone, so more updates will be coming soon! Luckily, other people have stepped up for me, like my friend Matt, who sent me this photo. Featured here is Ben, who works at the M street Sweetgreen. Ben says that this wasn't the first time a customer had asked to take a picture of his beard. I can't say I'm surprised! DC tends to keep its facial hair more conservative and "business", so it's always a treat to see someone like Ben having some fun with it! 

Speaking for the beard appreciators of the Nation's capital at least, there's nothing necessarily so bad with macho aggressiveness implied by a full beard.

Today we're featuring our first tourist beards! I came across these three gentlemen sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and couldn't resist approaching them. Here we have Andrew, Michael, and Jason. They hail from Nashville, TN- thanks for bringing these nice beards into our neck of the woods! 

Best quote?: "To conduct the study, researchers left bearded mannequins, along with less attractive, follically-challenged ones, in the blistering sun of the Australian outback and then compared the amount of radiation absorbed by each."

Today, DC Beards is featuring Alex, a local artist (see some of his art at www.facebook.com/upcycleDC). Alex is originally from Ohio, but he has lived in many different places before moving to DC. Alex's facial hair history began 12 years ago with a goatee; he started rocking the full beard about two years ago. Luckily, his wife Larissa is a fan! He theorizes that there are two types of men with beards: the ones who let it grow wild and those who go to great lengths to keep their beards trimmed and shaped. Alex says he is in the second category, spending time making sure each hair is the right length so it stays neat. The only downside he's identified to being a bearded man? He hates getting food in it, so he says he is careful to use utensils even for foods most people would eat with their hands, like pizza and burgers. But for Alex, it's worth it: he says it has become an integral part of his look and he wouldn't be comfortable with a clean-shaven face.

Twitter users- follow along at @DCbeards

Our second featured beard comes on the face of James, a law student who is originally from the Seattle area. James has had this beard "more or less" since the winter of 2010. A tip for the other bearded District residents: James mentioned that the Watergate barber lined up his beard for him during his last haircut. I asked James if he gets a lot of comments on his beard (apparently DC is a complimentary city when it comes to facial hair!). Recently, while walking in Foggy Bottom, he was approached by one of the Greenpeace fundraising people, who informed him that "Greenpeace needs more beards!"- Don't we all?

It's only fitting that the inaugural feature of DC Beards (Get it?! DC, Inaugurations? I'll be here all week) comes from my own law school student population. Here we have Ian, who originally hails from New York. I asked Ian how long he's been growing this beard, and he couldn't remember. After calling his girlfriend, who was the initial motivating force behind the beard, he determined that he started growing it last October. Now that the beard has gotten so impressive, Ian says that it's become the main topic of conversation for him- people he passes in the hallway, who normally would just say "hey", now compliment his beard. When I asked if I could feature his beard as my first post, he told me I was the fourth person to discuss his beard with him just that day. Ian proves that DC men can rock the professional beard, but perhaps not without attracting impressed commentary from the public.