It’s not too early to look ahead to next year’s World Beard and Moustache Championships in Berlin. The biennial do drew 123 contestants-including the gents below, who make Salvadore Dali look restrained-when held in Carson City in 2003. Facial hair’s cutting edge, says Phil Olsen, of Tahoe City, Calif., who oversaw last year’s event and runs the above Web site. “Look at Ben Affleck, Justin Timberlake, Mike Piazza; they’ve all got beards.” Among aspirants in ’05 will be Chicago’s Jordan Dauby (below), an artist/librarian with a three-year growth, who competes in the “full beard, natural” category, preferring to avoid the “frou frou” of wax. Dauby says he likes the international flavor of the event, which is dominated by Germans, Brits and Swedes. “Meeting people from around the world is rewarding. It bridges gaps,” he says.
