300 bearded and mustachioed men entered, but only 18 reigned champion.
To kick off Movember, 300 bearded, partial bearded and mustachioed men competed against each other in the 6th annual 2015 ‘Just For Men National Beard & Moustache Championships’ hosted by Hanes X-Temp at the historic Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, NY. Eighteen categories featured styles ranging from au-natural to gravity-defying freestyles, to 18-inch-long goatees. The contestants were judged on whose facial hair enhanced their overall appearance, style and personality.
This year the overall champion and grand prizewinner was Scott Metts in the Full Beard, Styled Moustache category. Metts won a trip to the 2016 National Beard & Moustache Championships.
Madison Rowley was on hand to hand out the winning metals. Rowley was the 2014 overall National Champion & 2015 World Champion in the categories Full Beard Garibaldi and Full Beard Natural. We chatted with (and photographed) each champion upon winning. Check out the profiles below:
Madison Rowley, 2014 National Champion for Full Beard Garibaldi, and 2015 World Champion for Full Beard, Natural
Hometown: Portland, OR
Occupation: Filmmaker—and man of many hats
How long have you been competing? One year
How long have you been growing this beard? 2.5 years
How did you feel when you won the National and World Championships? I was floating
How long does it take you to groom? 20 minutes
Do you have a beard icon? My father
Scott Metts, Full Beard and Styled Moustache Champion, Overall Champion
Occupation: Bartender
Hometown: Orlando, FL
How long have you been growing this beard/Moustache? 2.5 years
What are your moustache/beard dimensions? Moustache side to side 16-17 inches; beard 13-14 inches long.
How long does it take you to groom? 45 minutes
Do you have a beard/moustache icon? Jeff Langum—he won the World’s a couple years ago.
How do you feel right now? I feel awesome, amazing, cloud 9.
Best thing about having a beard? Being apart of the brotherhood and having people that you for some odd reason connect with, for no other reason than having a beard.
When did you start growing facial hair? At 13 I could grow a full beard.
John Cordes, Moustache, Natural Champion
Hometown: Joliet, MT
Occupation: Bar owner
How long have you been growing your moustache? This moustache is 3 years old.
Favorite thing about having a moustache? The camaraderie with contestants and everything about this competition.
What are your moustache dimensions? I’m guessing 14 inches tip to tip.
How do you feel right now? Oh elate— these guys are a great bunch of guys, let me tell you!
Alfred Nash, Moustache, English Champion
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Occupation: Rocket Scientist
How long have you been growing your moustache? It’s just a couple days over 4 years old—it’s a Movember stash!
What are your moustache dimensions? 20 inches tip to tip.
How long does it take you to groom? About an hour and a half
Do you have a moustache icon? Just the guys in this competition, they’re all wonderful.
How do you feel right now? On top of the world!!
Keith “Gandi Jones” Haubrich, Moustache, Dali Champion
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Occupation: Waiter in a fancy French restaurant
How do you feel right now? Kind of shocked. I won the Dali category in the Nationals last time in New Orleans but I just did the Dali in the World’s last month and I got 7th out of 15, with the same exact style, different outfit.
How long have you been growing this moustache for? Since I was 13.
What are your moustache dimensions? I haven’t measured it.
How long does it take you to groom? 20 minutes
Moustache icon? Salvador Dali
Ramesh Parekh, Moustache, Imperial Champion
Hometown: Atlanta suburb, GA
Occupation: Retired engineer
How long have you been growing this moustache? Off and on for about 7 years.
How long does it take you to groom? half hour
Do you have a moustache icon? Dali
How do you feel right now? Pretty good
What’s the best thing about having a moustache? My family
Justin Vitti, Moustache, Hungarian Champion
Occupation: Beer sales
Hometown: Cape May, NJ
How long have you been growing this moustache? 3 years
What are your moustache dimensions? I don’t know
How long does it take you to groom? To style for this competition, 30 minutes. Shaving on a regular basis, 20 minutes.
Do you have a moustache icon? Ben Juergens from the US, he was a Imperial Moustache Champion—I got a picture with him in New Orleans two years ago.
How do you feel right now? Great, I wasn’t expecting it.
Best thing about having a moustache? I don’t know, I just love it.
Daniel Lawlor, Moustache, Freestyle Champion
Occupation: Writer
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
How long have you been growing this moustache? 6 years
What are your moustache dimensions? I haven’t measured
How long does it take you to groom? On an average day 10 minutes—this took way too long, probably an hour and 15.
Do you have a moustache icon? Mr Gandi Jones
How do you feel right now? I feel pretty good.
Favorite thing about having a moustache? Having a moustache is my favorite thing about having a moustache.
Scott Wagner, Partial Beard, Natural Goatee Champion
Occupation: Program Manager
Hometown: Charlestown, NC
How long have you been growing this moustache? 20+ years
What are your beard dimensions? 18 inches down
How long does it take you to groom? 10 minutes most
Do you have a beard icon? Definitely my dad
How do you feel right now? Pretty ecstatic
Richard Smith, Partial Beard, Fu Manchu Champion
Occupation: UPS
Hometown: Newton, NH
How long have you been growing this beard? 15 years
What are your beard dimensions? Centre of the chest
How long does it take you to groom? A good 10 minutes
Do you have a beard icon? No one in particular but now that I’ve been here, almost all these guys. It’s pretty special.
How do you feel right now? I feel really good .
MJ Johnson, Partial Beard, Imperial Champion
Occupation: Wine consultant, and I work at an organic food co-op.
Hometown: Minneapolis, MN
How long have you been growing this beard? 4 years
How long does it take you to groom? 2 hours
Do you have a beard icon? Nate Johnson & Toot Joslin
How do you feel right now? I feel awesome; it feels great.
Al Underwood, Partial Beard, Musketeer Champion
Occupation: Shaving consultant for the ‘Art of Shaving’
Hometown: Los Angles, CA
How long have you been growing this moustache/beard? Moustache is 4 years old but it took a year and a half to get this length. Beard is 2 years old.
What are your moustache/beard dimensions? Thanks for asking! 9.5 inches by 9.5 inches.
How long does it take you to groom? 10 to 15 minutes to style the moustache, and another 10-15 for the beard.
Do you have a moustache/beard icon? A gentleman I competed against today, James McMann. He’s got the best Hungarian-style moustache, a Musketeer Moustache that compares to mine in every way.
How do you feel right now? I’m thrilled right now!!!
Best thing about having a moustache/beard? I like when people smile, get a picture and walk away happy.
Steffen Rasile, Partial Beard, Sideburns Champion
Occupation: Web developer
Hometown: Helena, MT
How long have you been growing this beard? 1 year
How long does it take you to groom? 30 minutes
Do you have a beard icon? Nate Johnson
How do you feel right now? Wonderful
Best thing about having a beard? The camaraderie around bearded friends.
Marc McShane, Partial Beard, Amish Beard Champion
Occupation: Behavioral Therapist at a Maximum Security Prison
Hometown: Minneapolis, MN
How long have you been growing this beard? 2.5 years
What are your beard dimensions? I’m guessing 10-11 inches
How long does it take you to groom? 5 minutes
How do you feel right now? I feel really really good!
Best thing about having a beard? I live in Minnesota and it keeps me warm in the winter. Seriously, I’m not kidding.
Anthony “The Stash” Fontes, Partial Beard, Freestyle Champion
Occupation: Working in a family business
Hometown: Youngstown, Ohio
How long have you been growing this beard? 4 years in April
How long does it take you to groom? Depends on the style, this style 1.5 hours.
Do you have a moustache/beard icon? Bill Murray
Best thing about having a beard? Styling it and making people smile.
Stephen Pofelski, Full Beard, Natural Champion
Occupation: Wildland Firefighter
Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT
How long have you been growing this beard? 1.5 years, last shaved May 2014.
How long does it take you to groom? No time
Do you have a beard icon? Young Kris Kringle
How do you feel right now? Super excited
How old were you when you first started growing facial hair? 27
Collin Burgan, Full Beard, Verdi Champion
Occupation: Registered nurse
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
How long have you been growing this beard? 10 months
What are your beard dimensions? Too long for most people, but long enough for me.
How long does it take you to groom? 10 minutes
Do you have a beard icon? Moses
How do you feel right now? Humbled, it’s my first competition and I didn’t expect to win anything. I’m completely blown away.
How old were you when you started growing facial hair? 17
Best thing about having a beard? I enjoy the attention
Owen Hicks, Full Beard, Garibaldi Champion
Occupation: Contractor
Hometown: Nashville, TN
How long have you been growing this beard? A couple years
What are your beard dimensions? 20 cm
How long does it take you to groom? No time
Do you have a beard icon? Madison Rowley, the 2015 World Champion .
When did you first start growing facial hair? I had a good goatee in high school.
Adam Gazda, Full Beard, Freestyle Champion
Occupation: Stay at home dad
Hometown: Newark, DE
How long have you been growing this beard? 2.5 years
What are your beard dimensions? 13 inches
How long does it take you to groom? Under an hour
Do you have a beard icon? Madison Rowley
How do you feel right now? I feel like I could cry. I can’t wait to find my fiancée, go out and enjoy the rest of the night.
