Well, as you may have noticed, it’s been over a month and a half since I wrote my last piece for the Beard Coach.  I’d like to say that it’s because this summer has been crazy so far… My wife and I were in the Seattle area on vacation for 8 days and we’ve also been in the process of finding and buying our first house.

Unfortunately I think the real reason is that I’ve gotten a bit burned out on writing about beards.

I’d been putting off checking my Beard Coach emails even though things have finally settled down a bit in my personal life.  I guess I just felt like I’d run out of beard wisdom…

But my attitude just changed now that I finally read some of the last six weeks’ emails.  There were so many “thank you” notes from guys who had read some articles here and had found the inspiration to grow the longest beard they’d ever grown.  They had sent me pictures, baring their soul and a their beard insecurities looking for validation from an expert.  All in vain.  Because I had turned my back on my own mission.  Maybe I need to re-read my own Beard Manifesto.  Maybe I need to realize that this place is more than just a chance to have some stuff I’ve written be read by some other dudes.

A hearty thanks to Adam, Mark, Phillipe, Joe, and all the others who took the time to ask me a question or express gratitude over my past six weeks of laziness.  You’ll get your reply emails soon, my brothers.  Thanks for waking me up from my summer hibernation.  You know, maybe it’s because I trim my beard shorter in the summer that led me to this lowly state.  Maybe I should heed my own advice and start growing and showing my beard’s full force no matter the temperature.

The Beard Coach is back, suckers.

My mom is obviously a big fan of The Beard Coach, and she’s a lover of beards in general.  Thus I was not entirely surprised when she sent me this article clipped from my hometown newspaper, The Gleaner.

Isn’t sending newspaper clippings one of the best things moms do?  It lets you know that she’s thinking about you and also gives you the opportunity to learn a little something at the same time.  It makes me a bit sad to think that with the decline of the printed news, my wife may not be able to send our future children newspaper clippings.  A link in an email just isn’t the same, but I guess it’ll have to do.

Anyway, if you enjoy reading about the amazing beard contest that was held in my little hometown back in the 1960s, leave a thank you to my mom in the comment section.

(click for a super close-up view)

Name: Joey “Punjab” F.

First beard grown at age: Around 17

How long have you had your current beard? 2.5 months

Why do you wear a beard? Because the bearded look suits me.  And beards are awesome.

What do you like best about being bearded? I just like the look of it.  A guy with a beard looks better than a guy without.

Briefly tell your favorite beard-related story. In my younger days I can remember when I had my first really full beard I ventured out to a local store. There was an older man that approached me and proceeded to tell me one of the dirtiest/funniest jokes that I’d ever heard.  I can’t remember what the joke was now, but I remember wondering why he decided to tell me of all people. It must have been the beard.

What is your best advice for guys who are currently trying to grow their first beard? Don’t give up.  I know that sometimes it feels like it’s going nowhere, just hang in there.

A recent issue of Outside magazine contained an “Editors’ Choice Awards” article in which the editors listed all the greatest things they could think of.  Some examples of things listed are sledding, PBR, great survivial stories, and rope swings.  However, it was number two on the list that caught my attention – winter beards.

Now anyone who has read my Beard Manifesto knows what I think of the winter beard.  And now so do the subscribers of Outside.  Because I wrote the editors and told them what’s up.  And guess what?  They recognized the wisdom and knew that it was worth sharing with their readers.

You’ll notice they chose not to cite me as the source (probably because they saw through my obvious efforts to sneak in free promotion for the site).  However, you’ll notice a certain original phrase I also used in The Manifesto.

So now, I present you with the first words from the Beard Coach ever published in a mainstream magazine.

Let me be honest.  I’m not rich.  Funding a print run for a t-shirt design costs me a fair amount of money up front, so it’s a big decision for me.

Why not use Cafe Press or another print-on-demand company to save costs?  Because I don’t want to offer less-than-amazing shirts to you.  I know the company I use provides a fantastic screen-printed product, and I’m not going to skimp on that.

Which brings me back to the issue… I need you, my dear Internet friend, to decide on a shirt design for me.  Please use the gallery below to vote the design you would most like to see on a t-shirt.  (By the way, the current beard shirt design is 20% off for a limited time! Yay!)