Jess G.

Bearded since: 1994. I am a dedicated, permanent beard grower.

Comments:
Why did I grow my beard? Well, real beard? I started growing a goatee in high school, because it was the 1990s, and I could. Didn't stick with it, though. Through my twenties I couldn't grow much of a mustache, so I stuck with sideburns at most. Until last year. I got a weird growth on my chin, and my doctor prescribed me a medical beard, in lieu of surgery! Have shaved it off once, but I went right back. Might be here to stay.

How do I feel about my beard? There are a number of reasons I feel like my beard is natural. I come from hardy Viking stock, so there's that. My father has worn a beard for most of my life, and he's a handsome feller. I'm a novelist, so the beard seems like a fitting addition. Throw on a tweed jacket and sport a (purely cosmetic) pipe, I'm looking like some sort of professor from a science fiction movie! Seriously, once I realized that my beard was coming in gray, I felt much more in touch with myself as a mature man, a father, and citizen of the world.