Andy kindly participated in an official beards.org photo shoot on September 23rd, 2010. Unlike any other beards.org photo shoot to date, Andy’s photo also shoot included a trip to the barber shop for a haircut and beard trim. Here are some preview shots from the first part of the photo shoot.
Stay tuned for lots more of Andy!
Stay tuned for a whole lot more of Scott and his amazing beard! Meanwhile, check out a few sample shots from his official beards.org photo shoot:
We’ve done it again! We’ve got another million views on the gallery counter! The thirteen-million milestone was reached sometime on the morning of July 4th, 2010.
We hit our previous milestone of twelve million gallery views back on March 31st, 2010. Remember, however, that the gallery counter started at zero on January 26, 2006. So we have had thirteen million views of photos in the gallery since January 26, 2006.
The number is a fun milestone to track, although the actual number of views is even larger. Sadly, when some images leave the gallery, their view counts get subtracted. That can whack off thousands from the counter at a time. Also, when Salvatore’s beard videos were hosted in the main gallery, the overall view count was boosted substantially. When I pulled the videos from the gallery (because they were using up all of the site’s monthly data transfer allowance), the overall count shrank some more, as well. If all of the subtractions were added back, the true number would be quite a bit higher.
Regardless, each additional million makes for a good occasion to stop and reflect for a moment and express thanks to all of beards.org’s loyal fans, friends, and visitors. It’s also a great time to thank and salute each and every bearded man who has joined the gallery.
I wasn’t at the computer when the counter hit thirteen million. So this post is illustrated with a previously-unpublished photo of Christopher.
Happy Birthday, USA! And best wishes to all friends of beards.org around the world!
All too often I hear of guys who start growing a beard, get well on their way, and then suddenly get cold feet and shave it off in a moment of insecurity. Many report that they’ve gone through this routine multiple times. Why?
To avoid this unfortunate fate for the budding new beard, simply commit to sticking with the beard-growing process. Set a target date that gives your new beard growth a decent chance to grow in and for you to become accustomed to it. And make a commitment not to shave it under any circumstance (barring some extreme unexpected situation) before that date.
You have to WANT the beard. You have to want it enough to commit to growing it properly. Otherwise, you may be vulnerable to a temporary loss of confidence, then chicken out and shave it off. Don’t let it happen again!
all about beards is on Facebook now. Click on the image above to visit the beards.org page on Facebook. Visit and like our page on Facebook! Support the bearded cause and help add more beards to the world. Click on the image above and like beards.org on Facebook!
On January 17, 1996, all about beards first appeared on the worldwide web. The site started out on web space provided for AOL members. The host name was members.aol.com. On January 20, 2005, all about beards officially moved to its permanent home at beards.org. The legacy all about beards site on members.aol.com was left up for sentimental reasons until AOL pulled the plug on it on October 31, 2008. All that remains of the AOL site’s legacy is that the official site contact email address is still the original AOL email address that has been used since the January 1996 launch of all about beards.
Today on the site’s fourteenth anniversary, the site is bigger and stronger than ever, with the momentum ever increasing. More importantly, the site has encouraged and inspired countless men around the world to experience the unique adventure of growing a beard with great success. The site remains dedicated to “growing better beards worldwide”, “adding more beards to the world”, and increasing the acceptance of beards everywhere. I’d like to thank all of the beard growers and supporters everywhere whose beard-growing contributions have strengthened all about beards and advanced the bearded cause around the world.
The gallery image counter hit eleven million views on January 6, 2010! We hit ten million on October 25, 2009. It would have been nice to hit eleven million before the end of 2009, but this is still close enough! The eleven million number, however, only represents the number of beard views since the counter started from zero on January 26, 2006.
This time, I wasn’t at the keyboard to see which photo was number eleven million. In consolation, I’m illustrating this post with a previously-unpublished photo of Christopher.
I wish you much happiness and happy beard growing in 2010! All about beards celebrates fourteen years on the web this month! This continues the site’s reign as the longest-running beard site on the web.
On the first day of this new year, it’s a good time to stop and give thanks. I am so thankful to all of the contributors from around the world who help make beards.org a shining showcase for beards, inspiring men around the globe to experience the joy of growing a beard. Thank you, all.
Looking back, all about beards had some pretty lean years. The message history for the all about beards Yahoo! group that’s been used to announce site updates since 2001 is telling. Here is how it appeared at the end of 2009:
The numbers represent the number of site updates announced each month. By 2001, the supply of content dwindled down to a trickle. In addition to the lack of new content, other problems impeded the site’s growth during those very lean years. 2001 through 2004 were especially barren because the beards of the world gallery did not debut until November of 2004 (originally called the bearded visitors gallery).
Eventually, digital cameras came to the rescue. The proliferation of digital cameras worldwide made it easy for beard growers everywhere to send in photos for the gallery. The beards of the world gallery has become the beating heart and pride of all about beards.
Thanks, everyone, for growing your beards! And by all means, keep showing off those beards here on beards.org! Send ’em in!
Have a wonderful 2010! Happy new beard year!
If not, start growing! Now is the time.
I frequently hear from new beard growers who are intimidated about letting their new beards grow much beyond the stubble stage. Fear not. Carry on. Let it grow. Too often, they express fear that a beard growing longer than stubble will be too long! These fears are unfounded. With a new beard, your self-perception is altered. The thought of going beyond stubble may terrify you, with visions of presenting a monster beard. A monster beard — or simply one that you feel is too big or too long — requires going far beyond stubble. Ease up. Don’t worry. Don’t stop growing.
If you’re growing a new beard, don’t stop before you’re done. Don’t stunt your new beard. Let it grow beyond the stubble without fear. Let it grow out, fill in, and blossom. Give it a fair chance.
A beard beyond stubble length is more of a real beard. If the stubble beard is what you really want, then keep it at that length. But if you’re growing a new beard, don’t be afraid to go beyond stubble. Otherwise, you deprive yourself and others of seeing your fully-grown beard in all its glory.
So how long should you let your new beard grow? You don’t have to let it grow to the size of Rich’s beard pictured above. But you should get closer to his length than clinging to the stubble range. See how you like the way your beard shapes up after passing the stubble stage. You may be pleasantly surprised. Rich’s beard, above, clearly demonstrates that a fully-grown beard can appear neat and well-groomed.
Keep growing!
