Member Name: Paul R Fronckowiak
Location: Brokelyn N.Y.
Beard Type (style): The Bluto/Jihad?
Member since:2007

Do you feel like you are treated different with a beard (by:girlfriend/boyfriends, the public, your pets etc)?
Yes very much so. People [mostly friends] feel the need to tell me I look like a terrorist. Maybe its the olive skin, but it's still offensive. You wouldn't tell someone in a wheelchair that they look like a cripple. I noticed upstate N.Y. residents approach me with fear (as if I really am a terrorist), even as far as to guard their children from me. It gets old, c'mon people it's 2009 for craps sake. It's just hair. I'm agnostic. My friends cat didn't like my handlebars.

Who are your beard heroes?
I wouldn't necessarily call him a hero but Tom Hanks in castaway. I heard somewhere that he spent 4 years growing his beard for that role. Gotta have respect for that. Abraham Lincoln, its a classic & it fits his face well. Plus he took one to the head. When will the beard persecution end? Fidel Castro, more so when he was young. His beard works great with Battle Dress Uniforms and velour Fila suits. The perfect accessory.

We have noticed that you are a fan of disguises. What disguises do you feel are most helped by your facial hair?
Well as i stated the olive skin as well as my eclectic background, [Polish/Ethiopian/Sicilian] i have become a bit of a chameleon, or chamelonairre if you will. Which has its good and bad parts. I was actually pulled off of an international flight by 6 Federal U.S. Marshals and NYPD officers while sporting a full beard. The other day a gas station attendant became giddy and asked if i was from "his country". He is from Pakistan. When I first moved to NYC and walked into a deli i was spoken to in spanish. There is a vast group of ethnicities that i can pass for. I wouldnt mind working for the C.I.A., infiltrating criminal empires in the far north, south, east, and/or west.

Any words of wisdom for your fellow members?
Anytime someone [usually drunk girls] reaches out to grab your beard or mustache you have to nip it in the bud. You firmly grab their hand and explain [or shout] "We ask first"! You will find that with a beard or handlebar people think its a novelty or some kind of free for all. We need to educate the weak. When eating hot dogs, put the condiments in the bun before the dog. This saves on napkins. It's a good thing!

Learn the creed:
This is my beard.
There are many like it, but this one is MINE.
My beard is my best friend. It is my life.
I must master it as I must master my life.
My beard without me is useless. Without my beard, I am useless.

Member Name: Brian Holoubeard
Location: Milwaukee
Beard Type (style): Lumberjack
Member since:2004 or 05? I forget. I never did get a membership card.
My first beard was the spring of 1997.

Do you feel like you are treated different with a beard (by:girlfriend/boyfriends, the public, your pets etc)?
People think I'm older and fatter then I am. I know this because once I shave it off in spring, people tell me I look like I lost weight. My wife doesn't mind it, as long as I shave my neck cheese. The BC connection, that is the beard-chest hair connection, is frowned upon in my household as well the general female population.

Who are your beard heroes?
Darwin, Haile Selassie, Fidel Casto, Karl Marx had a good beard, Ivan Pavlov

Which kung foo beard, was the best in your opinion? And would Chuck Norris make the top 100?
Sorry I can't support Chuck Norris for anything after that whole Huckabee thing. My favorite Kung Fu beard is the type that is super long, white and has eyebrows that are almost as long as the beard. I always thought, "How do they grow their eyebrows long?" It must be some sort of beard meditation I am yet to learn.

Any words of wisdom for your fellow members?
Lesson 1. Don't question it, just grow a beard, it might save your live one winter. Every year I debate if I should grow a beard. December hit, it starts to snow, and I find myself living in -5 degree weather. At this point, there is no question it's almost a necessity here is Milwaukee.

Lesson 2. The winter gods are watching, keep your beard till the last possible day of cold. At the end of the season, you guys are have fun beard shaving party. I see the pictures and think, "Are you kidding me? We still have 2 months of this weather". Then I debate when I should shave it, March turns to April, turns to May. I call this beard growing stage my winter protest beard. I think keeping the beard till the last snow fall or freeze somehow pleases the gods of winter.

Words of wisdom lesson 3. Beard Combs are important When we had our first child last year, I stole one of his baby combs and used it as a beard comb. It worked great. He didn't need it, he didn't even have any hair.

Member Name: Erin
Location: Portland, the beardiest city in the US
Beard Type (style): Faux Lumberjack, at times leaning toward refined pirate.
Member since: 2009

Do you feel like you are treated different with a beard (by:girlfriend/boyfriends, the public, your pets etc)?
Of course, but I've found most people really dig the beards after they've tried one on themselves. The most common reaction to my beards is an excited giggle. Ladies are often more drawn to my beard, perhaps because we've been excluded from beard society for so long. As for the boyfriend, he's mostly jealous because my beards are more luxurious than his... he's got some uneven cheek patches... poor kid.

Who are your beard heroes?
How about my top three bearded artists: Edward Gorey, Vincent Van Gogh, and Auguste Rodin.

If a dream material could be created for which you could work on your craft, what would that material be & would there be a negative side to it (devil at the crossroads type thing)?
Hmm, that's a tough call. I have deliberately chosen to use more goofy craft materials in creating the beards, and I really love that they don't look very realistic, so I wouldn't want a material that looked too much like a real beard. I've recently started experimenting with using more natural fibers, like roving (unspun wool), which looks delightfully rediculous. I'd say that's pretty close to my dream material.

Any words of wisdom for your girls, that may or may not appreciate the beard?
Give the beard a chance! Keep an open mind: there are some real beard masterpieces out there, on the faces of both ladies and gents. Let's work for beard equality, to improve the lives of cold cheeks everywhere!

Member Name: James Moore
Location: West Hollywood, CA
Beard Type (style): Short Boxed Beard
Member since: 2006

Do you feel like you are treated different with a beard (by:girlfriend, the public, your pets etc)?
It is very possible. Since becoming a member of Bearduary, several of the items you have listed in parenthesis, are often hard to keep around me for extended periods of time. It could just be a coincidence.

Who are your beard heroes?
Without question, Technoviking. No need for others.
CHECK OUT TECHNOVIKING

Which beard is cooler? West coast or east coast?
That sounds like a hater bait question. Hate the beard, don’t hate the bearded.

With my answer now properly prefaced, I have to say that the beard represents very different things on each coast, making a ‘coolness’ determination difficult.

For example, in the NorthEast a beard is almost a natural thing during the winter months. It’s a sign of masculinity, a source of warmth, and hopefully a distraction to others from how pale and pathetically out of shape you are.

In LA on the other hand, a beard can often be a thing that is feared. (Understand that Bearduary itself, often runs several weeks longer than winter. ) You need to put yourself in the shoes of that person who sees an A-list star in the local trades sporting a facial follicle exhibit, and can have the strength of character to say to themselves, “If that star can be so daring and unique letting hair grow on his face, well then, so can I!”

Any words of wisdom for your fellow members?
If you are trying to get across town (Hollywood) during rush hour, the natural instinct or even the instruction from your navigation system may tell you to take Santa Monica or Sunset Blvd., but a wise man listens to the words of the late Bette Davis, “Take Fountain, Darling.”.

Member Name: Ant Geernaert
Location: Sydney
Beard Type (style): Bush man style
Member since: Member since last year I think...

Do you feel like you are treated different with a beard (by:girlfriend, the public, your pets etc)?
I have lived my whole life modestly with only 10% of a personality. Now bearded, people treat me as though I have 110% personality, and think I am a cool guy. The downside is to some people I assimilate homeless bum because of my look, but I make a point of paying with $100 bills, even when buying just one can of Schlitz at a bar.

Who are your beard heroes?
Ned Kelly beard hero. Australian Bushranger turn outlaw turn folk hero of the 19C.

Collectively who can grow a better beard, Genesis or Gnemesis (Australia's best Genesis cover band)?
Well I certainly like to appreciate that Gnemesis made great the songs that Genesis fluffed up. But when it comes to the beards, can't beat the novelty of seeing Phil Collins with long hair and a big beard, maximum respect to all beards.

Any words of wisdom for your fellow members?
Any words of wisdom for your fellow members?

Member Name: Nick
Location: Colorado
Beard Type (style): Classy
Member since: When did it start? 05? 06?

Do you feel like you are treated different with a beard (by:girlfriend, the public, your pets etc)?
When I first started growing beards I got a lot of terrorist/Russian/Jesus comments. I also stopped getting my ID checked. Maybe beards are more common now but now I just get the secret head nod known only to other men with beards.

Who are your beard heroes?
My Dad, Serpico and billy goats.

If sang while bearded, can "Rocky Mountain High" be a tough song?
I only know four words so probably. I heard that your hair never stops growing after you die so when the day comes, I bet John Denver's bearded zombie could pull it off.

Any words of wisdom for your fellow members?
Find a woman who likes beards and stick with her, you wouldn't want to spend your life with someone who doesn't like beards so don't waste your time. Also always remember that you are the envy of every non-bearded man, even if they won't admit it.

Member Name: Jay Dean
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Beard Type (style): Red, Paul Bunyan-type
Member since: 2008

Do you feel like you are treated different with a beard (by:girlfriend, the public, your pets etc)?
People say I look more refined and take me more seriously. Sometimes people move to the other side of the street when I’m walking toward them. So, it depends.

Who are your beard heroes?
Certainly Rip Van Winkle. Otherwise, I think Harrison Ford looks pretty tough in The Fugitive.

Which presidential beard do have the most in common with Ulysses Grant or Chester Arthur? Explain your decision.
I was on the treadmill at 24 Hour Fitness thinking about this very question, when an elderly woman hopped onto the treadmill next to mine and began furiously flossing her teeth. Yes, flossing her teeth. On a treadmill. I got totally distracted and lost my train of thought. Thus, I have no answer to this one.

Any words of wisdom for your fellow members?
It’s like a long-distance race. Some days you’re going to feel frustrated with your beard and you’ll feel like you can’t make it to the end. Take it one day at a time. Use conditioner. Treat your beard as an extension of yourself. If you embrace your beard, others will follow. Show off your beard with confidence