The Mustache Diaries... continued

A few weeks have past since I said goodbye to my stubbly appearance, being clean shaven made me look young, fresh and most of all handsome. Being handsome has it's drawbacks; ladies throwing themselves at me, men want to be me, and children idolize me.

This new found fame has meant that I needed to escape, so a road-trip was in order. 4 Kayaks, 4 bikes, a truck and a nice long drive.

We're now in the North Island of NZ where I plan on showing off my upperlip, but unfortunately there are have been camera issues. A few photos to wet your appetite are below, will be back in home territory for the next posting and there is a few bold-moves coming from the NZ moustache camp...

You'll be amazed at the various colours that my mustache hairs have adopted!
Some will match my beautiful brown hair, others a blossoming shade of orange, others dark black...

Here comes the multi-coloured mustache parade...


The girls start swarming...


Nothing beats blowing a few bubbles to attract even more attention to the moustache.


A kayak trip isn't a kayak trip until the vehicle is almost overloaded...

Antz

A Word fom jHo....

Hey folks, I've been diligently devouring every bit of mustache fueled buffonery exhibited here, and I must say I'm already duly impressed and shamed with the performance I've seen here. Not since my 8th grade petition to have my middle school buy every student their own donkey have I seen so much heart go towards such a worthless endeavor!

But to those willing to look like fools must ultimately go my eternal respect, so keep it coming, the world is watching. Look for my biting, scathing, ego decimating comments on each of your posts soon! Remember, the more hateful they are, the more they are filled with my love!

Viva la mustache!

Joey "jHo" Hall

Nada surf, Nada haircut

So, I decided that, due to the repressive heat on the East Coast this week, and to further accentuate to prominence of whatever it is that continues to grow on my upper lip, I thought I might get a haircut. Of course, I’m broke, so I figured I would try to sell this old Lightning paddle that’s hanging around my house for twenty bucks. That’s enough to get a haircut and a sweet deal for the average used kayak paddle buyer. So, I went to a couple of barber shops here in town to see how I would fare in selling my wares, or the paddle at least .


I got kinda lost look’in for a place to get my haircut. The first place I happened upon looked cool, but I realized, after banging on the door for a few minutes, that it was out of business.

There didn’t appear to be allot of kayaker-types in this neighborhood either. Regardless, I pressed on hawking that paddle to anyone who would listen. I finally found a barber shop that looked like it had pretty decent haircuts to offer and a bevy of passersby for paddle-pitch'in.


I hate to say it, but, well I didn't sell the paddle. Worse yet, I still haven't gotten my haircut. This is pretty much what happened the whole time:

I won't tell y'all what that guy threatened to do to me when he turned around. Yeah, he can talk but he's no Samurai. I'm a freak'in Samurai!!! But, hey, it's cool. Check the 'stache Joe. Even the 1970's are jealous. Aww yeah.

Slim Jenkins Signs On

On January 18, 1985 Christopher Aaron Stafford was born into the world. He soon became known as the notorious Slim Jenkins. The Jenk as he now likes to be called resides in a barn just outside the small town of Charlotte, NC. He currently paddles anything plastic. He was recently spotted in a Rubbermaid Spacesaver Bin boofing gorilla on the Green River. Now he comes to dominate the sport of lip hair growth.

Waiting till the last minute

nothing better than waiting for the last minute.....

So my birth name is Nicholas Dowling, most just call me The Real Deal American Steele. I reside from the great state of ALABAMA! currently living in Charlotte, NC doin my thing.

I curently paddle a liquid logic Lil' Joe. I still consider myself a beginner, but don't underestimate the power of this lip. DUN DUN DUN!!!

look forward to the competition, may the best lip win.

vine ripened mustache; perfected with age

Jim Johnson. Baraboo, Wisconsin.


Jim paddles a 17' alumicraft and the butts of any little hooligans that get out of line. He's also had a mustache since he was in the seventh grade which was before most of you were born. Game on.

Mustache Season...the most wonderful time of the year

Will Johnson. Chicago Illinois. Wave Sport Z, NDK Explorer.

I've been waiting 2 long years for another shot at the title and I'm not going down without a fight. I heard somewhere that the way they make those bearded ladies in the circus is; they dry shave 'em for weeks. So that's what I been doing in preparation for the competition.

Lovin' it strong.

My name is Ben Kinsella, repin' it here in Bozeman with my Buddy Pat (also in the comp.) I'm not much of a facial hair dude, but since Pat is doing it, I feel the need to fury it up... I'm a lil under the influence writing this.... so sweet! let's party! I'm growing a stach! WOOOOOHHHHHH!!!!!!! Here's to the Montana Boys, we sleeps in caves and ditches, when the women are scarce will **** a bear cause we're mean son's o'b***hes!

Whammy!!

Patrick Rogers, 22 yrs, Bozeman Montana. I paddle the Pyranha M3, Liquid Logic Ronin, and don't forget about the worlds sickest kayak, the Original Eskimo Topo! Montana, where the Men are Men, and Soo are the Woman! So I ain't scared!

Let the madness begin...

Eben Smith, Norwich CT Dagger Nomad 8.5, Eskimo Salto (til today when it broke)
Well, here goes nothing. Let's see if I can stack up to the competition this year.

I accept your nomination......

Hey everyone, here are a few photos from my acceptance speech for the white water party's official Mustache King nomination...... Needless to say, I'll be paddling a long and hard campaign towards a bushy victory. Starting in Pittsburgh, PA, I will be riding in my bliss-stick RAD, or maybe my Jefe while blazing the campaign trail all the way to a victory in hair town. Remember to register with the white water party so you can rock the mustache on lip-hair day.

-Raymond Capone

Because there's a molester-stache in every one of us...

Greetings from the classic city, where the mustaches are as bountiful as the beautiful women.

The down-low:

Name: Brooks

Craft of choice: Mint-condition perception pirrhouette (because boofin' in a long boat is way better)

Interests: boofin', cycling, and facial hair

Dislikes: People who get in my way in the dining hall at school

I'm bringin' that stanky, in your face mustache pain. I will make Mike Tyson himself cry on bended knee at my feet with the 'stache i've got coming your way. Leave your half-hearted attempts at peach fuzz at the door fella's (and gals) because ima ' bout to let these hair follicles out of their cage...

I aim to make ol' Burt Reynolds proud come the end of may, so game on.

Brooks-Athens, GA

Mustache Growing - A Gentleman's Sport

Casey Cunningham



Fayetteville, WV


Wavesport Habitat 74 and an old All-Star.

I've decided to table my boyish good looks for the time being to grow one ridiculously fuzzy lip. I'm striving to grow the kind of mustache that will make babies cry.



Game on...

The Mustache Rides Again.

I was talking to my upper lip the other day... about real estate. Seems we're in the midst of a crisis– too many sub-prime something-or-others. Coupled with talk of recession, flooding over here, drought over there, it's all heading down hill. But I'm sitting on one of the primest 4.75 square inch pieces upper-lip real estate in Pittsburgh. Believe me I've had offers. But everyone knows property is worth even more when you develop it. Welcome to Mustache Ranch...

clean shave

Howdy from DC. I am a lost Southerner in a land without sweet tea or fried chicken. In fact, I don't even have a car here because of the parking craziness. This puts a damper on my kayaking, but I get by via watching videos, pretending in my bath tub, and growing strange patterns of facial hair. Originally, I am from Wilmington, NC and I grew up surfing and whitewater kayaking. Then someone suggested surf kayaking and I fell madly in love. Sadly, in the past year, I have only had the opportunity to surf kayak twice. I am hoping this blog will remind of the good ol days when I could go surf kayaking any time I wanted to. Anyway, here is a picture of me (above) with a 2008 penny. Of course, the penny does a better job portraying the size of my head than the extra date. So here is a picture of me with the Tuesday Washington Post, after I was taken hostage by this blog and smacked around a bit (below).
That's all for now. Happy mustache growing!!

Surprisingly ill equipped to play

Being of the lesser facial-hair growing persuasion, it's always possible I've bitten off more than I can chew. But what is the fun in doing things you know you can pull off?



Since I am already more or less clean shaven on a daily basis, I went the full nine and exactingly shaved everything else. I'm speaking, of course, of my big toes. It's true; I have a sprinkling of hair across the tops of my big toes. I ashamedly shaved it in high school, though more recently I have come to love the fuzz. So, with a tear in my eye this morning, we parted company.

To up the ante a bit more, I intend to chase after some of the world’s choicest monikers for the revered Moustache, fulfilling them to the utmost. I won’t let on which yet, but I will say that the mythic Lip Ferret would be a mighty undertaking indeed, as well as potentially life threatening.

Now I’ve been told that cold water/weather paddling will put hair on my upper lip, and while so far that’s done little but dissuade me, I fully intend to get out in my Wavesport EZG and Dagger Agent as much as possible for the next two months.

Game on, men.

---

Karja Hansen, Green Giant, Potomac Paddlesports, Washington DC

Let the growing begin

Before: Hey Mustachiers!

I'm Enda Cleary from Galway, Ireland. I've sported a wide variety of facial furniture over the past few years but for some reason never a mustache. This is about to change, I can grow facial hair thick and fast; in fact, I just grew a beard and shaved it off (tache excluded) in the last 5 minutes.

Right now I'm in Thailand in the middle of an epic Round the World journey with my girlfriend. Along with growing a sweet tache, I'm going do my darndest to encourage more people here to work on their facial hair - especially ladyboys. Imagine how much better this ladyboy would look with a mustache, the possibilities are endless!

Just for the heck of it, I decided to shave off my hair too, it'll be interesting to see how it grows back over the next 8 weeks

After:
Clean-Shaved: 01 June 2008

I've been kayaking for about 10 years. These days I paddle a Pyranha S8 and a chopped-up Enigma squirt boat although I have lent them to a buddy while I'm away so it's doubtful if I will ever see them again. When I'm not squirtin', you'll see me river-running or surfing.

Enough dilly-dallying, it's time to grow some serious mustaches!

What a month can do

What one single month can do. At the beginning of May I looked something like this:



Over 2000 miles of driving, 1 barber and a envelope to lock of love, 12 states, 4 razors, 3 days of kayaking lesson, 1 sisters graduation I now am ready:



Ok, now the about me-ish part: I'm Alex Kerney, and I live in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. I'm going to be a junior in the geology department at Colorado College in the fall. During the winter I volunteer at Arapahoe Basin Ski Patrol. During the summer I am the director of the Adventure Camp at the local Y day camp (I run the overnight part of a day camp). I've just gotten started whitewater kayaking, and I just got finished up with taking a 3 day Beginner II course down at Zoar Outdoor which was a hoot and I got to do this:



Now I am what most scientist describe as hooked. I've been sea kayaking most of my life, but really taught myself, which is probably makes it a good thing that my dad lost all our spray skirts. Now I'm trying to make some money this summer so I can get some whitewater gear of my own so I'm not always borrowing stuff from around school. That's called motivation people, It's on.

Isaac Ludwig - clean

I guess the first part of this competition allows us to do a couple of things. The first two are at the core of this competition... show off our ability to grow (or in this case shave) some sweet body hair and make a public spectacle of ourselves. Since there aren't any themes or special quests in this first post this gives us to chance to introduce ourselves... and in some cases put some shameless promotion out there… don’t worry, I’ll keep it to the industry.

I'm Isaac Ludwig, I currently work for Rafting in the Smokies in Hartford, TN. What I do there depends on the day, but usually revolves around sharing this part of the world with people who want to have an experience of some sort on the river. We just opened a new paddling shop, which gives me a great excuse to spend more time out of my day focused on kayaking... which is hard to complain about. I currently have a 5 boats... a 420, two broken boats (a Nomad & a Storm) that have given me a lot of plastic welding practice and two 'race' boats (a Dancer and a WaveSport MicroX). My dad taught me how to roll when I was 16, while I was working at Scout camp. He later taught our neighbor Scot Loveland how to paddle. Scot has recently launched a new product called Paddle Grip which you can see represented through his Vintage Threads line that I’m sporting in these photos.

Chuck Norris Wishes he could grow a Stache like ME!!!

What's up guys,

My name is Jake Etheredge, but my friends call me Jake Etheredge. I am officially gonna rock this contest!!! I may be the hariest individual ever created, I still can't believe I ever got dates. Chuck Norris wishes he could grow mustaches like me. Just to let you all know how dedicated I am, my wife is planning on cutting me off for the duration of the contest, but I will not back down.

I have been kayaking for a while. I currently have two primary boats. The first being a Pyranha 420 and the second being a Wavesport Habitat 74.

I live in Huntsville, AL. So if you guys see me on the Locust or the Ocoee wish me luck!!

Other competitors, be afraid!!!

Let the hair grow grow grow.....

I shaved off an over year long growing of my goat tee, NOW that's commitment. My name is Charles and yes I kayak. I have been surf kayaking for some years now. and occasional make my way to the river. I live currently in a hotel in Toledo OH but in a couple days I think I might be at my home in Myrtle Beach SC. Then I will be going to Richmond VA to show off my manhood of a stache that I will be growing. So beware, and the stache will be great.

                                                                                      

                                                                                      Freshly Shavian, for Day 1.

I'm gonna Rock your World!

I've always looked to up great men such as Bo Darville (The Bandit) and Magnum P.I. These men were true legends when it came to rocking the stache. With this contest my fellow competitors and I will go through a life changing process. Our lip hair will grow and our friends and family will be forever changed for they to will see the power and greatness of the mustache.

My name is Paul Hubbard from Southeast TN. This will be my 8th year as a guide on the Ocoee and my 13th year of kayaking. I respect my fellow competitors, but they should know That I am The Mustache king

This is my mustache, there is only one like it...

Finally, I get to compete in the contest that I was born to win. Take a good look fellow competitors and you'll start shiver'n in yer booties - a mustache could only improve this mug. Jeez, I hope I get fan mail. Do you think ther'll be fan mail??? I've been practicing my whole life for this opportunity. I hope to take my talents to the next level and become a professional mustached personality. I AM the next Mustache King.

As far as paddling is concerned, I'm actually kind of a newbie to whitewater kayaking in rivers. I spent allot of time in sea and surf kayaks a few years ago (and did some WW canoeing MANY years ago), but I've been re-discovering the sport on the river and I'm lov'in it. I paddle a speedy 'ol Jackson Super Hero of which I'm also a big fan.

I live in Washington, DC and, for the moment, you'll find me on the Potomac for the most part. I'm hoping to explore more rivers in Virginia and WV later this summer. If you spot me on the river and I look like I'm in trouble, assume the worst and, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE HELP ME!!! As for the mustache grow'in, I can handle that all by myself baby. Let the games begin.

The Moustache Diaries - Week One

Kia Ora, Hola, G'day, Hey Bro

As a proud participant in the 2nd Curt Davis International Mustache Contest I would like to introduce myself;

My name is Anthony (aka Antz) Longman, I reside in the South Island of New Zealand, way down in the southern hemisphere. I currently publish and edit CUMEC Magazine, which is the only dedicated whitewater kayaking magazine in New Zealand & Australia.

I've had a few kayaks over the last few years including a stunning Pyranha Inazone 232; I called her Shazlene that's pronounced Sha-zzzz-lean. Unfortunately Shazleen cheated on me with a travelling kayaker from some exotic sounding European country. Luckily I got a payout from her which allowed me to buy a replacement kayak. Since Shazleen left I've paddled a whole bunch of Bliss-Stick Boats, plus a saucy black Jackson All-star. Although right now I'm using a Bliss-Stick Specialist and Mac-1 to rock my socks off when I get on the water.

A warning to my fellow mustache growers, I have previously spent a year living in Costa Rica where I was trained in the ancient latin art of the 'Dirty Sanchez' and with this knowledge my expectations for this challenge are high. I urge other competitors to tread with caution as my 'adopted latin blood' delivers a mustache unlike any other.

Hasta luego

Antz
www.cumecmagazine.com


Scouting Retrospect on the Kawarau River... that's a damn big hole....

A ferocious handle-bar mustache in a previous life?

Let the Growing Begin!

And so it begins, the summer season of mustache growing where personal embarrassment and public humiliation is both encouraged and rewarded. I expect to be the youngest competitor in this summer's competition at a ripe 18 years. I have only a few years of experience in mustache growing but I'll be sure to make up for that in other ways. Competitors beware of the youthful energy and zeal that goes along with college paddling. I just finished my freshman year at Williams College in Massachusetts and couldn't pass up the opportunity for free gear and a summer filled with great stories.

I paddle two boats, the Riot Magnum 72 and Astro 54 and will be doing most of my paddling at the Lock 32 Whitewater Park in Rochester, NY this summer. Stop by and wish me luck if you're in the area!

Best of luck to everyone.
-MBG

Fresh faced and ready to rumble

Ah, the wholesome glare off a freshly shorn upper lip. I'm glad that's in the past and scaring all who cross my path is in my future! I am also hypothesizing that a combination of prenatal vitamins, Little Debbie Fudge Rounds, and bpa enhanced drinking water will fuel me to victory. Bring it on suckers. Say goodbye to Gaylord Focker and hello to the spanish channel anchorman. Ah, yah, yah, yah, yahhhh!

Questing for the perfect Mustache

To further educate the paddling community of the intricate inner workings of a Mustache Contest we have decided to disclose some info on how this finely tuned machine runs.

(you can't deny a man his perfectly good mustache)

Every 2 weeks competitors are required to provide at least 2 photos.
One of these photos needs to be a good close-up shot of your face so we can get a good look at your upper-lip.

The other photo will be from one of 3 possible bi-weekly "Quests", the topic of which will be provided to you at the beginning of each bi-weekly period.
You may choose 1 quest out of the three options, and no more than one. Each of these quest photos should (obviously) show you AND your mustache prominently.
Part of your score will come from your participation in these quests, obviously, the more creative you can be with them, the better, but you need to stay true to the spirit of each one.
Part of the nature of the contest is personal embarrassment, so the more willing you are to look like a fool, the better you will probably fare during the contest.

Over the span of the contest, you may also complete 3 (and no more than 3) Epic Quests from the Epic Quest list provided. You can do these at any time during the span of the contest, in addition to your manditory bi-weekly Quest. The Epic Quests are not required, but will give you bonus points when it comes time for our final judging.

Bi-Weekly Quests:
(Choose ONE per 2 week period)
Weeks 1-2:
A. You in front of a barber shop or hair stylist
B. At a hospital, Doctors Office, Dentists office, or other waiting room.
C. At a concert

(the latter weekly quests will be released as we move along)

Epic Quest list: (you may complete THREE of these over the course of the ENTIRE contest)
1. You (and 'stache) posing with someone famous
2. You underwater
3. You and your 'stache on your driver's lisence, student ID, or other identification card.
4. Indiana Jones and the Temple of 'Stache
5. Appear on TV either locally or nationally
6. Speaking in front of a large group of people
7. Doing a trick on a Skateboard or BMX
8. Wearing a HeeHaw Jones t-shirt
9. At Best Buy or Circuit City with one of the employees
10. Posing with one of the cast members of Night of the Living Donkey

Here's when competitors will be posting their photos:
June 1-7, cleanly shaven
June 8-21, mustache 1
June 22-July 6, mustache 2
July 7-19, mustache 3
July 20-31, mustache final

(Example of bad lip hair. Bad lip hair is sometimes good lip hair.)

Grow lip hair, win an IR Drysuit. It's almost that simple.

There is a season just beyond the horizon where the talents of kayakers and lip hair farmers join forces to become one big idiotic mess all over the internet. This season is known as the Curt Davis Invitational Mustache Growing Contest of Paddlesports. This year IR has title sponsored the event to bring you The Mustache King 2008. As title sponsor IR will be providing their top-of-the-line DoubleD drysuit to 1st place as the grand prize. Yip, you read correctly. All you gotta do is grow a stache and you will be styling it up dry as a bone in a brand new drysuit. Check out the video for a little motivation.
Click to download video

Remember, only a mustache demands respect and is truly rewarded.


Enter while there's still time. Visit TheMustacheKing.com