At 6 p.m. on Saturday, the sidewalks surrounding The Loft, 414 E. Michigan Ave., in Lansing, were overtaken by facial hair proudly displayed by men and women alike.
But the colonial-costumed people weren’t sporting any sort of typical beards — rather ornately designed twists and turns of hair. Women bore elaborate mustaches and men had intricately fashioned beards that grew at least a foot off their faces, all to compete in the first annual Great Lakes Regional Beard and Mustache Championship.
Hosted by Lansing nonprofit Great American Fierce Beard Organization, or GAFBO, the event brought men and women from across the country to show off their carefully sculpted facial fuzz.
The organization’s vice president, Lansing resident Kyle Muston, said it takes true dedication to grow a contest-worthy beard.
“(I like) the biggest, burliest, gnarliest beard,” he said. “There are some guys who keep their beards well groomed but I like the giant beard — like 3 feet long. Bigger the better in my book.”
Muston said the idea behind GAFBO started in 2002 when a group of MSU students made a bet over who could grow the most impressive beard.
“They grew for six months, and went to the bar and bombarded patrons about who had the fiercest beard,” he said.
The bet didn’t evolve into an established club until a few years later when a friend of the group was diagnosed with prostate cancer, Muston said. It was when their friend needed to fund his treatment that the group realized the fundraising potential behind their beards.
“John started growing his beard to raise money for that,” Muston said. “Their buddy had surgery and the cancer removed, so it pushed (GAFBO) to where we are today.”
MSU alumna Kate Buckler, a former roommate of the founders of GAFBO, said supporters reached out immediately.
“I was there for the original ‘I’ll kick your beard’s butt,’” she said. “The beard community is a tight-knit group.”
The organization now meets once a month in various Lansing venues and hosts beard-related events to raise money for various charities. Proceeds for the Great Lakes Regional Beard and Mustache Championship benefit Haven House and the Lansing Cultural Exchange Program.
The contest was split into several separate judgings, including natural beards, styled beards and sideburns. Micki Martin, a female competitor from Bellefontaine, Ohio, said she has competed five times in contests across the country under the category fake-realistic, and found her way into beard culture by chance.
“I went as a spectator, and it just kind of fit, ” she said.
Travis Oliver, who began competing more than three years ago in Virginia, said getting involved in contests was an inescapable obligation.
“When you grow a good beard, it finds you,” he said.
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