Jenny's Beard Of The Month

Meet Mr. November! This is Matt and he is a heavily involved in the bearding community and is a bartender at Roxy & Dukes Roadhouse in New Jersey. For fun, Matt loves wrestling around with his four dogs and “sending drunk text messages.” Some bands he enjoys are Grateful Dead, Dinosaur Jr., My Morning Jacket, The Bangles and The Eels to name a few. This beardo also just celebrated his 7th wedding anniversary with his beautiful wife Sarah and they are expecting their first child this January! How exciting…a new little baby beardo or whiskerina! Read on to find out more interesting things about Mr. November and his whimsical beard!

Name: Matt Chrystal - “MC Matty C.” / “BMS Big Matty Smallz”

Age: 34

How long have you been growing your beard?: I have had facial hair since the 7th grade (cheesy peach fuzz caterpillar mustache still count towards growing a beard, right?!) and I have been growing this current grand mess somewhere between a year or two.

Why are you growing your beard?: Besides adding to my overall self proclaimed badassness and earning me some extra cool points with hipsters, hippies, and the homeless, my beard serves the better purpose of hiding my double-chin.

Have you won or placed in any competitions?: I was just recently a runner up for Full Beard Natural at the 2012 Coney Island Contest but only because I joined forces with Dustin Taksar of Connecticut to make one kickass beard that transcended state lines, united facial hair clubs annnnd … ok it was just gimmicky enough to grab the judges attention.

How did you find out about the bearding community?: I saw a commercial for Whisker Wars last summer and checked around on the internet and saw that there was not a facial hair club in my area so my friends and I decided to start our own (Garden State Beard & Mustache Society) and our own website (www.BeardNJ.com) in attempts to unite the facial hair enthusiasts of New Jersey like a BEARDED VOLTRON! So I got to meet a lot of really cool folks and make a lot of new close friends through that … But I have to say it was through Facebook that I was introduced to the larger community of beardos and stachers. Now when I go to a competition or a meet-up it’s like walking into a giant party where you know or are at least familiar with everyone there and it’s just always an awesome love fest of facial hair and fun… ohh and beer and whiskey!

Do you belong to any beard club?: I am the founder of the Garden State Beard & Mustache Society, and I am proud of that mainly for the fact that we have done a lot of work to raise awareness and funds for Jersey Animal Coalition. My friends who helped me start GSBMS are awesome and the people I have met through it are some of the coolest people in the world!

Is shaving anywhere in your future(I hope not!)?: A month or so ago I shaved off my mustache (gasp!) just to try something different. I am currently growing it back in but ya never know when that Amish look will make its triumphant return.

What is the best compliment your beard has received?: Last month, my father said to me “Damn it, Matthew look at that beard, when are you going to shave that thing?!!” … so if I’m still able to get a rise out of my dad in my thirties then I must be doing something right… Oh and the other day at the grocery store some guy told me I looked like “ZZ Top” … I bet Nobody with a Beard has ever heard that before!

Are there any competitions that we can find you at in the near future?: I am really looking forward to hanging out at the upcoming NYC Competition on Dec 8th, and perhaps I may even try out something new for the contest. And I am currently organizing and will again be co-hosting the 2nd Annual Garden State Beard & ‘Stache Competition on Jan. 26th at Asbury Lanes in Asbury Park NJ so stay tuned for details and of course KEEP GROWING!

Congratulations to Matt, our November 2012 Beard Of The Month! If you are interested in throwing your own beard in the ring, contact us here.