Frigid days, long nights and a damp chill so cold that even your insides are frozen, November in the northeast is nothing to brag about. But fear not, Bostonians, there’s a silver lining to this – it’s also Movember.
Beginning back in 2003 in Australia, the Movember movement started as a conversation between friends that bloomed into action. Growing a mustache for one month and asking friends/family to donate to their cause (drawing attention to men’s health issues).
The idea worked and sparked what would become a worldwide movement.
Now, the Movember Foundation runs official campaigns in 21 countries, with over 4 million supporters (men and women) supporting, fundraising, donating, discussing and growing all at once.
This year’s Movember in Boston starts with a treat – Nick Offerman, one of the mustache’s biggest advocates, is performing this Friday, Nov. 7, at the Wilbur Theatre. His new show, “Full Bush,” coincidentally matches Movember’s hairy theme as well.
“I mean full bush in defense of the natural Bohemian lifestyle that lets one’s body express itself in scent and pelt without applying too many constraints deemed necessary by fashionable society,” said Offerman in an interview on San Francisco Chronicle’s website, SFGate.com.
So as you begin to let your natural pelt free (and maybe to give you some inspiration), let’s honor the best mustaches of 2014.
|
10. Taylor David Rice of Local Natives |
Local Natives’s singer/guitarist, Taylor David Rice, broke onto the music scene with his mustache already in place. Hearty and looking effortless, Rice’s mustache reminds me of his music – uniquely playful and somehow untamed (in the very best of ways), but harmonic and strong. Excuse me while I go listen to “Hummingbird” on repeat.
MLB Hall of Famer turned broadcaster and studio analyst Dennis Eckersley’s mustache is as old as his career is long. Back in the ‘70s, he became a fan favorite while he was with the Cleveland Indians and later with the Red Sox, in part, due to his mustache. Now, the retired Major Leaguer discusses and analyzes baseball for a living instead of throwing one, but he’s kept his ‘stache. There’s also not a grey hair in sight – good on you, Eckersley. Keep doing your Mo’ thing, it’s working.
Leonardo DiCaprio, how you’ve grown! DiCaprio became
known for his babyface during his early Hollywood years, but times have changed and so has Leo. Sporting a beautifully-connected mustache and beard, DiCaprio showed off his mane at the 2014 UN Climate Summit, where he gave an impassioned speech asking for action against climate change.
|
7. Eugene Hütz of Gogol Bordello |
Eugene Hütz, the front man for the Gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello, has rocked several forms of his infamous handlebar mustache (the one below is my favorite). Most recently
seen playing a Halloween show in Houston, Hütz’s handlebar is still going strong. His persistence, or rather, the fact that he’s kept his handlebar going despite all time/space/etc., has earned him the seventh spot on our list.
|
6. Brian Wilson of the LA Dodgers |
I know, I know – he’s not a member of Red Sox Nation, but LOOK AT THAT HAIR. It can’t be denied that Brian Wilson has some of the most hardcore facial hair in Major League Baseball.
I mean, when even your bobblehead is rocking your facial hair, you know it’s iconic.
Actor, producer, singer and
Wolverine, Hugh Jackman takes the fifth spot on our list. While Jackman has sported some serious facial hair in the past (luxurious mustache and beard included), this peculiar style bumped him down a bit. Sorry, Hugh, but the low sides aren’t doing your jawline any justice. Jackman, however, still earns a spot on this list because grooming those straight lines probably ain’t easy.
According to Jackman’s Instagram, Hugh has shaved, let’s hope Hairy Hugh returns.
October brought back “The Walking Dead” and all of Andrew Lincoln’s zombie-apocalypse gloriousness. Rick’s beard has become
something of its own character. Its thickness and wildness symbolizing the untamed world they face. It’s been bloodied (by both his and foreign blood), wet with walker-infested water and survived all the typical zombie-apocalypse events. It literally helps put the “grime” in “Grimes.” (sorry, couldn’t help myself). And while the thicker the beard, the crazier things we’ve seen Rick do – the beard will be gone this season.
According to Lincoln, it means one of three things: 1) he found a razor, 2) the rest of the season is an extended flashback or 3) he’s dead.
Remember those roughly four weeks in the summer when EVERYBODY was into soccer and the World Cup crowded your newsfeed? Well other than annoying the hell out of everyone who isn’t a soccer fan (and didn’t pretend to be), it at the very least shed some spotlight Tim Howard’s holy mustache and beard, as well as his incredible goal-keeping abilities. The dude is no joke – with 16 saves at the end of his time at the 2014 World Cup, Howard
set a new world record. His thin-but-groomed mustache, which connects to a full beard, deserves just as much praise as he does. Sorry, Beckham, but Howard’s got the market on soccer players with facial hair. Not even
your best handlebar can knock him down.
No mustache list would ever be complete without Nick Offerman. Solid, thick and never betraying a secret – Offerman’s mustache is a beauty to behold. I like to think that it smells like peppermint and tobacco. It’s most certainly a well-maintained piece of art. In his woodshop, Offerman sells
mustache combs and a
mustache cultivation kit – all the essentials for the mustached man.
Tom Selleck, you handsome devil, you’ve placed number one our list and how could you not. The almost 70-year-old actor has had his mustache since his “Magnum, P.I.” days, but you would never be able to tell. Still dark, thick and neatly-trimmed, Selleck’s mustache is like a fine wine – it’s only gotten better with age. As his October interview with GQ
states, he “probably has whiskers in that ‘stache older and maybe even wiser than you.” So keep rockin’ the ‘stache, Selleck, you’re still able to make the guys jealous and the ladies swoon.
