World Beard Champion

David Traver of Anchorage, Alaska won the World Beard Championship on Saturday with his 20.5 inch beard. 300 competitors were in Anchorage for the 2009 World Beard and Moustache Championships, and about half were competing for the beard award. Traver’s beard was dyed several colors and woven into a snowshoe shape.

With his beard stylist, Ledjha Carson, Traver months ago started brainstorming a beard shape that was “out of the box,” he said. They considered eagle wings, moose antlers and a sled dog team before settling on the snowshoe. It took Carson 90 minutes to weave it the day of the competition.

“She wanted it right. She was very meticulous,” he said. “But my neck is still stiff.”

Traver, who is 43 and works as a driver for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, got into facial hair competition locally about 10 years ago with the Mr. Fur Face competition during Fur Rendezvous. After that, he got involved with the South Central Alaska Beard and Moustache Club, which bid to bring the international championships to Anchorage this year — beating out Liechtenstein. He dedicated his win to his father, David Traver, who died in September

Traver is willing to shave off his award-winning beard to raise money for his favorite charity, Covenant House. Link -via Arbroath

(image credit: ACVB / Rebecca Coolidge)