A lot of guys out there are proud of their facial hair. To some it's a sign of commitment, a marker of good grooming, or a straight-up announcement of their own virility. But to a certain group of men, it's more than that—much more. We're talking about the competitive beard-growing community. That's right, facial hair as sport. For this set of stubble-inclined men, what grows under their nose is their ticket to major bragging rights at events like this coming Saturday's 2015 Just for MenNational Beard & Moustache Championships in Brooklyn, NY. With waxed tips and balm-laced beards at the ready, grown men parade their facial hair like prize purebreds for victory in categories like "Full Beard with Styled Moustache" and "Amish Beard." Naturally, the entire setup had us wondering what life is like for an average guy on the circuit. So we rang up Nate "Chops" Johnson, who's earned more than forty bearding titles, to find out what everyday life is like for a guy with trophy-worthy facial hair.

So, when did you get into beard competitions?

I started a little over over four years ago. I must've seen an event page on Facebook for a competition. I'd seen the pictures taken at the World Beard Competition before that and people were always like, "Oh, you should do that." I thought it was just weird and quirky enough for me to do. I did it as a joke, and here we are four years later—I’ve done over 30, maybe around 35 competitions.

Does your beard get in the way of your day job? Some places have restrictions on that kind of thing.

No, not at all. They love it. I work at Warner Brothers animation—you don’t have to look nice to come into work with a bunch of artists. They don’t really care what you look like. The big boss thinks it's cool—you know, high-fiving me in the office.

Do they know about all the competitions?

For Nationals I’m gonna tell them because it’s a bigger one. They’re pretty excited about it in general. There’s been some coverage in the news and somehow my photos got thrown in there and then people are like, “What are you doing there?” They’ve kind of discovered it.

What's dating like? How do people respond usually?

I've not had a single complaint. People are kind of weary of it, but once they get into it they like it. And I'll leave it at that. The weirdest thing a girl has said to me is that it reminds her of her dad and I usually just say he sounds like an awesome guy!

People will just walk up and grab my face, and i’m like, "Dude that is my face! Come on!"

What's your regular routine for taking care of your beard?

I wash it every other day to every two days. I just put oil and deep conditioner in it and comb it through to make sure it looks nice. You know, as much as i like the attention in the beard community, I’m a natural introvert, so if I fix it up even bigger it gets even more attention and I don’t really like that. If for some reason I have to go into public and my beard is already up it’s just a nightmare. I had to ride the subway in L.A. with it recently and trying so hard not to make eye contact with people was really hard. People will just walk up and grab my face, and i’m like, "Dude that is my face! Come on!" I realize to them it kind of looks like a costume so they don’t think about it. I don’t get mad about it—I huff and puff and have a beer and then get over it.

When was the last time you were completely clean-shaven?

About five years ago. The first competition I did, I probably had a two inch beard. I saw that full beards meant two foot to three foot beards and that just wasn’t the category I belonged in. Not because I’d lose, but because that category didn’t make sense, so I shaved my chin and left the rest. It’s grown ever since. My sideburns are probably close to 2 feet now. I didn’t know how to maintain them without chopping them, and I've been winning so I haven't complained or cut them.

Doesn't it get in the way?

It does. I got over the annoyance of it a long time ago. I’ve had some facial hair ever since I can remember. I’m kind of used to the annoyance of it. But yeah it does get in the way, I wake up every morning with it around my neck and it's all sweaty. In the summer I’ll braid my sideburns down to keep it off my neck, but that’s just the hazard of having a beard.

What do you do to gear up before a competition?

I'll have my outfit picked out and everything set ready to go. I get in the shower with a shower beer and calm down then I fix it. I'll take the hair dryer and blow it back and hairspray it until it’s the shape I want and then I walk out the door. The shower beer is very important. Whatever I can do to keep my nerves as calm as possible. As much as I’ve done this and as many times as I’ve been on the stage, it’s very nerve-wracking for me.

"It’s really all about brotherhood and camaraderie."

Do you have an arch nemesis in the beard world? A rivalry?

Not really. In fact, even though we both have sideburns and we always end up being in a different category, there's M.J. Johnson. He’s got the big sideburns that curve up like a giant smiley face. We don’t have a rivalry, but we both have sideburns. I cheer him on, I hope he cheers me on. It’s really all about brotherhood and camaraderie. My deal is that we can go on stage now and go have beer with everybody later. It’s all very very friendly competition for the most part. But sometimes competition really brings out the weird side of human nature. It’s interesting to be one-on-one having a beer and then the next thing you know somebody is in competition mode and then they’re just the biggest assholes.

Is there a celebrity aspect to this world? Do you have fans?

There’s a certain celebrity to the bearding world, and I’m definitely part of that. People will show up because they want to meet me and other more well-known names in the community. Most everybody has been friendly, some people are a little quirky. If there's stalking usually the stalking happens over Facebook, and usually with people from Brazil or Germany. I don’t know why there specifically.

What keeps you coming back to the competitions?

Even though it is basically a dog show for men’s faces, the bottom line—the root of it all—is about the brotherhood and camaraderie with each other. People book travel to come in before and to stay later, so there’s plenty of time to party outside the competitions. That’s what I like about it. I also like that it’s weird enough to make people go "WTF."

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