The Revival of the Wolek’s Beard and Mustache Contest The Revival of the Wolek's Beard and Mustache Contest

POLINA SHEMANOVA: Would… You… Look… at… that…

More than 35 participants gathered at the Syracuse Polish Home for a good cause. While some contestants were from Upstate New York, some traveled more than a thousand miles to participate. So, who was Hank Wolek and why did he start this contest?

RON WOLEK (Hank’s son): My grandfather was an all-star athlete here in Syracuse, New York and he used to bowl here. So that was part of when the philanthropy that he did do is he would sponsor local teams.

RON WOLEK (Hank’s grandson): He decided to have a mustache contest over lent, so the men got together. They paid 50 cents a week as dues, and they grew mustaches from shaved face to full mustache.

SHEMANOVA: 70 years later, the bowling alley at the Polish cultural center needs some major repair. That’s why all the profit made from this year’s contest will go towards the reconstruction. So, who decides which beard and mustache are the best? Well, that’s why contests have judges who have experience in the field. Robert Baker has won multiple national beard and mustache championships. He is also very active on social media and has over 24 thousand followers on Instagram.

ROBERT BAKER: We will sit down with a guideline for each one of the categories and score the different contestants as they come through. There will be a reference to the category, but you want to look at not only their facial hair but how they present themselves as well.

SHEMANOVA: While you might think this competition only attracts men… what if I tell you that women can participate too? Yes, you heard her right. Whiskerina is a female category that allows women to compete.

YOLANDA BRZOSTOWSKI: Oh, well, can women participate? And I am like, yup! Yes, they can! And they were like, what?

SHEMANOVA: Brzostowski couldn’t believe herself while explaining her colleges about the inclusivity of this contest. While it might sound unusual for people new to the professional beard and mustache world, contestant all the way from Kentucky Haylee Norcross says whiskerina community is growing.

HAYLEE NORCROSS: I have a lot of amazing whiskerina friends in the community and they were just like, come on, participate.

SHEMANOVA: But what do you make your beard out of?

NORCROSS: You can use your real hair, you can use hair and do it how I did it or use friendly materials that you have laying around your house or you bought to make something fun and creative.

SHEMANOVA: For local whiskerinas like Anne Ruggeri, it was her very first contest. First and best as she secured the first place among other females.

ANNE RUGGERI: We saw that this was a fundraiser for a bowling alley and it’s like why not do a bowling alley theme. And the best thing was to find a t-shirt that said “the best bowlers have beards”.

SHEMANOVA: And isn’t that even more fun participating together with your brother? John Ruggeri took part in full beard category 12 inches and longer.

RUGGERI: This is his first non-special Olympic, in fact, that he was a competitor, and he did great. He loves his beard.

SHEMANOVA: Among other tough competitors in his category, John was presented the achievement award. Every participant has their own story. So here is our rookie Kurt Bessel from New Haven, the one in Oswego County, who uses absolutely no product to style his mustache. It’s in his genes.

KURT BESSEL: My grandmother said, oh no, there is a story and went and dug out an old photo. And the photo goes back three generations from my grandmother, and it’s my grandmother’s family and all of the man had very large handlebar mustaches.

SHEMANOVA: But his mustache style was once determined by his occupation.

BESSEL: For a long time, I had a beard with it and when I decided I wanted to become a firefighter and be an interior firefighter I had to shave my beard off in order to wear a mask.

SHEMANOVA: Circling back to the Woleks, who now live in Florida, Hank’s son also had a story to share. Working at Disney for nearly 30 years, he wasn’t allowed to grow a beard. But little did he know…

WOLEK (Hank’s son): Four months later, Disney opened it up and let everybody grow a beard. Oh man, they have long hair and everything and I said, oh boy. But I was 70 years old, I was ready to retire. So, I started growing it just because I could.

SHEMANOVA: The Wolek family knows quite a bit about their hair-itage. Both Ron’s wife and his son are professional hair and makeup artists. Shh, they also made sure all Disney Santas looked identical as Hank’s grandson worked in California and his daughter-in-law was based in Florida.

WOLEK (Hank’s grandson): I specialize in Santa Claus beards, and I still do hair and makeup for film and television.

SHEMANOVA: And the more you talk with the contestants, the more fascinating stories you learn. Because beard and mustache enthusiasts have their own community – their family.

In Syracuse, I’m Polina Shemanova, NCC News.