Jack Passion: Mane of a Man

Jack Passion is a 25-year-old writer, musician and the 2007 World Beard and Mustache champion, courtesy of the fiery red whiskers that extend nearly to his belly button.

Local facial hair competitions that are held annually (with the world competitions held biennially, in various cities around the world) attract wicked sideburns, 70’s porn ‘staches, ZZ Top beards and facial hair enthusiasts from all over the world. Think Miss America and slap a beard on it. Trade in the hairspray, make-up and bikinis for wax, combs and outrageous costumes.

In this world, Jack Passion is like a God.

This past March, Passion defended his beard at the local New York City Beard and Mustache Championships (NYCBMC) in Brooklyn, winning the “Full Natural Beard” category. This competition likens itself to the hype and prestige of Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest with a $500 prize and categories like full beard, sideburns, patchy beard and recession beard (for those who have been growing their hair since September). The event is packed with entertainment from bearded comedy groups, bearded bands and even a beardless burlesque trio.

Now, he’s releasing his first book, Jack Passion's Facial Hair Handbook and his solo singing debut At the Opera. These projects, he says, set out to address and rectify some of the misconceptions about beards.

“We have all these facial hair stereotypes. That it's dirty, unkempt, smelly, a sign of laziness. That's why it's so awesome when someone pulls off some facial hair with class. I want to bring it back from the fringe, and let the everyday man feel comfortable with who he, naturally.”

His book, Jack Passion's Facial Hair Handbook, is a handbook for the bearded, complete with Jack’s personal tricks and grooming tips. “My book goes through the lifecycle of facial hair. It's as much a motivational book as it is a straight follow-the-steps guide book of grooming. What I focus on is arming the modern man with the theory and knowledge to grow and wear good, stylish facial hair.”

Inspiration stemmed from the volume of questions Passion received on growing beards. “It turns out there isn't any collected body of knowledge about the subject. There used to be, but in the last 75 years or so, wearing facial hair has fallen out of favor,” he says.

While Passion plans to keep his beard for a while, he wants to pursue projects outside his facial hair. “The beard gets me a lot of attention,” he says, “but I am so much more than the beard.”

His CD, At the Opera, plans to prove just that. “At the Opera is a concept album based on the Impressionist painting by Mary Cassatt. I am not afraid to be dramatically epic as I walk the line between rugged American and expatriate poet/author,” Passion said.

While Jack won’t be singing about his whiskers, he won’t leave the beard too far behind. Expect to hear “power anthems a la Bon Jovi and The Boss set on a Southern California beach played by cowboys from San Antonio,” says Passion. “It's party rock with some island roots. Picture Sheryl Crow at the beach with a huge beard.”

Despite recent acclaim, Passion’s beard success didn’t always come so naturally.

Born to blue collar parents in San Francisco, Passion’s beard days began with an unfortunate adolescent shaving incident that left him cut and bloody. “Maybe that action encouraged me to grow facial hair, or maybe it made me never want to shave,” Passion said. And the hair has been growing ever since.

Passion said he had a normal childhood, although he experienced difficulties “living in a suburb where when anyone grows the slightest bit of facial hair, it throws the town average way off.” And Passion was about to tip the scales.

At 19, Passion began growing his fiery red beard. Soon after, he solidified his spot in the facial hair community by taking his beard professional.

He entered his first beard competition on Father’s Day in 2005. And won. Passion then went to Berlin for the 2005 World Championships and placed third. “That kind of put me on the facial hair scene,” Passion said. And after two years of preparation, he traveled to Brighton, England in 2007 for the World Championship, winning the title for “Full Beard Natural.”

At the World Championships in Brighton, Passion sported, for the first time, what would soon be his signature costume: a tailored white suit. While many others dress themselves in outrageous capes, turbans, or hats, Passion keeps it simple with a sleek white suit. “I've always thought it takes a lot of balls to wear a white suit. I went to England in it, and I guess I looked like an 1800s man at a wedding. I was beard of the ball, so to speak. Since then, people have expected me to show up in and take pictures with them wearing the suit.”

Early success at these competitions thrust Passion into the spotlight and made him a celebrity. Matthew Saccoman, organizer of the NYCBMC, met Jack at the NYCBMC in 2006. “He was dressed as a pirate and I was dressed in my work clothes. My first impression was shock and righteousness. I wasn't worthy.”

Despite admiration from fellow bearders, not everyone appreciates Passion’s mane. “I've had people grab their kids and jay walk across the street so they don't have to walk by me, but I make a point to look good and smile and be nice. Having a big beard just makes it easier for them to remember that you were nice to them.”

Taking this to heart, Passion hopes to revolutionize the way people think of facial hair—both those who have it, and those who don’t.

Passion will be returning to competition this year for the 2009 National Beard and Mustache Championships in Anchorage, Alaska in May.

Many think that Passion has a good chance at nabbing another title. “He is a contender and it's obvious that he's in it for the long run. A beard is only able to portray so much, but Jack is the whole package.”

To see more of Jack Passion, visit his website at http://jackpassion.com/

Mane of a Man: Jack Passion, Beard Champion (Condensed Version)

(http://www.fearthebeard.org)

Jack Passion is a 25-year-old writer, musician and national beard champion. That’s right, a beard champion. Passion is the 2007 World Beard and Mustache champion courtesy of the red whiskers that extend nearly to his belly button. The Beard and Mustache competitions are held annually, attracting wicked sideburns, 70’s porn ‘staches, ZZ Top beards and facial hair enthusiasts from all over the world. Think Miss America and slap a beard on it. Trade in the hairspray, make-up and bikinis for wax, combs and outrageous costumes.

And in this world, Jack Passion is like a God.

Passion entered his first beard competition on Father’s Day in 2005. And he won. Soon after, Passion went to Berlin for the 2005 World Championships and placed third. And after two years of preparation, he traveled to Brighton, England in 2007 for the World Championship, winning the title for “Full Beard Natural.”

Since his recognition, Passion has been working on a lot of upcoming projects that he hopes will revolutionize the way people think of facial hair—both those who have it, and those who don’t.

At the end of March, he will release his first book, Jack Passion's Facial Hair Handbook and his solo singing debut At the Opera.

Passion’s book is a handbook for the bearded, complete with Jack’s personal tricks and grooming tips. “My book goes through the lifecycle of facial hair. It's as much a motivational book as it is a straight follow-the-steps guide book of grooming. What I focus on is arming the modern man with the theory and knowledge to grow and wear good, stylish facial hair.”

While Passion plans to keep his beard for a while, he is looking to step out of his bearded comfort zone. “The beard gets me a lot of attention,” he says, “but I am so much more than the beard.”

His CD, At the Opera, proves just that. “At the Opera is a concept album based on the Impressionist painting by Mary Cassatt. I am not afraid to be dramatically epic as I walk the line between rugged American and expatriate poet/author,” Passion said.

While Jack won’t be singing about his whiskers, he won’t leave the beard too far behind. Expect to hear “power anthems a la Bon Jovi and The Boss set on a Southern California beach played by cowboys from San Antonio,” says Passion. “It's party rock with some island roots. Picture Sheryl Crow at the beach with a huge beard.”

In a New Digital Age, People Will Not Be Outdated

Watch out for websites taking on their own life. Be prepared to learn new things. This was the advice Diane Dragan, Online executive editor of Every Day Rachel Ray gave to journalism students at New York University while discussing the possibilities of a new digital age.

Dragan, who has been working online for more than 10 years, has seen the digital age evolve since its birth with the dot-com boom. And despite the fact Reader's Digest recently cut 8% of its workforce, they remain optimistic about the need for professional journalism, Dragan said.

“People equate online with putting up anything you want,” she said. “But this stuff still needs some editing.” This need for editors and a journalistic eye is temporarily reassuring to journalists that are worried about the death of print journalism.

(http://designxpress.wordpress.com/tag/hearst-corporation/)

Still, amateurs are on the rise as the digital age is ushering in non-professionals, looking to get the reader involved and to give readers space to express themselves.

Dragan said that while many publications will have to succumb to financial pressures and move online, traditional journalism will never go away. “People coming in with good ideas are always going to be valuable,” she said. Dragan suggests changes thatengage the reader by giving them a place to voice opinions and pitch ideas, will prevail. In a time of new ideas and alternative models, it is Dragan’s belief, she said, that people will never be outdated.

City Budget Lede

New York City’s Independent Budget Office proposed restoring the commuter tax as a potential budgeting option. The tax previously equaled .45 percent of wages earned in the city by commuters and would generate an estimated $3.1 billion by 2013.

I must say, this city budget lede writing was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. I couldn't decide between writing a lede on what had the most impact, what was most recent or which proposed budget option would save the most money. And trying to navigate through that document AND read all the potential options as well as write the lede in 30 mins was a ridiculous time crunch. I think I escaped in 28 mins. Whew.

The New York Times is Here to Stay

(http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_1943_nytimes.htm)

The New York Times will not be going away any time soon, according to Jill Abramson, managing editor at the New York Times.

Adam Playford, Gallatin senior and former Washington Square News editor – in – chief, introduced Abramson at the Albert Gallatin Lecture Series,sponsored by New York University, with a quip about his journalism future. “2009 isn’t a good time to be a graduating senior. The only thing worse is to be a graduating senior going into journalism,” Playford joked. “What we need now is hope.”

The past few years have not looked promising for the life of newspapers. According to the American Journalism Review, over 15,000 journalist positions were cut in 2008, with many more coming in 2009 as a result of the digital age.

“The New York Times is highly profitable,” Abramson commented, “With 830,000 people still paying for print, we are going to be around for a long time.”

She brushed aside any thought of the Times existing solely online, saying that the Times isn’t rooted in any platform, whether it be print or digital and because of the Times global readership, the paper was “much better equipped to whether the storm.”

Abramson’s words seemed to reassure students and professionals in attendance about the need for newspapers. “Americans have a genetic need for news,” Abramson stated.

Much like everyone else, Abramson is looking to the future. She mentioned that the future is sure to hold yet another revolutionary “gadget” within the development of news.But regardless of any technological developments in the future, Abramson made note that the Times would stick to what it knows how to do best: quality reporting. “We know our readers,” Abramson said, “Our strategy is journalism."

My First Love

I like to think of journalism as a love-hate relationship. At times, things are going fantastic. Journalism and I are getting along great, nice walks through the park, holding hands, very lovey-dovey. But other times, oh god. We have knock down, drag out brawls. Throwing punches, screaming at the top of our lungs over how I want the lede to be longer but Journalism wants to keep it to a tight 33 words.

Enough of the personification. Truly, I love journalism and I am continuing to learn more about it every day. And in the few weeks I have been in the Inquiries class, my mind has been filled with all sorts of information about how to write, where to look, what to look for, when to look for it, who to talk to, why it is a story. Ah yes, the 5W's and 1H; the two letters that will define the rest of my life.

And I must admit, I have never had a blog before. I'm not sure about the format or the length or what exactly you are supposed to write, so I will consult the tiny checklist Hamburg gave us for things to talk about here.

Lessons I have already learned about myself/Challenges I have faced in Journalism:

1. I cannot write a hard news lede to save my life. I'm working on it. I'm trying. For some reason, my mind wants to spit out alternative ledes. No matter how hard I try to convince my mind that the story requires a hard lede, it shouts back that they are too formulaic and boring. What a wacky mind I have.
2. 33 words for a lede is incredibly tough for me. I bet you can tell that I am a little verbose.
3. Interviews are just as awkward as I always knew they would be. And that's the exciting part. Walking away from a totally weird interviewing experience makes me chuckle and definitely puts a smile on my face.
4. Trying to decipher handwritten notes after an interview is the hardest task I have ever faced.
5. I have never used a tape recorder in an interview....yet. I'm sure when I do, it will make me feel like a true reporter.
6. The history of Journalism fascinates me more than anything.
7. When someone stares at you for a long time, waiting for you to respond, you obviously missed a question they asked because you were furiously writing everything they said.
8. I realized I need a better way to close the interview. It is always so weird.
9. I also need to work on asking better questions in an interview. I need to DIG DEEPER.
10. I need to remember, after an awkward interview, my first misquote or after ripping my hair out after realizing I have 40 pages of notes and nothing to work, that Journalism is fun. NEVER FORGET.

I cannot wait to do more reporting and produce some work I am really proud of. For all our quabbles, anniversaries and divorces, I will love Journalism until death do us part.