Dom.

Name: Dom
(Beard) Age: 4 months at current shape, but there’s been stuff going on for 10 years.
Do you miss your chin? I don’t have a chin. 
Beard grooming routine: No to grooming. I definitely do not straighten this beard.

This weekend I went along to Footscray’s Annual Beard Party. The tickets were a little pricey, but some of the guys had got some lovely bands to come down which jollied things along nicely. As you’d imagine, I met some cracking beard; Dom here being a fine example. I don’t mind telling you that for an enthusiast, this function was a little over-whelming and for much of it I focused on trying to get photos of bats above the stage Bat for Lashes were playing on. (It was a long day, there were beverages on hand and at the time I thought this would be both whimsical and clever…)

Anyway, more about Dom and that stuff on his cheeks. Isn’t it lovely! What that beard and terrific smile actually hide is a very sad story, which Dom’s friends enthusiastically leapt in to regale me with. Dom here was born without a chin, and until he was old enough to grow a beard he was at the receiving end of some terrible bullying. Quite possibly by said friends. More importantly, Dom’s plight highlights that beards can function on so many levels. This chin-piece has allowed Dom to go about a near-normal existence. Now that’s courage on the face of adversity.