A Social Network for Men With Beards and Those Who Want to ‘Stroke Them’
In the age of lumbersexuals and their subsequent rise to inexplicable desirability, it was only to be a matter of time before the dating community got its hands on the market.
Enter Bristlr. While it’s not officially a dating app, it sure sounds like one, touting itself as a social network that pairs bearded men with folks who “would like to stroke them.’’ Given the high demand for men with lush amounts of facial hair (who may or may not also wear flannel, carry an axe, and have a blue ox named Babe), it might all just be coincidence, or gravy, or both, but regardless, it’s quite funny.
Bristlr explains:
“We shifted the focus from hook ups to a more light-hearted, warmer-in-winter kind of thing. Instead of expecting to go home with someone, we hope to have a nice chat and share a mutual admiration of a beard or two. We like beards. Beards are great.’’
Founded by a 28-year-old software developer named John Kershaw of Manchester, England, the site projects a sense of jest—sort of.
Kershaw admiring some beards.
“At first, I thought it would be a hilarious joke,’’ Kershaw, who is bearded, told Boston.com. “But when I posted the idea to Facebook, friends said, ‘Haha that’s hilarious, but really, you should try it.’’’
Kershaw created a dummy page featuring a mock-up of the network in mid-October, and “forgot about it for a few days,’’ only to come back to see multiple people had signed up for the pre-launch. Feeling as though his bluff had been called, he designed a more well-rounded prototype, launching officially later that month.
Overall, Kershaw says Bristlr’s user base is evenly split between bearded people and those who want to meet them, which was a surprise given he “assumed it would be 90 percent people with beards, and then a small minority of those seeking them.’’ Since the site’s launch, Bristlr is closing in on 60,000 members worldwide. Sign-ups continue to blossom in largely metropolitan areas, occasionally following a regional media blitz.
Kershaw said he first saw a boom in the Netherlands, then San Francisco, and New York. He said the membership clusters are “totally random,’’ but said an influx of users in Brazil told him Bristlr filled a niche they were seeking—as beards are considered very fashionable in the area, but not very common. “East coast America is more a fan of beards than west coast,’’ he adds. “And of course, Canada.’’
The Boston area has more than 1,000 active members, says Kershaw. Optimism says that number will grow. When I signed up for an account yesterday afternoon, I found myself presented with a bounty of bearded gentlemen with usernames like “Beardtropolis’’ and “Beardventurer’’ within 12.4 miles (or 20 kilometers, as the metric-system-favoring site says) of Boston. Shaggy, but not shabby.
Kershaw says he prefers Bristlr not become a dating site because he wants to keep a “less serious vibe’’ where members feel no pressure to do more than check out a few beards, should they please. However, some members and friends have told Kershaw they’ve gone on successful dates via Bristlr. Android and iOS apps are available, but currently buggy—something Kershaw aims to fix as membership grows.
Oh, and in case you were curious, the scholarly term is “pogonophile,’’ a.k.a. “an admirer of beards.’’ Unfortunately, when it comes to dating app names, it doesn’t quite roll off the tongue.
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