Sly Bald Guys Forum
New Member Section => Introductions => Topic started by: TV guy on March 29, 2013, 10:25:12 AM
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Hi All. This is my first post and introduction, though I’ve been something of a lurker. Forgive me the length of this story, my “hairstory”.
I’ve had a weird love/mostly hate relationship with my hair.
As a kid in the sixties I got regular short back and side home haircuts; hated those because dear ol’ Dad used really cheap clippers that pulled off as much hair as it cut off. Ouch!
In the early seventies, after a big fight with Dad, I was allowed to grow my hair. That was the fashion and of course, locker-room wisdom had it that you couldn’t get a pity f*#k if you had short hair. Actually the very few short haired guys did OK, but I digress. Suffice to say that pictures from that era evoke a “what was I thinking” reaction. I experimented with small changes in length and facial hair but it was still bad looking. One day, on impulse, as a young adult, I went to the local hair place and asked for a “real short haircut” and got a way-too-long hacked up “brush cut” – sort of. I couldn’t grow the long hair back fast enough. It was bad. A few years later; it took that long to get over the first “real short haircut”; I was in the (then) small town I grew up in. The old barbershop was still there. I hadn’t been in there for years. Everybody knew that those three Italian barbers were hair butchers so nobody who had or wanted long hair went there. On impulse, wanting a change, I went in to get a “real short haircut”. Even with their reputation I wasn’t taking any chances. I figured if I asked for a crew cut or a brush cut, I might get a replay of the last “real short haircut”. I pointed to the picture and asked for a butch cut …and shave off the beard. Boy did I get a real short haircut! It didn’t look that good though certainly not worse than the long hair…but it felt great. It was mildly erotic when I touched it…it was mind-blowingly erotic when any female touched it. For the next three decades, I had every variation on really short hair imaginable; butch, buzz, fade, brush cut, crew cut, flattop, shaved in lines, induction cut and of course, most often, shaved completely sly bald. Not one of them looked really good or really bad. Occasionally, when it was too far grown out, it looked creepy; I was actually told that to my face. On me, facial hair has always been creepy - and grey and creepy was a no go.
Fast forward to about a year ago…on impulse, I had a stylist “consultation”. My hair loss was minimal but the grey was making significant advances on the sides. Didn’t know that…my hair hadn’t been long enough to tell. Following her advice I let my hair grow, while frequently dying it to keep the grey under control. Lately, I have been keeping it very short on the sides – to eliminate the grey and creepy without dye – while having the top quite long, a very “retro” style. I actually bought a comb! I bought “product”! I learned how to use “product”. I actually go to the barber MORE often than with the buzz cut.
Truth to tell, I really do look better with longer (but not long) hair. Several women, I’ve known for years, have called me “handsome”. I’d never been called “handsome” before – ever. Truth to tell, longer hair is bothersome, work and annoying…and not even a little erotic.
Fast forward to a month ago…most definitely not on impulse…I decided to participate in the “Cops for Cancer” head shave in Toronto’s Yorkdale on April 13th. I am not a cop…actually I’m a children’s performer…a puppeteer! I have done similar events in the past. It’s a “free” haircut…that only cost ten times what an ordinary haircut costs in time and donation money.
On the one hand, there was some coercion, “Police brutality!!” (just kidding). On the other hand, there is a genuine desire to help people afflicted with this burden, both the patients and the people around them who often suffer as much or even more. On yet another hand, cancer runs in my genes (my mother is a two time cancer survivor, though the last bout left her with a severe dementia and I now care for her) and carcinogens are rampant in the environment. Though not currently personally afflicted – I’m scared. On yet another hand, buzzed to almost sly is erotic (there are legal reasons they can’t shave you but boy can they get close). On another hand, hair grows back, if you let it. On another hand…oops too many hands. Puppeteers always want extra hands. And NO, there will be no “off colour” remarks about hand jobs.
Guys and gals, I’m asking for your help. I don’t need encouragement; on April 13th I WILL be bald; no wavering, hesitation or regret. Please send your positive energy (call it prayer, if you wish), send money to aid cancer research and patient support in your area or if you wish, and especially if you live in Canada, pledge/support me on April 13th. I’ll share the directions for online donation with anyone who wishes to do that. :popo
Live long and prosper.
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Welcome mate...
Sounds like you are doing a good deed taking it all off.
Hopefully you like the look as much as the rest of us and keep it :)
Good luck
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Welcome aboard!
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That is one heluva llloooonnnnggg post, appreciate the effort in posting. Welcome aboard, be sending my prayers. :)
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It was rather a long post but I had a lot to get off my chest...I've been doing a lot of self evaluating lately and there was a lot I needed to explain to myself and writing it helps. It is stunning how my hair has always been in sync with what was really going on in my mind, as opposed to what I thought I thought at the time...Boy that's deep. O0
I've done the thirty days (and much more) many, many times over the past thirty years. As I said I LOVE the feeling of being bald or nearly bald, but it isn't my best look. As an artist, I really do know what is aesthetically pleasing and what is not. A lot of the folks on this board. men and women, look great bald; I'm jealous. I mean, what's not to like about a haircut which can be erotic especially if the "right" person is rubbing it at the "right" time under the "right" circumstances? I'll probally keep the look for a while, because I love it but will eventually return to "reality".
Fundraising for the "Cops for Cancer" has been a real eyeopener. I got some really good donations, mostly from people who can ill afford it. I've got some token donations from my higher earning friends. I've got nothing, not a, zip, zilch from any of the medical professionals I've asked; as a caregiver for a senior I deal with doctors, multiple specialists, audiolist, chiropractor, massage therapist, dentist etc all the time and nothing...unless you count the chiro's receptionist as a medical professional (she was THE most generous and is poorly paid). I have been told that I would do better if I was female or had really long hair, but because I've "always" had short hair it isn't much of a sacrifice...Ha. It took a lot of not giving into the temptation of the razor to grow this hair...and I'm now "handsome". It is a sacrifice! ...Truth to tell I'm also really looking forward to being bald again. Again if any of the bros or sisters in Canada would like to donate, I'll happily provide the on-line instructions. It is painless - really.
Cheers
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Welcome! This is a great community.
As an artist you probably also know appearance is subjective and the only person you need to please is YOU. If you love the bald head, that's probably a stronger indicator than what traditional society has conditioned you to expect from your appearance. Ultimately, though, society isn't going to give half a rat's nest about our hair so we'd best style it the way we prefer.
As a woman going BBC, I struggled with this a lot for a couple of months. Social expectations are strong but our own aesthetics are stronger. Feel free to PM if you'd like.
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That is one heluva llloooonnnnggg post, appreciate the effort in posting. Welcome aboard, be sending my prayers. :)
Welcome to SBG ... theater is an art just like hair or lack of it !
Keep your creative postings here !
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:@` Thanks Sister Sly. To a certain extent "beauty IS in the eye of the beholder". That said, artists, of every discipline, study principals like harmony, balance and symmetry to produce "beauty". Cultural norms certainly enter into every perception.
As I said, I've been sly bald or VERY short haired for nearly 30 years and I love the feeling of short/no hair. I also love being called "handsome" by random women (plural!) for the FIRST time in my life. When I look at photos of myself over the years and try to be objective "that man" looks best with that short back and sides haircut. Maybe my parents were right, hairstylewise, all those years ago. There is a saying "as I get older, my Dad gets smarter"; even though he's been dead for twenty years; Moms get smarter too.
I'm not hideous when bald; it's just not my "best" look...I was pretty close to hideous when I had long hair LOL. I can honestly say I've tried every hairstyle except Mohawk (rarely had long enough hair or the guts) ponytail and Afro (not possible with arrow straight hair). So my scalp is a battleground between what "looks best" and what "feels best".
You are right; nobody cares about another's hair specifically but its a sad reality that we ARE judged on our appearance, and we often don't even realize we are being judged. This is one of the mechanisms of prejudice (pre-judge).
You are right; we need to be as happy as possible in this life, after all "nobody gets out alive"
I know the grief you get in some quarters as a BBC man, I can only imagine what they heap on a BBC woman. You, Sister Sly, are a truly brave and very individual individual. You are also aesthetically pleasing (aka beautiful) with gorgeous eyes and smile
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Thank you TV guy, you are too kind!
I'll admit I probably look "my best" with long hair, blonde highlights, the works. But I'm less happy having to maintain that nonsense. I'm finally at a point in my life where I respect my right to be happy more than I respect others' desire to find me as attractive as possible. The only person I need to make happy in that department is myself and the current SO.
And I love the expression "nobody gets out alive" -- totally going to steal that from you!
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One more week of hair! :popo :popo "Cops for Cancer" headshave is next Saturday and I'm getting really pumped.
I've been letting my hair just grow since I signed up almost two months ago and it is now shaggy; the longest its been in over 30 years; it will not be mourned or missed.
I raised far more money than I thought I could - thank you to all who opened their hearts and wallets. It is interesting that my artist friends @^t in many disciplines B@%d ALL said YES when asked; quite a few of them cannot "afford" it; while the higher earners either didn't respond or made proportionately tiny donations, Interesting huh? !`nt YOU may still donate if you wish.
g6!pw3r Sister Sly thou shalt not steal my motto...because I freely give it to you! You might also like this one "You might just as well take the silver lining, you're getting the cloud regardless"
OK I got carried away with smileys LOL
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G'Day TV Guy mate O0
Welcome to the Bastion Of Baldness
Thanks for sharing your story.
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Share your after photo with us when you do it.
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Three more days, huh -- how ya feelin?!
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Pumped! and proud to know many of my friends who are so generous. There will be a youtube video coming out of this and I'll post the link when it's done. Not sure if I can get decent frame capture stills with the available software but I'll try.
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Hi TV Guy: Welcome to the sly fraternity. Glad that ya joined us and thanks for sharing your story. We look forward to you pics and video. Keep us posted.
WARHAWK O0
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:popo Today is the day...I'm off to get head shaved at "Cops for Cancer :x! :popo" (in Toronto's Yorkdale Mall at 1:00 PM)...I'm giving up the hair :'( LOL...It's not too late for anyone to give up some cash...It's never too late to fight cancer (maybe someday when a cure is found it will be too late to donate but not yet). Remember Money is the root of all evil; so uproot some of your evil and send it for safe disposal LMAO. :*)) I may just be getting addicted to smileys :@` after all they're sly too. ^-^
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TV Guy
Hope you have lots of fun and a great time.
I'm new here myself just registered today and hope to meet lots of new folks too.
Don't let anyone tell you what you should do...as I say and believe 'Follow Your Bliss'
Keep smilin'
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Let us know how it went!
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It's great to be bald again! coming out of the mall after the "Cops for Cancer" headshave event there was a light rain and it was fresh...love those feelings on the scalp; kind of forgot how great it is. I am very happy and proud to have done this. The rank and file cops are a great bunch of guys and gals; even though the Toronto Police Service has taken a lot of (mostly deserved, sorry to say) bad press over the past few years. Not all the cops present got shaved, mostly because a lot of those who didn't, were already bald. The organizers mostly volunteer cops, put a lot of effort into this and put on a "good show". Over fifty men AND women AND kids gave up their often beautiful hair for a good cause. It is sad that cancer has touched so many lives...indeed virtually everyone. I got to chat with people whom I would ordinarily never meet; canine officers, bomb disposal officers, senior police brass, rookies. I persuaded a videographer friend to take some footage, which will be edited and posted to YouTube and actually got interviews with a number of interesting people including the chief of police (Bill Blair); it felt like being a journalist. I personally raised over $700.; thanks to my generous friends (THANK YOU) and the event is over $75,000. with more to be tallied. I was really pumped but was tempted to bail at the last second; the woman who was to shave my head is a top stylist at one of Toronto's top salons (the "real" stylists were donating their time but cops and relatives did most of the shaving). She whispered in my ear "You have such beautiful hair". Nobody has EVER said that to me - EVER! Before I could react she ran her clippers over my head. It was all done in under a minute and then off to the shaving chairs. They actually offered full razor shaves not just really, really short buzz cuts to those who wanted them and you can bet I took advantage of the offer - not a lot of difference
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So thrilled for you!
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Looks great, TV guy! Are you going to keep the look long term?
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I love being bald especially the feeling of being bald but as a performer there are times I actually need hair. By mid-October I'll have to be back to "hair". Some performers do wear wigs but ironically wigs of men's short styles always look like toupees, which is more or less what they are. Many non-celebrity male performers will often shave their head to make it easier to wear prosthetics or long-hair wigs; just for the comfort factor. So no, it isn't permanent; I'll enjoy hairfree sly - my haircation - for a few months and return to reality. How often do we say on this site "just shave it, it'll grow back if you don't like it"? That also applies to those who like it but just can't. Best of all, with hair I can do "Cops for Cancer" next year and get it all shaved off again. In case you're curious, a number of the cops who shaved last year couldn't do it this year because ...they stayed bald.
Yesterday, after being well and thoroughly buzzed, a Kevlar vest wearing, glock carrying cop shaved my head with gel and a disposable. I was bald and yet it wasn't quite right. The mirror said BALD! The camera said BALD! but it just wasn't quite right. This morning I re-shaved and it was right - BALD!!! it felt right and taking the dogs out in the brisk morning air was nearly erotic. It is BALD as it was meant to be. I guess I just use a better razor.
I met three sets of neighbours on the walk, all of whom had sponsored me, and not one of them noticed that I was hairfree until I pointed it out. Fence sitters take note; few people really care or even notice if you shave the dome.
I'll post a longer detailed account of the event later. Cheers
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So glad you're enjoying yourself! Hair doesn't take long to grow, you can probably enjoy the sly life for a good while before growing back for work. Rain is totally awesome, huh?
Indeed, nobody really cares about our hair except us. ;)
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It snowed today. Dammit, it snowed today :Xo! OK I live in Canada and the snow was light and didn't stay but it's the middle of April! I want my garden to GO nuts...My garden wants to go nuts...I want fresh veggies.
But the brisk air and snow sure feels good on the baldness 8)
PS did you know that dandelions were introduced to North America (they are NOT native) so that the pioneers could have fresh greens early in the Spring? ...and even the dandelions are holding back.
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Even more “Cops for Cancer” Follow-up!
I do a special “environmental” show called “Too Much Garbage”; today, being Earth Day, I was booked into a school to do it (show went fantastically well, by the way – REALLY NICE kids) . As I drove up, their school sign proclaimed an upcoming “Cops for Cancer” event; it was actually last Friday but the sign hadn’t been changed yet. Around the school and as the kids filed into the gym it was hard not to notice several dozen bald (well , VERY buzzed) kids amongst their hirsute classmates. I think all of them were boys but there might have been girls too and an obviously freshly buzzed teacher (or two?). On a superficial level, they all looked good/handsome. Most of the baldies were obviously self-confident outgoing kids but a few wore baseball caps. During the after-show question & answer, one obviously outgoing kid asked a question, which I answered and then asked him what had happened to his hair. He proudly replied that he had had it shaved off at Cops for Cancer (to raise money). When I rubbed my bald head and said “So did I!” and went on to say what a great thing they had done, you could just see all the “baldies” smile and swell with pride…you might almost say they glowed. One little fellow, who was wearing a baseball cap (he seemed embarrassed by being bald) slowly, almost sneakily, took the hat off and “glowed” too. I think they “got it” that this small sacrifice, to shave your head is a “standing together in solidarity” (with cancer patients) and that, feels good inside. I then went on and answered some more, more mundane questions. I think I helped validate the positiveness of their experience (and they, mine) and do hope that the satisfaction of small sacrifices and giving stays with them for a lifetime.
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At long last the video (preliminary version) is back; enjoy, comment, donate...
http://youtu.be/C5kcAYD9KvQ
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Final version
http://youtu.be/katsh2sGuBU
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The bald heads look good.
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They do look good; no real surprise though. These charity events are a great place to see the not-normally-bald, to go bald AND fight a major life-threatening disease...it just doesn't get better
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Great cause.
$75,000 is an excellent amount to raise. Has the tally gone up?
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YES! another $10,000 was raised on the day and with the trickle-ins it is well over $85000. approaching 90k! Sadly, that much money is not enough for one patient's drugs (some of them) for a year.
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Well keep fighting the good fight as this is a great charity!