A local man, his handlebar mustache and fire baton twirling.
All of these things can be found in Benjamin Taylor’s video entry for the Wahl Most Talented Beard in America Contest where he also showcases skills that include sign language, drone flying, disc golf and magic tricks.
Taylor, who lives in Glenwood just outside of Frederick County, is one of 10 finalists in the contest and the only Deaf person in the group.
He has a full beard and a long mustache that’s expertly curled up at the ends for maximum effect.
“My wife, she really wanted me to shave my beard,” Taylor said recently through an interpreter. “So we were talking about that. I said, ‘No let’s wait because if I get in the top 10, I’ve got to keep it.’ So, she said, ‘OK.’”
And when Taylor made it to the top 10, his wife said he had to make it to the top three.
Wahl is an American grooming company. Their contest will name three winners who will win $20,000, $10,000 and $5,000, respectively.
“I had been involved in another contest with Wahl like 6 or 7 years ago, and I got second place, and so they had emailed me to be involved,” Taylor said of the contest this year.
In an email, Taylor said he initially got involved because his friend Ben Ratell suggested it. In 2014, he won second place for English Moustache in the Just For Men World Beard and Moustache Championships.
In the Wahl contest this year, 60 percent of the decision is left up to a Wahl panel while 40 percent depends on public opinion.
“I’d like for people to vote for me,” Taylor said. “They can go online and do that … I’d like to thank the public in advance for voting for me. And the vote continues until December 9.”
As for his skills, Taylor said it took some time to decide what he wanted to do, but humor is something he enjoys.
“I wanted to make sure it was very humorous, so I just kind of put all those things together,” he said.
Taylor is the only Deaf individual to be in the top 10, but he said that’s not unusual.
“I’m always kind of the odd one out,” he said. “I grew up in a hearing family, so that’s normal for me. I’m always the only one, you know, I stand out from everyone in that sense.”
And he already knows what he wants to do with a portion of the prize if he wins.
“I’m going to be donating some to some Deaf organizations,” he said. “I have one in my head that I’m thinking about wanting to go to … it’s #WhyISign, and it’s an organization that supports parents who are new, you know, who have Deaf children, to help them learn sign language … so that their Deaf children do not face language deprivation growing up in a hearing world.”
It’s a cause that means a lot to Taylor, though his family did learn sign language for him.
“My whole family signs, so I did not have language deprivation, but that’s not the case for a lot of children,” he said.
December 05, 2020 at 09:30AM
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Local Deaf man plays with fire, keeps it funny, as finalist in beard contest - Frederick News Post
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Funny
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