Q&A with Bill Hurliman

A conversation with Linfield’s painter, carpenter and national beard champion 

 Bill Hurliman has extensive knowledge about Linfield – far surpassing his two-year employment with the school. His family ties run deep, with multiple relatives graduating from Linfield in the 1930-40s. He remembers hearing stories about the Wildcats from his alumni grandparents – athletic hall of fame member Milt ’39 and Ruth (Pfouts) ’39 Robins. More recently, Hurliman has learned of every nook and cranny of the (now much bigger) campus his relatives frequented, as a painter and carpenter with Linfield’s Facilities Services department.

Almost as impressive is Hurliman’s activities before joining the Linfield staff. Unbeknownst to most of those he works with, Hurliman retired in 2017 as a beard and mustache national champion.

Q: When did your interest in beard grooming begin?

I think it goes back to middle school. It was a constant shaving thing … I’d have a 5 o’clock shadow by noon. Then, No Shave November was always an excuse for me to let it go. Eventually, it was just easier not shaving.

Q: Fair enough. But competitions take it to a whole new level. How did that begin?

Back in 2013, my wife entered me into a beard competition at Turkey Rama in McMinnville. It was judged by the crowd cheering for who they liked best. Even though my beard was short back then, I ended up winning. I thought it was fun, so I just kept growing my beard. I didn’t realize there was actually a “beard group” with official categories until I competed in the 2014 World Championship in Portland. There were thousands of people from all over the world in attendance, and some of them took it seriously, but most of them were there because it was just a lot of fun.

Q: What constitutes an award-winning beard?

I was told that you can have the longest beard or the bushiest beard, but how does it look on your face? How does it add to your appearance? There are a lot of categories out there in beard competitions, but in the end, it all comes down to whether it’s aesthetically pleasing on your face.

What are some of the unique beard and mustache designs you’ve seen?

I’ve seen some pretty crazy designs in the freestyle beard category. Someone once designed their beard into a landscape, complete with windmills, barn and cows. Another guy made his beard into a bowl with ramen inside. You honestly never know what you’ll see, and it’s kind of a nice surprise every time you go.

Q: Does the mustache play an important role?

The mustache plays a big part, especially in my case. 
I had this huge handlebar mustache that wrapped around and really added to my natural-looking beard. I would use soda cans as the form, wrapped the mustache around them with a bunch of wax and then used a hair dryer to set. It was this massive thing. The beard was just there, hanging and growing, so the mustache is what I tended to the most. It really made everything else pop.

Q: What is your normal beard grooming routine?

On a normal day, I honestly don’t do much of anything except wash and brush it out. Occasionally, I’ll use a beard oil to help keep it smooth and less tangled. And there’s this soap, the grossest soap known to man … pine tar soap. It smells like used motor oil, but it’s made of all-natural ingredients. It helps make the beard smooth and keep the natural oils intact, but it just smells horrible. So, most of the time I just use a normal soap or shampoo.

Q: What advice would you give someone interested in following your example?

The best advice I could give is to just go for it. If you want to try it, find a small local spot to enter a competition and see where you stand. Don’t get frustrated if you lose. Just keep trying if it’s something you really want to pursue.