Deaf man in Wahl beard competition for $20k prize
RENCA DUNN:
Wahl, a grooming and beard trimming products company based in Illinois, is holding a competition called “Most Talented Beard.” They have selected from a large pool of applicants to select the top ten men with various kinds of beards. One of the finalists is a Deaf man, Ben Taylor.
[Video clip of Ben Taylor showing a handlebar mustache]
If he is in first place, he will win $20,000. The second place is $10,000. The third place is $5,000.
[Video clip of Wahl’s competition website showing 10 contestants. Benjamin Taylor’s video is highlighted and two clips of his competition video is featured, one of him handling fire sticks and another of him with coin magic tricks]
The first question we asked him is on how he got involved with the Wahl competition.
BEN TAYLOR:
I was bantering with my wife because she wanted me to shave my beard off, but I said I wanted to keep it! We were going back and forth since the coronavirus. I then saw an email from Wahl asking if I was interested to join. I saw the prize amount was huge so I told my wife if I got into the top ten, could I keep the beard. My wife agreed to it and then I entered the contest by submitting an application.
DUNN:
We asked about his talents with magic tricks and his fire sticks, where he learned them, and if he could show some magic tricks.
TAYLOR:
I’ll show you something. (Performs trick)
Where did it go? (Performs trick)
One more. (Performs trick)
It’s actually here. (Performs trick)
Two of them!
Yeah, I learned magic tricks when I was a little kid at the Indiana Deaf School. My friend Bethany Borsotti’s father taught me magic tricks and I loved it. For many years I’ve enjoyed showing friends my magic tricks. Yeah. And for the fire sticks, I learned it from my friend Gabriel Paulone. He taught me five or six years ago and I’ve been fascinated with it.
[Sponsored Video from Convo: https://www.convorelay.com/]
DUNN:
We asked him how long it took for him to grow the mustache.
TAYLOR:
I started growing it in February. Then we all had to go into quarantine. I left my beard then I secretly shaved off my chin to show this wild mustache. My wife did not like it and thought it was weird. We bantered with she wanting me to take it off but I wanted to keep it.
DUNN:
The last question we asked was on if Ben won, what would he do with the money?
TAYLOR:
That’s a very good question. If I win, I won’t keep all the money to myself. I would love to donate to the Deaf community. I have not decided which organization I want to give it to. I would prefer to give it to one that focuses on preventing language deprivation. I would do that, or something else, I’m not sure. I thought of a particular organization because I came from a hearing family. My family relied on Deaf resources such as ASL lessons or something like that so they could communicate with me. And it’s made me who I am today. So my heart is with the Deaf community.
DUNN:
Thank you Ben for sharing! It’s a really cool style, that long handlebar mustache! To vote, you can click on the link in the transcript. There, you will see ten videos. Ben’s video is “Benjamin Taylor.” Voting ends December 9. We at “The Daily Moth” wish you, Ben, good luck!
TAYLOR:
Thank you for interviewing me!
To Vote:
https://woobox.com/ngqa2k