going into 21 days bald with 4 head shavings now and a wicked sunburn on my head from playing archery tag without a hat on (Saturday Oct.29th) while working on a competition video concept. I've only once reflected upon this decision with some 1% remorse at the idea of jumping into it cold-turkey.
I feel like the difficult part is the documenting process where I am constantly reflecting on the video I shoot and looking at myself; I get really tired of editing my own self-image branded videos, I'm the farthest thing from a narcissist - And yet there I am putting out more and more material, living a bouncy life, doing new things and building something for myself.
I believe my end objective with this project is to show people whom are Balding to just OWN IT. Stop making the excuse, stop those ugly ass combovers, stop with the expensive creams, treatments and hair follicle stimulus. Just be Bald and Proud.
the days continue; the adventures have only begun:
Actually sitting down and hashing out daily Vlogs is work - I've gained so much more respect for people who can stay on this so frequently. However, I also have a deal about adding value into every project I produce; no matter how much work I put into it- The goal is always to inform, entertain or educate.
If you're not providing something useful to your audience I really want to smack the vlogger more than half the time.
I am actively seeking out people to interview and waiting for scheduling feedback from people with a knowledgable background on the topic of baldness. In due time my pretties!
as things seem to be either extremely hectic or calm on a day-to-day basis I'm working to distill the info in such a manner that it's Useful: Entertaining, Informative, or Educational.
Of course again, this vlog is not intended for the faint of heart; it's a personal journey and though I do bleep out a vast majority of what some consider to be cuss words, my criteria is not your criteria.
I'm going WAY outside my comfort zone everyday, and I encourage other people who aspire to feel the change in their routine to do the same thing. I can't encourage everyone to embrace being bald; I also can not encourage people to grow a beard, try a new wine, punch a hole in the wall, or meditate and do yoga. Being open to trying something new has to come from within; a desire to be more - be remembered, live a little and sometimes being called an asshole. That doesn't mean I'm going to cower in the corner, that means I'm on the right track to reinventing myself as a better man for tomorrow. I'm a Yes Man.
I'm going to start posting these vlogs to Facebook soon in case anyone is interested in watching from there as well.
So I'll keep it brief as today is set to be busy.
I've got the first few day vlogs together for "a year bald" and I've decided not to compile a daily vlog; that's more project introduction work than I'm looking for having just started this and it'll need to be shaped up a bit more - but that's not to say that I intend to give it a solid structure.
It's going to be all over the place as I'm also just living daily life and working to get ahead in the areas I'm seeking to advance; which also means - it's gritty, dirty, and I'm going to lose money and I'm not going to watch my language. IF you've got virgin ears, I'm sorry, but I'm not catering who I am to fit your tastes for entertainment purposes.
For those who've not read the first blog for this project; I'm looking to study the Psychological and Sociological aspects associated with being bald in society. There will be all sorts of styles used to document this one. I'm seeking to inform, entertain and educate people as I go about my life and discover what it is to be a bald man in society.
With that being said; welcome to my maritime project: a year bald
as Early Spring was peaking through Winter this year I was sought out to produce a Narrative Piece for a Fishing Charter in Port Clinton, OH. Travel isn't really a big deal for me; in fact, I really enjoy getting out and smelling the fresh air when I'm not behind a desk or sandwiched between 2 PCs in my home office. Not to mention the 2 additional PCs I've accumulated because people have given me the option to "Keep it if you can fix it". Thats actually an additional hobby of mine; When I'm not tearing parts out of discarded laptops from the recycling center. You'd be surprised how clean my office actually is - my wife's not killed me yet, so that's a plus.
So, I get invited to this Port Clinton, OH gig and after traveling from Richmond, KY - 7 hours and an overnight stay at the motel; there's no set expectations for what I'm going to be doing, in fact everyone else who was supposed to be on this gig with me has flaked out and I didn't get a notification. Honestly People, this is why communication is so damn important (however in retrospect when you take a look at the video, it's a wonder I even had the room to produce the video I did; I can't imagine 2-3 other guys on this boat with myself AND the Captain, 1st mate and the 5 guys I covered fishing).
So, while on this boat, one of the guys is talking about how balding is such a pain; investing in hair plugs, rogain, the delicious works of someone who can't accept that they're balding and embracing it like a Badass Mutha-Fucka! Nope. He complains.
Fast-forward 3 days later, I'm driving home in the middle of the night and I turn off the music to think for a bit. I've got coffee going cold, it's raining, I put the windows down for some fresh air and turn on the overhead light. I continue to look into the mirror and after a few moments and declare to myself: "you're going bald, motherfucker" figuratively of course, I'm not actually balding. But I made a Devoted-Point to myself to make it Happen This Year; I was about 9 months away from my birthday when I made the decision.
When I felt myself kind of faltering only weeks away, I started telling people about my intended project. Which is interesting that it didn't turn into a self-documentary project idea until only a couple of months out. I gave myself the wiggle room to think about how I was going to address it. And Fastforward to 2 days after my birthday (Oct. 9th). I've been laughing at myself all day.
This morning, my wife made a comment about work stress and I was wearing a light beanie in my office. She comes in and wants to tell me about this detail I've heard about previously, maybe 1000 times. I just gave her a blank stare and start to pull my beanie off from front to back and act as if I have hair: "Babe, your work stress has made my hairline recede so far." (slowly pulling my beanie backwards like peeling an Orange Skin).
I made the decision. I told people so they would expect it from me and to hold me accountable.
And in the end, I stick to my word.
So anyway, that's the run-down for "a year bald". I'm looking to delve into the sociological, psychological, medical, and anything else I can dig up to look into and question for what it IS and MEANS to be bald in society (Past, Present and Future; as I make my way bald about the year).
I'll be deciding how I'm going to catalogue weekly Vlogs; probably via Youtube and then branch out the distribution channels. Youtube has the best video algorithms on the Web and Cataloguing Playlists with tag words for Optimized SEO.
So keep an eye out for those and more ShopTalk.
Also, if you read this and have ideas for ShopTalk; please, shoot me a line or ideas to pick through, or if you have questions you would like addressed. I held a couple of Summer interns and I realized how much I actually enjoy mentoring people.