GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Grand Rapids native is now part of a world record. Or, at least, his facial hair is.
Joel Andrus took part in the world record breaking, longest beard chain earlier this month in Casper, Wyoming.
What is a beard chain? It's exactly how it sounds: Long beards tied together to form a chain.
The new record is 150 feet, breaking the previous record of 62 feet and six inches set in Germany back in 2007.
Andrus says he's been competing in national beard competitions for years now, even winning a national title before, and jumped at the opportunity to put his name in the record books. He was joined in the record setting attempt by other competitors he's met over the years.
But he does say the experience of tying his beard to someone else's was a bit uncomfortable.
"There was rumors, like, I hope no one has lice," jokes Andrus. "It was weird. I don't plan on doing that too much more."
He says the officials from Guinness World Records had the participants hold a tape measure up to their noses to get the proper measurement.
"You had to stand there and not move for probably, we were there for a good, like, half an hour of just standing straight," says Andrus. "Because if you move too much, you break the chain a little bit."
Andrus's beard has taken over a year to reach its current length.
As the owner of Sacred Springs Micro Taproom in Grand Rapids, he says it's always the subject of conversation with his customers.
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