“I find myself unconsciously admiring people with similar hair to mine, at gigs or shows or something. I’m always interested in talking to people with unusual hair and figuring out what their deal is. Maybe asking them how they got their hair a certain way. There’s actually something quite nice about seeing an older dude who just kept his longer hair too. For me, I have respect for older people with long hair, since you have to put more effort into maintaining it as you age.”
“The pushback hasn’t been super bad but I have definitely had it easier than most people. I don’t mind the teasing I got as a kid. I’m an adult now. These days, I don’t get too much pushback unless I go back home, where people there will probably call me names or something. I don’t really mind it though, it’s not super common. Here in Galway though, I do just blend in. You’re gonna run into people every once in a while that are critical, but people generally aren’t too confrontational about it.”
“The thing I would say to others with longer hair, or who want to have longer hair, is “Fuck it, man.” It’s cheesy but who really cares. It’s about you at the end of the day and it makes you happy with it, you should be. There will be criticism depending on how you look but it doesn’t matter. It’s not for them. And if you are thinking about growing out your hair, just try it! We only have so much time in this world and if there’s something you wanna try, just try it. If it doesn’t work, try something else. The worst that can happen is that you look back and laugh at that era of your life. Do whatever you want.”