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- We chatted with Mustache King Drew Timme about his facial hair icons ahead of the NCAA Tournament
- The Gonzaga star also revealed what’s on his mind heading into March Madness
- Read more college basketball stories here
When March Madness kicked off last year, the furry worm that was nestled above the lip of Loyola Cameron Krutwig provided me with the perfect excuse to take a look back at some of the grimiest facial hair college basketball players have rocked during the NCAA Tournament.
You obviously can’t put that kind of list together without mentioning Adam Morrison, the Gonzaga star who took the basketball world by storm before fizzling out in the NBA and ultimately settling down with his family in a compound outside of Spokane.
It’s been over 15 years since Morrison played his final season as a Bulldog, a team that is now led by another superstar who sits all the way at the other end of the facial hair spectrum: Drew Timme.
Over the course of his three seasons with the Zags, Timme has established himself as one of the most talented forwards in the country and done it while sporting some absolutely stellar facial hair, including a few gnarly mustaches and a killer goatee.
As a result, it’s only natural that Dollar Shave Club tapped him to become a “chinfluencer” ahead of this year’s tourney, and I recently got the chance to chat with Timme about how he’s gearing up for the action and the facial hair icons that have influenced him.
BroBible: Hey, Drew. It’s great to get the chance to talk with you. I’m glad to hear Dollar Shave Club has rewarded you for your efforts.
Drew Timme: Yeah, It’s been great to get the chance to be a chinfluencer just by being my true, authentic self.
I know you’ve had a fairly interesting facial hair evolution. Can I ask when it first started and how it’s changed over the years?
I’ve been doing it since high school. I was tired of shaving and having everyone say, “Oh, he looks like he’s 12.” So I figured I’d just mess around with it and change it up with a goatee or mustache or something. I’ve just never stopped doing that.
Is there any particular reason you’ve felt the need to switch the style up?
I think it just lightens the mood and can make other people laugh. I enjoy bringing joy to other people, so that’s just kind of a plus.
Can you estimate how many different facial hair styles you’ve rocked?
I would say it’s probably been around five. I usually rotate between the mustache, handlebars, and goatee, though. Those are the big three.
I’m putting you on the spot here a bit, but if you had to put together a Facial Hair Mount Rushmore, who would you put up there?
God, you did put me on the spot. I don’t know. That’s a tough one.
White Goodman from Dodgeball is the inspiration for the handlebars. Larry Bird for sure with the ‘stache. I loved that. Guy Fieri—he’s on there. Then Wilt Chamberlain. He had some great ones too. Those would be the four.
I understand if you don’t want to answer this, but I have to ask: Do you feel like you’re atoning for the facial hair Adam Morrison rocked while he was playing for Gonzaga?
*Laughs*
I think I’m just carrying the torch on. He loved it, he rocked it, he was comfortable with it, so why not?
That’s why I love Dollar Shave Club. They told me, “We don’t really care what you do. Just be yourself and don’t apologize for it.” That was a match made in heaven for me.
Fair enough. I shouldn’t mustache shame. Now, I apologize in advance for the generic basketball question—feel free to give me an equally generic answer—but are you heading into this year’s tournament with a different approach based on the lessons you learned from last year’s result?
No, we’re definitely just going to try and play to the best of our ability, reach that Zags standard, and have no regrets about it.
That’s the best way to go into March. You can’t go in expecting things to happen, because as everyone’s seen throughout history, the unexpected always seems to happen.
Your first couple of seasons were been fairly unconventional—the tournament was canceled during your first year and there was reduced capacity last year. Have you given any thought to the environment that’s going to greet you?
We’ve played in some pretty big environments. We played UCLA and Duke in Las Vegas and those games were really packed. I think we know what to expect. We’re excited for it.
We play in The Kennel, which is one of the loudest places I’ve ever played in. You also go to a gym like BYU and it’s really crazy in there. Our coach does a good job of making sure we play in places that prepare us for moments like these.
Was there any adjustment required when fans returned this year?
It was such a relief. It was so awesome to play in front of college basketball fans again.
It was special. I didn’t realize how much I really missed it.
Thanks again, Drew. Best a lot going forward and hopefully we’ll see you cutting down the net when everything is said and done.
Hopefully. That’s the dream
Parts of this interview were edited for clarity.