We caught up with one of our favourite Instagram bearded brother’s Shaun Garvey, he is an up and coming model with an envious beard, check out his interview below.
Can you try to give our readers a bit of a background on yourself, a quick spill about things you are into?
My name is Shaun Garvey, 29 years old and I live in Colne Lancashire, 30 mins drive away from Manchester. My current job profession is window cleaning and part time model, I own my own rounds and I also work for someone else on other days when not cleaning my own work.
I have a beautiful daughter who is 4 year old and means the world to me, as well as a beautiful and amazing girlfriend who I have now been with for 7 months. I love the lady to bits, also should mention I’m a huge football fan and support Leeds United!
I started to grow my beard in august 2013 in aid of a local charity The Pendleside Hospice a few friends and I started to grow them to raise money for the charity. We originally set a 4 month no shaving stage, ending with a beard removal stage at a local venue. The 4 months went by and the event night had arrived, by this time my beard had become my life, I loved it that much and I made a decision of keeping it.
As a collective, we raised a decent amount for the local charity and were all proud of uur achievement. My friends had their beards shaved off but i decided to keep mine and keep it growing.
We have seen on Instagram that you have lots of tattoos, do they all have meaning behind the? Do you have a favourite?
I have quite a lot of tattoos. But not enough. Lol. I want more and more. Some of my tattoos have meanings. Some are just inked onto my body because I wanted that tattoo at that time, I’m not religious in any way, but I have a sleeve on my left arm that you could call a religious sleeve. And some folk ask do u go to church, my answer is no. So then they ask well why the religious sleeve.
I also have a wolf tattooed onto my arm but I don’t have a pet wolf either, I have 2 favourite tattoos. I have a bearded man’s head tattooed on my neck, kind of sailor type. Done by my good friend and awesome tattooist @arronrawtattoo, my other favourite tattoo is just plain and simple: my daughter’s name which is tattooed on my hand.
Do you trim and maintain your facial hair on your own, or do you only let your barber handle it? Who is your ‘go to’ guy for trimming and maintenance?
With me being a window cleaner and working outside al day my beard can take a real beating. Every morning I wash my beard with luke warm water, then just dry with a towel and then apply either beard balm or a beard oil then comb it through, @prairieboys is the brand I’m using and there beard products are amazing I can’t rate there gear enough. 100% would recommend to anyone.
Do you trim and maintain your facial hair on your own, or do you only let your barber handle it? Who is your ‘go to’ guy for trimming and maintenance?
I don’t do any trimming of my beard myself. I may pull the odd grey hair out once in a while. I get it trimmed on the odd occasion at the barbers, @stylzhairdressing and @shokwavesbarbershop are the 2 main places I go in Lancashire I would recommend both barbers to anyone looking for a beard trim or hair cut I’m loving my beard a bit scruffy looking at the minute.
Do you feel as though your beard has helped launched you into modelling?
Yes I do feel as though my beard has launched me into modelling , there’s a lot more clothing company’s now looking for bearded males , but with there being so many guys now growing beards there is so much competition.
If you could work with any photographer in the world right now, who would you choose?
The photographer who I would most like to work with is @chrisjohnmillington, who as you will all also no is massive in the model industry, the guys work is amazing, his style. His look is on par as one of the best.
How would you describe your style?
My style I would describe as Shaun Garvey style, I don’t try and copy or follow a trend , I just buy clothing that I feel comfortable wearing. And get tattoos on my skin that I want tattooed #shaungarveystyle
You seem to be finding yourself in a transition of sorts, what’s next for Shaun Garvey? Any big plans in the works?
With owning my own window cleaning work, I’m super busy doing that, so any modelling work that comes my way is a bonus, I’m in talks with 2 modelling agency’s that want me on their books so that’s great news for me, and I hope to do big things this year with the @prairieboys, I would love to help them guys out more because I think what they’re doing.
Clothing and male grooming product wise is massive and they’re going to blow up, also I’m just going to keep being me. Living my life loving my daughter and beautiful girlfriend.
What is the one bearded piece of wisdom you would like to share with our readers?
My bearded piece of wisdom, to anyone thinking about growing a beard. Grow it for the love of the beard, don’t grow it because everybody is growing one, a beard is a work of art.
Lastly, which are your favourite Instagram pages that you can’t live without?
@beardsinblackandwhite
@beardedvillains
@youbeard
@beardedlifestyle
@thebeardedpantiedroppers
@prairieboys
@pandco
@jointhebeard
@envybeards
Social Media
Instagram – www.instagram.com/shaun_garvey