Well, it started with a desire to go on the Parahoy! Cruise with my family, and my favorite band, Paramore! The cruise was also co-headlined by Tegan and Sara, another band my wife and I love. Knowing that there would be a very large LGBT population on the boat, I wanted to throw out a nod to eve
ryone, as in "no matter who you are, I accept you and lets have as much fun as possible". I tried to do this in two ways. When I was first trying to figure out how to do a multi colored beard, I was inspired by pics I had seen of Mark Hudson. He is a record producer from LA that co-wrote "Livin' On the Edge" by Aerosmith. I thought it would be neat to use all the colors in the rainbow, not only because I love color, (as you can tell by all of my tattoos), but I thought it would serve also as a nod to my fellow Parahoy! LGBT brethren! I wanted to convey: "Hey, I might look like a big, mean, biker dude, but I'm really a GIANT softy and I accept you no matter who you are. Lets let our Freak Flags fly together! On this trip... No worries.... No barriers... No shyness... No stereotypes. I want everyone to feel accepted, heard, and loved!" I truly wished that for everyone on board. I also thought it was a very valuable lesson to show my daughter as well. We could all be a bit more accepting of everyone else, wouldn't you say? The other way I tried to show support, was to create an unofficial logo / sticker for the cruise that to me meant, "WE ARE ALL ONE". A sticker I could pass out as a token of MY acceptance of everyone. The logo was made out of multi colored Paramore logos that formed a flower. To me, this represented 1. Peace, 2. Acceptance, 3. PEACE = Flower. ACCEPTANCE of LGBT, Class, Race, S*x, Age = Rainbow Colors. And most importantly, FUN = Paramore! I fell that Paramore, and of course Tegan and Sara, have always fostered an attitude of acceptance of ALL walks of life! Paramore and Tegan and Sara have some of the most diverse fans I have ever encountered! I wanted to spread my own version of that positivity. What happened on Parahoy!, was a whirlwind! I met so many more people than I ever would have otherwise. My look, forced me to come out of my shell, and forced myself to meet people I would have been shy to meet otherwise. Every hour that passed, it became easier and easier. I met more and more people, and eventually became a "name" on the ship that everyone recognized. It steamrolled into one of most touching experiences I've ever had, and probably will ever have. Even now after the cruise, the love and positivity has chugged on. I was able to connect with people on the cruise, but, we are now also able to connect online. I get to thank them for the experience they contributed to me, and vice versa. We all just wish we could have stayed on that vacation forever! We will definitely be bonded for quite some time, if not FORVER. It's just a big ol' friendship love fest, and its great! Music brought us all together, but good people and good experiences are going to keep us together! Our time was so magical, that now even partially RainbowBeard inspired tattoos are starting to roll in! The response really has been, AMAZING. I am truly honored to have such an impact on these people that I now call friends. I want to thank Paramore, Tegan and Sara, New Found Glory, Doug Benson, Sixthman Jen and Sixthman Alex, Sixthman EveryoneElse, and also all the other bands that were on the Parahoy Cruise! MeWithoutYou, Shiny Toy Guns, Bad Rabbits, Headphone Disco, and Reuben Wu. Thanx for the memories guys! You all helped in making it special for EVERYONE. I know that not everyone will like me, or what I stand for, and that's fine.... But I promise to try and accept and love them, regardless. I would love for this experience to lead to some greater, positive cause! Only time will tell how I might be used for the powers of good! Hopefully sooner than later. Thanks for reading, and thank you for your contribution to THERainbowBeard!
