Man Sports 50 of the Most Ridiculous Hairstyles Ever (in His Real Life)
Gordon Stettinius embraced sporting the most awkward hairstyles in history.
— -- Ever look back at your horrifically permed hair in your old prom photo and think, “Why?”
Photographer and author Gordon Stettinius, of Richmond, Virginia, decided to embrace that notion, embarking on an 8-year-long hair-brained journey to sport the most unfortunate hairstyles known to man.
“For some reason, I got it into my head that I would get a perm and then visit a commercial studio to have my portrait made,” Stettinius told ABC News of how the project began.
It was there that he met fellow photographer, Terry Brown, who slowly but surely shared his enthusiasm for the wacky hairdos.
“She and I hit it off, so I kept returning periodically with different looks and the studio portraits slowly turned into collaboration,” he said.
Today, the two share studio space and have published a hilarious book, “Mangini Studio,” chronicling fifty of the most ridiculous hair fads ever.
“All the hair is my own, so basically I would have to wait until my hair -- or beard or sideburns -- grew out enough for something different enough to work with,” Stettinius explained. “The dreadlocks took about three months to get locked up. And then those needed to be shaved off so that I could go a different direction. Meaning, there were some long dormant periods as well while I recovered from the last look.”
Those dormant periods produced some pretty “awkward transitional moments” in his life, such as meeting his future wife for the very first time.
“I met my wife when I was out seeing some music after one of these shoots, sporting a comb-over and spray tan,” he recalled. “Even when I was looking a little off, bleached or permed or colored, there were still meetings and photo gigs and classes to teach. Truth be told, I am glad that we are finished. My mom is relieved that I have moved on from this project as well.”
Although Stettinius has moved on from his “charismatic follicular pyrotechnics” that he believes helped sway his wife into loving him, he still regards this hilarious journey as “possibly the most important project in the world.”
He and Brown are thrilled their hard work is now being showcased in a published book for all their fellow hair enthusiasts to enjoy.
