Israel world champion defends title at 2025 Beard and Moustache Championship

“It’s all for the glory and charity.”

If you were in downtown Pittsburgh last week, you may have noticed that the flurry of furries wasn’t necessarily the most interesting attraction roaming the streets.

That’s because from July 2-5 at Heinz Hall, the city hosted the 2025 Beard and Moustache Championships. With it came a bevy of men with elaborately coifed facial hair ready to gain attention and win prizes in four different categories: Moustache, Partial Beard, Full Beard and Craft.

Each category has several sub-categories. Some of the more exotic names include the Dali Moustache, English Moustache, Fu Manchu, Alaskan Whaler, Musketeer and Garibaldi.

The competition, presented by Mad Viking Beard Club Pennsylvania, featured competitors from around the globe, including the 2024 world champion, Israel’s Haim Hoffman.

Since 2013, Hoffman has sported a shape known as the Imperial. It’s a highly stylized design, named after its progenitor, the last German Emperor Kaiser Wilhelm, in which the hair on either side of his face is grown long enough to cajole into an arc that is nearly as high as his head.

Hoffman spends about 20 minutes per side readying his facial hair, utilizing a variety of products and tools including brushes, hair dryers, mousse, wax and even a toothbrush.

That’s just for a competition, Hoffman said, noting that non-competition days don’t require the same amount of preparation.

“On normal days, it takes about 10 minutes a side,” he said.

Hoffman said he has competed in several countries, including England, Germany, Scotland and the U.S. The competitions, he said, range in size from smaller, regional events to large international competitions, like last week’s world championships.

The world championships, he noted, rotate every two years between Europe and the U.S.

Hoffman was born in Germany to Polish Holocaust survivors who made aliyah to Israel. He eventually moved back to Germany before returning to Israel, where he works in the canteen of what he calls a “border control base.”

He started competing in 2012 and won several contests, securing reigns as the German champion, European champion and world champion.

Hoffman enjoys the competitions, he said, and the friendships he’s made along the way.

He would have to. The competitions are about the love of the sport. There are no cash prizes, although once a competitor becomes known there is the opportunity for sponsorships.

“It’s a hobby,” he said. “It’s all for the glory and charity.”

This year, the Mad Viking Beard Club is donating a portion of each competitor’s $80 entry fee to the UPMC Children’s Hospital Foundation.

The Pittsburgh event wasn’t Hoffman’s first competition in America. In 2017, he took part in the championships in Austin, Texas.

This year, he was joined by Pittsburgh’s own Daniel Cohen, who has been competing since 2018. He and Hoffman are both part of Israel’s 972 beards club.

Cohen moved to Israel after growing up in the South Hills, where he attended the Conservative Beth El Congregation. He spent more than 10 years in Israel before returning to Pittsburgh.

He credits his time in the Israel Defense Forces as influencing his decision to grow distinctive facial hair and joining the competition.

“I wasn’t allowed to have facial hair in the IDF. They took that away from me,” Cohen said. “So, I grew it out my first three months after I was out. I looked like a wolfman. Then I decided to take it more seriously.”

His first competition was in the European Open in Tel Aviv. Cohen sported what he called a Beard Verdi, which is a 10-centimeter stylized mustache.

“That was my introduction to the world of beard and mustache competition,” he said. “I saw an ad on Facebook two days before the event and decided to do it because it was for charity. From that point, I fell in love with it and the whole world of it. And now, I have the opportunity to represent Israel, after having lived there for a decade.”

Both Cohen and Hoffman said they’re proud to represent the Jewish state.

“It’s fantastic,” Hoffman said.

The pair may soon have the opportunity to share that national pride in Israel because there is a push to hold the championships there in 2028.

And while Hoffman has grown his hobby, winning the highest echelon of titles, it’s still a thrill to be included among the mustached and bearded competitors.

“It’s fun to be in all these different competitions and to see the competitors from all over the world. It’s fun to be with them,” he said.

Hoffman’s joy was augmented at the conclusion of the 2025 competition when he became a two-time Imperial Partial Beard world champion. Cohen took fifth place in the English Mustache category. PJC

David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.