All that is unkept and hairy

While it is not a truism that every tech group has a hairy-guy, it certainly is true that the hair-guy is an archetype for a tech worker. I’ve known several over the years. Today I met a group that’s doing some interesting development…..and sure enough they had a hairy-guy.

Your basic hairy-guy should be tall, have a beard that looks like it was built by (and perhaps inhabited by) a small woodland animal, and a general disregard for hygiene. T-shirts are a must, the older and rattier the better. The hairy-guy in the group I met today had an old beat-up tied dye shirt (a metal band or geek saying t-shirt would have also been acceptable).

I’m not sure where the hair-guy archetype originates from…I’ve always assumed that these people know so much and are so useful that their general appearance is forgiven. The wild beard is basically a badge that communicates “I’m so valuable that they’ll even let this distasteful facial hair slide.” I’ve known hair-guys who have been asked to get a cleaner appearance and thrown a fit. Evidently they keep their personality in the extra hair.

The hairy-guy today didn’t seem to fit the archetype. Sure he was hairy as all get out. His posture and dress mimic traditional hairy-guy down to a tee….but he wasn’t saying anything smart and useful. Eventually it dawned on me that he might not be a true hairy-guy - just an unkept employee. Then the following occurred to me - perhaps this is just a case of someone following the advice of “don’t dress for the job you have – dress for the job you want.” Perhaps he’s mimicked the every detail of hairy-guyness with the hopes of being transformed into an all-knowing tech nerd.