Bill Burr is a very popular stand-up comedian and actor. And like most middle-aged men, Bill is follicly challenged. He currently opts for the clean, shaved look. On his podcast, a balding 19-year-old viewer emailed him, seeking advice on how deal with hair loss and improve his dwindling sense of confidence.
Bill’s response was honest, blunt, practical, funny, and inspirational, all at the same time. l’ll embed the video at the bottom of this post. Here are his six best nuggets of wisdom:
- First, he tells the young man his feelings are natural, and goes on to explain how he beat the balding blues and got his mojo back. Upon learning he was losing his hair, Burr said he initially freaked out like Nancy Kerrigan, bellowing why?! why?! why?! to himself. But then, he came to a realization. Reflecting back he tells the kid “as I always do, I just go, ‘Alright, this is the situation.’ I can either sit here and act like a bitch or I can try to find the positive.” Excellent advice! And there is a bright side to baldness, I assure you.
- Second, he tells the young man to look for people in his situation (i.e. other men who are experiencing hair loss) and who are also successful. And there are many successful bald dudes, some of whom I chronicle in my great bald men series. Burr looked to other prominent and celebrated actors for inspiration, including Ed Harris and Woody Harrelson. He said “they’re still leads in movies and still crushing it.”Amen. You can add Jason Statham, the Rock, Bruce Willis, Larry David, Kiefer Sutherland, and many more to that list.
- Third, he advises the young man to stay fit and healthy, saying this: “here’s the deal, if you bald young, here’s how you catch up: You stay in shape. Because most people, it’s an absolute shit-show by the time they’re 35.” As a 32-year-old dude, I can tell you he’s very accurate in his assessment there!
- Fourth, confidence is key! I say this all the time. James Gandolfini was a sexy beast of a man who women loved, in spite of his hair loss and weight issues. What was James’ secret to success with the ladies? Confidence, of course, with supplemental doses of charisma and talent. Burr concurs with my sentiments, stating, “women really respect confidence. If you carry yourself, and you just make jokes [about your hair loss]…you have a sense of humor about it…women really respond to that.”
- Fifth, treatments are available, but you can also just let your hair go. Burr opted to embrace hair loss, but he noted that there are treatment options for pattern baldness, and that the treatments will only get better in the future. He says acceptance and “not giving a fuck” is the best choice if possible. And I agree! Even though I run a hair loss site, go figure.
- Sixth, hair loss will only hold you back if you allow it to! This is perhaps his best point of them all. The young man states in his email that he was worried early hair loss was a “one-way ticket to mediocrity.” Burr ends his therapy session in a Tony Robbins-style flourish! Seriously, you should really listen to it. Here’s his last bit of advice:
“The one-way ticket to mediocrity is believing you’re on the road to mediocrity…Go out there and crush it…hit on women that are allegedly way out of your league. Just swing for the fucking fences, and do the same thing as far as whatever dream you have, as far your dream job, just absolutely swing out of your shoes every time you get an at bat. Honestly, dude, if your hairline is gonna stop you…Jesus Christ, you’re better than that. You hold your destiny in your hand. ”
You can subscribe to the Bill Burr podcast here. The audio clip is below.
Robert Price is a writer, consumer advocate, and hair loss researcher with thousands of hours of experience in the field. His goal is to keep you out of the hair loss rabbit hole, underworld, or whatever you want to call it. He founded Hair Loss Daily, the unbiased hair loss blog, in 2016. You can learn more about Robert in the my story section of this website.