In water, where resistance is greater, hair can make a measurable difference. As such, swimmers have long shaved their legs — and their arms and chests, too — for hydrodynamic gain. A bald body, like a seal, slips quicker through the pool.
In other sports, smooth man legs are a Grade A diversionary tactic. That’s according to Dan Williams, a 42-year-old adventure racer from Champlin, Minn., who compares leg shaving to poker: “It’s like Texas Hold ‘Em,” he said. “Anything that gives you a psychological or perceived psychological edge, will in fact give you that edge.”
In any competition, Williams continued, there’s a field of athletes attempting to read where each person ranks. Having clean-shaven legs — thighs flexing, contoured muscles sparkling in the sun — immediately identifies one as core. “Like mirrored sunglasses or carbon-fiber spokes, clean legs promote a slight mystery about you,” Williams said.
For serious road cyclists — the most vocal and particular participants in this investigation — legs are an instant identifier, said Jamie Smith, author of “Roadie: The Misunderstood World of a Bike Racer” (VeloPress, 2008). Smith, a shaver for 22 years, said male legs are the first thing he looks at when showing up for a group bike ride. “A quick glance determines where you are in the sport,” he said. “I know who the serious and safer riders are from their defined tan lines and clean legs.”
In a section of his book titled “Do You Really Shave Your Legs?”, Smith writes: “In any group of cyclists, a serious Roadie can instantly spot the not-so-serious Roadies. The telltale sign: hairy legs. A cyclist makes a strong statement about his dedication to the sport when he goes against the societal norm and shaves all the hair off his legs.”
Not that aerobic athletes shy from bucking societal convention. The same demographic that shaves is known to do other crazy things, too. Like run 50 miles in a day. Or bike around Lake Superior for fun one month.
But the buff guys in Spandex — chests puffed out under jerseys, legs glimmering above athletic shoes — are also an easy butt end to a joke. Just ask Stephen Bullard, a man who for a time wore a one-piece hot pink zebra striped suit to race in triathlons. “The truth hurts, but I admit it,” he said.
Today, Bullard’s preferred brand of shaver is one his daughter gave him for Father’s Day. The Gillette Venus has five blades and a “ribbon of moisture.” It comes in pink and teal, and the company tags a slogan on the packaging: “Reveal the goddess in you.”
“I keep telling my wife that shaved legs are sexy,” Bullard said. “But she remains unconvinced.”
—Stephen Regenold writes a blog on outdoors gear at www.gearjunkie.com.
