My favourite response (from Marjolène Gauthier) was “alcoholic, hairy and weird.” Respondents wrote, “hidden, mysterious and fun ” “limited ” “incestuous, tiresome, sometimes surprising ” and “lacking, sparse, confusing.” Perhaps most telling were answers to my question, “Name three adjectives to describe the dating scene in Whitehorse?” The small group of survey respondents was comprised solely of women (no men I queried responded to the survey) and ranged from gals in long-term common-law relationships to single women and everything in between. I conducted a quick and dirty email survey. How do these figures play out in Whitehorse’s dating scene?
At the time of the last headcount in 2011, the number of singlemen in Whitehorse was 3,585 compared to a mere 3,135 single women. Looking at the data for single folks is a little more revealing. It’s a pithy summary of the dating experience in this town and perhaps in the Yukon in general.Ī quick look at the Statistics Canada 2012 data reveals men out number women in the Yukon by a margin of 50.8 percent to 49.2. “The app is a little old school, but I guess if you really want a guy with a beard you’ll be willing to explore and learn the app,” said Hunter.Someone recently told my lover, “In Whitehorse you don’t lose your girlfriend, you lose your turn.” So if you are in the market for a new dating app, and one that offers a wide variety of potential matches with a little hair on their chinny-chin-chin, maybe give Bristlr a chance. Most users come from the United Kingdom and the United States, but some still come from Brazil, Norway, France, and numerous other western European countries. It averages over 4,000 users per day, and it runs fairly easily like most dating apps. Today, Bristlr is enjoyed by over half a million people. And not just locally, from other countries too,” said Nate Hosey, Sophomore at Ashland University. “I think it’s interesting, it’s surprising how many people you can meet on there. Plus, an adjustable search radius allows you to meet singles from 5 miles away to 500 miles away. If you like an account and they like yours in return, then you are sent to a messaging interface. Once you have created an account, you can scroll through pictures of potential matches. The app itself is simple- Bristler asks if you have a beard, you select yes or no, and then you are able to match with those with a nice beard or those wishing to stroke such beards. “I found Bristlr while I was researching dating apps, and all of my friends know I like beards, so I decided to join as a joke,” said Bex Hunter, Senior at Ashland University. It had officially entered the dating app world. Bristlr exploded and I found myself running a joke that had gotten way out of hand,” said Kershaw.īy January of the first year, 30,000 people had signed up for Bristlr. “I was on the radio, I was in print, I was on TV. A prototype of the current app was created and pushed to numerous public forums such as Reddit and Product Hunt. Within a week, 80 people were down for bearded town, and that was all it took. Initially, Kershaw claimed that if 100 people were to signup, then he’d take the business seriously. On the train ride home I came up with the name “Bristlr”, and by the time I went to bed I had a fake signup page built.” said Kershaw
“I made a joke about how there are so many really silly, cliché sounding startups out there, that there should be one for beard stroking. The creator of the app, at the time 28-year old John Kershaw, admits that the initial idea was a joke. “Connecting those with beards with those who wish to stroke beards,” is the tagline of this beard centric dating app that launched in 2014, and has since created over half a million connections and has reached over 100 cities around the world. Maybe someone with your same religious views? Īnd if you are really getting specific, how about someone with a beard? Look no further than Bristlr. How about someone of the African-American descent? You got it, Want to meet a down-home, tractor riding country girl? is the place for you. The world of online dating has become so popular that there are even specifications when it comes to datings sites. From Eharmony to Tinder, you are bound to have heard of someone that has used online dating or at least seen an ad for one.