Meet villain Wesley
Updated: Apr 27
Crazy in the bearded coconut
In this article we meet Wesley Butstraen.
Belgian Villain since May 11, 2018.
Wesley, please introduce yourself.
I am Wesley Butstraen. Born in 1980 in a family with another brother and two sisters.
I ' married to Evelien and we live in De Panne, the Belgian coast. Together we have 3 children: I have 2 daughters and Evelien has 1 son.
What's your job?
I work as a staff member for the Tourism Department in Ypres. Here I am responsible for a large part of the marketing and communication and I help to welcome the visitor of the future.
In addition to my main profession, I have a side job in which I do freelance creative communication as Mediaheer. Here I try to help small companies, SMEs, organizations and associations with their digital communication.
I also do the same for our Belgian chapter of Bearded Villains.
The bearded life, what does that mean to you?
I've had my beard since it grows well enough to grow. I think I've had a slight ring beard since I was 18. I have grown my beard since 2010.
Occasionally a piece has been cut, but in recent years I always let it grow.
My beard is now a good 10 cm long and I always say I'm in half. For me it can certainly be a lot longer, as long as it stays neat.
I rarely go to a barber, because my girlfriend also trained as a barber. That's really easy. This way I can always go somewhere if something needs to be trimmed.
My daily beard routine consists of washing my beard with beard shampoo and a few times a week I also put in a beard conditioner.
After washing, dry well, comb through and then occasionally some beard oil.
I use Barburys products for this.
I am also a huge fan of Sugarbeard's products. I personally think their beard wax is the best. I also love that they have original scents in their range: bubblegum, banana, fruits,...
A major disadvantage of their products is that they are still very difficult to obtain from the United Kingdom. I once made a large order and it took over 2 months to deliver it to me.
What does BVBE means to you?
I got to know the Bearded Villains Belgium through Instagram. When I saw that they mainly focus on family, friendship and charities, I was very interested.
I joined in 2018 and also helped with the big ALS benefit. There I was allowed to lead the charity auction and that was a great success.
Now we are 4 years later and to help the club after the corona crisis, I also want to commit myself a little more to organizing things and participating in activities again.
What's your favorite...
Drink: I have to put Duvel at the top of the list there. I'm a real fan. I even have a Duvel tattoo! I also really like the Ypres city beer, Wipers Times.
Since I've been working for tourism, I've gotten to know that and I'm also going to taste more regional products.
Dish: I like to eat and I eat a lot. I find many things that my fiancee Evelien prepares delicious. My big advantage is that I like a lot. And that is also my big disadvantage, because the wheight stick easily.
So what I like to eat: almost everything! The list of things I don't like is much smaller.
Holiday destination: I live in De Panne, 800 meters from the beach and 600 meters from the forest. Home is also a bit of a vacation for me.
Long and distant journeys do not appeal to me. A few days city trip is sufficient for me (but not necessary). I did promise my fiancée that we'll go to Mexico or something someday.
Band: I'm a layman in music. I don't really have a favorite band, but I am a fan of Tomorrowland. I already went to the festival 7 times and the atmosphere, music and friendly people there really appealed to me.
Music track: the song bloodbath on the Blade soundtrack is one of my favorite songs. It's also on my running list and gives me an extra boost when I'm running.
If you could trade places with a famous person or superhero for a day, who would you trade with?
I would like to be world famous for a day, like Barack Obama. You often see short, simple films in which he meets ordinary people and has an impact on their lives. Yes, I would like to do something like that for a day.
What is your wish for the future?
There is a lot of annoyance about diversity. Is this about origin or orientation or something else... People can tolerate much less from each other, while we can actually learn a lot from each other.
That is why I wish everyone an open mind to the future. May you meet people who make your life valuable and you theirs.