Andre Agassi wore a wig

[optimus prime]

Some quotes here that I can relate to when I first started to loose my hair. (Not the wig part - I have never worn one, but the shaving the head).

Every morning I would get up and find another piece of my identity on the pillow, in the wash basin, down the plughole.

It was Brooke Shields, who he married, who suggested he ditch the syrup.

'She said I should shave my head,' he said. 'It was like suggesting I should have all my teeth out.

'Nevertheless, I thought for a few days about it, about the agonies it caused me, the hypocrisy and lies.'

It took him 11 minutes to become a chrome-dome.

'A stranger stood before me in the mirror and smiled,' he said.

'My wig was like a chain and the ridiculously long strands in three colours like an iron ball which hung on it.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/ar ... -Open.html

 

[qball01]

In hindsight its interesting to see how well he adapted and IMO shows the affect that true acceptance can have....some guys may something like "hes a celebrity, he looks good bald so it doesn't matter etc." but I think its similar for most people, regardless of status....going bald can hit very hard in the beginning regardless of who you are. With Agassi especially, his long hair was his identity...so it took just as much guts for him to do what he did than it would anybody else arguably more because he was in the spotlight....and embracing it definitely paid off for him in the end.

Just goes to show...its not what happens, but mostly how you react to it.

 

[TooYoungTooBald]

He wore a wig in 1990? In 1990 he was 20 years old, you're telling me he was at least a NW5 at 20 years old? Man that's rough.

 

[barcafan]

Man that story he told was pretty sad. I could totally empathize with him and how he felt, it really did control him as it did me and so many others

 

[thetodd]

Well, I completely shaved my head a few weeks back and I feel the same way about it that Aggasi did. It was liberating. No more worrying about doing so many different things every day to keep my hair. The rogaine twice a day, the finasteride, shampooing with nizoral three times a week, and spraying the prothick on to hide the fact that doing all of that was having a minimal effect, if any at all. Now granted, shaving your entire head can be a pain in the ***, but I only do it every three days or so. No big deal. I don't mind the way I look, either. There's an old saying about controlling the things you can, accepting the things you can't, and learning to know the difference. Well, I tried to deal with my hairloss and didn't have much success. So I accepted it and took back my dignity by no longer letting it control me or the way I feel about myself. The people in my life who really matter approve of my decision, and I honestly don't care what anyone else thinks.

 

[barcafan]

Well, I completely shaved my head a few weeks back and I feel the same way about it that Aggasi did. It was liberating. No more worrying about doing so many different things every day to keep my hair. The rogaine twice a day, the finasteride, shampooing with nizoral three times a week, and spraying the prothick on to hide the fact that doing all of that was having a minimal effect, if any at all. Now granted, shaving your entire head can be a pain in the ***, but I only do it every three days or so. No big deal. I don't mind the way I look, either. There's an old saying about controlling the things you can, accepting the things you can't, and learning to know the difference. Well, I tried to deal with my hairloss and didn't have much success. So I accepted it and took back my dignity by no longer letting it control me or the way I feel about myself. The people in my life who really matter approve of my decision, and I honestly don't care what anyone else thinks.

That's actually the serenity prayer, and yeah if you're able to truely master it, you're going to be way better off

God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference

 

[s.a.f]

He wore a wig in 1990? In 1990 he was 20 years old, you're telling me he was at least a NW5 at 20 years old? Man that's rough.

Why do you think he was NW5 at 20? Would it suprise you to know that most wearers are probably only NW2/3/4 people dont usually wait until they're slick bald before wearing a wig/toupee most get one before their hairloss becomes obvious.

 

[qball01]

I remember a while back, when Agassi was brought up in the impact forum before. I said that Brooke may have dumped him because of his hairloss, etc...and there were others on here (particularly the "being bald isn't so bad" guys) swore up and down that Agassi had no issues with his hairloss, and that he was successful, bla, bla, bla...

And now this? :whistle:

Yeah, being bald isn't so bad. Yeah right.

Like I said before the guys who always say "being bald isn't that big of a deal" are the NW1's and 2's who have no clue how different life is as a NW5/6. No clue whatsoever, yet they're so quick to criticize those who do know what it's like being severly bald.

its sad how negativity permeates every part of your being so that everything you say is just pessimistic....

lets recap...you're using this as an example to prove your point about baldness when in reality...you (a 40 something year old bald man) are criticizing a then TWENTY year old famous tennis player whose long hair was his trademark for being embarassed about going bald and wearing a wig to cover it up?

That would be understandable...if it weren't for the fact that HE SINCE WENT ON to fully embrace his baldness, shave his head and move on relatively unphased by it to become one of the greatest tennis legends ever.

Don't try to lump me in with "the Norwood 2's who don't understand"....I'm faaar from a Norwood 2 as I've told you many times...If anything, I completely understand what Agassi went through because I'm one of the rare ones who has extensive hairloss. IF you really need me to convince you...with my hair grown out I would look as bad if not worse than this http://www.gossipbeast.com/wp-content/u ... alding.jpg

so don't try to use this as an example to prove your point because if anything it proves MINE....it can be EXTREMELY hard to deal with at first...but even Agassi accepted his cards, moved on..and is now considered one of the celebs who has made bald kind of "cool"...

And also, read the excerpt where he writes about Brook Shields convincing him to shave it off.....yeah, clearly she left him because he was getting bald, because thats the only thing that matters to women when it comes to their partners....riiiiiiight.

 

[Dalton]

He wore a wig in 1990? In 1990 he was 20 years old, you're telling me he was at least a NW5 at 20 years old? Man that's rough.

No he wasn't a NW5 at the time, probably a 3.5. But he wore it long so it would have been noticeable and looked bad.

 

[IBM]

He wore the wig for the French Open in 1990, the first time he had reached a Grand Slam final.
"Then a fiasco happened," he said. "The evening before the match I stood under the shower and felt my wig suddenly fall apart.
"Probably I used the wrong hair rinse. I panicked and called my brother Philly into the room.
"It’s a total disaster!" I said to him. He looked at it and said he could clamp it with hair clips.
"It took 20 clips. "Do you think it will hold?" I asked. "Just don’t move so much," he said.
"Of course I could have played without my hairpiece, but what would all the journalists have written if they knew that all the time I was really wearing a wig?
"During the warming-up training before play I prayed. Not for victory, but that my hairpiece would not fall off.
"With each leap, I imagine it falling into the sand. I imagine millions of spectators move closer to their TV sets, their eyes widening and, in dozens of dialects and languages, ask how Andre Agassi’s hair has fallen from his head.

It was Brooke Shields, who he married, who suggested he cut all his hair off.

 

[TooYoungTooBald]

Why do you think he was NW5 at 20? Would it suprise you to know that most wearers are probably only NW2/3/4 people dont usually wait until they're slick bald before wearing a wig/toupee most get one before their hairloss becomes obvious.

No he wasn't a NW5 at the time, probably a 3.5. But he wore it long so it would have been noticeable and looked bad.

Sorry guys didn't think, still must have been hard. The thing is though, the guy became well known for his hair (obviously after his Tennis) and he was wearing a wig the whole time, must have been like living a lie. Second post particularly, do you know this or just speculation? I'm too young to even know, sadly . When did he stop wearing the wig and come out with a shaved head? At least the guy looks good with a shaved head, and you get to wear a hat in tennis.

 

[Dalton]

Why do you think he was NW5 at 20? Would it suprise you to know that most wearers are probably only NW2/3/4 people dont usually wait until they're slick bald before wearing a wig/toupee most get one before their hairloss becomes obvious.

No he wasn't a NW5 at the time, probably a 3.5. But he wore it long so it would have been noticeable and looked bad.

Sorry guys didn't think, still must have been hard. The thing is though, the guy became well known for his hair (obviously after his Tennis) and he was wearing a wig the whole time, must have been like living a lie. Second post particularly, do you know this or just speculation? I'm too young to even know, sadly . When did he stop wearing the wig and come out with a shaved head? At least the guy looks good with a shaved head, and you get to wear a hat in tennis.

He shaved it in '95. Here is picture that year..

 

[karl_h]

Andre Agassi's long hair was a big part of his identity, and helped to make him popular with women all over the world.

For this reason, it must have been very hard for Agassi to shave his head and admit to everyone that he has lost a significant amount of his hair.

I think this probably made him to lose some of his female fans, and also made him a popular target of the media, who probably didn't hesitate to remind him of how his hair used to look.

I respect Agassi's guts to just shave it all off and face whatever he had to as a result of it.

 

[IBM]

He made fans not just with the female but the youth. Its like Valderrama who had the skills of a number 10 and an odd appearance on the field.

 

[Smooth]

took him down atleast 3 pts...

 

[karl_h]

Did anyone see the interview of Andre Agassi on 60 Minutes yesterday?

I respected how honest he was. He talked about how he began to lose his hair at the age of 17 and getting a hairweave in order to give the appearance of having a full head of hair because he was afraid of losing endorsement contracts.

I think many of us would have done something similar if losing our hair had the potential to cost us that much money in our careers.

 

[End_Game]

Baldness only affects Agassi's looks because he has a weird head shape, otherwise, he would look great. he looks OK. Better than a lot of other dudes at least.

I respect him for just shaving it off. No doubt it would have been difficult for a guy like him that was reknowned for his talent and impressive locks to 'move on', esp considering how popular he was with women, but he did.

Still, if i was Agassi, i would have been majorly pissed about it :woot: