Hair today, gone tomorrow.

Six weeks ago I was your regular white collar guy. Sure, I wore shorts more often than most and got away with sneakers at work, but on the whole, I was a standard suit. Well, normal office/lab worker now I am not.

Before coming to A Rocha Canada, I had not owned a pair of gumboots since I was a wee lad. Who would have guessed that the most common footwear I sport here would be the trusty gumboot? They’re good for the garden, the pond, the swamp and the short track (the 10 m dash).

  

Sporting a pair gumboots in the classic black style. These always mean business.

Whilst still being ready for business, these are the boots to wear when you want to say "I love my work."

Wearing shorts with gumboots introduces a margin of error - the area left open to attack by scorching sunrays, messy mud and vicious blackberry bushes. 

My extended gumboot wearing has resulted in me joining the ranks of farmers NZ-wide who all suffer from the phenomenon called the ‘gumboot line.’ It is well known that in the process of walking, the walls of the gumboot embrace your calves. Overcome by the near instantaneous breaking of said embrace, the walls cling on to the hairs of your legs to no avail. Skin and boot are separated, but at the cost of your little leg warmers. Over time you are left with glabrous patches halfway up the calf, creating a clearing between two forests, aka the ‘gumboot line.’ 

A close up view of the gumboot line

I wonder if anyone has thought of exploiting this phenomenon by developing a range of gumboot-based, organic, chemical-free hair removal products.

"If it weren't for your gumboots, where would ya be?" - Fred Dag