- Christopher Krebs is well-known as the federal cybersecurity leader who stood up to Donald Trump.
- Krebs also became famous for his long hair, subject of many tweets, some from famous people.
- Experts say Krebs could be a top "hairfluencer" with his primo example of a "surfer shag."
Christopher Krebs is well-known for being the federal cybersecurity leader who stood up to Donald Trump over his false claims of election fraud – and got fired soon after. That moment in the spotlight also turned his hair into something of a meme.
Now that he's out of government, Krebs laughed about his famous hair in an interview with Insider. But experts say he's got seriously great hair – "hairfleuncer" great hair.
Krebs thinks it's funny. "I blame COVID for all this. If you look at the official portraits from before, the hair is very business-like. Then I saw pictures of myself last winter, and I was like, 'Man, I gotta get a haircut.'"
At the time, fans of his hair disagreed. "We also like your longer quarantine hair. Don't cut it," one tweeted. Others called it his "surfer hair." Actress and activist Mia Farrow tweeted about Krebs' hair.
—Mia Farrow (@MiaFarrow) November 18, 2020So did Krebs' wife, and Krebs himself. Among many others. Many others.
Krebs called it his "COVID mullet" in his interview, and insisted that former Department of Homeland Security official Suzanne Spaulding has better hair than him or Anne Neuberger, President Biden's top cybersecurity official at the White House. Spaulding too, has gotten Twitter love for her hair.
—Room Rater (@ratemyskyperoom) February 26, 2021"Suzanne Spaulding has the best hair," Krebs told Insider.
Spaulding, who has left her DHS cybersecurity role to be an advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, deflected the compliment. In an email to Insider, Spaulding said of Krebs, Neuberger, and herself: "Given how long all three of us have had our hair on fire about cyber threats, it's a wonder we have any hair left at all!"
Neuberger did not respond to a request for comment, perhaps due to her day job of keeping the country safe from cyberattacks.
Asked if he would consider doing endorsements for hair-care products after his auburn locks became a political meme, Krebs laughed and told Insider, "What a great idea. I should look into that." He wasn't serious.
The thing is, if he actually did want to, he could totally rock being a hair model, experts say. "With hair as good as his, he could absolutely be a well-known hairfluencer," said Stephen TheSalonGuy, a social media hair expert with millions of YouTube views as well as network TV appearances to his credit. "He's got the hair that people of all ages on social media want. It's actually the most-requested hairstyle on YouTube."
What Krebs degrades as his "mullet" is actually a perfect example of "the surfer shag," TheSalonGuy, also known as Stephen Marinaro, says.
"Christopher Krebs' social media hair meme has become as well-known as his political career and cybersecurity expertise," says Alex Frolov, CEO of HypeAuditor, an AI analytics platform that helps companies with influencer marketing. "He could easily land an exclusive sponsorship contract or even launch his own brand of shampoo with say, cyber protection from dandruff."
There are no actual plans for Krebs to do anything like this, of course. But Twitter always has, and perhaps always will, love his locks.
Watch:
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