Mormons and Beards and Bigfoot Oh My! Provo Canyon Footage

If you have not seen the Provo Canyon Bigfoot video uploaded by Youtube user Beard Card yet, well first, where have you been? It has been an internet and media sensation since it was released on October 30th. The footage allegedly shows a short clip of a Bigfoot standing up from a squating position. Immediately the videographer and his/her companions take off running. I must admit when I first saw this video it looked rather compelling and I had high hopes that it was the real deal. Upon further research it appears however that it indeed may not be all it seems.

Whats in a name?
The one thing that stood out to me was the username of the uploader, Beard Card. In my research it has occurred to me that most internet users use the same username over several sites, it makes it a lot easier to remember log in information. I did some research on the username Beard Card and found that the only occurrence of this username appears on that one Youtube channel and does not seem to appear anywhere else on the internet. Red Flag in my opinion. When the video first appeared on the 30th it was the only video on their channel and all the subsequent videos added since then are enhanced, slowed down or news coverage of the original. Red Flag again.

So where does the username Beard Card come from any way? And what does it mean?

Enter the Mormons and the Beards
Upon a further search I found the term beard card. Beard card is a very specific term and is used only one place that I am able to find. On the campus of Brigham Young University. At BYU male students are prohibited from growing a beard. A student may get an exemption from this rule for medical or religious purposes, this exemption is  referred to by the students as a beard card. BYU happens to be located in Provo, Utah and approximately 4 miles or so from Squaw Peak where this video was allegedly filmed.


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So I think it is now safe to assume that whomever the filmer of this video is, with near 100% certainty has ties to BYU. Perhaps a current student or former student. It is also safe to say that the filmer lives in or near Provo.

Did we find the videographer?
Further in my research I came across the domain name BeardCard.com. BeardCard.com is the brainchild of Lorne Sleem. According to this article  http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/central/provo/byu-student-changing-the-meaning-of-the-beard-card/article_7acb613f-16aa-574e-afb0-3686be411a5d.html

"Lorne Sleem grew up in Manchester, England, where he was required to wear school uniforms and as a result expressed his personal sense of style through his facial hair. At BYU Sleem has to keep his face clean shaven.
So he started a business creating multiple beard looks and selling them on different colored T-shirts for students to wear."


 My first thought immediately turned to Mr. Sleem as the person behind the video. I contacted Lorne through his email and he responded. He says it was not him but it certainly has been a boon for his T-Shirt website.

"Hi Steve.

Sorry I am not the creator of the youtube video. It's just a coincidence that whoever made that video named their profile name Beard Card. It's been good advertising though for me, but I have nothing to do with that video. Sorry.

Lorne."

Although Mr. Sleem says he is not responsible for the video he is from Provo and is a graduate of BYU. He works in advertising. Go check out his site, even though the shirts are directed at BYU students, they are rather cool.

Further evidence points to a BYU connection

On Friday the 2nd of November, someone was passing out fliers on the BYU campus announcing the Bigfoot video. Each flier had the bottom left corner torn off according to this article: http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/central/provo/bigfoot-near-squaw-peak-video-of-mysterious-creature-goes-viral/article_4df99b1e-6beb-599c-ad82-faedf45efb69.html?comment_form=true#comments

"By Monday evening, the video had more than 3 million views, with comments offering explanations, criticism and a variety of typical Internet vitriol. Fliers announcing the encounter appeared on the south end of BYU campus on Friday. Mysteriously, the bottom left corner of the fliers was torn away."

I spoke with Steven Streufert on this subject and he said:

"Fascinating. The clue we need is in that little corner of the paper. I wonder if full sheets were distributed at all?" 

Indeed, the clue is in the corner. If you or someone you know has a copy of this Flier please send it to us here at Sasquatch Scoop. 

Now what?

It leaves us wondering who is behind this video. We may know where they are from but we don't know the who. Is this a viral marketing campaign? Is this a student prank? Is this perhaps a real Bigfoot encounter? These are the answers we are still looking for. In the meantime, I hope that what I have presented here gives some insight behind the story. Perhaps it gives further investigative clues to help determine the validity, or not, of the claim. While we are waiting for the answers, Please enjoy Phil Poling's breakdown on his ParaBreakdown channel at Youtube.