Mark Zuckerberg takes his public image very seriously—so much so, he reportedly made Facebook employees blow dry his sweaty armpits prior to big events.
This bizarre claim was featured in Facebook: The Inside Story, an upcoming book written by Wired's Steven Levy. According to a review by Business Insider's Austin Carr, an unidentified Facebook communications executive was tasked with blow-drying Zuck's underarms to combat anxiety-induced perspiration ahead of his public speeches.
A number of outlets pointed out several times when the Facebook founder suffered from excessive sweating while addressing an audience. The most notable instance occurred in 2010, when Zuckerberg touched on Facebook's privacy issues during a D8 interview with Kara Swisher.
Business Insider reached out to Facebook for comment; a representative could neither confirm nor deny the book's blow dryer claim.
"I doubt this is true and if so it would have been at our communications team's request, but surely anyone who has ever worn a grey T-shirt can relate," spokesperson Liz Bourgeois told the outlet via email.
The book explores the rise of the social network and how it revolutionized communication and the way the world uses the internet. The Inside Story is based hundreds of interviews from Facebook insiders, as well as the surviving pages of Zuckerberg's old private journals.
Facebook: The Inside Story is hit shelves on Feb. 25.
