It can be a hair-raising experience talking to socio-political blogger Gabriel Seah.

And we’re not talking about his views on mega-churches as being cult-like, or the fact that he blew famous blogger Dawn Yang’s plastic surgery cover.

Rather, it’s the way he tosses his mane nonchalantly as he speaks.

The 25-year-old has long, straightened locks that almost reach the small of his back. He wanted to grow his hair out after being “forced to keep short hair for 21 years.”

Shampoo, hair conditioner, hair cuts and the occasional hair-straightening treatment costs Seah $90 in a year, not much considering the length of his hair.

“There’s also something that I like to do to other people with my hair,” Seah explained. He tied his hair in a high ponytail, and without warning, whipped his friend’s face. She yelped in pain, and he laughed.

But ask him if his hair is a symbol of defying the norm, and he disagrees.

“I don’t believe in rebelling for the sake of it. I’ve realised that you shouldn’t allow norms to guide what you want to do.”

Seah’s hair is not the only thing that he is famous for. He set up his blog, "Balderdash," in 2001, a time when socio-political blogs were virtually unheard of. People soon got to read more about his unusual musings, but it was not until late 2005 that the local blogosphere started paying more attention.

A local blogger by the name of Dawn Yang started to make her rounds on the Internet. Doe-eyed and fair, she won a local “Hottest Blogger” competition online, and soon became well-known for her looks.

However, Yang was apparently a product of extensive plastic surgery. Her flat-out denial soon became, in Seah’s words, a “big scandal in the Singaporean Internet community,” and she probably has him to thank for it.

Yang was in Seah’s junior class back in Raffles Junior College, so he had known of her.

He was reading a newspaper interview on her, where she “pre-emptively” dismissed the surgery claims. Her unprovoked denial led to him posting her pre-operation photos on the Internet. His post got syndicated on local blog portal Tomorrow.sg, garnering more than 120, 000 reads.

He said, “I think what pisses people off the most is, she denied it even though it was obvious that she underwent such radical surgery.

“She’s just digging herself further into the hole, so she should just stop digging. She should just face up to reality.”

Seah had a new enemy in Yang, whom he said reportedly shot him “dagger stares” when she saw him at a recent NUS charity event. He was there in hopes of taking a photo together and seeing her reaction.

However, the plastic surgery scandal was not the only incident that struck a raw nerve.

Early last year, Seah, who has been called “Singapore’s most famous atheist,” paid a visit to local Christian institution City Harvest Church.

The church, regarded as one of the largest in Singapore with a congregation of more than 24, 000 members, is known for receiving liberal funding from its members.

Seah desconstructed the entire experience on his blog, likening it several times to a “cash harvest cult.”

The post provoked another furore on the local Internet scene, with people holding discussion forums and blogging about the mega-church, even until today.

However, Seah remains unfazed by the uproar and said, “A lot of people dislike City Harvest Church , so I was just voicing something that other people feel.”

When asked where his “eccentricity” was developed, Seah attributes it to the local education system.

He added, “It didn’t help that I was in the gifted programme, with strange people like me.”

Yet, with all his oddities, Seah remains a good friend to his peers.

Kathleen Tan, a 21-year-old communications and new media major said, “Gabriel is a really nice and sweet person. He’s just unconventional.”

Chew Lin, a 26-year-old public sector personnel agreed. She said, “He is iconoclastic but believes in the things that he does.”

Seah also has a good relationship with his family and enjoys going out with them. He has a teddy bear at home, which he has kept since birth. He recalls how his sister, who is now married, used to hide it in the freezer and it would upset him.

His parents are neutral towards his blog, and his father even reads it “from time to time.”

But when asked for his mother’s take on it, Seah only had this to say.

“My mother reminds me every now and then that prison is not a nice place.”