Best Beard in SA to be revealed soon
Voting for South Australia’s best beard is now closed. Stay tuned for the winner!
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From long beards reminiscent of Gandalf to precision-cut facial hair, it is safe to say beards are the pride and joy of many South Aussies.
While some opt for an au-natural approach and let their mighty beard grow freely, others turn to barbers, select beard oils and top of the range trimmers to keep their whiskers tamed.
The Advertiser is on the search for the state’s best beard and with plenty of beard bearers sporting everything from stubble to a full grown mane in the running.
Earlier in the year Roxby Downs boy Bryce Williamson claimed The Advertiser’s Kid Mullet Cup but now it’s time for the adults to show off their locks.
Voting is now closed but be sure to check out the top five beards leading the race while we tally the votes.
Check out the top five beards currently leading the race
Adam Atsisauskas, Morphett Vale
Andrew Chataway, Ottoway
Bill Dragos, Henley Beach South
Chris McConnachy, Angle Vale
Scott Dickinson, Glandore
An Angle Vale couple owe their relationship, house and 2-and-a-half-week old bub to a roaring red beard that made sparks fly during their first encounter.
After some cheeky banter between Jessica Sweet and Chris McConnachy in 2020, she could not keep her eyes off his impressive beard.
“I asked how soft it was and if I could touch it,” Jessica said.
“We kind of started talking that night and something kind of clicked – and four years later here we are.”
Not surprisingly, Mr McConnachy’s beard – which always gets plenty of looks – has been nominated in The Advertiser’s Best Beard in SA competition.
Ms Sweet has never seen her partner without his flowing whiskers.
“It’s actually very soft – it’s not wiry or anything,” she said.
“The colour, the softness, everything is actually very natural for him, so he’s pretty lucky.”
Mr McConnachy’s efforts to shampoo and condition his beard weekly are of no importance to baby Hawk, who sees it as perfect plaything.
“He has had a tug of the beard, already had a few handfuls,” Ms Sweet said.
“I think Chris is resigned to the fact that that’s just going to be the way it is.”
Fellow finalist Chris Lockyer has had a beard in various forms since his 20s, but in 2015 his bristles were taken to the next level after being complimented by a national leader.
“If we go back to when Malcolm Turnbull took over from Tony Abbott … within a few days of that happening he came to Adelaide,” Mr Lockyer said.
“I happened to be on King William St on the morning he was strolling up to the Commonwealth centre and he just sort of ignored the journalists and called out to me and said ‘that is a magnificent beard’.
“It was pretty funny that he should single me out.”
The 60-year-old’s brush with fame was captured by the TV cameras who aired his beard’s moment of glory on the evening news.
“I dined out on that for quite a while,” Mr Lockyer said.
“My friends said ‘oh well that’s not just a beard, if the Prime Minister endorses it, that’s a nation building beard’.”
While Mr Lockyer’s wife may not always be a fan of his wild facial hair, which he has not trimmed in 12 years, he believes he owes it to the country to “keep the faith and let the wilderness bloom”.
“I say to my wife, if I trim my beard too much then I would show my devilishly handsome face and I would constantly be harassed by people wanting to take me out,” he said.
“It’s my duty to stand proud for the people of Australia and show you can still be somebody despite looking a little dishevelled.”
Mr Lockyer’s beard’s beauty was elevated at the 2023 Royal Adelaide Show when it was styled by a florist in the inaugural floral beard competition.
“I kept the flowers in after the thing had finished and we took some photographs and that became the part of the Christmas card,” he said.
For Scott Alexander, beards are more than just facial hair, they are a lifestyle.
The barber from Port Adelaides’s House of Lords Barbers of Distinction has been proudly growing his bristles for 20 years.
“I’ve had it all sorts of lengths from real short to the longest which is what its at now,” Mr Alexander said.
“I love my beard, it’s part of my personality.
“It’s just great.”
Not only does the 39-year-old barber enjoy taking care of his own set of impressive whiskers, he also takes great pride in styling and trimming the beards of fellow South Australians.
“It’s like my trimmer and my clippers are a paintbrush, I’m like Picasso or van Gogh,” Mr Alexander said.
“I’m a beard guy, I like the beards.”
Mr Alexander said the secret to growing some fabulous facial hair was maintenance and not being afraid to turn to professionals when navigating “that awkward stage”.
“We have guys coming to see us who say ‘I want to start growing a beard but it gets to the point of the itchiness and the sort of ingrown hairs and then I get sick and tired of it and just shave it off’.
“That’s the part we help out with.
“We’ll give you the advice of what to do and what beard care to use.”
Mr Alexander said that taking care of one’s beard can boost self-confidence and improve mental health.
“100 per cent look good, feel good,” Mr Alexander said.
“A beard is a statement … and the wives and girlfriends will love it.”
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