Meet Curtis Bennett: The 145kg bush weapon who’s emerged as an Ekka cult hero

Meet the VB-drinking TikTok star with the mullet who can fell a timber stump in seconds who is emerging as the Ekka’s people’s champion.

“I’m going for the big fella with the mullet” the adoring Ekka crowd whispers as Curtis Bennett and his 145kg frame enters the woodchopping arena.

He’s the VB-drinking 193cm “gentle giant” with the meanest mullet in the game who’s capable of felling timber stumps in seconds.

He’s got the hair, the physique and the stamina – it’s not hard to see why “Bubba” Bennett has emerged as the people’s champion of the Queensland Royal Show.

The 22-year-old competitor from Majors Creek, an old gold mining town south of Canberra, has also attracted a cult following on TikTok with his woodchopping heroics attracting millions of views.

Woodchopper Curtis Bennett, 22, at the 2022 EKKA at RNA Showgrounds. Picture: Jerad Williams

“TikTok loves my hair. People comment all the time. Mum’s actually a hairdresser and she hated it and would never cut it, but she’s come around,” Bennett said.

“Mum says she always hears people cheering for me in the stands. I’ve always been pretty good and look a bit different. The hair definitely plays a part.”

Bennett said the videos started out as a “piss take” between mates and have turned him into a social media sensation with 32,000 followers.

“I put one up and it got about six million views yeah,” he said.

“It’s a sport that can be pretty satisfying to watch. My partner does the videos and she just taps into what they like.”

@bubbabennett3 #ekka #secondday #mullet #woodchopper #vbvollies #fullbullclothingusecurto10 ♬ Me On You - Muscadine Bloodline

Bennett does not claim to be the star axeman competing at the show.

By his own admission “he goes good” but “there’s better” – including Brayden Myer and Kody Steers, both competing alongside him at the Ekka.

Bennett, a third generation axeman to compete at the Ekka after father Simon and grandfather Len, is armed with speed and power of a rugby league player. Len Bennett actually won a world title in 1975.

Woodchopper Curtis Bennett, 22, at the 2022 EKKA at RNA Showgrounds Picture: Jerad Williams

“None of us look like the fittest people in the world but we surprise a lot of people,” he said.

“They’ve actually tested it in America and it takes as much effort and stamina to run a mile in four minutes as to cut for one minute.

“It’s such a high impact, intense sport. So you have to be fit in your own way.”

@bubbabennett3 This is why and how you debark the logs #woodchopping ♬ Beer Can - Luke Combs

Bennett said the woodchop arena could be a brutal place of sledging and “hatred”.

“We all hate each other in the arena, it’s super competitive and we all talk sh*t about each other,” he said.

“But as soon as it’s over we’re in the bar together, all of us. The sport draws you in like that.

“We are all just a big bunch of gentle giants.”