Marky Worthington performing stand-up comedy at The Basement. Photo: Down In Front Photography.
Canberra’s men have a new benchmark to meet: Mark Worthington officially has one of the top 50 beards measuring between 12 and 18 inches (30 to 45 cm) in the world.
In case you didn’t know there was such a title, the local IT expert and stand-up comedian won it at the biannual ‘World Beard and Moustache Competition’, held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, over three days in early July.
This annual competition attracts more than 400 beards – of all shapes, sizes and styles – from all over the world, held in a different country each year.
And thanks to Marky’s involvement, there’s a chance it could come to Canberra in the future.
Competitors came from all over the world for the 2025 World Beard and Moustache Competition. Photo: Marky Worthington.
Marky piqued the interests of the organisers, product company Mad Viking Co, after taking out ‘Canberra’s Best Beard‘ at the annual Beard Competition at the King O’Malley’s Irish Pub last September.
His facial turf journey started in 2014 with a goatee – until he asked his Tinder date what she thought of beards, and she replied: “I hate them”.
“So I shaved it completely off – clean shaven – but then she ended up standing me up on our next date. I vowed never to shave again.”
His next date happened to like beards, and the one after that became his wife – the first relationship he’s entered into where the other party “doesn’t care whether I have a beard or not, but she does like it”.
“The funny thing is, the beard has been the longest relationship I’ve ever had.”
During a podcast with Mad Viking Co after the win at the O’Malley’s pub, he was offered a place among the judges at the next world competition.
It meant six days away from work travelling 41 hours by plane to a place 32,000 km away – but in the end, he was among more than 420 of the world’s best beards, including from the US, UK, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, and even one fellow Aussie.
All up, he judged six categories, including for the styled beards and business beards.
“The business beard was really tough – it’s for beards up to one centimetres long, so really short, tight beards … and you’re looking for colour, pattern, and also grooming,” he said.
Competitors in each category would have one pass of the seven judges, and provide a brief introduction and story to their beard, before the judges would raise paddles numbered between 1 and 10.
Marky was a member of the judging panel. Photo: Marky Worthington.
First place overall went to a man who had only ever trimmed his beard in eight years – with a final measurement of more than 90 cm.
“He said one of the difficult parts about the event was having it actually out for three days, because most of the time, he ties it up to keep it out of the way,” Marky said.
Marky couldn’t judge in the category he entered – the 12 to 18-inch category. It was the largest, with more than 100 competitors alone.
“A lot of people competitively trim their beards so that they can drop down into that category, like cutting weight as a UFC fighter.
“A lot of the crowd had come to know me by this point, because a lot of people wanted to talk to the Aussie, and so I got up the front and gave my spiel about how I’d been growing my beard for 10 years and won Canberra’s best beard and thought it was worthy of the world stage.
“And I got a good response from the panel.”
While he didn’t make it to the podium, the scores of 7.5 and 8 he received were enough to put Marky among the top 50.
Outside the result, he says it was great to “feel the sense of community in these events”.
“Everybody knows each other. It’s nearly like a family reunion. Often these people don’t see each other outside of the beard comps, but some of them have been competing for literally decades, and they catch up every two years.”
The next world competition is slated for Blackpool, England, in 2027 but Marky is eyeing 2029’s event back in the US in Washington, where he hopes to further raise his ranking.
Marky Worthington’s ‘beard competition shrine’. Photo: Marky Worthington Comedy.
Marky said he also put in a good word for Canberra, such that there’s “a good chance we could host a future event”.
“They’re pretty much backed up for at least the next six years with potential proposals, but there’s a lot of support for Australia to host a future event. A lot of the competitors and organizers just really want to visit Australia.”
For now, Marky plans to bring his newfound beard-judging skills to the next Canberra Beard Competition, to be held at King O’Malley’s on Sunday, 24 August.
“I’d definitely like to judge and just say a few words to the competitors.”
Visit the King O’Malley’s website for updates on the next Canberra Beard Competition.
