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Man gets rid of beard after 41 years without shaving

In 35 years of marriage, Sue King had never seen her husband Rod’s face until Friday night.

This is due to the fact that the 59-year-old man from Port Lincoln had not shaved for 41 years.

After evading his work’s clean-shaven policy for a decade, Mr. King ultimately had to comply to retain his job and trimmed off his 20cm-long beard.

Daughter Jessica, 26, shed tears as she witnessed clumps of his once-mottled beard dropping to the floor. “It’s not dad,” she said, wiping her tears away.

Meanwhile, his other daughter, Emily, 30, looked on “devastated”, Mrs. King, 58, bit her nails and shook her head, while Mr. King himself required a bit of Dutch courage to complete the shave.

However, not everyone was pleased with the outcome.

Mrs. King expressed her dissatisfaction, saying, “It’s bloody awful,” referring to her husband’s new appearance.

“It simply doesn’t look like him. It will take some time to adjust; he’d better hurry up and retire to grow it back. I married him when he had a beard, and that’s how I prefer him.”

Mr. King himself was quite taken aback…instinctively reaching to stroke his beard only to find his hands empty.

“It feels strange at the moment,” he remarked. “I shaved it for work-related reasons; the company has tightened policies, but that’s understandable,” said Mr. King, who works as a stevedore and cleaner for the grain-handling company, Viterra.

“Honestly, I never thought I would shave,” he admitted.

“I don’t even know how to shave…I’ll probably end up cutting myself!”

Mr. King utilized this occasion to raise funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service, auctioning the privilege of snipping bits of his beard at the Ravendale Community Sports Centre. Prior to having it shaved in front of over 50 attendees, Mr. King expressed feeling fully intimidated by the thought of getting rid of the facial hair that had become a part of him for so many years.

“I avoid cream buns because they get stuck in it, and it’s been caught in our home drill before. I got too close, and it yanked out a chunk,” he recounted.

Mrs. King also has a multitude of memories attached to his wild beard.

“I’ve never seen his face clean shaven,” said Mrs. King, who works as a nurse.

“People ask me what it’s like to kiss him. I joke that I don’t kiss him, but in reality, it’s very soft and not prickly at all.”

Mr. King mentioned that tomorrow he plans to immediately go get a new driver’s license, as he worries that if pulled over by police, they might not believe he is the man in the photo.

by Robbo Green

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