Emmitt Bailey, an eight-year-old boy from Wisconsin, was crowned the title of USA Mullet Champion. He was formerly known as Mullet Boy for his flowy long hair. He won in the children’s division of the USA Mullet Championship among 700 other participants between the ages of one and 12.
“It’s awesome,” Bailey said. “It’s cool that so many people tell you that you got sweet hair.”
An online voting system determines the winner of the championship. Bailey earned 9,896 votes.
Initially, his mom, Erin Bailey, was not supportive of her son skipping out on hair appointments. She wanted him to cut those locks off, however, he was stubborn about keeping the hair. He nicknamed the look “Mufasa” after getting hair inspiration from the famous lion.
“He was pretty adamant about wanting the mullet since the beginning. I wasn’t on board right away, but it’s just become part of his personality now. He just likes to do his own thing and have his own hair,” Erin Bailey said.
It was worth the hair growth as Bailey won a $2,500 cash prize. He plans to spend on a go-kart and a pair of Pit Viper sunglasses.
The mullet competition kicked off in 2020 and Kevin Begola, a Michigan business owner, launched it to honor the iconic hairstyle. “You’ll hear a lot of people say, ‘it’s not just a haircut, it’s a lifestyle,’ and I really do think that’s part of it.
“Most people with a mullet, obviously they can take the heat if people are kind of giving them crap about it, but I think we’ve kind of turned that corner,” Begola said.
Begola added that the mullet is a quirky way to add some fun to the stresses of daily life.
“I think it’s all about not taking life so seriously. I think it was a mixture of culture pushback on just everything that’s been down, with COVID and politics and everything. I think this was a good relief for everybody,” Begola said.