Have you ever seen someone with a great mullet hairstyle and just had to tell them?
Hayes Pesch, a four-year-old from New Glarus, and Tyler Mortier, a mailman from Fond du Lac, experience this frequently.
And they should. Their mullets are among the best in the country.
After two rounds of public voting, they have made it to the third and final round of the USA Mullet Championships – Pesch in the kids’ division and 32-year-old Mortier in the adult division. Nathan Lofy of Sayner is also a finalist in the adult competition.
Pesch, also known as Hippie Hayes, has worked on his mullet hairstyle his entire life. And yes, that blonde is his natural color, according to mom Heather Pesch.
Mortier’s mullet hairstyle is three times as old as Pesch’s. And over the last 12 years it has become his trademark. In a tailored denim coat, Mortier, er, father mullet, marries family and friends.
In the final round of the national competition – known as the Mullet Showdown – the winner of each category will be determined by a combination of public votes, judges’ ratings and donations to Jared Allen’s Homes For Wounded Warriors, the Mullet Champ team said in an email.
Voting will run from August 14 to 21. Winners will be announced on August 28.
We’ll show you more than just mullets and tell you the stories behind Wisconsinites’ hairstyles. Plus, learn more about the USA Mullet Championships and how you can cast your vote:
Hippie Hayes: He got his hairstyle and nickname from a mullet-haired family friend
Pesch’s parents have a longtime family friend nicknamed Hippie who has worn a mullet hairstyle for over 50 years, Heather explained.
“My husband really liked his hair, so we said, ‘Okay, let’s do it with Hayes’ hair,'” she said.
When Hayes was born, they did just that. And they shared the nickname “Hippie” with their little one.
Since Hippie Hayes is a “wild, funny, loving” boy who likes to shake his hair, it fits, according to his mother.
People often comment on Hayes’ light blonde locks and even ask if they can take photos, Heather said.
Heather thinks the blonde color makes her son’s mullet hairstyle stand out from the competition. Both Hayes’ mother and father had the same hair color as children.
When Heather heard about the USA Mullet Championships on Facebook, she entered her son for the first time last year. After not placing in the top 50, they decided to give it another try.
“At the end of the Mullet Contest last year, we gave Hayes two options: cut the mullet or let it continue to grow,” Hayes’ contest bio reads. “Our determined and dedicated boy has decided to give this Mullet Contest another chance and keep his luscious locks.”
To get the word out, they put up flyers throughout Green County, had T-shirts made, and continued to promote his participation on Facebook. Hayes also served as a parade steward in Monticello last month.
This year, Hayes finished Round 2 in fourth place.
If Hayes wins the competition, Heather plans to put the $5,000 prize money into a college fund for him. But if Hayes had his way, he would probably get a dirt bike, she said.
Hayes, who will enter the 4K class this fall, is interested in “anything that has a motor,” which includes dirt bikes, power wheels, semi-trucks, tractors, quads and RCs (remote-controlled vehicles).
“He keeps me on my toes,” Heather said. “We always have something to do. He keeps me busy, but like I said, he’s very loving.”
Hippie Hayes’ participant page can be found here: mulletchamp.com/mullets/hayes-pesch-hippie-hayes.
Father Mullet: postman, former rugby player and occasional wedding officiant
Mortier has had a mullet hairstyle since 2012. Since then, he has cut it and let it grow back four times.
Back when he was playing rugby, his long locks were too hot in the summer, he said, so he decided to cut the top and sides short, but left the length at the back so it could still “blow in the wind.”
“In the end, I liked it so much that I’ve just kept it ever since,” he said.
He would describe it as “somewhere between business casual and party casual.”
The nickname Father Mullet was given to him during his time as a student at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
As he entered the student radio station where he worked, the station manager at the time walked in, snapped his fingers and pointed at Mortier.
“He just said, ‘Father Mullet,'” Mortier said. “‘I don’t know why I just said that, but it was the first thing that came to mind.'”
Mortier thought it had “a good sound,” so it stuck.
After Mortier’s father retired and took over the wedding ceremony, Mortier decided to offer the role to family and friends as Father Mullet. Over the past two years, he has performed six weddings in his custom-made denim robes.
“I may not be the most traditional choice for the most important day of a person’s life,” he said. “But I want it to be fun. And so if people want to have a fun wedding, a memorable wedding, what better way to do it than to hire Father Mullet?”
Mortier first heard about the USA Mullet Championships on ESPN8 The Ocho in 2020, the year the competition was founded. In 2023, Mortier decided to compete for the first time himself.
“It’s definitely a weird competition,” he said. “It’s nice to see a hairstyle that I wanted to revive maybe a little before it became trendy being recognized again. That being said, there are a lot of mullets everywhere that aren’t in this competition, and it’s cool to see the style come back after being considered kind of a ‘silly hairstyle’ for most of my adult life.”
Although he didn’t make it past the first round in 2023, Mortier came back “with a vengeance” this year – and his people are ready to cast their vote, he said with a laugh.
In Round 2 of 2024, Mortier made it to the top 25, finishing in 16th place. He attributes his success to his “natural curls” and the photo he submitted of his mullet hairstyle colored like the American flag. That hairstyle took 14 hours to create at Alpha Barbershop in Oshkosh – where he is a regular, he said.
If Mortier won the $5,000 cash prize, he would use part of it to purchase media equipment to cover the 45th anniversary of the Oshkosh Pigfest 10s Rugby Tournament in 2025. Motier has played the sport for 18 years, several of which were spent with the club, and he would save the rest of the prize money, he said.
Father Mullet’s participant page can be found here: mulletchamp.com/mullets/tyler-mortier-father-mullet.
Ginga J: He lets his “beautiful red hair shine in the back”
According to Lofy’s bio on the USA Mullet Championships website:
Lofy, also known as Ginga J, grew out his locks for three years, but after working outside on a sweltering hot day, he knew some of it had to go.
“I couldn’t cut off all the hard work,” Lofy said in the bio. “So, of course, the only solution was to cut off some of the top and sides, but leave the party piece at the back!”
This way, he would remain “cool and comfortable” even in the heat, while his “beautiful red hair on his back could continue to shine.”
“I have never felt so free!” he said in his biography.
Ginga J’s participant page can be found here: mulletchamp.com/mullets/nathan-lofy-ginga-j.
This is how the final round of the 2024 USA Mullet Championships will work. And which non-profit organization the competition supports.
Three groups will compete in the final round: the top 25 kids, the top 10 teens and the top 25 adults, plus two live event winners. The adult live competitions will be held on August 10 at the Illinois State Fair and August 11 at the Indiana State Fair. The winner of each event will complete the top 27.
When voting resumes on August 14, voters can cast their ballots in the following ways:
- On the page of the candidate you want to vote for, click “Vote Now.”
- Enter your e-mail address.
- Open the email you received from Mullet Champ and click “Vote Now.”
- Note: You can only vote once per email address within 24 hours.
Jared Allen’s Homes For Wounded Warriors is a nationwide nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide accessible, mortgage-free housing tailored to the injuries of veterans wounded in war, according to the organization’s website.
All donations made on behalf of competitors during the 2024 competition will go directly to the organization, according to the USA Mullet Championships website.
So far, Hayes has raised $591.06. While Mortier hasn’t made it to the board yet, he said he has several companies in the final round that plan to donate. Lofy has raised $366.17.
This year’s celebrity judges for the competition will be professional motocross athlete Aaron Plessinger and sports star Boston Connor from the “Pat McAfee Show,” according to a press release.
In addition to the cash prizes, winners will receive a personalized champion belt and a GoPro HERO12 Black.
