It's a bird, it's a plane... nevermind, it's the Tennessee top-hat

By Kole Nielsen

November 8, 2006 | It's demolition derby time and a lot of the people you see is a proud wearer of the mullet. Where did all of these mullets come from, and why are they so proud to bear their mullet? There are many styles and name of mullets, such as: she mullets, camero mullets, top hats, mullahawk, mullatino or the skullett, and those are just a few of the mullet names.

They're all around us but at the same time they are hard to find..

Here in Logan, it's rare to find a person with a mullet. You can walk all around town and barely find someone proudly sporting their mullet then the fair and the derby are scheduled and suddenly there are more people with mullets than without. Why is this? First we must explore what and perhaps where the mullet came from.

Many people believe man ascended from apes, which brings us the mullet-term, ape drape, but perhaps the mullet started early with the cave man. Maybe the cave men were tired of having their hair in their face so they would cut the front off, but at the same time they did not want to have their necks burned from the sun and with this came the birth of the mullet. Civilizations after copied the famous hairstyle to fit the needs of the times and with every new civilization came a new style of mullet. For a more comprehensive history of the mullet, click the mullet history link.

In actuality no one really knows where the mullet name came from. There are theories and ideas out there that the name came from the movie "Cool hand Luke" when a person with long hair is referred to as having a mullet. Another popular one is term was named after a fish. That's right, a fish. There is also the idea that mullet is a French word. I say we let the French have this one. I wouldn't want to be the one claiming the rights to mullet.

Mullets hit an explosion of popularity in the 80s. This was an era of "big hair" where the world was ruled by the idea of business up front and a party in the back. Andre Aggasi ruled the tennis courts with a tennis mullet. Bono, Michael Bolton, Richard Marx and Billy Ray Cyrus rocked all ends of the music world together. Patrick Swayze even danced his way around with a mullet, while Kurt Russell won Goldie Hawn's heart with his mulleting carpenter skills. Then there is Mel Gibson, he kicked butt with his lethal mullet. Macho Man randy Savage, Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior ruled the world of wrestling. And Uncle Jesse, A.C. Slater and a young Jerry Seinfeld ruled the TV air waves. The 80s were a time when mullets ruled the world.

Today many people have been caught in the snare of the mullet and are embarrassed to admit it. One such brave person that will admit that he had a mullet is Damion Nielsen, proud mullet wearer. Damion not only had a mullet but he sported the permed mullet.

"It was the thing to do," said Nielsen, "Mullets were socially excepted and everyone was proud to have one. Even a guy perming the back of his mullet was okay. Nobody seemed to mind."

Landon Wood, a student at Bridgerland Applied Technology Center, was a person growing up in the 80s during the mullet revolution but never got caught up in all the uproar.

"I didn't' think that a mullet was that cool," said Wood, "Summers were hot and a mullet made you sweat more than ever. It was just easier to have a shaved head and not have to worry if your mullet was in the latest trend of mullets."

With so much popularity in the 80s, what happened to the mullet today? Twenty years ago there was no way to escape from being surrounded by a mullet. Today if you want to see a mullet you have to go to a fair, a carnival monster truck rally, professional wrestling match or a demolition derby. It is there that you will see hundreds of people acting if it was still 1985. Where are these people coming from? The answer to that is a hard one. They come from everywhere. It could be your neighbor, a co-worker or even a family member.

Many people that do not want to let go of the mullet can be found in such places as trailer parks, government housing, factory jobs or in that city that is way out on the other end of your valley. This doesn't mean that every person that lives in these spots has a mullets, but odds aren't in their favor. When the carnival hits town the people with mullets come out of the woodwork and show their support. We might as well get use to the idea that they are here to stay.

But what can be done about the mullet? Not much. Actually there is nothing that can be done. As being a proud bearer of the mullet myself, I never wanted nor cared to hear what other people had to say about my hairstyle. I was proud and nothing was going to put me down. But this does not mean we have to give up on trying to educate people on the pro's (if any) and con's of the hairstyle. We must reach the next generation of children through newsletters, Web sites and making it known that we disapprove of such hairstyle behavior in hope of reaching them and thinking twice about such a hairstyle.

Is it too late to reach the older generation? You better believe it is. A person growing up with such mullet icons in the 70s and 80s has no chance of breaking the habit. The mullet was just too cool and the draw just too strong.

The bond between a person and [their] mullet is too strong to break," said Derek Diccter, USU student and friend. "There is a connection there that people without mullets will ever be able to comprehend. Why even try."

Is the connection strong? Just go to the next demolition derby to find out. The answer will be found there.

Click here for a brief Beginner's Guide To Mullets.

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