After 600 entries, three rounds of voting, and nearly 30,000 online votes, a winner has been named in the 2022 USA Mullet Championship.
On Saturday, October 22, the three finalists of the competition appeared live on TODAY alongside the championship’s founder, Kevin Begola. This year's finalists included Dalton Cleghorn from Ohio with his mullet “Mulletmania,” Scott Salvadore from New York with “The Lord’s Drapes,” and Brandon Hernandez from Texas rocking the "Texas Tailgate.”
The three men all appeared virtually to see who would win first prize, which includes $2,500, sponsorship packages and the honor of knowing you have the best mullet in all 50 states.
After a quick drumroll, it was announced that Scott Salvadore had won the competition with 3,740 votes according to Facebook. Cleghorn ultimately received 3,208 votes and Hernandez received 2,855 votes.
Salvadore took a moment to celebrate on camera before describing how he was feeling live on-air. The champ said, "It feels like I just won a mullet championship. I brought the title to Stillwater.”
Before the winner was announced, each of the contestants chatted about their mullets with TODAY’s Kristen Welker, Peter Alexander, and Joe Fryer.
Before Salvadore grew out his championship-winning mullet, he had actually cut his original mullet off for his girlfriend, but grew it back after the couple got married. He explained, “When I cut that first mullet off, it was such a part of my identity, I felt like a part of me died.”
“Mullet chose me and I cut it off. I had some cold neck problems, I wasn’t happy about it,” he added, joking. “As far as happiness goes, I think mullets are a lot like jet skis and to quote my fellow brother in ‘Mulletdom,’ Kenny Powers, ‘I’ve never a sad person on a jet ski.’”
On the other hand, Cleghorn said his inspiration for growing out his mullet was purely for humor, explaining, “They say party in the back, but it’s honestly party all around. I thought it would be funny to have a mullet.”
Hernandez, whose wife entered him into the competition, talked about what defines “mullet culture,” explaining, “It’s just an all around good feeling, the good life. You waking up every day with a positive attitude and tenacious attitude while having fun living life.”
“When you hear local people shouting out ‘Nice mullet bro!’ it feels good,” he added. “Mullets are back and it’s back now with some modern day swag.”
Salvadore joins Emmitt Bailey from Menomonie, Wisconsin and Cayden Kershaw from Wausau, Wisconsin as a 2022 champ. Bailey took home the grand prize in the kid’s division with 9,896 votes while Kershaw won the teen’s division with 3,215 votes.
When Begola spoke to TODAY Parents in August, he reviewed the formula for a great mullet. He explained, “A great mullet starts right behind the ear. If you shave it too far back, it almost becomes a mohawk.
“A good mullet has that nice short front and if you were to tuck all the hair in the back or put it in a ponytail, you wouldn’t even see it,” he added. “You would think the person was clean cut.”