A 10-year-old Jefferson County boy is in the running for a national hairstyle title.
Nolan Schanz Jr. is among 25 children who advanced to the finals of the Best Kids Mullet of 2022 contest sponsored by USA Mullet Championships.
The winner of the contest, for children 12 and younger, will receive $2,500, Pit Viper sunglasses that say “Mullet Champ” and other championship gear.
Nolan said he entered the contest as an homage to his late grandfather, who sported a mullet, and to social media star Larry Enticer, who also wears the hairstyle that features short hair in the front and sides and long hair in the back.
“I am really surprised,” Nolan said of being one of the finalists.
The final voting for the contest is scheduled from Monday, Aug. 15, through Friday, Aug. 19. Votes may be cast online through the USA Mullet Championships website, mulletchamp.com.
The first two rounds of voting were held in July on the USA Mullet Championships Facebook page.
Nolan, who lives in the Festus area, received 1,000 votes in the opening round, which had 689 entrants, and he received 2,000 votes in the second round featuring 100 competitors, according to the contest’s Facebook page.
Contestants paid a $10 entry fee, and USA Mullet Championships said it donated $3,500 from those fees to Maggie’s Wigs 4 Kids of Michigan, a nonprofit organization that provides wigs for children and young adults with hair loss due to cancer, alopecia, burns and other disorders.
“I didn’t think it would blow up like this,” said Nolan’s mother, Kayla Schanz, 34, of the Festus area. “I didn’t think we would make it through the first round.
“The amount of shares were incredible. I would read what people wrote when sharing the post, and a lot of what these complete strangers wrote melted my heart. There also were teachers from his school sharing it, and his principal.”
Nolan will be a fifth-grader at Telegraph Intermediate School in the Jefferson R-7 School District when classes resume.
Growing the mullet
Nolan said his grandfather, Kevin Schanz, who died in May 2019, inspired him to grow his mullet.
“Once my son started growing it, my husband (Nolan Schanz Sr., 38) did it, too,” Kayla said.
Kayla said her son’s mullet is more than 8 inches long.
She said Enticer, a Canadian who posts videos of stunts he does on snowmobiles to social media, encouraged Nolan to continue to grow his mullet.
“I sent a message to Larry Enticer, and he sent (Nolan) an autographed picture, stickers and the message, ‘Keep sending it,’” said Kayla, who added that Enticer uses the catch phrase “Send it” before many of his stunts.
Nolan’s personality also suits the hairstyle that traditionally is described as “business in the front, party in the back,” his mother said.
“He is outgoing, goofy, always down for a good time,” Kayla said.
Nolan’s hairstyle attracts plenty of attention, his mother said.
“I am used to it,” Nolan said.
Kayla said her son is very selective about who can touch his mullet.
“I don’t really like people touching my hair,” Nolan said.
The contest
The USA Mullet Championships holds national contests for men, women, teenagers and children, along with local competitions in places around the country, according to the group’s website.
Kayla said Nolan was reluctant to enter the contest when she first told him about it.
“Over this past year, we talked about it, and he got amped up for it,” she said.
Kayla said she used to cut Nolan’s hair, but before entering the contest, she enlisted the services of stylists to get her son ready to compete on the national stage.
Jonathan Murr, who is Kayla’s and Nolan’s cousin, and Frankie Petrillo at Vinty Beauty Bar, 110 E. Main St., in Festus have worked on Nolan’s mullet for the contest.
“When they first decided to do it, they made a post on Facebook to find someone who wanted to do it,” said Murr, who has been a barber since 2019 following a 14-plus-year career in the Marines. “I reached out right away and told them we would love to have him.”
Murr handles the primary duties of cutting the mullet, and Petrillo trims Nolan’s hair and creates designs. Nolan had an American flag shaved into the left side of his mullet for the contest.
Murr said Nolan received another haircut and design on Aug. 4 for the final round of the contest.
“We are not taking anything lightly,” Murr said. “We are coming up with ideas to set him above and beyond the other 24 competitors.”
Win or lose, Kayla said Nolan’s participation in the contest has been fun.
“I just appreciate everybody,” she said. “It has been uplifting. It is for fun and laughing.”