Lease among finalists in mullet competition

The third time just may be the charm for. After finishing third nationally a year ago in the teen division of the USA Mullet Championships, Lease is again putting his “business in the front, party in the back” hairstyle on the line. Lease competed in the kids division of the nationwide contest in 2022 to earn recognition for his haircut that is a nod to the 1980s. “This spectacular mudflap has been grown with the purest Oklahoma ingredients known to mankind,” Lease says in describing what “may look like just some goofy haircut.” Proud of the hairstyle he’s had the past three years, Lease says his naturally wavy, blond hair “has been lightened by the warmth of the sun. It has been my comfort in the middle of deer and duck hunting, it has been a shield for me to fight off the killer mosquitoes of Oklahoma.” He’s given his mullet a name — the Okie Mudflap — and professes “it’s just not a haircut, it’s a way of life.” When we think of the unique 1980s hairstyle, it’s not hard to visualize Brian Bosworth, Rod Stewart, David Bowie or Patrick Swayze. But if you live in Gore or go to school at Vian, the magnificent mullet is synonymous with Lease, a 14-year-old ninth grader. “I’m a young man who loves to fish, respects the hunt of wildlife, embraces the early morning hunt in a duck blind, respects my elders, attends church with my mother, protects the ones I call friends and, lastly, wears my mullet like a champ.”