Fremont teen overcomes bullying to become U.S. mullet champion
A Fremont teen who was once made fun of for his hair was named the USA Mullet Champion for his age group last month.
14-year-old Mason Padilla says he was inspired to try the "business-in-the-front, party-in-the-back" style by an iconic movie.
"I saw the movie 'Joe Dirt,'" said Mason. "I thought he looked cool when I watched the movie, so he inspired me to get the mullet."
When Mason wanted to try the style, his mom, Michelle Padilla, encouraged him to do it.
"We've always told our kids, 'We'll let you try anything once. We'll see how you feel about it when you have it and if you love it, then keep going with it,'" she said.
He kept going until he became this year's Teen National Mullet Champ.
The USA Mullet Championship is an online competition. Contestants are judged by a panel by a number of criteria including mullet length, style, and uniquness.
They also collect donations for a charity. This year's cause was Jared Allen's Homes for Wounded Warriors.
Finally there is an online voting period, all of this is tallied together to crown a champion in three age groups: child, teen, and adult.
"I constantly say who would have ever thought a haircut would bring us to where we're at today," said Michelle.
But all of this almost didn't happen, shortly after Mason first started started growing out his mullet, nearly five years ago, he decided to cut it after he experienced bullying.
"His older brother's friend was saying he had a girl haircut, and I believe at one point said he had a rat tail," said Michelle Padilla about her son's experience when he first tried the haircut.
"It made me feel mad and sad. But once I cut it off, I regretted it," said Mason.
After that he doubled down and committed to the style.
Professor of public health and psychologist Mike Stanton says this type of bullying is common among adolescents, but it doesn't necessarily make sense to make a change because of it.
"Changing themselves, that sometimes works, but people are going through a lot of changes and it might work one day and the bullies might find something else to bully the child on. So it's not always a quick, easy fix like that." explained Stanton.
Stanton suggests that a child going through bullying find a support network, possibly of good friends, trusted adults, or a counselor or therapist.
He added that it's important for kids to stay true to themselves.
"Being authentic is going to pay dividends in the long run as they get older," said Stanton.
For Mason, he reached out to his mother.
"We are proud of him," she said.
Because Mason didn't let the bullies win, he is celebrating his win and prizes, which include a GoPro camera, $1,000 and a trophy belt.
He plans to keep the belt forever, but he has a different plan for the money.
"Donate some of it to Wigs for Kids, and around Christmas times I'm going to donate money to a group that gets little kids gifts who's parents don't have enough money to buy them presents," said Mason.
He's not sure if he'll try to defend his title next year. If he does cut off his hair, he's donating it to Wigs for Kids.