JOLIET, IL — The third-largest city in Illinois takes pride in its motto as “The City of Champions.” Now, one of Joliet’s littlest residents, Damien Sallay, is trying to do his part to bring Joliet another title as he competes in the USA Mullet Championships.
His mother Melissa Meyers created a Facebook page to boost Damien’s chances for capturing the grand prize. On Facebook, Damien goes by “The Kentucky Waterfall,” a nod to his impressive hair style.
New fans are greeted with the message, “Hi everyone! Damien ‘aka the Kentucky Waterfall’ has entered into the USA Mullet Championships! On this page, I’ll post updates and all the information you need to vote!”
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Damien’s mom also posted a QR code that will take fans directly to the page to vote for the Joliet toddler.
The online voting got underway this week, and things got so popular that the Facebook page for the USA Mullet Championships crashed because of Wednesday’s voting surge.
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On Thursday, it was fixed, with a disclaimer: “MULLETS BROKE THE INTERNET.”
Damien’s mother, Melissa Meyers, reached out to Joliet Patch’s editor, in hopes of generating publicity about her son’s efforts to capture the country’s top prize for mullets.
“He’s a really bubbly kid,” Meyers said of Damien. “He smiles a lot and everyone just loves him.”
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Damien, who turns 3 in late November, got his first mullet last summer, coinciding with the country artist Morgan Wallen’s concert at Country Thunder in Wisconsin.
“He’s had it a year next week, actually,” his mother said.
Damien’s mother said that even though they missed the deadline to compete in the 2022 USA Mullet Championships, they were well-prepared for the 2023 competition.
A native of Frankfort, Meyers credited a friend, Alicia, who works at the Sport Clips in Homer Glen for styling Damien’s mullet, which is now in the running for the country’s best for children.
The online voting, a crucial part of selecting the mullet winners, is now underway and ends on July 17. Damien could win $5,000 and other sponsorships.
This year’s competition drew so many children that the organizers set up several different age brackets for kids.
Children compete in ages 1 to 4, 5 to 8 and 9 through 12.
“He’s 2, so he’s in the 1 to 4 category,” Damien’s mother explained.
From this week’s first round of voting, the event organizers select 100 kids to move into the second round.
In Damien’s age bracket, 34 kids will continue to the next round, his mother said.
“Then, ultimately, there’s a winner out of all the kids,” she explained. “It’s a lot of fun. We’ve been looking forward to it since last year.”
Winners are determined based on the online votes, fan donations and professional judging.
Money raised in the USA Mullet Championships goes to Jared Allen’s Homes For Wounded Warriors, Meyers said.
Regardless of whether Damien is crowned the nation’s children’s mullet champion, his mother hopes that his mullet is here to stay.
“We’re hoping he keeps it and grows up to be ‘The Mullet Kid,'” she said.
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