While some kids spend all year training to make finals in competitive sport, nine-year-old Slayte Reid trains his hair for Mulletfest.

The normally shy schoolboy from Kurri Kurri breaks out of his shell when it’s time to compete in the annual event and this year has been no different, his father Neil Reid says.

“He’s a quiet kid, shy and never leaves his dad’s side but when it comes to Mulletfest, I barely see him. I’ve got to basically chase that guy around,” Mr Reid said.

“Mulletfest just changes everything in him. He’s in there, dancing on the stage, he’s yoohoo-ing… it’s a great day. My little boy’s had such a hard life, he looks forward to this, he waits all year for it. It’s the best day of his whole year.”

Slayte competed in the hair show for the third year in a row on Saturday.

Contestants train their locks for years, grooming them to perfection to create the ultimate “business up front, party in the back” look.

They compete in a range of categories, including “rangas”, vintage (for the over-50s), grubby, extreme, everyday and even rookie, for those with a mullet less than two years old.

Competing in Mulletfest has not only helped Slayte overcome a difficult upbringing, but it’s also earned him plenty of admiration around town.

“He’s got such thick hair, everywhere we go people say, ‘You’ve got a cool mullet bro!’ I’m really jealous of it you know?,” Mr Reid laughed.

On Saturday, the event returned for a heat at The Chelmsford Hotel in Kurri Kurri, NSW – where the celebration of the iconic ‘do was dreamt up in 2018.

Laura Johnson had been looking for a way to create some clean family fun and a tourism injection for a town struggling after the closure of an aluminium smelter that had employed generations of locals.

Growing from its fringe roots, the competition has expanded into a series of fixtures taking place Australia-wide, from Rockhampton to Perth and Alice Springs.

The winner of each category and the overall winner is then announced at the Mulletfest grand final, to be held in the Hunter Valley on December 2.

Six thousand-strong Kurri Kurri might be described by Mulletfest organisers as “the town that was saved by the mullet”, but the phenomenon is far from a locals-only affair.

As the mane movement gained momentum, proud mullet-wearers have made the pilgrimage to the pub from all over the world – including from Norway, North America and the UK.