“Maybe it’s the wind in their hair when they’re running. I haven’t got a clue,” Kootingal Hotel’s Andrew Yeo said.

“For me personally, I’ve always had a buzz cut so haven’t had my hair this long for probably 20 years – and I’ve actually enjoyed the fact the shampoo’s not running into my eyes now: I can lather it up.”

There’s a solid reason Mr Yeo and the people of Kootingal have been keeping it business at the front, party at the back, though.

It’s all to raise money for motor neurone disease support and research; it’s a condition many locals have fought or continue to live with, including Mr Yeo’s dad Graham and great mate Daryl Bath.

Mullets for MND comes to a head at the hotel on Saturday, and all that style sacrifice will turn into coiffure congratulations when the top tallies and most majestic manes are revealed.

Read also:

Mr Yeo said individuals’ fundraising from the past few months had already grown to $15,550, smashing the organisers’ goals and raising hopes they could even get to $30,000 by the end of the day.

“The idea is just to get a bit of awareness there and have a bit of fun … with all these dirty mullets ’round,” he said.

“The town of Kootingal has embraced it really well; it’s been really humbling to see how much they’ve supported the cause.”

On Saturday, from 1pm there will be a family fun day including a monkey maze and face painting; from 4pm there will be live music; and from 6.30pm there will be the mullet judging.

The three categories are: best mullet among fundraisers; biggest fundraising tally; and crowd favourite mullet, open to those who might not have taken part in the campaign but just love to wear the style year-round.

The funds raised will be shared between Macquarie University Research Centre and MND NSW.