Bully victim’s story fires up campaign
Jamieson Waaka was proud of his mullet.
A confident teen, he was inspired to get the eye-catching cut after a challenge from his uncle, his father Wiremu Waaka says.
But two weeks after the re-style, Waaka says his son’s behaviour changed and he began bullying his three other siblings.
Waaka asked his son why he was being mean.
He discovered the 13-year-old was being bullied at school because of his new hairstyle. “At home he was being a bit of a dick to his brothers and he was bullying them and I pulled him up and said ‘what are you up to, man, what are you bullying your brothers for?’
“‘Who bullies you, you don’t even get bullied’. And he said ‘yeah I do
. . . I’m getting bullied at school’.”
Jamieson then broke down in tears.
But that same day, about four weeks ago, Waaka said he had been listening to Flava FM talk about beginning a “mullet movement”.
The Flava breakfast crew of Darryl-Mathew Suasua and Astley Nathan (Daz and Ast) created a song and a Mullet Anthem video, which has clocked up 750,000 views. Waaka called the station and suggested they should fundraise for a charity for those who are bullied.
While the parody — an ode to Kiwi mullets — proved a hit with thousands of fans, Jamieson’s story really struck a chord with the DJs.
“To be honest, we really didn’t see this one coming,” Daz said.
Ast added that he felt bad they were having fun yet one of their fans was suffering because of his appearance.
They’ve since teamed up with Youthline to launch “Don’t Attack”, a campaign primarily aimed at raising awareness around bullying. The three-week campaign finishes today with a 12-hour fundraising effort.