VIBRANT RED MULLET’S GOT TO GO
THE fiery red mullet that has made Mitch Hopkins one of the most recognisable men in QAFL football on the Gold Coast is set to go.
The Surfers Paradise Demons player will shave his head on February 1 at the club in a bid to raise money for victims of the bushfires and leukaemia.
It will also come a month before he is due to marry partner Kiera Byrne.
“Originally I was doing the Shave For A Cure, which we are still trying to raise money for too,” he said.
“Shaving for a cure is great and the club got behind it last year but I also realised how crazy the bushfires have been.
“It’s been wild. We thought the priority right now for
Australians would be helping those affected by the fires so we have been raising money for both.”
Hopkins has so far raised about $700 for both causes.
The 25-year-old has had his red mullet for the past four years, deciding to grow it after years of attempting to hide his ginger mane.
“I had red hair while I was at school and I got teased a bit about it,” Hopkins said.
“I dyed it black for like seven years when I was a kid. When I turned like 21 I saw a photo of my old man (Nick Hopkins) at the age of 19 and we looked exactly alike but he had this long, red mullet.
“It was also a bit of me growing out of my insecurities. I started to embrace it. Some people fell in love with it, some people hated it, but I think everyone secretly liked seeing it.”
Hopkins has grown accustomed to the hairstyle over the past few years but conceded both he and Kiera were both ready to see it go.
“To be honest I’m over it,” Hopkins said.
“It’s hot, it’s heavy and is a lot of upkeep.
“However much hair grows back for the wedding is pretty much what I’ll have there. “If I get enough then I might do a short-back-and-sides or something.”