Mane man, Ambrose Skrypek takes out the Kid Mullet Cup 2025 – and announces bold plans
An eight-year-old from Aldinga Beach has won the coveted Kid Mullet Cup for 2025 – and revealed his hair-raising plans for his luscious locks.
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After competing against 40 finalists and their 40 fabulous mullets, eight-year-old Ambrose Skrypek has come out on top to win the coveted Kid Mullet Cup 2025.
We first met the Aldinga Beach local during the competition when he told The Advertiser about his wish to grow his mullet for good.
“I want to help out people (with) cancer,” Ambrose, who intends to donate his hair to cancer patients and raise money for research, said.
When Ambrose’ mum, Kimberley Skrypek told him the exciting news he was “so excited” and “could not believe it”.
“It makes me feel so happy,” Ambrose said.
His mates were quick to congratulate him on his big win with Ambrose keen to take the infamous Mullet Cup along to “show and tell” at school next week.
“(My friends) said ‘good job Ambrose’,” the young champion said.
“I’ll probably put (the cup) on the bench near the TV in the lounge room.”
Mrs Skrypek was also overwhelmed by her son’s success and said she and her husband were “so happy” to see Ambrose’s mullet get the attention it deserves.
“He is always having a good time and living his best life but he really does encourage other people and make them happy, so it is really good to see him shine,” a proud Mrs Skrypek said on Wednesday.
Read more about Ambrose’s Kid Mullet Cup Journey
While Ambrose Skrypek’s mullet may be flowing, he plans to cut his luscious locks for a good cause.
“I want to help out people (with) cancer,” Ambrose said.
The eight-year-old said that while his iconic haircut makes him “popular” and “cool” at school he will say goodbye to it at the end of his footy season to raise money for the Flinders Foundation.
He will also donate his hair to be made into wigs for cancer patients.
“I think they might be excited,” Ambrose said.
His mum, Kimberley Skrypek, who works for the Flinders Foundation said she was proud of her son’s “good heart” and “old soul”.
“He’s such a good kid,” Ms Skrypek said.
“I think he’s a bit more open to (cutting his mullet) now that we’ve been around the hospital and we had a family friend pass away last year of cancer so it sort of became a bit more real.”
As he prepares for the chop, Ambrose is making the most of his mullet with Ms Skrypek working her magic with the curling wand to make it extra special.
The youngster said his look was inspired by AFL idols, Josh Rachele and Jess Waterhouse who are also known for rocking a mullet.
“He has always had really long hair and when he started primary school some of the boys were like ‘oh you’ve got long hair’ … and as he started to see some of the AFL players with a mullet he decided then to go and grow it out,” Ms Skrypek said.
“The mullet is (Ambrose’s) thing, it’s his personality.”
Get to know some of our other fantastic finalists …
Emanuel and Christian Pollidorou
What’s better than one mullet? Two mullets!
Brothers Emanuel and Christian Pollidorou have both been rocking the legendary haircut for the past two years
“(Emanuel) started it and then he cut it and then I grew it and he grew it back with me,” 12-year-old, Christian said.
While siblings may not always be known for sharing, the boys say they don’t mind having matching mullets which were originally cut by their dad and barber, Nick Pollidorou.
“We do it together,” 11-year-old Emanuel said.
“(Christian’s mullet) is curly, mine is straight.”
Christian said he hopes to donate his hair to charity while Emanuel has his sights set on growing his mullet and working towards his dream of becoming an AFL player.
“(I want to play for) any club I can get into,” Emanuel, who currently plays for the Payneham Norwood Union Football Club said.
Maverick Whitney
Some things just run in your family and for three-year-old Maverick … it’s mullets.
Maverick’s dad, Andrew Sroka has rocked a mullet since he was 19 years old.
“My grandmother told me … she loved the way my hair looked,” the 53-year-old said.
“My grandma passed away not long after that …(so) I just kept (the mullet) and wouldn’t shave it for anyone because that was what she said looked good.”
Luckily for Mr Sroka, Maverick’s mum, Samantha Whitney, is a fellow mullet fan telling him if he ever loses the iconic look, “(they) are over”.
“(Andrew and I) have got three (children) together, so we’ve had our two girls and I said to him if the next one’s a boy, I really want him to have a mullet,” Ms Whitney said.
“It’s just the style of it.”
As her son has autism, Ms Whitney said Maverick’s hairdo often provides him with a voice when he is unable to communicate his thoughts using his words.
“Even though he doesn’t talk a lot to us … if you say ‘Maverick, what are you doing?’, he sort of just flicks the hair back and sort of gives me the side eye,” Ms Whitney said.
“He knows what he’s doing.”
While the Ingle Farm parents are all for Maverick developing his own opinions, they admitted that their “fingers and toes” are crossed that he will keep the mullet like his dad.
“At this stage the way he reacts with it and everything else … we’re saying he is going to keep it,” Ms Whitney said.
Felix Knoll
Nine-year-old Felix Knoll has been counting down the days to nominate his mullet for The Advertiser’s Kid’s Mullet Cup.
He’s even been taking extra precautions to make sure it is a worthy nominee.
“Since he knew about the competition, every haircut, they trim the top, but they’re not allowed to touch the bottom,” Felix’s mum, Sam Knoll said.
“He hasn’t had it trimmed since last January.”
After being inspired by Aussie icon John Farnham and tennis great Andre Agassis’s iconic manes, Felix had been begging for a mullet for months until his dad, Alex Knoll finally gave in.
“We kept it a secret from mum, so it wasn’t until about three haircuts in that she started to realise (there) was a bit too much on the back and then that’s sort of where we started,” Mr Knoll said.
Felix said that the secret to a great mullet is “conditioning and shampoo” as well as some help from dad to make it curly.
“I just know that curls get the girls,” the cheeky youngster said.
Felix’s “luscious locks” even caught attention while he and his family were on an overseas holiday.
“We were in Dubai, and we’re on this ride, and there was some kid from like Pakistan or something, and he just looked at Felix and was like ‘hey, are you Aussie?’,” Mrs Knoll said.
“He gets stopped a lot.”
After competing in the 2025 Kid’s Mullet Cup, Felix plans to call time on his legendary haircut and donate his hair to cancer patients.
Bentley Hurst
When Bentley Hurst was four-years-old he decided it was time to take his hairstyle into his own hands, asking his mum, Elisha Mitchell for a mullet.
“We just started growing it from there,” the Paralowie mum said.
Over the years, Bentley’s mullet has grown to new lengths, with the end of his mane grazing the top of his hips.
“He gets a lot of attention every time we go somewhere,” Ms Mitchell said.
“He doesn’t like a dirty though, I have to wash it every second day and blow dry it … So it’s a bit of an upkeep, and he’s got longer hair than me.”
After being diagnosed with level three autism at three years old, Ms Mitchell said Bentley’s hair has become his “security blanket”, with the mum-of-five saying her sons connection to his mullet has shown her how hair can carry a deeper meaning for some.
“Especially for my son with the autism and stuff. I’ve never really experienced anybody else with a child, a boy with hair as long as his,” Ms Mitchell said.
“(It brings him) a lot of confidence, even with the photos today … he just thought that he was it and a bit … absolutely loved it.”
Bentley’s classmates are also fans of his mullet, requesting how they want to see it styled each day at school.
From his signature braided look to a straightened style, the nine-year-old rocks his mullet and loves to show it off when attending the burnouts in Mallala.
“The people out there, they absolutely love it,” Ms Mitchell said.
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