The only woman in the USA Mullet Championships does whatever she wants 

Lissa Sears doesn't care what you think of her hot pink mullet.

"Eight years ago, I was bald because I was going through chemo. And what's the opposite of bald? A mullet," the Indiana comedian and breast cancer survivor told As It Happens host Nil Köksal.

But the person she was dating when she first sported a mullet didn't dig her 'do, and she cut it off. She regrets letting someone else dictate her style, and has no intention of ever letting it happen again. As soon as they broke up, she started rocking a mullet again, and hasn't looked back since. 

"I started growing it because it didn't matter. It was just my life, and nobody can tell me what I can and can't do," she said.  "And I love it because a lot of people hate it."

Now Sears is pitting her luscious locks against the most magnificent mullets the United States has to offer at the 2022 USA Mullet Championships.

Of the 25 "Mane Event" finalists, Sears is the only woman. There's a separate "Femullet" contest, but Sears didn't realize that when she first threw her hat in the ring.

She competed — and won — at the state level earlier this year. It was an in-person contest with judges, and Sears gave them the ol' razzle-dazzle.

"I look different. I have pink [hair], you know, and I have a story. And they gave me a mic, and I'm comedian. So it kind of was an unfair advantage," she said.

Not that her mullet can't stand on its own.

"I always tell people perspective is everything. Like, if you look at me straight on, my mullet is nice. But if I turn my head to the side and then I shake it … it's glorious."

The national title comes down to an online vote. As of Tuesday afternoon, the last day of voting, she was in 18th place. But she's aiming to turn it around last minute. The winner will be announced next month. 

"I'm begging people at the airport," she said. "I'm passing out my little business card that's a chip, a poker chip, and I'm having them scan it so they can vote."

Breast cancer solidarity

Sears was at the Denver airport on Tuesday, flying home from a mountain retreat for "flatties" — a community of post-mastectomy breast cancer survivors who either decided not to have breast reconstruction surgery, or who had to have their implants removed for health reasons.

It's a cause that Sears holds dear. In fact, it's one of the primary reasons she's competing for the top mullet prize.

"Every time I get interviewed, at least I get to mention [being] flat. And so people will know they're not the only one out there," she said. "Maybe somebody that's flat will hear me and be like, 'I'm not alone.'"

Even her pink hair is a nod to breast cancer. 

"I never wore pink a day in my life until I was diagnosed," she said. "And now it's infused."

Life's too short to conform

She says she's taken a lot of guff over the years for both her cut and the colour, including from loved ones.

"I even had a friend whose wedding I officiated said, 'When are you going to cut that?' And I said, 'You know what? This thing brings me more joy than you ever had. You're more likely to be cut out of my life and my mullet,'" she said.

"She's like, 'You're mean.' I'm like, 'No, no. I'm honest.'"

Sears says she refuses to conform to other people's expectations — a philosophy that applies to her flat chest, and her Joe Dirt mullet the colour of a Barbie dream car. 

"I'll do what I want when I want it because life's too short, you know?" she said.

"It's not YOLO. It's not 'You only live once.' It's YODO. You only die once; you live every day. So take the chances. Live outside the box. Do what you want. Who cares if people don't like it? Who cares if people make fun of you? If you like it, that's all that matters. That's what [a mullet] means to me."