The event kicked-off at Kurri Kurri's Chelmsford Hotel in the NSW Hunter region over the weekend and marked the beginning of a tour of regional pubs around the country.

The annual event quickly caught international attention when it started in 2018 and will this year hit the road.

Chace Abernethy's mane of copper-red, loaded-spring ringlets feels softer than you would think. It's dense and tight and majestic to look at, behind close-clipped sides and under a tuft of vibrant orange curls on top, but your fingers sink into it like down feathers.

"The colour is absolutely all natural, mate," he says. "The colour, the curls, everything. It's all natural."

He has been growing it like this for a little more than three years. Before that, he wore it in a massive afro.

"I'm used to turning heads and copping a feel every now and then," he says, but the attention went to a new level when he took on the mullet. "Instead of an 'Oh wow!', it was an 'Oh .... wow!'."

The Singleton retail worker, who was left out of a job and rethinking his future when the coronavirus pandemic descended, was crowned 2021 Kurri Mulletfest's best 'Ranga' mullet.

Chace will return to Kurri to compete for the grand final when the inaugural Mulletfest national tour comes home to the Chelmsford later this year. In his acceptance speech, he thanked his hairdresser.