The last time Reece shaved off his mullet, he was in primary school trying to dodge an outbreak of nits.
“I’ve just always had it,” he said.
“I don’t even go to the hairdressers. I wash it every second day, sometimes I straighten it.”
But inspired by the loss of a friend who was “like family”, Reece wants to raise funds for Rare Cancers Australia and is willing to say goodbye to his mullet to do it.
At the beginning of the year, Reece decided he wanted to raise funds to help other patients with the same cancera disease where abnormal cells split without control and spread to other nearby body tissue and/or organs Jess had, liposarcoma.
He doesn’t like facial hair, as he gets grey hairs, but has started growing a beard with the aim of shaving it off after 12 months, collecting donations along the way.
If Reece’s donations reach $5000, he’ll also shave his head and cut off his beloved mullet.
Reece had known Jess since they were kids. He became mates with Jess’s brother Steven, and soon Reece, Steven, Jess and her other brother Jeff were inseparable.
“They’re basically my second family,” Reece said.
Now working fly-in, fly-out, Reece regularly leaves his car at Steven’s house when he heads to the airport, and the families have kept in touch.
He’s planning to get the clippers out at their family home in February, surrounded by Jess’s family – including her parents Shane and Julie, husband Philip and three daughters.
“They’re all going to have a go at it,” he said.
In the meantime, Reece has a few months of hair growth and fundraising ahead of him, hoping to hit a total of $8000.
Stay tuned to see a clean-shaven Reece once his fundraising is complete!