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It may be the most reviled hairstyle on earth, but a cadre of shaggy-haired Vancouverites is determined to help the mullet make a comeback.

Friends Ben Besler and Caleb Weitzel, both 29, have declared May "mullet month" in Vancouver. They've teamed up with 26-year-old hairstylist Vanessa Greenidge of Knotty Boy salon in East Vancouver. She is offering a $25 special on mullet haircuts all month and challenging other hairstylists to do the same.

Why the mullet?

"Because it's the most influential hairstyle of all time," says Mr. Weitzel, an electrician. "Everyone is always talking about the mullet."

He's not exaggerating. Last month, newswires were buzzing when Iran effectively banned the mullet as part of a crackdown on Western hairstyles. Although Iranian authorities did not call it by name, warning signs posted in Iranian malls and barbershops were emblazoned with the mullet's unmistakable bushy tail and spiky top.

Versatile and low-maintenance, the mullet channels the vigour of the biblical Samson and his full-bodied hair. "Up front it's all business, but in the back it's a party," Mr. Weitzel says.

For Vancouverites, the party side will rear its head on Friday when mullet month organizers host a gathering at The Cambie bar for mullet-heads to show off their 'dos. Mr. Besler, Mr. Weitzel and Ms. Greenidge are spreading the word about the event by e-mail and on websites such as Craigslist.

Outside of mullet month, signs of mulletude are sprouting again. Emily Blunt, the caustic assistant in The Devil Wears Prada, is now filming Sunshine Cleaning, in which she playsa punk pothead wearing an offbeat mullet. Her coif features blue and purple hair extensions and Ms. Blunt's boyfriend, Michael Bublé, is reportedly a fan.

Rock star champions of the leonine mane, such as the group Guns N' Roses and Geddy Lee of Rush, are touring again this summer.

And Nicholas Cage, in his latest film Next, sports a mullet that screams, "See, I still have hair!"

"I think my age group really appreciates the mullet," Mr. Weitzel says. He points to David Bowie in his Ziggy Stardust days, Don Johnson of 1980s cop-mullet fame and Mel Gibson, who wore a mullet 'fro in Braveheart. "We're pulling a bit of a nostalgia move here," he says.

Mr. Weitzel cut his own hair on May 1, in a hybrid style he calls a "mullet hawk."

People who mock the hairstyle are suffering from mullet envy, Mr. Weitzel says. "They don't have the guts to try to pull it off."

Instead, he says, Canadians should embrace the mullet as a national symbol. "People see certain mullets and they see Canadian hockey, they taste maple syrup."

Mm. A comeback for hockey hair? Maybe Iranian authorities have a point.