10 MINUTE CHAT

CHARLOTTE GRANT-WEST RANG CONNOR EVANS TO GET THE LOWDOWN ON HIS CAREER PATH, HIS BIGGEST CHALLENGES AND HIS GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT

HOW DID YOUR BARBERING JOURNEY START?

I originally did a hairdressing apprenticeship, but the only thing I could do when I came out of college was blow-drying! Fifteen years ago, there were no barbering colleges.

I went to work for a salon but I was playing high level football at the time and found it hard to juggle both. There were no hard feelings, but I ended up leaving and opening up my own tiny unit in Coventry, where I would cut my mate’s hair.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN IN YOUR FIRST BUSINESS?

It was a steep learning curve. I was only 18 years old and I had a lease for £500 a month. I was out of my depth. I quickly realised that giving mate’s rates was not going to pay the rent! But it did give me an understanding of business and I loved the freedom of working for myself.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?

Because I’d gone into men’s hair very quickly, I wanted to elevate my craft. So I did a men’s course at Sid Sottung’s Academy in Nottingham. I then ended up helping out on his courses. I would run my shop in Coventry Tuesday-Saturday, then travel to Nottingham to work Sunday-Monday with Sid. I did this for four years.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU ABOUT SID’S WAY OF WORKING AND WHERE DID THAT TAKE YOU?

Sid is Sassoon trained and I loved his attitude to hair. Also his hygiene levels, the focus on health and safety – I think the American way of hair education feels different. His passion for hair really gave me the kick I needed. He gave me my first stage performance – at British Master Barbers – and things really snowballed from there. I got to work around the world, and I started educating. I met Dan Davies, who sent me everywhere from Vegas to Zurich. It really opened my eyes to where a career in hair could take you. Dan brought me into the Pall Mall Barbers team, which at the time included Tom Chapman, then Tom started Lions Barber Collective a couple of years later. It was an amazing cause to get involved with.

WHAT’S BEEN YOUR PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENT TO DATE?

Opening Men’s Grooming Company aged 25 and growing it to become what we are now - a team of 10. It’s been challenging at times, in 2017 I had major back surgery and Covid was a huge knock for us. But we’ve come so far.

WE’VE SEEN YOU ONLINE CHATTING ABOUT MB…

I started Hot Heads Media because I just properly love barbering content. I get all the magazines and there’s amazing advice in there. But I noticed that the lads in the shop would just flick to the pictures. So, I just wanted to summarise what was in every issue and make sure people were getting the info. Now I spend three days a week cutting and three days looking for news articles, discounts, competitions and news to share on my channels.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU?

I’m loving my work as Barber Ambassador for Insight UK. At Men’s Grooming Company we’re doing a photoshoot with Liam Oakes. It will be a 10-model collection called Ice – we’ll be cutting on all hair textures and it’ll be a showcase of who we are at Men’s Grooming Company.