Latest / Not just a Hairdresser | Presented by Ally from The Beauty Grail / 3. Dom Pelli: From the Barber Shop Floor to becoming one of Australia’s Most In-Demand Celebrity Stylists

Transcript

3. Dom Pelli: From the Barber Shop Floor to becoming one of Australia’s Most In-Demand Celebrity Stylists · Not just a Hairdresser | Presented by Ally from The Beauty Grail

0:00
SPEAKER_05: I was doing so much free work, but I strategically made it look like paid work.
0:07
SPEAKER_05: You can get a studio these days, you can get a makeup artist, you can get, you know, content creators who are willing to collaborate with you.
0:14
SPEAKER_05: It can literally cost you nothing and make it look like you're shooting with a brand.
0:23
SPEAKER_00: Have you ever had someone in your career call you just a hairdresser?
0:27
SPEAKER_00: Or sometimes you might struggle with your own internal dialogue?
0:30
SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Beauty Grail Podcast, the place where the industry's most curious, ambitious, and creative artists come to learn, grow, and stay inspired.
0:38
SPEAKER_00: I'm Ali, founder of the Beauty Grail, and in each episode we sit down with the artists, educators, and innovators shaping the future of the hair and beauty industry.
0:48
SPEAKER_00: From behind the chair to behind the brand, these are the stories, tools, and conversations designed to elevate you and your career.
0:55
SPEAKER_00: Because we all know you're not just a hairdresser.
0:58
SPEAKER_00: You're a business owner, a creative, an educator, a therapist, a content creator, and a chemist.
1:04
SPEAKER_00: The name of this podcast was inspired by our friend Natalie Ann.
1:07
SPEAKER_00: Some of you may remember she kicked off a social media series in 2025 called Not Just a Hairdresser.
1:13
SPEAKER_00: One of the biggest drivers behind creating the Beauty Grail was recognizing that the industry has world-level talent, but not everyone has equal access to learning from them.
1:22
SPEAKER_00: What excites me is giving every hairdresser from regional towns to big cities access to the kind of education and mentorship that changes careers.
1:30
SPEAKER_00: Hi Dol.
1:31
SPEAKER_00: Hi, Dol.
1:32
SPEAKER_00: Alright, joining me today is Dom Kelly, known as the King of Glam for many of Australia's famous red carpet looks and influences.
1:42
SPEAKER_00: Dom was the DHAA 2025 winner for Bridal and Event Stylist of the Year.
1:49
SPEAKER_00: He has worked on brand campaigns such as Mesh Q, Princess Polly, and Porsche and Scarlet.
1:55
SPEAKER_00: And he's also styled some of Australia's high-profile influences such as Temmie Hembrow, Evelyn Ellis, and Indy Clinton.
2:04
SPEAKER_00: Dom is an educator, the owner of FMB Stylists and Brand Ambassador for NAC Hair Care, Kaleo, and Seamless One Extensions.
2:13
SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the podcast, Dol.
2:15
SPEAKER_05: Thanks, Dol.
2:16
SPEAKER_04: Thanks for having me.
2:18
SPEAKER_04: I'm so excited you're here.
2:19
SPEAKER_04: I'm so excited to be here.
2:20
SPEAKER_05: You look gorgeous.
2:21
SPEAKER_04: Your hair looks stunning.
2:22
SPEAKER_00: Well, it's only fitting to have a Dom Pelly updo and make up by Tanya T for today's episode.
2:28
SPEAKER_05: Only fair, Dol.
2:29
SPEAKER_05: It was only fair.
2:30
SPEAKER_05: Be rude not to.
2:31
SPEAKER_00: I don't think actually ever had an updo.
2:33
SPEAKER_00: Like when I think about all of those key moments like engagement, wedding, year to a formal, if we want to go back that far.
2:41
SPEAKER_00: I don't think I've ever done an upstyle.
2:43
SPEAKER_04: So doll, I think you should do it more often.
2:45
SPEAKER_04: Thanks for looking up really sick.
2:47
SPEAKER_04: Of course.
2:47
SPEAKER_04: Of course.
2:48
SPEAKER_04: He's a master at three hairs.
2:52
SPEAKER_04: Not the three hairs doll.
2:54
SPEAKER_04: You started that doll.
2:55
SPEAKER_04: I did, eh?
2:56
SPEAKER_04: You did.
2:57
SPEAKER_04: I did.
2:57
SPEAKER_04: So I just lean into it.
2:59
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
2:59
SPEAKER_04: Well, look what you can do with three hairs.
3:01
SPEAKER_04: It's just amazing, you know?
3:03
SPEAKER_04: And some clip in some clip-in extension.
3:07
SPEAKER_04: Did you do the vertical clip-in hack?
3:10
SPEAKER_04: I did my vertical hair hack.
3:11
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
3:12
SPEAKER_04: I love that.
3:12
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
3:12
SPEAKER_04: So they're hidden in there.
3:14
SPEAKER_00: You're so clever, babe.
3:15
SPEAKER_05: Thanks, babe.
3:16
SPEAKER_00: Now, for anyone that doesn't know you or your story, can you te please tell us from the very beginning how you got started?
3:24
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
3:24
SPEAKER_00: From the very beginning.
3:26
SPEAKER_05: Well, yeah, I think we need to go back and we need to go back generations.
3:30
SPEAKER_05: Um, so I come from a family full of hairdressers.
3:35
SPEAKER_05: So dad was a barber.
3:38
SPEAKER_05: My grandfather, his dad, was a barber.
3:40
SPEAKER_05: So he came out from Italy many years ago.
3:45
SPEAKER_05: Not Greece.
3:46
SPEAKER_05: Not Greece, no, not Greece.
3:48
SPEAKER_05: Ali thought I was Greece for so many years.
3:51
SPEAKER_05: Not that you're Greek.
3:52
SPEAKER_05: She thought I was Greek.
3:53
SPEAKER_05: Sorry, she thought I was Greek.
3:55
SPEAKER_05: Um, but yes, I'm Italian.
3:57
SPEAKER_05: And um my grandfather, yeah, came out many years ago, opened up a barber shop, and it all kind of just trickled down from there.
4:05
SPEAKER_05: So my dad was your grandfather at Roselands as well?
4:08
SPEAKER_05: No, no.
4:08
SPEAKER_05: So he opened a barber shop in Lincoln, which is like Western Sydney.
4:13
SPEAKER_05: And um, yeah, it kind of all trickled down from there.
4:16
SPEAKER_05: Dad was a barber, his brother was a barber.
4:19
SPEAKER_05: I've got cousins who are hairdressers, an Anie who was a hairdresser.
4:24
SPEAKER_05: My sister's a hairdresser.
4:25
SPEAKER_05: My brother went and married a hairdresser.
4:27
SPEAKER_05: Like, we needed more hairdressers in the family.
4:30
SPEAKER_05: Deb's my mum, my mum was like, couldn't you have found a beautician or something?
4:34
SPEAKER_00: I don't really need a like diversify a hair.
4:36
SPEAKER_05: I don't need another hairdresser.
4:38
SPEAKER_05: Give me, give me, yeah, a beautician or something.
4:41
SPEAKER_05: All started way back then.
4:43
SPEAKER_05: And um dad dad opened up a salon in um Roselands, which is southwest Sydney.
4:51
SPEAKER_05: And yeah, me and my sister grew up around the salon.
4:55
SPEAKER_05: I remember going to going to work with dad and school holidays.
4:58
SPEAKER_05: I was like, can I come to work with you?
5:00
SPEAKER_05: And um I loved the salon.
5:03
SPEAKER_05: I loved being in the salon as a little boy, and I was really spoilt by all the staff.
5:07
SPEAKER_05: And um when he actually um bought the salon off the previous owner, it was just a barber shop.
5:16
SPEAKER_05: So he actually changed it into ladies and memes.
5:20
SPEAKER_05: And yeah, I I guess, yeah, growing up around hairdressers kind of inspired me.
5:27
SPEAKER_05: I remember being in high school and I was not liking school, and I was like, what am I gonna do?
5:33
SPEAKER_05: And my dad almost talked me out of it.
5:36
SPEAKER_05: Did he?
5:37
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, he was I wouldn't.
5:39
SPEAKER_05: Why do you think that is?
5:40
SPEAKER_05: Because it's hard work at all, you know.
5:42
SPEAKER_05: I think you know, for him, he comes from a generation where they were just such like workhorses, like him running the business, he was like working like seven, seven days a week, and yeah, I kind of in a way, like it came with so much sacrifice for him because I didn't I didn't see him a lot growing up, which was hard.
6:03
SPEAKER_05: And um, I think he actually part of him had a little bit of regret there, like that he did miss out on so much with me and my sister, but you know, it's just that generation, that mentality, like you know, couldn't leave the business.
6:17
SPEAKER_05: And I guess things were like that back then.
6:21
SPEAKER_05: Um so yeah, he kind of took me out of it, and I wasn't liking school, and I was like, no, I think I want to do this.
6:27
SPEAKER_05: So my brother had married his wife at the time, who was a hairdresser.
6:31
SPEAKER_05: She had a salon out west, and she goes, Come work for me.
6:35
SPEAKER_05: And I was like, All right, let's give this a go.
6:38
SPEAKER_05: I how old were you when you left school?
6:40
SPEAKER_05: I was 16.
6:41
SPEAKER_05: So I went to year 11 because I didn't know what I was gonna do.
6:44
SPEAKER_05: So I was in I was in year 11 for just floating around.
6:47
SPEAKER_05: And I remember my actual science teacher said to me, What are you doing back here?
6:51
SPEAKER_05: Like, what are you doing back here?
6:54
SPEAKER_05: And I was like, What do you mean?
6:55
SPEAKER_05: I'm trying to give it a go.
6:56
SPEAKER_05: I don't and he's like, he told he said to me, Go and join the family business.
7:01
SPEAKER_05: He said, You're no good here.
7:03
SPEAKER_00: Some teachers are so savage, aren't they?
7:06
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
7:06
SPEAKER_05: So I did.
7:07
SPEAKER_05: So I left and I went and worked for my sister-in-law, and um then my sister was working in another salon at that time, and she came over, and then we're all working together.
7:17
SPEAKER_05: So I was working with my sister-in-law and my sister, um, who were both senior hairstylists at the time.
7:23
SPEAKER_05: And yeah, it was in your sister-in-law's salon, yeah.
7:26
SPEAKER_05: In my sister-in-law's salon.
7:27
SPEAKER_05: So we both basically worked for my sister-in-law.
7:31
SPEAKER_05: And yeah, they meet my sister-in-law and my sister really inspired me.
7:35
SPEAKER_05: They were really good hairstylists, they still are today, they're still hairdressing.
7:39
SPEAKER_05: Um, and yeah, they just really encouraged me.
7:42
SPEAKER_05: Um, hairdressing wasn't something that just like light switched on for me.
7:46
SPEAKER_05: It took me a while.
7:48
SPEAKER_05: And if I'm not good at something, I want to throw in the tower, I want to give up.
7:52
SPEAKER_05: But they really encouraged me because I remember being in my second year and I remember chucking a dummy spit.
7:57
SPEAKER_05: And I'm like, I'm not good at this.
7:59
SPEAKER_05: I don't want to do this.
8:00
SPEAKER_05: I'm gonna leave.
8:01
SPEAKER_05: I'm just stuck behind the basin.
8:04
SPEAKER_05: And they were kind of like, snap out of it, stop being stupid, like just stick it out.
8:09
SPEAKER_05: And they really encouraged me.
8:10
SPEAKER_05: And I think, you know, um, yeah, I was really inspired by them and and the work they were doing.
8:16
SPEAKER_05: So I stuck it out.
8:18
SPEAKER_00: Is that your perfection?
8:19
SPEAKER_00: Do you think that like in hindsight, is that your perfectionism kicking in?
8:23
SPEAKER_05: Because you're such a perfectionist.
8:24
SPEAKER_05: It's my OCD, it's my perfection.
8:26
SPEAKER_05: It's just like, yeah, if I can't do something to my like a hundred percent, if I can't make something perfect, and like I guess, I guess that has not helped me in my career because I've always kind of in some way chased perfection.
8:41
SPEAKER_05: And it can kind of drive you insane a little bit as well.
8:44
SPEAKER_00: I think it's like it's a strength and a weakness, it just depends on the situation and the environment.
8:49
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
8:50
SPEAKER_00: So when has your when your dad had the salon, was it in the same spot it's in now at Roselands?
8:57
SPEAKER_05: No, so Roselands is one of the oldest shopping centres in New South Wales, and it's kind of evolved and had a few renovations and refurbish along the way.
9:08
SPEAKER_05: So he's kind of moved around the center.
9:10
SPEAKER_05: Um, so um, I did two years of my apprenticeship with my sister-in-law, and then I went over to dad's salon.
9:17
SPEAKER_05: Um, because dad, yeah, I mean, you know, he wanted his son with him.
9:21
SPEAKER_05: He's like, come over.
9:22
SPEAKER_05: And so yeah, I moved over to dad's salon, which was in a different location.
9:28
SPEAKER_05: And it was really interesting because dad obviously had the barber side of the business, and I was thrown into barbering.
9:36
SPEAKER_05: And that's what I did for so many years.
9:37
SPEAKER_00: Did you really?
9:38
SPEAKER_05: I was just doing men.
9:39
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
9:39
SPEAKER_00: So when you went from your sister-in-law to your dad, you did barbering for quite some time.
9:44
SPEAKER_00: Did you not know this?
9:45
SPEAKER_05: I was a barber before I was a hairstylist.
9:47
SPEAKER_00: I can notice.
9:49
SPEAKER_05: I can do a really good fate.
9:50
SPEAKER_05: Can you?
9:51
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, but I'm not.
9:52
SPEAKER_05: Don't ask.
9:52
SPEAKER_05: Don't ask.
9:52
SPEAKER_00: I can, but don't ask for good friends.
9:54
SPEAKER_05: I can do, I had to learn on men.
9:56
SPEAKER_05: Like, and I think I think that's why I enjoy cutting so much because I feel like I I picked up that barbering skill as well.
10:03
SPEAKER_05: And my dad was really hard on me.
10:05
SPEAKER_05: There was a lot of scissor over comb and a lot of a lot of like, you know, from young to old.
10:10
SPEAKER_05: And those older gentlemen, they want a really precise scissor cart, and that really, I guess, upskilled me.
10:16
SPEAKER_05: So it worked in my favor.
10:17
SPEAKER_05: But I'm standing behind this barber chair for so long, going, this wasn't what I had planned.
10:24
SPEAKER_05: I wanted to do ladies, right?
10:25
SPEAKER_05: You know?
10:26
SPEAKER_00: So, how long were you barbering for then?
10:29
SPEAKER_05: I reckon I was barbering for like five years.
10:33
SPEAKER_05: Really?
10:34
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, five years.
10:35
SPEAKER_05: I was stuck behind these the chairs.
10:37
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
10:38
SPEAKER_05: Talking about football.
10:41
SPEAKER_05: Dole.
10:42
SPEAKER_05: I don't watch football.
10:44
SPEAKER_05: Dole either.
10:45
SPEAKER_00: I don't know anything about sports.
10:46
SPEAKER_05: Oh, babe, I used to fake it a lot of the time.
10:48
SPEAKER_05: Like, oh yeah, the doggies on the weekend.
10:51
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, how'd they go?
10:52
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
10:53
SPEAKER_05: Missed that match.
10:55
SPEAKER_01: How was it?
10:56
SPEAKER_01: How was it?
10:57
SPEAKER_05: Tell me about it.
10:58
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
10:59
SPEAKER_05: Um, so yeah, it was really interesting because I knew, yeah, I wanted to build up that female clientele.
11:05
SPEAKER_05: So being in a shopping center, we got a lot of foot traffic and a lot of people walking in.
11:10
SPEAKER_05: So any opportunity I could get my hands on a lady, I was like, I'll do her.
11:15
SPEAKER_05: And I'd get her in my chair.
11:17
SPEAKER_05: And um, yeah, I loved doing, I was passionate about doing ladies' hair and I'd win them over.
11:23
SPEAKER_05: And like, so I started building this female clientele, which eventually pulled me away from that barber side of the business.
11:29
SPEAKER_05: And men started getting fed up because I had all these bookings, and men just like to walk in, right?
11:35
SPEAKER_05: And they were like, Oh, we can't get DOM anymore.
11:37
SPEAKER_05: And yeah, the more I did ladies, I just yeah, I finally was like, okay, I've finally built up a clientele.
11:44
SPEAKER_05: And dad kind of realized I was about to say, How did your dad feel?
11:47
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, he was like, Yeah, he doesn't want to do barbering.
11:50
SPEAKER_05: No, he was so good about it.
11:51
SPEAKER_05: He's always supported me.
11:52
SPEAKER_05: And I think, you know, he kind of loved that the ladies loved me as well.
11:59
SPEAKER_05: Dad's a bit of a ladies' man himself, so I think he was like, you know.
12:02
SPEAKER_00: I've seen that viral TikTok of him.
12:04
SPEAKER_00: I've seen that viral reel of him on your trip.
12:07
SPEAKER_00: Oh god.
12:08
SPEAKER_05: Pulling up the chair, pulling up the chair, yeah, yeah.
12:11
SPEAKER_05: So yeah, so um, yeah, I eventually found my place in the salon, and that was doing ladies' hair.
12:18
SPEAKER_05: I'm so shocked that you barbered for five years.
12:20
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
12:20
SPEAKER_00: I never knew that.
12:21
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
12:22
SPEAKER_00: Do you think people know that?
12:24
SPEAKER_05: No.
12:24
SPEAKER_05: No.
12:24
SPEAKER_05: No one knows that.
12:25
SPEAKER_00: I mean, yeah, I knew obviously you took over your dad's salon.
12:30
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
12:31
unknown: Yeah.
12:31
SPEAKER_00: I never knew that.
12:32
SPEAKER_00: No one knows that.
12:33
SPEAKER_00: Crazy.
12:34
SPEAKER_00: Today's episode is proudly sponsored by Natalie Ann Haircare.
12:38
SPEAKER_00: When you've spent years perfecting your craft and educating the industry, you don't just put your name on any product.
12:44
SPEAKER_00: You create something that reflects everything you stand for.
12:47
SPEAKER_00: That's exactly what Natalie Ann has done.
12:49
SPEAKER_00: A professional hair care range built on real expertise.
12:52
SPEAKER_00: It's designed for stylists who demand results, inclined to expect the best.
12:57
SPEAKER_00: And our latest watch, the sleek and smooth range, smoothing farm, a styling brush made for the flawless slip back styles.
13:05
SPEAKER_00: No flyaways, no crunch, just polished perfection.
13:08
SPEAKER_00: Discover the full NA range at Natalie Ann.com.
13:13
SPEAKER_00: What were some of those early influences?
13:16
SPEAKER_00: And was there ever a moment when you realised like hair was your thing?
13:21
SPEAKER_00: Or that you're onto something?
13:22
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
13:23
SPEAKER_00: Um were there many moments?
13:25
SPEAKER_05: There were many moments, but if I go back way back when, like those early days, I've always been really competitive and competitive with myself as well.
13:36
SPEAKER_05: And a moment I remember in my apprenticeship was, and I think only my generation of hair hairdressers would know this, is there used to be IHS competitions.
13:49
SPEAKER_00: And they were what is it?
13:51
SPEAKER_00: Do you know what that sounds for?
13:54
SPEAKER_05: I think HS is hair society, but I don't know what the I stands for.
13:57
SPEAKER_05: International, maybe international?
13:59
SPEAKER_05: Well, anyways, so we used to have these in uh these hair competitions where there was all different categories, very similar, I would say, to like, you know, our digital hair awards, but everything was done um in person.
14:13
SPEAKER_05: So they would hire these big conference conference places and all hairdressers from around your state would come together and enter into these categories and yeah, you would win first, second, or third place, and you were recognized for winning, you know, that place in the IHS comps, which was quite big back then.
14:34
SPEAKER_05: And me and my sister and my sister-in-law, we would enter into these competitions, and I would do really well in the event and bridal sections.
14:45
SPEAKER_05: So you were entering bridal styling back then.
14:47
SPEAKER_05: Back then.
14:48
SPEAKER_05: Wow.
14:48
SPEAKER_05: And my sister at the time was really trying to like, she loved doing bridal and it was her thing.
14:53
SPEAKER_05: It wasn't really my thing.
14:55
SPEAKER_05: And I would, I would go into because we'd have to compete with each other.
14:58
SPEAKER_05: So we'd be in the same section.
15:00
SPEAKER_05: And I wouldn't think too much about it.
15:02
SPEAKER_05: Like she'd be practicing for weeks, and I'd just be like last minute, like, oh, I'm gonna enter that category.
15:08
SPEAKER_05: And I remember we're a little bit competitive with each other as well, and I kind of yeah, didn't think too much about it.
15:14
SPEAKER_05: And I'd take home second place, and then I took home first place, and she didn't take anything away.
15:19
SPEAKER_05: Oh yeah.
15:21
SPEAKER_05: And um, anyways, because I ended up winning winning these state competitions, they invited me to go, they do a big national competition.
15:30
SPEAKER_05: And remember, I was in like I was like a second-year apprentice, and I and I entered into the formal event category and the bridal event, and I traveled over to Perth with models, makeup artists.
15:41
SPEAKER_05: I was only young, I was only like 19, and I took away first place in both categories.
15:45
SPEAKER_05: At 19.
15:46
SPEAKER_05: At 19, and I was like winning that and my competitive nature.
15:52
SPEAKER_05: I was just like, yeah, I guess like that was a moment where I was like, yeah, I like this industry, I'll stick around.
16:00
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, like I love that, yeah.
16:04
SPEAKER_05: So yeah, it's just interesting.
16:07
SPEAKER_00: And that was was that when you first started getting serious about you know, upstyling red carpet bridal?
16:14
SPEAKER_00: Like, was it bridal first for you?
16:16
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah.
16:17
SPEAKER_05: Well, no, it wasn't bridal.
16:19
SPEAKER_05: Um, bridal didn't come first.
16:21
SPEAKER_05: I think I just started being like I started getting booked in the salon for event styles and people came like formals and things.
16:29
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, formals and things.
16:31
SPEAKER_05: And yeah, I guess our clientele kind of um got to know me that I was kind of skilled in that area.
16:38
SPEAKER_05: Because I guess like there's not not every hair hairdresser is skilled in styling.
16:43
SPEAKER_05: Like a lot of us.
16:44
SPEAKER_05: Well, I was a colourist before I was a stylist.
16:47
SPEAKER_05: But you were a barber for before.
16:48
SPEAKER_05: I was a barber.
16:49
SPEAKER_05: You're a barber.
16:51
SPEAKER_00: Then a colourist and a stylist.
16:52
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, so crazy.
16:54
SPEAKER_05: So yeah, I just like any chance I could get, I would tell my client, yeah, I'll do your hair for your event.
17:00
SPEAKER_05: And then um eventually some of my clients were like, Oh, can you do my hair for my wedding?
17:06
SPEAKER_05: And I was like, I don't do bridal hair, but yeah, but I do do bridal hair because what is bridal hair?
17:13
SPEAKER_05: It's like very similar to what I'm doing in the salon right now.
17:16
SPEAKER_05: So I was like, Yeah, I can do this.
17:17
SPEAKER_05: And back then, they used to come in the salon.
17:19
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah, like now, like we go, it's all on location.
17:24
SPEAKER_05: So yeah, they'd come in the salon and I didn't even know what to charge back then.
17:28
SPEAKER_05: And I God, I was charging$99.
17:32
SPEAKER_05: You know what?
17:33
SPEAKER_05: My first bride, I charged her$50.
17:36
SPEAKER_05: $50 because I was an apprentice and I was like, I told her I could do it.
17:41
SPEAKER_05: And I was like, Yeah, just$50, man.
17:43
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I'm like$50 will do doll.
17:46
SPEAKER_05: Um and yeah, then obviously um social media happened, and that's the the whole bridal revolution happened after that.
17:58
SPEAKER_00: God, what a story from barbering to colourist to stylist.
18:02
SPEAKER_00: Crazy.
18:03
SPEAKER_00: What a truth bomb.
18:05
SPEAKER_00: Um what do you think shaped you in those early days?
18:09
SPEAKER_05: I think definitely, obviously, like growing up around a family of hairdressers, like you know, at the dinner table, we were talking about hair.
18:17
SPEAKER_01: Really?
18:17
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I know.
18:18
SPEAKER_01: Mum used to get a bit like clients or like Yeah, we'd have a bitch.
18:22
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, we'd go home and vent and be like, oh, I had this client today.
18:29
SPEAKER_05: Like, um, yeah, so we could all vent to each other.
18:32
SPEAKER_05: And no, no, not even just about like clients if you had a difficult client, but you know, hairdressing's hard, salon life is busy, so we'd all go home and you know, kind of vent to each other.
18:44
SPEAKER_05: But if I look back at what really shaped me, um honestly it was sticking it out because I guess there was times earlier on where I was like I knew there was something so much more I wanted, but I didn't know what it was, so I just kind of like stuck it out.
19:07
SPEAKER_05: I was, you know, working for dad.
19:09
SPEAKER_05: I know there was potentially like an opportunity for me to take over the salon, so I didn't know what that was gonna look like.
19:16
SPEAKER_05: So I was kind of just like, yeah, like stuck behind, I shouldn't say stuck behind the chair.
19:22
SPEAKER_05: I was behind the chair, because I don't think you're stuck.
19:25
SPEAKER_05: Um, I was behind the chair, and yeah, I was just waiting for my moment and I was, you know, doing my thing in the salon, but I knew there was something more, but I was lucky that I just had people that were really encouraging.
19:41
SPEAKER_05: And I think at that time it was my family.
19:43
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, like yeah, I guess like just I really just stuck it out.
19:48
SPEAKER_05: I was really um perseverant.
19:51
SPEAKER_05: Is that about it?
19:52
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, perseverant, you're very resilient, yeah, yeah.
19:56
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I was just like, yeah, and I think again, I was I've always been really competitive with myself.
20:02
SPEAKER_05: You are and I just wanted to be better and be the best at everything I done.
20:08
SPEAKER_00: But it shows in your work though.
20:10
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
20:10
SPEAKER_00: Like I remember that day when we recorded your online education, like that was like I knew you're always that way inclined, but I was I like saw it up close for like two days, two 10-hour days, you know.
20:22
SPEAKER_00: She saw a different side to me though, and I was like the perfectionism, it just you know, like yeah, it was really obvious to me like how you got to where you are.
20:32
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
20:33
SPEAKER_00: Like recording with you for like two full days.
20:35
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
20:35
SPEAKER_05: And it's true what you say.
20:37
SPEAKER_05: I definitely think it's worked in my favour.
20:38
SPEAKER_05: And you know, sometimes it can drive you a little bit crazy though, because you're just like inside your own head about everything.
20:47
SPEAKER_00: It's a strength and a weakness, depends on the environment.
20:50
SPEAKER_05: Exactly.
20:50
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
20:52
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21:58
SPEAKER_00: Can you talk through?
22:00
SPEAKER_00: Some of those like breakthrough or career defining moments because you would have had so many, you know, like your family was that early influence.
22:08
SPEAKER_00: But I know you've got like a really tight crew, yeah.
22:12
SPEAKER_00: Um in the industry now.
22:15
SPEAKER_00: Like who were some of those other mentors or some of those like breakthrough moments, career-defining moments over the years?
22:23
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
22:24
SPEAKER_05: Well, I think, you know, you know yourself that one of my biggest mentors has been Nat, Natalie Ann.
22:31
SPEAKER_05: Um, she just, you know, out of the kindness of her heart, reached out to me one day and kind of took took me under her wing.
22:39
SPEAKER_05: How did that happen?
22:40
SPEAKER_05: I don't think I've actually heard the story.
22:42
SPEAKER_05: I know why it happened, and I think it's because like she's seen the shift in my content online, you know, for so many years because I was behind the chair in the salon.
22:51
SPEAKER_05: My content was just, you know, a bit average.
22:55
SPEAKER_05: Just I was taking pictures of the back of my client's head and just showcasing colour.
22:59
SPEAKER_05: There wasn't much thought about it, about it.
23:02
SPEAKER_05: And it wasn't until I started switching up my content and really getting creative and, you know, really showing the skill that I had that there was more to me than just behind the chair.
23:13
SPEAKER_05: It got her attractive, like she noticed it.
23:16
SPEAKER_05: And I think at the time she had just launched her hair care brand.
23:20
SPEAKER_05: So she was looking for people to partner with her.
23:23
SPEAKER_05: And she rang me one day, and I don't even know why I had her number saved, but she came up, her number came up as Adleanne, and I I shit myself.
23:33
SPEAKER_05: I was like, why is she calling me?
23:35
SPEAKER_05: I remember it was in the cell and I was like, why is Matt calling me?
23:38
SPEAKER_05: And yeah, I don't know.
23:39
SPEAKER_05: She always and she still makes me a bit nervous.
23:41
SPEAKER_05: I don't know, because I have so much respect for the woman.
23:43
SPEAKER_05: She's still nervous, mate.
23:44
SPEAKER_05: She makes us all nervous.
23:45
SPEAKER_05: Where when my phone rings, I'm like, what does she want?
23:48
SPEAKER_05: Um, and yeah, and she called me and she's like, Have you ever partnered with a brand and worked closer with a brand?
23:53
SPEAKER_05: I'm like, no.
23:53
SPEAKER_05: She's like, why not?
23:54
SPEAKER_05: I'm like, I don't know.
23:56
SPEAKER_05: She's like, Well, you're gonna partner with a brand, you're gonna partner with my brand.
23:59
SPEAKER_05: And yeah, and it was the best like collaboration, one of the best collaborations I ever did because it came with so much opportunity, and it was the opportunity for her to guide me, to teach me so much, because after that came so many other brand opportunities, and she taught me how to negotiate.
24:17
SPEAKER_05: She taught me, you know, the ins and outs because it's hard when you don't, when all that comes your way and you don't there's no playbook, you're like learning as you grow.
24:27
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and you can easily, you know, um sell yourself for you know less than you're actually worth.
24:35
SPEAKER_05: You know, you really need to know.
24:37
SPEAKER_05: There's no pricing matrix, no easy easier, yeah.
24:40
SPEAKER_05: You don't know how to quote things, you know.
24:42
SPEAKER_05: And so she taught me so much.
24:45
SPEAKER_05: And also, like, you know, she's so generous and she she really shone a light on me, you know.
24:55
SPEAKER_05: She used her platform to share who I was as well.
24:59
SPEAKER_05: And she's done that with so many people, which is like, you know, like I just love her for that because, you know, I definitely am grateful for where I am today.
25:10
SPEAKER_05: And I think, you know, it definitely comes from a lot of the people you meet, and one of them for me was her.
25:16
SPEAKER_05: And you know what?
25:18
SPEAKER_05: Another, another person that like changed up things, I like really changed the way I thought about hair was, and I spoke to you a little bit about this this morning, was he's always inspired me, and he inspired me for so many years was Shannon J.
25:33
SPEAKER_05: Wheelers.
25:34
SPEAKER_01: Oh, yes, yeah, yeah.
25:35
SPEAKER_05: And I just loved his work.
25:38
SPEAKER_05: What about his work?
25:39
SPEAKER_05: Oh, I just loved his editorial flair, but then it was still almost a little bit glam.
25:45
SPEAKER_05: To me, I could relate to it, and I was just like everything I kind of like wanted to be.
25:52
SPEAKER_05: And I just love how he just worked with hair and how I don't know, it just looked so effortless, and he would just play around with shapes and he just made it look so good.
26:03
SPEAKER_05: And and yeah, I just wanted to learn from him.
26:06
SPEAKER_05: And I remember at the time I had just taken over kind of dad's salon, and I wanted to start investing in education for the girls and for myself.
26:14
SPEAKER_05: And I remember reaching out and I wanted he done like one-on-one salon education, and um, I got a quote and I kind of didn't have the budget for it at that stage because I kind of just started taking over the business, and and I was just like, all right, stuff it, who cares?
26:30
SPEAKER_05: I'm just gonna book it.
26:31
SPEAKER_05: And it was the best investment I made because he taught me not what to do, but what I wasn't doing, what I was left, like what was being left out that I wasn't doing.
26:44
SPEAKER_05: And I talk about this so much in my education and its prep work.
26:48
SPEAKER_05: Like, I just noticed how he prepped hair so differently.
26:51
SPEAKER_05: And I was like, I'm not doing that.
26:53
SPEAKER_05: Why am I not doing that?
26:55
SPEAKER_05: Um, and yeah, it actually changed up the way I styled and the way I thought about hair.
27:01
SPEAKER_00: I love that.
27:02
SPEAKER_00: How did you find him?
27:04
SPEAKER_05: Um socials, yeah.
27:06
SPEAKER_05: He was really popping off at the time.
27:08
SPEAKER_05: He was like the go-to guy for a lot of the fast fashion brands, and he just looked expensive.
27:14
SPEAKER_05: And I was like, I want I want to be like that.
27:17
SPEAKER_05: Like I was so inspired by him.
27:20
SPEAKER_00: And how did you feel about that investment afterwards?
27:22
SPEAKER_05: Oh, it was worth every cent.
27:24
SPEAKER_05: Worth every cent.
27:25
SPEAKER_05: And that's why sometimes, like, I know investing in yourself and investing in your team can get quite costly, but you know, it pays off.
27:38
SPEAKER_05: And sometimes if it's just like if you're just taking away a little bit, like I wasn't there to copy him, but there's like certain things I took that just changed the way I styled and the way my the hair that I created looked.
27:55
SPEAKER_00: Because you take that learning and you run it through your own lens and your own practical application and make it yours.
28:00
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, it just whatever I was doing, it just elevated it.
28:05
SPEAKER_05: It brought drama.
28:06
SPEAKER_05: Like love that.
28:08
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
28:09
SPEAKER_00: And going back to the story of Nat just for a minute, yeah.
28:12
SPEAKER_00: So you said that Nat noticed your content changing.
28:16
SPEAKER_00: How did that all come about?
28:18
SPEAKER_00: Because I love talking about this with you.
28:20
SPEAKER_00: Um, because you know, from barber to colourist to stylist to bridal, to red carpet, to brand campaigns.
28:33
SPEAKER_00: Like that is like such an interesting journey and like trajectory for someone's career, right?
28:39
SPEAKER_00: So what were you doing?
28:41
SPEAKER_00: What do you think got you noticed?
28:42
SPEAKER_00: Like, what were you doing?
28:43
SPEAKER_00: What do you think got you noticed by Nat?
28:45
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I think so my content changed up because I had a really good friend, Amy Henneman, at the time who it was just after COVID, and we had a lot of free time, and she was like, babe, let's really change up our content.
29:03
SPEAKER_05: I've got, she had a studio, she had um a few influencers that she had connected to, micro influencers at the time.
29:11
SPEAKER_05: They were we were all kind of on the same page and said, Come on, let's get in the studio and start changing up our content and like create some really beautiful work, you know, not just stuff we did on our, not just looks we did on our clients.
29:24
SPEAKER_05: So we started getting in the studio and yeah, we started doing some really beautiful stuff, but it wasn't that moment because from those, from that I got noticed by like fast fashion brands, like you know, Meshki.
29:39
SPEAKER_05: We talk about Meshki.
29:40
SPEAKER_05: I remember they reached out to me, and then those brands that I was working with of the content I could get because they had access to models, hottest models.
29:51
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, they were booking the best makeup artists, and fast fashion brands, a lot of them are really chill, like they let you get your own content.
29:57
SPEAKER_05: So I had set up my camera, and the models just knew how to pose, and I was like, this content's sick.
30:05
SPEAKER_05: And um, yeah, and I guess, you know, I I really tapped into that content creation side of things, and I started to like play around with apps, and I started to get really good at it.
30:17
SPEAKER_05: And I know that's you know, when that obviously grew, you know, my platform started to grow.
30:24
SPEAKER_05: And then Nat's always scouting, Nat's always looking out, she's got such a good eye.
30:30
SPEAKER_05: She's got a great eye to find out.
30:31
SPEAKER_05: She's got a great eye, and then yeah, I know that that's she she was watching and she was like, yeah, okay, I'm gonna make the phone call.
30:40
SPEAKER_05: So she, yeah, I guess that that's it's just crazy.
30:44
SPEAKER_00: Like when you think about just like making that start on content, on that idea, yeah, on that step change, on the next evolution of what you want to do.
30:54
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like what you can get out of that if you're just patient and you keep at it.
30:59
SPEAKER_00: Because there was something before that.
31:01
SPEAKER_00: So, like, what was your first ever brand campaign?
31:05
SPEAKER_05: My first ever brand campaign.
31:07
SPEAKER_00: Wasn't it your cousin?
31:10
SPEAKER_05: Yes.
31:10
SPEAKER_05: Yes, you know more than me.
31:12
SPEAKER_05: Some of you know me so well.
31:14
SPEAKER_05: Yes, my cousin had started a brand, a clothing brand, fast fashion brand.
31:21
SPEAKER_05: And um, yeah, obviously there was no budget, so she reaches out to her cousin.
31:26
SPEAKER_05: Um, but she she'll hate me for saying this, but like she's she's just so good on socials and like like she could easily had gone down this influencer career path herself.
31:40
SPEAKER_05: Her con yeah, so she she's got a really good network of like girlfriends who some are influencers and that.
31:47
SPEAKER_05: So she pulled in her friends.
31:48
SPEAKER_05: It was all it was all love jobs, it was all famous, man.
31:51
SPEAKER_05: It was all love.
31:52
SPEAKER_05: IOUs, but yeah, there was all collaborations, yeah, it was all collaborations and so many collaborations in the early days.
31:58
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah.
31:59
SPEAKER_05: So we all I remember her mum was dating this guy at the time who had this mansion in Vaucluse.
32:06
SPEAKER_05: And um, we shot this shoot.
32:08
SPEAKER_05: We shot at his house, and uh it was this beautiful house around the pool, and we had there these beautiful girls come in.
32:17
SPEAKER_05: Amy did the makeup, and yeah, that was my first, you know, shoot, content shoot, uh solo budget, but she just knew how to make it work with an iPhone.
32:28
SPEAKER_00: But like that's how you've got to, that's how you get started, you know.
32:31
SPEAKER_00: Like, I think there's this misconception around like you need to be at a certain level, or you need to have a certain amount of money, or you need to have certain connections to get started.
32:43
SPEAKER_00: But when you actually hear people's stories on how they got started, it was with zero budget.
32:48
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, zero budget, zero budget, with iPhone in hand, yeah.
32:51
SPEAKER_05: IOUs and collaborations.
32:53
SPEAKER_05: Collaborations make someone's borrowed house.
32:56
SPEAKER_05: Someone's borrowed house, you know.
33:00
SPEAKER_05: You just make it work and you've got to start somewhere.
33:02
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
33:03
SPEAKER_05: Um, and if I look at my cousin now, she's doing so well.
33:07
SPEAKER_05: Her brand is doing so well.
33:09
SPEAKER_05: Tammy Hembrow just posted in her clothes.
33:12
SPEAKER_05: Oh, so god.
33:13
SPEAKER_05: Like she's had big breaks now, and because she's just been consistent as well.
33:17
SPEAKER_04: And she started, and she's figured it out.
33:20
SPEAKER_04: Like, you know.
33:21
SPEAKER_04: Now she's got money to pay me.
33:25
SPEAKER_00: That next quote, there'll be a few extra zeros on the end of that.
33:29
SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, I mean, it's interesting.
33:31
SPEAKER_00: You gotta be scrappy, you've got to be resourceful in the beginning.
33:35
SPEAKER_00: Um, and it'll just pay dividends.
33:39
SPEAKER_05: 100%.
33:40
SPEAKER_05: Babe, I was doing so much free work, but I strategically made it look like paid work.
33:47
SPEAKER_05: Like you can, you can get a studio these days, you can get a makeup artist, you can get, you know, content creators who are willing to collaborate with you.
33:57
SPEAKER_05: It can literally cost you nothing and make it look like you're shooting with a brand.
34:02
SPEAKER_05: And, you know, some people aren't looking at your tags and that, they're just scrolling through and like, whoa, look at that piece of content.
34:09
SPEAKER_05: And it might be an influencer, it might be a brand, it could be anyone that just noticed that time you invested.
34:16
SPEAKER_05: It's just time.
34:17
SPEAKER_05: You just need to invest the time and make sure, like, you know.
34:21
SPEAKER_00: You make, I think you're very good at like making the most of you know how to make the most of an opportunity as well.
34:27
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
34:27
SPEAKER_00: And I obviously I didn't know you back then, but I feel like that's something that's ingrained in you.
34:32
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
34:33
SPEAKER_05: You you need to, like, I think in I whenever I walk whatever job I was doing, or whoever I was walking into a room, like whatever room I was walking to, there was a kind of a plan subconsciously in my head of what what was I gonna take out of this?
34:49
SPEAKER_05: And how was this gonna make me look, and how was this gonna elevate me?
34:53
SPEAKER_05: And just yeah, I just I just wanted people to see me and see what I could do.
35:00
SPEAKER_00: I love that story.
35:01
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
35:01
SPEAKER_00: So what came after that?
35:04
SPEAKER_00: Because I would call that like a bit of a breakthrough, like a career-defining moment, like looking back now, because it's almost like that was the beginning of the brand campaign.
35:13
SPEAKER_00: So, like, what came after that?
35:15
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, so after that, Meshki contacts me.
35:20
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
35:21
SPEAKER_00: I know Meshki back then wasn't isn't what it is now, but like Meshki's like one of my number one brands.
35:27
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, well, I remember not knowing who they were, but I remember messaging all my girlfriends going, I got a job.
35:34
SPEAKER_05: Meshki's reached out for their active wear campaign shoot.
35:38
SPEAKER_05: And everyone was like, What?
35:40
SPEAKER_05: Meshki?
35:41
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, like I'm like, yeah, Meshki.
35:45
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, so cool.
35:47
SPEAKER_05: And like, you know, I remember back then, I didn't, I had no shoe etiquette.
35:53
SPEAKER_05: I didn't know how to turn up.
35:55
SPEAKER_05: I didn't know what should be my kit.
35:57
SPEAKER_05: I was just fake it till you make it.
35:59
SPEAKER_05: Like, so yeah, I remember they kind of briefed me on the looks that I was gonna do, and I turned up to this big studio.
36:05
SPEAKER_05: It was actually a big budget for their act, it was a unisex active wear range.
36:11
SPEAKER_05: Or unisex back then.
36:13
SPEAKER_05: Sorry?
36:13
SPEAKER_05: They're not unisex anymore.
36:15
SPEAKER_05: No, yeah, no, they're not.
36:16
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, they've just it was one small drop.
36:18
SPEAKER_05: Right.
36:19
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, but it was big, it was a pretty big budget.
36:22
SPEAKER_05: And um, yeah, I remember walking in and all these, you know, people were running around and they just had such a huge team on this campaign.
36:31
SPEAKER_05: And I was like anxious and nervous, and but it was also so exciting.
36:36
SPEAKER_05: Like I just loved the atmosphere.
36:37
SPEAKER_05: I loved being on set, and I was like, that getting a little taste of that.
36:42
SPEAKER_05: I'm like, yeah, this is where it's like this, this is where it's at.
36:46
SPEAKER_05: Like, and I remember I, you know, I was so scared to set up my camera and ask the models like, do you mind if I get like actually I probably I don't think I did.
36:55
SPEAKER_05: I think I was was asking back then for like photos.
36:57
SPEAKER_05: Could I just get a quick photo?
36:59
SPEAKER_05: Um, that's all it was.
37:02
SPEAKER_05: Um, but I yeah, it was like from that, other brands came along, baby boo fashion.
37:09
SPEAKER_05: Um after, yeah, just after all that kind of like just like was a domino effect.
37:15
SPEAKER_05: So a lot of opportunities came my way.
37:18
SPEAKER_05: But I learned how to be on set.
37:20
SPEAKER_05: Like I learned, you know, what I needed um in my kit, you know, what lighting I should bring along.
37:27
SPEAKER_05: And I did I learned that off like the people I was working with.
37:29
SPEAKER_05: Like I made some really, really good friends with the makeup artists, and um one of the best friendships I made was with Kayla Perez.
37:39
SPEAKER_05: And we just connected and like her makeup, like I didn't even know how to.
37:44
SPEAKER_05: I mean, she's touring with Thames now.
37:46
SPEAKER_05: That just goes to show yeah how incredible she was.
37:49
SPEAKER_05: And we just connected, and I knew she was one of the best, and I was like, I need to work with the best, like they're the people I need to be around.
37:59
SPEAKER_05: And she was doing all the big influences in Sydney at the time, and we really connected, and she would recommend me to any of the girls, and so I have a lot to thank her for as well because she kind of like yeah, helped me connect with those, make those connections with those influencers, and she was doing a lot of their style, a lot of their glam for their events and stuff.
38:19
SPEAKER_05: And I'd she'd call me in last minute, or you can come do the hair, and I'd be like, yes, drop everything, drop everything, like I'd just done bridal in the morning, I'd been going for 12 hours, and it was just I was just hustling.
38:34
SPEAKER_05: I was just yes, yes, yes, saying yes to everything, everything.
38:38
SPEAKER_05: I was burning myself out like crazy, but I was in my 20s.
38:43
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, you can do it, yeah.
38:44
SPEAKER_05: You can do it.
38:44
SPEAKER_05: Well, actually, sorry.
38:45
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, late 20s.
38:47
SPEAKER_05: Late 20s.
38:48
SPEAKER_05: My back was broken.
38:50
SPEAKER_05: I was like So you were getting booked.
38:53
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah, I was getting booked.
38:54
SPEAKER_05: I was gonna, who cares?
38:55
SPEAKER_05: I was like, yeah, living the most unhealthy life, just on the go, just binge eating, because I didn't eat all day.
39:06
SPEAKER_00: But I think what I take out of that is two things, it's like relationship to everything in this industry.
39:12
SPEAKER_00: And because like if you do a great job and people enjoy working with you, they will always refer you.
39:18
SPEAKER_00: 100%.
39:19
SPEAKER_00: And it's amazing, like people think about mentorship like I need a mentor, which you know is right, could be right for different stages of your career.
39:28
SPEAKER_00: But I think people underestimate how much you learn just being in the presence of other people that do amazing work.
39:36
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
39:38
SPEAKER_03: Exactly, exactly.
39:39
SPEAKER_03: You just need to be in the right places with the right people.
39:42
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39:50
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40:04
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40:11
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40:16
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40:21
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40:28
SPEAKER_00: Think colour, think different.
40:31
SPEAKER_05: Like just surround yourself with skilled people.
40:34
SPEAKER_00: Just pick up little things.
40:37
SPEAKER_05: Like I'm a stalker.
40:39
SPEAKER_05: You know, I watch people online like hairdressers that inspire me, and like I'm just a screenshot, like, you know, what products they're using, and but yeah, you just you just need to learn so much from like take what you can get from the people around you.
40:55
SPEAKER_05: Just swing in the presence of other people.
40:57
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah.
40:58
SPEAKER_00: Crazy.
40:59
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, crazy.
41:00
SPEAKER_00: Those little tips and tricks.
41:01
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
41:02
SPEAKER_00: Like it might be like nuggets.
41:04
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the little gold nuggets.
41:06
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
41:07
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
41:07
SPEAKER_00: So important.
41:08
SPEAKER_00: Because all those little gold nuggets, they like compound.
41:11
SPEAKER_00: Like you pick up little things along the way and they all compound.
41:14
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, well, yeah, 100%.
41:16
SPEAKER_05: You know, a lot of the skills I have are honestly just being around the right, right people and just picking up all those little things.
41:24
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
41:25
SPEAKER_05: So good.
41:26
SPEAKER_00: Now last year was a huge year for you.
41:30
SPEAKER_00: You had your award win.
41:32
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
41:33
SPEAKER_00: You went um to Europe and did some, you were on holidays with your dad, but you also did some bridal over there, which is amazing.
41:39
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
41:40
SPEAKER_00: Um ambassador announcement for Kaleo.
41:43
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
41:44
SPEAKER_00: You're exclusive with NAC now, which is insane.
41:47
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
41:48
SPEAKER_00: Um how has your brand continued to evolve from like the early days to now?
41:57
SPEAKER_00: Like outside of like the the journey of like barber colourist stylist, brand ambassador, educator, like how did that evolve?
42:08
SPEAKER_00: And how do you see that evolving for this year?
42:11
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
42:12
SPEAKER_05: Like, I think at some point you just see all the hard work start paying off.
42:19
SPEAKER_05: Or, you know, just going back to what we're talking about, all that hustle, all that saying yes, all that making yourself available, and and and that's making yourself available for things you don't even know whether they're gonna benefit for you.
42:31
SPEAKER_05: I was just for so many years, you know, working for free, collaborating with other artists, being in the right place at the right time, and just being available.
42:42
SPEAKER_05: It finally started to pay off.
42:46
SPEAKER_05: And people wanted to pay me.
42:50
SPEAKER_05: You know, those brand deals started coming.
42:52
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
42:53
SPEAKER_05: And I didn't even know that existed.
42:55
SPEAKER_05: I didn't even know that was a thing.
42:56
SPEAKER_05: Well, I don't think it's been a thing for a very long time.
42:59
SPEAKER_05: Finally, the last couple of years.
43:00
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I would say the hairstylist is now the influencer, can be influential in industry.
43:07
SPEAKER_05: So those hair care brands now like, hang on, we want to partner with you.
43:11
SPEAKER_05: We want to collaborate with you.
43:12
SPEAKER_05: You inspire the industry.
43:14
SPEAKER_05: It makes sense for us to partner with you.
43:17
SPEAKER_05: So I think initially it was a little bit overwhelming because I didn't know how to have these conversations with brands, but Nat taught me so much.
43:27
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
43:28
SPEAKER_05: Um, and then I just got the hang of things.
43:30
SPEAKER_05: I knew what to ask for, I knew how to make sure it was the right alignment, like that we were the right people, yeah, right fit for each other.
43:41
SPEAKER_05: Um, but yeah, last year was one of my biggest years.
43:45
SPEAKER_05: I mean, you know, taking home the DHA title.
43:51
SPEAKER_05: So excited.
43:51
SPEAKER_05: Right on her.
43:52
SPEAKER_05: I know.
43:53
SPEAKER_05: She cried.
43:54
SPEAKER_05: She was overseas for Paris Fashion Week and she was like in a voice note and she's crying.
44:00
SPEAKER_00: Like my mom was where my I was just so happy for you.
44:04
SPEAKER_00: So yeah the story goes that Jewel from Modern Day Social and I were in Paris for Paris Fashion Week with Renya and Wella and G H C Yeah for the AIDS show.
44:14
SPEAKER_00: And we're in an Uber.
44:15
SPEAKER_00: We're going somewhere like you just Uber everywhere.
44:19
SPEAKER_00: Um in Paris it's like so expensive to Uber everywhere, but you do because you're in a hurry.
44:24
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like scrolling Instagram and I knew the words were on, and you posted your reel, and I was like watching it, and she was like, Al, are you okay?
44:30
SPEAKER_04: I'm like, oh my god, man.
44:33
SPEAKER_04: I don't want to TH.
44:36
SPEAKER_04: And I was like, just so happy.
44:38
SPEAKER_00: I'm like a happy crier.
44:40
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, as well.
44:41
SPEAKER_04: So cute.
44:41
SPEAKER_00: And I was so over the movie because I think, you know, I've seen how hard you've worked the last few years.
44:47
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
44:48
SPEAKER_00: And I know how much you worked on that submission.
44:51
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
44:51
SPEAKER_00: And how much you wanted it as well.
44:53
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
44:54
SPEAKER_05: And I was gaslighting myself as well.
44:55
SPEAKER_05: Because I was like, you know, it's fine, guys.
44:57
SPEAKER_05: If I don't take home the title, it's fine.
44:59
SPEAKER_05: But inside I'm like, I really wanted it for myself.
45:03
SPEAKER_05: I just wanted it for myself.
45:04
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
45:05
SPEAKER_05: So yeah, that was such an achievement.
45:07
SPEAKER_05: And yeah, I was so excited and I was on such a high.
45:10
SPEAKER_05: And yeah, I am, I obviously as well partnered with Kaleo last year, which has been amazing.
45:19
SPEAKER_05: They're an amazing brand to work for.
45:21
SPEAKER_05: And, you know, something really secure with Knack Hair Care and you know, an exclusive partnership, which is a scary move, but felt so right for me.
45:31
SPEAKER_05: Because obviously I'd been with Knack Haircare for so many years now.
45:35
SPEAKER_05: So it just felt like the right fit for me.
45:37
SPEAKER_05: We used their colour in the salon.
45:40
SPEAKER_05: And um, you know, it's actually something I actually wanted for so long, but it was just timing.
45:46
SPEAKER_05: I wanted something a little bit more secure.
45:50
SPEAKER_05: And yeah, I guess like for me, moving forward, I'm just, I guess, yeah, finally reach that stage where you get these opportunities, and now I get to say yes and no to things.
46:05
SPEAKER_05: Whereas I was yes, yes, yes.
46:07
SPEAKER_04: Yes, you gotta do it.
46:08
SPEAKER_04: Now I'm like, Yeah, I choose a bit more selective.
46:10
SPEAKER_04: Bit more selective now, which is some really nice place.
46:12
SPEAKER_04: But you've done all the hard yards.
46:14
SPEAKER_05: You gotta do the hard yards.
46:15
SPEAKER_05: Like it honestly comes with so much sacrifice.
46:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
46:18
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
46:19
SPEAKER_00: Let's talk about some of those behind the scenes truths, you know, what people don't see from your success.
46:27
SPEAKER_00: Because I feel like from the outside looking in, it can often feel like someone's like an overnight success, but that's never the case, right?
46:34
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
46:34
SPEAKER_00: Even just hearing about your story.
46:36
SPEAKER_00: Um, I can't.
46:40
SPEAKER_00: I'm still shook.
46:41
SPEAKER_00: I'm still shook from that.
46:42
SPEAKER_00: I can't believe I didn't know that.
46:43
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
46:44
SPEAKER_00: What were some of those challenges you faced in the early days when like taking over the salon or like scaling the salon or starting your education or like starting out with content?
46:54
SPEAKER_00: Because, you know, it's quite a shift going from behind the chair stylists to bridal, red carpet, like A-listers, influences, brand campaigns, right?
47:05
SPEAKER_00: And I think, you know, when I met you, you were already doing those things.
47:09
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
47:10
SPEAKER_00: Right.
47:10
SPEAKER_00: And you forget all of those steps before.
47:12
SPEAKER_00: So, like, what are some of those behind the scenes challenges?
47:16
SPEAKER_05: I think for me, the biggest challenge I felt was trying to juggle it all.
47:22
SPEAKER_05: Because you've got to remember, I had the salon.
47:25
SPEAKER_05: I got, I got, you know, I took over the salon in 2019.
47:30
SPEAKER_05: My bridal business was like taking off.
47:33
SPEAKER_05: Like I was booked every weekend.
47:35
SPEAKER_05: Then I started shooting with all these brands.
47:39
SPEAKER_05: Um, you know, working in events, red carpet events.
47:43
SPEAKER_05: And then, yeah, I was like trying to do, and then, you know, I've got my clients in the salon.
47:51
SPEAKER_05: And obviously, I wanted to do it all, but it became very, very challenging.
47:56
SPEAKER_05: And plus you're getting brand deals.
47:58
SPEAKER_05: So you got you got plus the brand deals.
48:00
SPEAKER_05: And I'm on one, like, you know, it was me at the time.
48:03
SPEAKER_05: I've got a very good salon salon manager now, but at the time I didn't have that.
48:08
SPEAKER_05: I was like on my own.
48:10
SPEAKER_05: And then you're trying to roll out all this content as well because you want to stay consistent.
48:15
SPEAKER_05: And yeah, there was definitely a point I was trying to jug a little, you know, um, I was shuffling around clients to make the the um the shoots work.
48:27
SPEAKER_05: I was trying, you know, I wanted to be on set.
48:30
SPEAKER_05: I s and it was just it got really chaotic at some point.
48:34
SPEAKER_05: And I it came, I was like, you know, really burning out.
48:41
SPEAKER_05: And my I would say the salon suffered a little bit because I'm trying to build my personal brand, Dom Pelly hair, and that was just growing quite rapidly that I just wanted to stay on that train.
48:58
SPEAKER_05: And I selfishly not completely, but kind of neglected the salon a little bit, you know.
49:05
SPEAKER_05: I just pushed that aside.
49:06
SPEAKER_05: It's like any like anything, it's ebbs and flows.
49:09
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, it's just like, yeah, it was like I the business was established.
49:13
SPEAKER_05: Obviously, you've got to remember I did take over my dad's salon.
49:16
SPEAKER_05: But then, you know, at the same time, I'm trying to shift the whole dynamic of the salon, and I wanted it to be a little bit more of an exclusive experience for our clients.
49:25
SPEAKER_05: I wanted that high-end salon, and so I'm trying to make that happen.
49:29
SPEAKER_05: And yeah, it um it definitely came with a lot of sack sacrifice there, and like, you know, I definitely wasn't a priority myself.
49:41
SPEAKER_05: Um I remember actually I found it so challenging, like there was so much noise in my head that I actually started to have a really bad relationship with alcohol.
49:54
SPEAKER_05: Really?
49:55
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah.
49:55
SPEAKER_05: No, I wouldn't say I was an alcoholic, but like, and it's so big in our industry, but I just go home and have a drink and just like wind down.
50:04
SPEAKER_05: I was like, I just want to turn the noise on.
50:06
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, turn yeah, turn it off.
50:08
SPEAKER_05: And I just missed that all these really bad habits.
50:10
SPEAKER_05: I was binge eating because I was like working like 12-hour days, you know.
50:15
SPEAKER_05: If I wasn't in salon, I was on set or working the influencer, and I was just, yeah, like really, really bad habits.
50:24
SPEAKER_05: Um and I definitely wasn't living a healthy lifestyle, nothing like I am now.
50:31
SPEAKER_05: And it was just me not putting myself first.
50:34
SPEAKER_05: And yeah, I'd go home, have that drink just to wind down, and I just knew there was some bad habits I needed to like really, it's just not who I wanted to be.
50:43
SPEAKER_05: And I like it, I got to a point as well where I couldn't perform like to my full capacity as well.
50:53
SPEAKER_05: And like that's when just over a year ago, I made some real big lifestyle changes.
50:58
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
50:59
SPEAKER_05: Lifestyle changes.
51:00
SPEAKER_05: I was like, okay.
51:02
SPEAKER_05: I, you know, pulled myself away from the salon floor, which I only do two uh two, three days max on the salon floor, not really taking on new clients anymore, which is a nice place to be.
51:15
SPEAKER_05: I've got more a little bit more time.
51:17
SPEAKER_05: I think I've actually I wouldn't say time, I found a better balance now.
51:22
SPEAKER_05: And I think it's because I'm not chasing all those things and found a much better outlet to turn down the noise in my head.
51:29
SPEAKER_05: And that's fucking having a better routine and you know, eating better, sleeping well, going to the gym.
51:36
SPEAKER_05: Like there's just other ways to do things, and you've got your weekly structure, yeah, yeah.
51:41
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, so I do feel like now, yeah, I'm in a good place.
51:46
SPEAKER_05: And I don't know what balance looks like, but I'm definitely in a better place if there's balance.
51:54
SPEAKER_00: Balance doesn't exist, it's just uh yeah.
51:57
SPEAKER_00: It's just like this is kind of like the structure you work to, and it doesn't happen everywhere, but like where possible you try and stick to this.
52:04
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, balance is for retirees.
52:07
SPEAKER_04: I'll find balance then.
52:08
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, okay.
52:10
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, totally.
52:13
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52:20
SPEAKER_00: Today's episode is brought to you by Rogue Beauty, known for providing stylists with Australia's most loved professional hair care brands, including Orbe, Rcoe, Maria Nilla, Isles Formula, and Alex Boss Colour.
52:33
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52:44
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52:56
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53:03
SPEAKER_00: Now, talking about some of your red carpet styling and the A-listers.
53:09
SPEAKER_00: You know, you did your iconic look on Tammy Hembro for her wedding, which is so stunning.
53:15
SPEAKER_00: We filmed that for online education.
53:17
SPEAKER_00: You know, Evelyn Ellis, you do a lot of work with her.
53:20
SPEAKER_00: What would you share with someone that wants to start doing that type of work?
53:25
SPEAKER_05: Well, I think um my relationship started with Tammy before her wedding, and it was because she liked my content at the end of the day.
53:36
SPEAKER_00: Which is crazy.
53:36
SPEAKER_00: Like, think about that.
53:37
SPEAKER_00: Like, yeah, yeah.
53:38
SPEAKER_00: That's how Nat reached out to you.
53:40
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
53:40
SPEAKER_00: That's how Tammy reached out to you.
53:42
SPEAKER_00: Like, there's so many opportunities in content.
53:45
SPEAKER_05: So I'm gonna be, I'm gonna, this is my experience.
53:48
SPEAKER_05: I'm gonna be completely honest.
53:51
SPEAKER_05: But if you're stuck in a bridal bubble and all your or sorry, if you're stuck in a bridal bubble, I would say there's that bubble of you just posting bridal hair all the time, you're gonna attract wedding planners, brides to be.
54:08
SPEAKER_05: That's what you're gonna attract.
54:10
SPEAKER_05: If you're just posting your client in the salon and it's color work, you're gonna attract clients and hair care brands.
54:22
SPEAKER_05: If you're gonna get really creative, get a studio, get some really cool people to work with, maybe get a content creator, stick makeup, and think outside the box and you know, let your content have a little bit more of an editorial fun, make it fun, get a little bit more creative.
54:42
SPEAKER_05: People like, you know, your Temi Hembra, Evelyn, who are in that influential world, that's what they're seeing.
54:51
SPEAKER_05: They're not seeing the bride you post unless they're getting married.
54:53
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
54:54
SPEAKER_05: Um, they might be looking at the colour, but they they're not, you know, they're, you know, a lot of the influencers I work that work I work with, they don't see me for colours.
55:04
SPEAKER_05: They've got maybe their hairdressers.
55:06
SPEAKER_05: Some of them do, a lot of them do, but then there's some of them, you know, that have got their own colour as so you attract what you put out there.
55:13
SPEAKER_05: 100%.
55:13
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
55:14
SPEAKER_05: So don't think no one no one's really gonna notice you if you just post like, sorry, again, I just wanted this to sound right because it it's so fine if you want to just post bridal.
55:23
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
55:24
SPEAKER_05: So fine.
55:24
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, but if you I know that's what you're gonna expect brides to be.
55:28
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
55:28
SPEAKER_05: But if you want to get involved a little bit more, if you want to work with fast fashion brands, you need to show them how diverse you can be.
55:36
SPEAKER_05: Flip it.
55:37
SPEAKER_05: You need to change up the content.
55:38
SPEAKER_00: Or even like offer to assist.
55:40
SPEAKER_00: Like, I see how many people assist you or have assisted you.
55:44
SPEAKER_00: Um, I think that's another really great way to get a look in.
55:49
SPEAKER_00: But like content is king.
55:51
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
55:52
SPEAKER_00: Content, I just feel like what I've learned is so much happens in the DMs.
55:57
SPEAKER_00: So much networking happens in the DMs.
55:59
SPEAKER_00: It's crazy.
56:00
SPEAKER_04: It changed my whole career.
56:01
SPEAKER_04: Crazy.
56:02
SPEAKER_04: Changed my whole career.
56:02
SPEAKER_04: I am where today because I had a plat I had a platform where I could be noticed.
56:07
SPEAKER_05: And you hustled.
56:08
SPEAKER_05: And you hustled, yeah.
56:09
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
56:09
SPEAKER_05: And you hustled.
56:10
SPEAKER_00: And you think doubt you you thought outside the box, you're like, I love being behind the chair, but I also want to do this.
56:15
SPEAKER_00: So I can invest in this as well.
56:18
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
56:18
SPEAKER_05: There was so much more to me than just being in the salon.
56:22
SPEAKER_05: But I mean, oh my god, there's so many people that are in salon behind the chair that are doing insane, incredible things.
56:31
SPEAKER_05: Like Dane Wakefield, like look what that bloke has, like, his work is insane.
56:37
SPEAKER_04: He's literally like the most beautiful human too.
56:40
SPEAKER_04: I love Kane.
56:41
SPEAKER_05: Kane, like they're they're like big colorists that are doing amazing things in salon.
56:47
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
56:47
SPEAKER_05: I just, for me, needed to step out of the salon to do some great things.
56:51
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love that for you.
56:52
SPEAKER_00: Now, you've been educating for a few years now.
56:55
SPEAKER_00: How did you get started?
56:58
SPEAKER_00: Like, what was your first class?
56:59
SPEAKER_05: Like, how did that come about?
57:00
SPEAKER_05: My first class was actually quite some, I reckon 10 years ago.
57:05
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, Nath put me on the road.
57:08
SPEAKER_05: Oh, yeah.
57:08
SPEAKER_05: They were like, Can you go up to I think I went up to Queensland with another one, another educator of theirs and taught a colour class.
57:18
SPEAKER_05: Colour.
57:19
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
57:20
SPEAKER_05: I mean, you are a great colourist.
57:22
SPEAKER_05: Oh, I was a colourist before.
57:24
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
57:24
SPEAKER_05: It's a stylist.
57:25
SPEAKER_05: So yeah, they they sent me up there and I I the girl that I was with Stacey at the time, I really connected with her.
57:34
SPEAKER_05: So obviously I was a bit nervous, and yeah, it was like very different because yeah, it was obviously I was teaching colour.
57:41
SPEAKER_05: So I remember doing two or three classes for them, but it was very intimate, much smaller than what I'm doing now.
57:50
SPEAKER_05: And then yeah, I don't know.
57:52
SPEAKER_05: I think I started to get like the thought of it.
57:57
SPEAKER_05: I like I did it then, and then I kind of left it behind.
58:00
SPEAKER_05: And I used to get really anxious about the thought of educating.
58:03
SPEAKER_05: I had this imposter syndrome.
58:05
SPEAKER_05: I was like, no, I'm not an educator.
58:09
SPEAKER_05: I'm not I'm not smart enough to be an educator, I'm not as put together as these other people.
58:16
SPEAKER_05: Like sometimes I can't put a sentence together properly.
58:19
SPEAKER_05: Like, like, why are you laughing?
58:22
SPEAKER_04: No, you know what I'm looking at.
58:24
SPEAKER_04: Like, not like that.
58:25
SPEAKER_04: I'm just putting that at school.
58:27
SPEAKER_04: Like, maybe not, like maybe if you've not had a coffee, but like that's probably worse if I have a coffee.
58:33
SPEAKER_04: Like I'm jittery and I'm like, I can't put things together.
58:36
SPEAKER_04: I actually see it as in not that at all.
58:39
SPEAKER_04: I actually see it as just your perfectionism creeping in.
58:43
SPEAKER_05: Okay, well, I don't know what it is, but I just like had this self-doubt about myself that I wasn't good enough and that I felt like a little bit like of a catfish to get up and teach.
58:56
SPEAKER_05: Like, I'm like, I don't know, like I I don't know.
58:59
SPEAKER_05: I just had all this self-doubt in my head, and I remember Nat asking me to not um teach, but get up and do a um be on a panel for mainstage, and we were talking about content creation.
59:18
SPEAKER_00: Was that last year's one?
59:19
SPEAKER_05: No, that was like three years ago.
59:21
SPEAKER_00: Oh wow.
59:22
SPEAKER_00: Three years ago.
59:23
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
59:24
SPEAKER_05: And I was like, she gotta be joking.
59:27
SPEAKER_05: Like, I've got anxiety about speaking in front of a classroom of people, and you want me to get up and speak about five hundred to five hundred people?
59:35
SPEAKER_05: And she was like, Yeah, I reckon you can do it.
59:38
SPEAKER_05: And when Natalie Ann tells you you can do something, you're like, okay, okay, she said I can do it.
59:44
SPEAKER_05: And you know, in my head, I was like, okay, this is gonna go two ways.
59:47
SPEAKER_05: I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go up on this panel, I'm gonna fall apart, have a panic attack, and I'll never do this again, and that will end my career of education.
59:56
SPEAKER_05: Well, turns out I didn't.
59:58
SPEAKER_05: I had anxiety, I was nervous, I got up there, I spoke.
1:00:01
SPEAKER_05: I actually, you know, probably spoke too much, though they were trying to get the mic off me again.
1:00:06
SPEAKER_05: I was like, oh yeah.
1:00:08
SPEAKER_05: And I was like, yeah, I was fine.
1:00:10
SPEAKER_05: I was yes, I was anxious and nervous.
1:00:12
SPEAKER_05: And then I connected with what one of my good friends, Josie Morgan, who said, Hey, do you want to start doing some education?
1:00:19
SPEAKER_05: I'm gonna launch my education.
1:00:21
SPEAKER_05: And I think there's so much more value in a collaboration, two of us.
1:00:25
SPEAKER_05: And I was like, yeah, this is my perfect way in.
1:00:28
SPEAKER_05: Let's do it with someone first.
1:00:30
SPEAKER_05: Because she was really, really good at education.
1:00:32
SPEAKER_05: Like her, the way she put her classes together, I was like, Yes, she's the person I needed to be with.
1:00:38
SPEAKER_05: Um, so we did our classes together and I loved it.
1:00:43
SPEAKER_05: I was like, I love this.
1:00:45
SPEAKER_05: I I love that I can now finally, yeah, I'm always a little bit nervous, but we spoke about this as well in the car today.
1:00:54
SPEAKER_05: We're talking about how you kind of reach a point where I guess you kind of like found your place in the industry where you can show your vulnerability a little bit more.
1:01:04
SPEAKER_05: And I wasn't scared about looking nervous or that I got something wrong or I said something wrong.
1:01:10
SPEAKER_05: Like I've done classes where I'm like, okay, this didn't go the way I thought it was gonna go.
1:01:15
SPEAKER_05: Because obviously I teach um styling.
1:01:18
SPEAKER_05: It's very creative, it's very visual.
1:01:20
SPEAKER_05: So sometimes I'm like, you know, different hair types.
1:01:23
SPEAKER_05: And that's just the reality.
1:01:24
SPEAKER_05: This is what happens in the salon.
1:01:26
SPEAKER_05: So I'm like, I'm not gonna try and fake it now.
1:01:29
SPEAKER_05: I'd be like, oh, this didn't go the way I thought.
1:01:31
SPEAKER_05: Let's switch it up.
1:01:33
SPEAKER_05: But I'm confident enough to switch something up, and I think that's and like teach the learning out of that.
1:01:38
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah.
1:01:38
SPEAKER_05: Guys, don't try to make something happen that you know is not gonna happen.
1:01:43
SPEAKER_05: It's like you need to take a different direction and be confident enough to say, hey, this is not what I thought it was gonna look like.
1:01:52
SPEAKER_05: But I can do something better.
1:01:54
SPEAKER_05: And yeah, now I'm just I think what I've learned is I just need to be dumb.
1:02:01
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
1:02:02
SPEAKER_00: I think it's like nerves are just energy and you're nervous because you really care about something.
1:02:08
SPEAKER_00: So it's just like what you're telling yourself when you get nervous.
1:02:12
SPEAKER_00: And I think like no matter where you are in your career, you're always gonna get nervous because you care about what you're about to do, what you're about to teach, what you're about to execute, what content you're about to film, or whatever it is.
1:02:25
SPEAKER_05: 100%.
1:02:26
SPEAKER_05: I was a little bit like nervous about today, because I care, because I was like, I really want it, I want to tell my story, and I was so excited because like, you know, I'm here with you and you know me so well, right?
1:02:39
SPEAKER_05: I just like I this like I'm comfortable with you, but still I was, you know, in my brain, because I'm such a perfectionist.
1:02:48
SPEAKER_05: I'm like, I just want to make sure I hit.
1:02:51
SPEAKER_05: I really speak.
1:02:52
SPEAKER_00: You're hitting all the all the points.
1:02:54
SPEAKER_00: You're really hitting all the points.
1:02:56
SPEAKER_00: Okay, good, good, good, uh quick shout-out to something I actually use every day at the Beauty Grail, the 270X Creator Tools from FK.
1:03:05
SPEAKER_00: The viral Magstase snapstand is my absolute go-to.
1:03:08
SPEAKER_00: My phone just clicks on and I've instantly got the perfect angle.
1:03:12
SPEAKER_00: It's compact, reliable, and it honestly comes everywhere with me.
1:03:16
SPEAKER_00: The wireless mice are super clean and an absolute must-have.
1:03:20
SPEAKER_00: And the vlog screen is genuinely game-changing.
1:03:23
SPEAKER_00: It sticks to the back of your phone so you can use that camera and still see yourself, which means way better video quality without the guesswork.
1:03:30
SPEAKER_00: If you're creating content for your business, this tech makes everything faster, easier, and your videos look so much more professional.
1:03:38
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1:03:42
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1:03:47
SPEAKER_00: I actually love this stuff.
1:03:48
SPEAKER_00: It just makes filming simple.
1:03:50
SPEAKER_00: All details linked in our show notes.
1:03:52
SPEAKER_00: So, what were some of those takeouts over the years?
1:03:56
SPEAKER_00: Like, you started off collaborating with NAC, then you're collaborating with Josie, now you're doing your own independent education.
1:04:03
SPEAKER_00: Like, what have you learned along the way being an educator about teaching others and about yourself?
1:04:09
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
1:04:10
SPEAKER_05: I think again, um, you know, be true to yourself.
1:04:19
SPEAKER_05: I think, you know, education doesn't have to be so structured and put together.
1:04:28
SPEAKER_05: I know my classes aren't, and I just people want to hear about your journey.
1:04:33
SPEAKER_05: They would don't want to just hear about like all the success.
1:04:37
SPEAKER_05: I speak a lot of the things, I speak a lot about the things that went wrong for me as well, because that's again, that's our reality.
1:04:46
SPEAKER_05: So I think, you know, not just sharing on the highlights, but sharing about things that went wrong.
1:04:54
SPEAKER_05: And like there has been times where I'm not perfect.
1:04:59
SPEAKER_05: Like I I stuff up, I still make mistakes.
1:05:02
SPEAKER_05: And you know, I've worked with certain people where I look back and I'm like, I wish I did things so much different.
1:05:08
SPEAKER_05: But I needed to make that mistake to upskill myself.
1:05:12
SPEAKER_05: So so I think it's so important not to gatekeep as well when you're educating.
1:05:18
SPEAKER_05: If someone's investing in you, be vulnerable, be vulnerable, share it all, show them all.
1:05:24
SPEAKER_05: Um share the mistakes.
1:05:26
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, because I guess you don't, you know, you're you're you kind of have this responsibility, and you don't want people sitting there going, that's so out of reach for me.
1:05:34
SPEAKER_05: Everything he's doing or everything he's done is so out of reach.
1:05:37
SPEAKER_05: Obviously, you want people to walk away from your education, going, I can do that or I can be that, I'm gonna try that.
1:05:45
SPEAKER_05: You know, they need to walk away feeling inspired, not oh, that was a great show, but out of reach.
1:05:52
SPEAKER_05: So out of reach.
1:05:53
SPEAKER_05: So it's important that you're in touch with your audience.
1:05:56
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
1:05:57
SPEAKER_05: Um Totally.
1:06:00
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I feel that.
1:06:01
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think that you know, like being vulnerable is like we're talking about this in the car, but I actually feel like you know, like when you've achieved a level of success, it's a bit easier to be vulnerable.
1:06:19
SPEAKER_00: You know, and like I'm not I'm like vulnerable like in private, but not a lot on social media because I feel like, you know, I'm trying to grow my brand, I'm trying to grow my business.
1:06:30
SPEAKER_00: So I shut up.
1:06:32
SPEAKER_05: The industry loves you.
1:06:33
SPEAKER_05: I know, but I don't know.
1:06:34
SPEAKER_05: The industry in look at how long have you been in this industry for?
1:06:38
SPEAKER_05: Like two years.
1:06:39
SPEAKER_05: Two years, and you are so well respected.
1:06:41
SPEAKER_05: But I'm not, I'm not.
1:06:44
SPEAKER_05: Every little back door.
1:06:45
SPEAKER_05: We all want a piece of Ali now.
1:06:47
SPEAKER_05: I just how did I get so lucky, babe?
1:06:49
SPEAKER_05: Stop.
1:06:50
SPEAKER_05: So you just love me.
1:06:53
SPEAKER_00: But I think it's such an important one though, because it's like in my in my mind, I don't know if you feel like this, but it's like, yeah, when do you kind of feel comfortable in being vulnerable?
1:07:03
SPEAKER_00: Because that's like people learn from other people's journeys and when things go wrong.
1:07:09
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
1:07:09
SPEAKER_00: Do you know?
1:07:10
SPEAKER_05: Like, it does take some time, I'll be honest, because there was so many years where I felt like I had to be a certain way, or I shouldn't have said that, or I should have done things like this, or even even my content as well.
1:07:24
SPEAKER_05: I was like, you know, I used to be so like I would get the ick when I did a voiceover because I was like, oh, who like what are you talking about?
1:07:35
SPEAKER_05: People are gonna judge you for saying that.
1:07:38
SPEAKER_05: But now I'm just like maybe it's a coming of age.
1:07:44
SPEAKER_00: It's maybe it's a coming of age.
1:07:45
SPEAKER_00: And like I six once you reach a certain level, no, it does.
1:07:49
SPEAKER_05: It definitely does.
1:07:50
SPEAKER_05: You definitely get combination.
1:07:51
SPEAKER_05: But I think also you need to be consistent.
1:07:54
SPEAKER_05: Like the more, the more you put yourself in those uncomfortable situations as well, the more you realize it's not that deep.
1:08:00
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
1:08:01
SPEAKER_05: Totally.
1:08:02
SPEAKER_05: It's not that deep.
1:08:03
SPEAKER_05: Like calm down, have a breather.
1:08:05
SPEAKER_00: Like no one's caring about you as much as you're caring about yourself.
1:08:07
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
1:08:08
SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
1:08:09
SPEAKER_00: It's not that deep.
1:08:11
SPEAKER_00: Oh, I love that.
1:08:12
SPEAKER_00: Now we're onto fast five lightning round.
1:08:14
SPEAKER_00: Do you want to have a sip here?
1:08:17
SPEAKER_00: We'll get into fast five.
1:08:21
SPEAKER_00: What's a myth about the industry you wish people would stop believing?
1:08:26
SPEAKER_05: That perfection exists, that the perfect salon exists, that the perfect salon owner exists.
1:08:32
SPEAKER_05: Stop looking in at people or their businesses or everything they've achieved and thinking it's perfect because we're not.
1:08:39
SPEAKER_05: You know, and that can be really intimidating and that can really set you back because there's always highs and lows.
1:08:46
SPEAKER_05: And even for the most successful people, there's there's highs, but there's lows.
1:08:51
SPEAKER_05: And and social media is a highlight reel, and it can be, yes, very intimidating to look in and think that everything's perfect.
1:08:59
SPEAKER_05: And you're not doing yourself any justice by trying to chase perfection.
1:09:04
SPEAKER_05: Totally.
1:09:04
SPEAKER_05: I totally see that.
1:09:05
SPEAKER_05: Even if that's a myth, but like I feel like we can get in our own head.
1:09:08
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, absolutely.
1:09:10
SPEAKER_05: People thinking that.
1:09:11
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love that.
1:09:12
SPEAKER_00: I mean, social media is a highlight reel.
1:09:14
SPEAKER_00: And I think it's actually about like just circling back, like you're in a spot now where you're a bit more vulnerable about the learnings and mistakes, especially being an educator, like that's such an important part of educating.
1:09:26
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, I think like I see a bit more like behind the scenes of what people are going through as well.
1:09:32
SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, it was a fly on the wall, and I think it's just like such an important thing.
1:09:36
SPEAKER_00: We just gotta stop comparing.
1:09:38
SPEAKER_05: Stop comparing, yeah.
1:09:39
SPEAKER_00: What's one thing you think people should ignore and something they should double down on if they're wanting to grow?
1:09:47
SPEAKER_05: I think, like, definitely like I feel like I'm gonna go back to the same question, but ignore, like, well, don't ignore, but just I think don't try to copy everything.
1:10:04
SPEAKER_05: I think really invest in yourself and finding your own style.
1:10:10
SPEAKER_05: Like, I feel like if you're out there trying to copy everything, you're just not gonna look unique.
1:10:16
SPEAKER_05: And I think the best thing I did was find a style that I was known for.
1:10:21
SPEAKER_05: So, like, yeah, invest in yourself and finding your own kind of niche and what you're good at, and don't try to be someone else.
1:10:32
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, because you're never gonna be someone else.
1:10:34
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, you're never gonna be able to be them.
1:10:36
SPEAKER_05: Be inspired.
1:10:37
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
1:10:38
SPEAKER_00: I think it just goes back to that example you talked about with Shannon, though.
1:10:41
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:10:41
SPEAKER_00: You he was someone that inspired you, you loved his work, you invested in the education, even though you probably couldn't afford it at that time, realistically.
1:10:51
SPEAKER_00: You just take it over the cellular.
1:10:52
SPEAKER_00: Two-minute noodles that week.
1:10:54
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
1:10:55
SPEAKER_00: And you took those learnings and filtered it through your own lens.
1:11:00
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
1:11:00
SPEAKER_00: Like that's just one example, right?
1:11:02
SPEAKER_05: One example.
1:11:02
SPEAKER_05: And there were so many examples of that along the way.
1:11:06
SPEAKER_00: And I like that that's like such a great way to think about education.
1:11:09
SPEAKER_00: Like, you need to invest in education.
1:11:11
SPEAKER_00: You need to invest in yourself.
1:11:12
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
1:11:12
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:11:12
SPEAKER_00: Like, don't be scared to invest in yourself.
1:11:14
SPEAKER_00: But the second priority is to filter that through your own lens, your own unique style.
1:11:21
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah.
1:11:22
SPEAKER_05: And the only way you're gonna find that if you're hands-on consistently by just creating, creating, you know, there's I would say there's so many looks I know you've never seen, you've never got eyes at, because I was like just, you know, getting in there and just, yeah, creating.
1:11:39
SPEAKER_05: But there was a lot of things that I did that I was like, I don't like because I was still kind of finding myself.
1:11:43
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
1:11:44
SPEAKER_00: But it's like that's so interesting because like the the foundation is great hair.
1:11:48
SPEAKER_00: That's the foundation that starts with education and hard work.
1:11:52
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
1:11:52
SPEAKER_00: And then like the content, filtering that through your own lens, your style, the content like sits on top of that.
1:11:58
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
1:11:58
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
1:11:59
SPEAKER_05: 100%.
1:12:00
SPEAKER_00: I love that.
1:12:00
SPEAKER_00: An old mentor of mine, when I was in my 20s, said to me, the skills that got you to where you are today are the ones that will take you to the next step in your journey, whether that be the next goal, the next promotion, the next big thing that you want to achieve or that you're working on.
1:12:21
SPEAKER_00: What's one thing that you're letting go of and one thing you're really honing in on at the moment?
1:12:28
SPEAKER_05: I think, like, you know, I've kind of got this title now known as the glam hairstylist.
1:12:35
SPEAKER_05: Yes, the king of glam.
1:12:36
SPEAKER_00: The Chris Appleton of Australia.
1:12:39
SPEAKER_05: And you'll be able to do that.
1:12:39
SPEAKER_05: We'll take that.
1:12:40
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
1:12:42
SPEAKER_05: I'd I'd, you know, and I think glam, when we think of glam, it's a little bit more structured, put together and that.
1:12:50
SPEAKER_05: But I'm loving, and I feel like everything is so much more in the hair world, so much more effortless now and really organic.
1:12:59
SPEAKER_05: And we're like, we're almost mimicking natural textures.
1:13:02
SPEAKER_05: There's a lot of work involved, but it's like, oh, does her hair naturally dry like that?
1:13:08
SPEAKER_05: And you know, when you look at my a lot of my styling, it's quite, you know, put together.
1:13:13
SPEAKER_05: There's a lot of, you know, work that goes into it.
1:13:16
SPEAKER_05: But I'm really loving just, yeah, working with like just the way I whipped your hair up today.
1:13:22
SPEAKER_05: You know, I didn't put too much prep involved.
1:13:24
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
1:13:25
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
1:13:26
SPEAKER_05: I just want to know be known for something a little bit more different now, a little bit more effortless.
1:13:32
SPEAKER_05: And I feel like hair care brands love that as well.
1:13:36
SPEAKER_05: Um, and obviously, you know, I want those opportunities with hair care brands.
1:13:41
SPEAKER_05: So I think it's really important to show versatility that I I I'm not just Dom Pelli the glamour stylist.
1:13:49
SPEAKER_05: I can be, you know, a little bit more editorial.
1:13:54
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
1:13:54
SPEAKER_05: Do you know what I mean?
1:13:55
SPEAKER_05: Because you just don't know what's going to come.
1:13:57
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
1:13:57
SPEAKER_05: Like you just need to constantly showcase something different.
1:13:59
SPEAKER_05: And you can't, you can't run with the same thing forever.
1:14:03
SPEAKER_05: Do you know what I mean?
1:14:04
SPEAKER_05: Well, you could, but you know, I just feel like if you want those opportunities, you need to, you need to show something new.
1:14:10
SPEAKER_05: Show something new.
1:14:12
SPEAKER_05: I'm, you know, I just in the last 12 months learned how to do extensions.
1:14:18
SPEAKER_05: Well, one technique of extensions.
1:14:20
SPEAKER_05: I wasn't doing that for so long.
1:14:22
SPEAKER_05: And I'm now doing these incredible extension installs.
1:14:26
SPEAKER_05: When I say extensions, I'm talking like proper installs where they're living, living in your hair.
1:14:31
SPEAKER_05: Obviously, I work with clip-ins, but yeah, I just learned a new technique.
1:14:37
SPEAKER_05: Um, and I want to and I love it.
1:14:38
SPEAKER_05: And I want to learn so much more because I can just see how you can do these incredible transformations with extensions.
1:14:44
SPEAKER_05: And I'm actually intra attracting a new audience from that.
1:14:48
SPEAKER_05: So I don't know.
1:14:49
SPEAKER_05: And I've I've just recently partnered with seamless hair extensions in the salon for that.
1:14:55
SPEAKER_05: So, you know, I'm really kind of tapping into that.
1:14:58
SPEAKER_05: And that can like go from the salon to on set and everything like that.
1:15:02
SPEAKER_05: It's amazing how quick tapes can go in, you know.
1:15:06
SPEAKER_05: So that can just open up other doors as well.
1:15:08
SPEAKER_05: If you've got hair on hand and you can give someone length instantly, you know, you can get booked for so many jobs because you're known that, oh, he's got hair and he can he can do anything.
1:15:18
SPEAKER_05: We can if we've got hair, we can do a lot of things.
1:15:21
SPEAKER_00: So I love that.
1:15:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
1:15:23
SPEAKER_00: Letting go of old Dom, moving into new DOM.
1:15:25
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
1:15:27
SPEAKER_00: Big things, doll.
1:15:28
SPEAKER_00: So, final question: what's the next audacious goal you're working on?
1:15:32
SPEAKER_05: I think that question because I feel like a lot of the things that have come my way hasn't haven't necessarily been goals, but oh, I'd love a farm.
1:15:47
SPEAKER_05: I'd love some land one day.
1:15:49
SPEAKER_05: I'm thinking further ahead, but look, I think, yeah, I'd love that.
1:15:55
SPEAKER_05: I'd love a farm, I'd love some land, I'd love some dogs.
1:15:58
SPEAKER_05: That's like yeah, I'd love all that.
1:16:00
SPEAKER_05: But I think in terms of like, you know, my career goals, I think the being in a shopping center is something that kind of just fell into my, you know, lap there because dad had the salon.
1:16:15
SPEAKER_05: But I think it I know it's not a forever thing for me.
1:16:18
SPEAKER_05: And being such a huge content creator now, it's come with its challenges.
1:16:23
SPEAKER_05: So I would love, you know, one day a Dom Pelly hub, you know, whether that's like a salon slash content space.
1:16:32
SPEAKER_05: Oh, I love it.
1:16:33
SPEAKER_05: Where I could run education, it might be a bit of a freelance space, just where like I could do all the things I do and you know, with natural light and you know, beautiful space.
1:16:46
SPEAKER_05: So that's definitely on the cards one day.
1:16:48
SPEAKER_00: I love that.
1:16:49
SPEAKER_05: But for now, we're still in we're still in Roseland Shopping Centre.
1:16:52
SPEAKER_00: You'll have to come up with a better name than Dom Pelly Hub doll.
1:16:55
SPEAKER_04: I'm just saying, like it's that feels so cool, bruh.
1:16:58
SPEAKER_04: I know.
1:16:59
SPEAKER_01: You'd have to chat GPT a few more names there.
1:17:01
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I know.
1:17:02
SPEAKER_05: I'll I'll call out for help when I need.
1:17:05
SPEAKER_05: You're great with branding.
1:17:07
SPEAKER_00: Um, I mean that just feels like it makes sense.
1:17:11
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, it does make sense, right?
1:17:13
SPEAKER_05: Like, yeah, you know, working with so many hair care brands as well, have so much content and deliverable.
1:17:18
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, it'd be nice to have a real proper musical space.
1:17:21
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
1:17:22
SPEAKER_01: I'll help you style it thing.
1:17:23
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, let's go.
1:17:24
SPEAKER_01: I'd love that.
1:17:25
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
1:17:25
SPEAKER_01: Well, that's us, babe.
1:17:27
SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for joining us, Dommy.
1:17:30
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
1:17:30
SPEAKER_01: This was fun.
1:17:31
SPEAKER_01: I know.
1:17:32
SPEAKER_01: We have linked um all the handles and details from this episode in the show notes.
1:17:37
SPEAKER_01: Until next time, my loves.
1:17:39
SPEAKER_05: Thanks, my loves.