Hair Stylist: Tom Baxter - Though Larry The Barberman'S Eyes

This is Larry the barber man I'm here in New Castle, the new East of England, Tom Baxter, is making waves across the world with his new web series, where he attaches a video camera to his head and gives the barbarian world a Tom Baxter's view of his Haircut Thomas also an award-winning hairstylist, and I'm here today to find out Tom's story with hair Tom. As you know, this is inspirational web series, where I interview barbers, hair stylists, I'm not quite sure where you stand, because, as you saw in the beginning, I introduced your shop as Tom Baxter's. Is this hair salon, hair style barbers? Give me your take. To be honest, the whole bracket of what a year are you a power? Are you a hairdresser? I got asked that all the time, because I do work with ladies and do work with guys. However, I try not to label it, because I'm still unsure myself as to what Barbarin and hair doesn't actually is, especially in the minute, because there's a crossover. I was a huge crossover between Barbara and head lesson and you see a lot of Barbara in head and in salons Niecy a lot of head lesson in barber shops. Now, where there's a big sort of swing between barbers are using more colors now they using the curling fuels here that adding texture that people say away years gone by, you would never have seen that in a barber shop and then again with salons as well. I mean salons are now starting to get training on clip. I work now, which is more seen down the barbering road, so it's kind of frankly as distinguish what is Barbara and what is hairdressing because it's its class together, I don't label myself as a barber. Don'T live with myself as a hair, that's that I just I cut here, and that is what I do so like. I said for me it's not about what you are, whether you're a barber hairdresser. If you cut a you're passionate about it, that's enough for me. Okay, so you spoke about coloring and perm in and all of these things when a client comes into this salon, do they say Tom I want the curl is in or is something you talked them into it's something our 100 % talk men. Do I've been that way? Since I can remember, I mean III see I mean I did do Barbara and then I left Barbara and went in the hairdressing because I felt that that time Barbara was dull and it didn't appeal that anything that I wanted to. I wanted to be a bit more adventurous. I wanted to sort of add color. I wanted to add, kill and at that time you couldn't guys wouldn't allow you to do that. I mean it's different. Now guys would let you do it so that that's why I see it. I see a window where I can go a little bit crazy. I can throw some color in out and throw some curlers in and, to be honest, I think I've built up. You know over the years of the clients that I've got I've built up a sort of loyalty between me me clients that they know that I would never let them leave the shop looking silly ad after you know doing something saw avant-garde that we know they wouldn't Either wouldn't need the shop saw. What I like to do is I like to sort of push boundaries with mainstream work? So if a guy comes to the door and it's got dead straight here and he says hard time, what can I do with me here and I'll say: listen, we've got opportunities now, where I'll put a set of curlers, and he said I mean I don't necessarily Put a curl I didn't, but what I will do is throw a set of jage these through it or add some sea salt spray and start curling it with a brush just to give it a different spin. Just to give the guy a different look for the weekend, rather than looking the same from going to work, I want him to look different for when he goes out on the drink or when he goes out with his wife out or whatever. I wouldn't that look slightly different, so for me I always try and just push my clients on to sort of what's going on at the minute, so I'll see you know, there's a big boom on curling at the minute. You want to give it a shot. If you don't like it, you can just rinse it out, so I give them that mentality. So I won't do something that's permanent, but what I will do is I'll say, listen, try this see what you think. If you like it great, if you don't wash it it's out, and you can just go back to how you had it before so, it's just I'll always push something on someone just to try and get people there know trained, bring the area up as well. You know bring the bring the northeast Keys. You see all this stuff down in London and Manchester and Liverpool and all these places, but you know the Northeast always has struggled for that sort of thing. So I'm not trying to be a one-man army, I'm just trying to push it on a little bit and raise this down a little bit. Okay! So that's talking about consumers, you fraternized quite a lot with the Barbarian community through the great beach barber bash and anything barbering. Are you not really cooled with in the barbering social circles about your? You know diversion if you like into color and straightening and stuff like that and not at all. I mean I mean I've got, for instance, them with the slicks boys, I'm actually going down to see the slicks, boys, sorry opted and see the six boys and guys got you some color and Draenor with those guys. So all right, I'm coming in with color, but I mean I am I really at this moment in time. I really enjoy Barbarin and I really enjoy being able to express what I like to do through Barbarin through men's hair, because that is a passion that I've got about. Men see, I do love the men say and I'm loving the fact that men say now is evil, you're able to add color he able to kill and if you look at selling at national now, if you look like say, for instance, at the world barber final, I think every single man that was up there, who was a model had color any say, probably because they knew I was gon na, do it, but everybody had color in the hair and that's that's the way it's going now, it's great and me going down there. It'S insane it it's it's great, I mean I'm, I'm not really cooled the one. They wouldn't dare alright. So now, we've kind of spoken about where you kind of sit in terms of hairdressing and barbering. Where did you actually start in here from the beginning? So be honest: when I started um, I didn't set out as a childhood dream to be a barber. I don't think anybody is really and what I did was I was I was 15 at the time and we had a football tournament in Barcelona with the school and there was all the lads who were going. Who were going to play football. You had an opportunity either shaved your head or you got a bleached. I didn't fancy a shaved head. I didn't think I suited one. So I thought I tell you what I kept mine bleached the only place. I knew that bleached hair and was here so when I was 15. Obviously, when you of the shop, it was Terry's back then, and so it is about three or four of us decided to come up and get with hair bleached. So it's got me hair bleached, and there was a bit of bod that you had two shops at the time, the guy who won this and he had a shot down no shields and he also had a shop yeah. And so he was seeing about one of these members of staff down North Shields had left and he was going to send one of his stuff here to ruin the shot down North Shields and they needed a junior um. And I heard him over to I overheard him talking so I said, listen um! I can go after school for two hours on a night like four o'clock to the six o'clock and that's what I did. I went down there for two hours a night every night for yeah I saw and then I left I left school. I didn't know what to do and I got on really well with the guy who owned this place, um and he just turned on and said. Look if you wan na, do an apprenticeship and then see how he got on so the six weeks. All this came, and at that time I agreed, but I was devastated at the same time, because everybody else was doing the six we've told a thing, and I decided that I was gon na do an apprenticeship. I started to work and then I saw as day as the weeks and months went on. I started to enjoy more and I really got into it um, so that's pretty much how it started by accident. Really I got me hair, bleached, okay, so well. Some subjects of apprenticeship, just a quick question: what route do you think people should come into here? Should it be a barber in school and then straight on to the shop for or or serving the two four-year apprenticeship? If I'm honest, in my opinion it it's it's. It'S totally down for me personally, I don't like to see them come from college, it's nothing against the colleges and I'm not a massive fan of academy work and that's just personal preference. I prefer to have a junior in, I think, you're more rounded. If you come into a salon, you work alongside the barber, so you're going to be working for you watch them work, you take everything off their hands and you just kind of get better and better and get introduced into the barber and meet the clients, rather than Just getting thrown in so like the kinds grew up with you as well is Jr and you just improve as you get as you get on. So I would do like a 2 or 3 years on the shop floor. Young 16 year old, get them in get them working, get them sweeping up and seeing what's going on how things work, it's good to be able to see how the shop works. So we get a whole. You know real understanding of Barban from the bottom, but sometimes I feel it's kind of like. I feel I have to work from the bottom to the top to really understand it. Thinking really get to grips with it, rather than kind of kind of doing at the university thing and then all of a sudden jumping in you miss you miss now on the bottom bit and the bottom bit is the best bit. I think personally so you're what you're saying is that to become a good hairstyle and it's not necessarily just your skillset with the Clippers and the scissors, it's actually building rapport with the clients, letting them grow up with you and the business I mean I absolutely. I do when I very first started cutting hay and I was taking chunks out with areas and I was taking huge piles out the back of the next one. You learn and as you do everyone does it the guys still come through the door now in the time. Remember when you were a young lad cutting here and you know you build up a relationship with the client and I feel that's very important. I mean, obviously you get new clients who come to the door, have seen you on Instagram or whatever, and but you know, you're sort of spitting, sawdust clients who stay with you. I think it's great if you can build them up from being such a young lad and then build another relationship with your clients as well as just because I'll I'll be honest. A lot of my clients are actual friends of mine that you know that the the clients, but I've made friends through that, and that's that's Bob and that's hairdressing. It'S because because you're so close and it's a really personal thing, you know your hands are all over. This guy's head, I mean there's only three people in the world who should touch a man's head and one of them's, a barber and or a hairdresser or stylist or whatever you want to call it and having that relationship. It'S it's, it is it's. It'S a friendship. Isn'T it it's, you know everyone's got their barber who they go to have their histories, that they go to and it's a friendship so yeah. I think it starts from the bottom and you get better as you get higher up very interesting, take and also like. I introduced at the beginning, you've got a web series at the moment where you strap a camera to your head. Tell me how this came about and what you're hoping to she've by this. It'S definitely, you know, got traction to be honest. It was. It was one of those one of those things where it's just like an idea. That kind of snowballed was one of the girls. I work with on the trade hair supplies artistic team, and we had a little chat about where interesting. How do you? How do you cut men say yeah, I could never cut men say and I'm thinking well tell you what I'll them I'll put a camera me head and I'll show. You ha ha have a laugh and then I thought actually that's not a bad idea. So actually I made a video for her and I said, look, listen I'll, do it for you and we'll have a look and see what you think, and so I made it. It'S called Lindsay Ford by the way, but anyway I made it um and then she watched it and said it was great and then the first video wasn't great. It never is and just got but and then I thought we said you know what is. This is actually like when I watch tutorial videos, I always say the guy with the camera like how your cameras are set up now, where the behind the guy, you can see over the top the shoulder and yeah you can kind of see the heck are taking Shape, but you can't really see the details of it. However, if you put a GoPro on your head and your angle it down, so that you can see what your hands are actually doing - hey homie, wrists flickin, where me fingers, are where the sections are like. You know perfectly, I think it's a better way of learning, because you can actually see it from what I'm saying. So you know you want to try and replicate that, and you see now, while you put that section just above that yeah, but I can see it from a bird's eye view and it kind of snowballs from there and then obviously I start getting more and more Adventurous with them - and I didn't call us to it and all that sort of stuff and everybody started, seeing that they're really like watching it and enjoyed the the view that it was that and so it made us just keep going. And I think I've made like 20 videos now so and well I mean we're making a big views and what kind of average views are you getting on this at such an early stage? I mean this web series, the biggest views that we've ever had that I've ever had was a was about 85,000, and that was, I was looking off to be asked by Camus re to be their brand ambassador and they gave me they put me on their websites And stuff and they've got huge followings and obviously it's a snowboard from there that went over well over a thousand the ones I'm doing at the minute I'm sort of getting between about 35 and 45 thousand views. So yeah I mean it's a one on and within a week its its upper like thirty five forty thousand views, so it said snowballs can you do you know, whilst on the subjects of education, your stage artists, with the great british barber bash? Can people expect to see you with this strapped on your head, because every barber bash that i've been there four ways got the big screens yeah? Is this a possibility? Well, I'm in London in February with Gary and the barber brush team, and I'm also on stage with the trade hair supplies team as well. You'Ll see, is in London with that strapped to my head. It'Ll be the first time ever doing it and I've got ta. Be honest, I'm a little bit anxious about it, as you will be walking out in front of 7800 people with a camera strapped to your head, but I'm gon na do it and and and I'm gon na I'm gon na short out there and I'm just going To I'm, basically gon na show anybody who wants to be a stage artist or a platform art or whatever what you're looking outward seeing. So you know what you expect to see and expect your heart rate of bounce when you, when you stand on the stage and you look out and see a sea of people, so you're gon na get to see what I see you're gon na get to see Me Cote you're also going to get to see the audience as well and in people's reactions. So yeah we'll see how that goes, and I got that on my head. So you all about giving sneak previews of life's coming attractions, pretty much yeah cool product, wise you've. Actually brought out your own product and again there's a story behind why you brought out your product. Can you share this with us, please? Well I mean the reason. I mean the main reason that I bought products out. It wasn't the trying push products under people to try and make hundreds of pounds and and all that sort of stuff it was. It was more so the the kite that take a work that I was doing. The title work that I'm doing at the minute the sales that I want to try and create. I wasn't finding a product that I liked I believed in, and I mean I've tried every product that there is. I mean every major brand I've tried them. I'Ve had the men, I've had them in for periods of time, and I thought you know what, rather than reps, coming in and lying about what the product does. I'M gon na go out there and I'm gon na make one get one made off speak to people who know somebody who can make them and, like I say, obviously, I met will met the guy who, who does the Brandon and all the products for us and The products that he's got our amazing so the reason that I've got them is so that it improves my work, but also I can give them the clients and give them this exact same product that I'm putting on their hair, but I'll give them the education behind It and why I'm using it and what I'm using it for and I'm the best use it's gon na be for them. So let us say the reason I bought. The reason that got me on in was to make my work better because I believe you've got the heart of a product, because it haircut is ism is a big thing, but the styling of the product, the styling of the hair, is equally as important as the Actual haircut itself, so you need a product. That'S gon na hold it, especially when the guys are out in the and the nightclubs, sweat and heads off the hair to be up and steer this. I want to a product leavin and give it to them. Also so yeah, that's why I got it, so you wanted to make a difference in the industry exactly okay. What what would you like to see changed in the barbering industry in the hair industry right now? What are your dislikes, and what would you like to see change if possible? Um, it's not a massive amount that I would like to see change I mean I think, I'm really pleased to see that the bring in the sort of female barber things kind of really kicking off and and you've seen more female bars. Now I think, that's great. I'M not a huge fan of the terminology of female barber, and but I really and because I've got girls who work for me. It'S just. I think you don't need to put the word female on. I just feel that the word barber is enough. It'S for me. It'S it's! It'S slightly degrading to them to call them female boys. Just just call them a barber. I'D like that to stop, for starters, just call them a barber, because that's exactly what the other as equal as we are, so why call them why'd demean it. Apart from that - and I really I'm really enjoying the fact that there's a big crossover from hairdressing into Barbarin and Barbara now has become a point where it's a lot softer other finishes a lot softer a you know you where you would have a guy going. It was salon if you feel it felt he needed a much softer haircut. You were going to a salon they're all coming in the barber shops now because of Bob our sort of training in hairdressing and creating that softer look. So, in terms of I mean I don't know, I mean in terms of things change and I don't think I think it's going in the right direction. For me, to be honest, I think, like that gel between the two is is exactly how it should have. It should be, and it should continue to be so yeah and I just had a fool in terms of education because you educate on kind of grand scale with Gary's garish things er. You know five to eight hundred people on stage. That'S the message! Masses! Do you? Do any kind of smaller, more personal, intimate classes, or is that achieved through the web web-cam? No, I do I mean I work for the nhf as well: the national head, Russian Federation. I do demonstrations for those where it's a class of about. I mean I've done a few, which were like 25 or 30 people put the cedar, be grown and numbers all the time. That would do them. Sorry, I think we're about seventy-five few and so that's quite intimate. I do go into salons as well on a bit of freelance stuff. Do get like salons contact contact me through social media and ask if I'll come and do it at demo day or some whatever it may be. Enough could be for about 68 people and then maybes do and I'll do maybe two hours in the morning where I'll be demoing I'll, be doing haircuts and I'll be demonstrating. What i doing, why I do it and then will then move on to the afternoon session, which will be just them kind of going out. What we'll talk about? What we've done techniques and me just kind of overseen it just making sure that you know that the firing in the right direction, sort of things so yeah I mean I do also stuff with, like obviously the Federation in freelance stuff and the thread head supplies as Well, who's. They go there like basically like a sort of wholesalers. Basically and obviously they've got big clients, and this obviously just got me like one of their sons and do the same thing. It'S what I do freelance, but obviously I do it for those as well. So said that thinking aloud, the webcam is actually like having a one-to-one. Listen if you think about it, because it's such a tight crop, I need to see your hands if you're talking at the same time your webseries, a she gives them the opportunity to get one-to-one training. Well, that's I mean it was one of the reasons that it was one of the one of the ideas that that kind of made it kind of snowball as well, because I've always said to a while ago, when I was doing a class in in Carlisle and The girls were, I was doing the haircuts and the girls always say no Liz. I really enjoyed these classes, but I always forget what happens by the time you've gone. I think just imagine someone had a camera on the head and he could see what we're doing. He could just keep constantly were playing it, and then you could just watch it whenever you wanted, and so that was another reason why I started doing it and they all obviously done it for is a laugh to start with and then obviously it kind of like Lots of doors were opening because when you do educated people like I mean it's the same, when you know you you trying to learn anything, you know you watch the guy doing it and then you think you said wow, it's amazing, then you can't really remember what He'S done because you kind of fix it on what he's doing and looking at anything and yeah. It'S really good, but I kind of what was the step off for that one. I can't remember, but, like you know, if you could just do like an instant replay like on a football match, just rewind it and then have a look. That would be so much easier, so I thought well. Why don't I just record because I've done it before where I've done demonstration is how camera on my head. So why don't I just record what I'm doing and then others give you the copy, and then you can just do what you want with it. If you want to rewind it and watch it again, rewind it watch it again, some view and then you can take that and I'm mixing more the -- one, some more letters, no okay. So we can expect when you do these small intimate classes that they can. Then go back and watch the video of the day where you've strapped it on your head. Exactly things see exactly how I can see it. So you mentioned the national hair Federation. You'Ve actually won some awards with them, and other people tell me about some of these awards that you've won with them and yeah I mean the national hair. Doesn'T Federation did the Northeast Championships a few months ago now and it was it was. It was the champion barber, which was the overall. There was the best look and best cut on the day and look well. Thankfully. Luckily I won all three on the. I wouldn't the wonderful lot um, but yeah I mean I've done quite well. I mean that I, when he started entering competitions last year, as only a year ago, was the very first one that I entered was the barber bash one. We got down to the final, the final on that one finalist in the British master barbers a wall. Barber of the year came runner-up in the world barber of the year and then I won the national Harrison Federation and I warned first the great last year's also as well. So I've done all right considering I've only been doing it yeah. I got plenty plenty em tightly glassware. If you come runner-up, you can go back and assess and that should push you up to the number one position in yes, the company well next year. Okay, that's the goal! That'S from that I'll get it next year and who would you say your biggest inspiration in Barbarin hairstyling hairdressing as neither here nor there with you about. Tell me anything in terms of inspiration. I mean I really enjoy. I get a lot of inspiration from from his hairdressing as opposed to Barbara, and I mean obviously I really enjoy. I think, what Jamie Stevens does. I really enjoy his work um. I suppose. As far as inspiration goes, I don't necessarily look to one person or one thing for inspiration that it's, it's always a really hard question to answer. I think when someone asks you for that because it's like sometimes I just you just come to work in it. You just you just do it. You know like if you haven't really when I enter competitions as well. I don't necessarily have a plan of what I'm going to do. I just kind of do it um and I suppose inspiration comes to you in ways that you don't really know I mean I said I really and I really like Mickey Graham's work. I think he's flawless. Okay and I Darren Jones, I mean he's he's the master. Isn'T he in Jamie's, like the likes of Jerry, Stephens and Edie, feeling people like that people like that in Soho and young as well, I mean there's still thought they're doing at the minute, for the Northeast is fantastic, and I mean that all the Vanguard stuff that They do the stage work at all, all the wigs that the wear - and I kind of I can look at a wig or I can look at something. That'S totally crazy and you know you know in a million years you could never put that on a client and walk out the door. However, you can take pieces from it and think yourself to know. There'S yeah, it's a bit nuts. However, if we're toning this down a little bit, I quite like the ship that it is we'll just need to make it a bit more mainstream a bit more every day, every day, rather than kind of like a big spike sticking out the side of someone's head, You don't mean so um yeah, I kind of a suppose. That'S where I got my inspiration from I. I think I just grabbed her from anywhere in any way, so not one person in particular just a series of events that supposin leads to inspirations. Isn'T it okay? I know you're a brand ambassador for anybody. Yes, Kemosabe Shia's sort of very nicely asked if I would be a brand ambassador for them and that again came from the videos and then actually sent him a video I sent of it them a video, because I bought pair of shears of them a couple years Ago and I really liked them and I said, look I'm doing a video using your shears um. If you liked it, let us know, and then I got an email back like minutes later saying that the really did enjoy it and that if I would make them three more videos, if they would send us three pairs of scissors out, so the sentence out would Come sorry, yeah blows, they also sent out the serenity and the black diamond and asked if I would do three videos for those. So I made the three videos and Zacky the guy who owns it, really liked the videos and I'm still making videos for them now, and he contacted me said they know, would love you to be brand ambassador for so you just continue to make the videos and And we will continue it send me. This is us and he's just sent as that actually just released the art of shaven, which they've sent me a shavette, which is very good when I would find it. I don't know where I put it, but yes and I'll show you this video I'll, show you this that which I don't have it's yes somewhere. I don't know what I've done with it, but yeah anyway, the centers that we share that and also the fellow Razer as well, which the which you get with every pair of scissors, that they send you. You know that just everything that it's just really nice brown to be with, because everything is just such high quality but yeah performance-wise. I can't pronounce the name of the brand. Why does this particular brand? Do it for you in terms of shears and scissors, I mean I be honest. I mean I'm not just saying this because I'm brand ambassador for them, because I used them before was brand ambassador. I just feel like the the just the quality. Is it like? It'S just really really good quality, I'm not seeing that the better quality than any well. I am seeing about according any ones, that I've used, but I'm not seeing the better brand than anybody else. I'M just seeing that for me personally, you know you're not going to get a sharp or pair of scissors or a more precise pair of scissors. To be honest, I think, though, without doubt the best is that I've ever used they're here on earth - oh yeah, Tom Baxter. Thank you very much for giving us this interview and shedding some more light on your web series and where you're going with it and your what you are, whether you're a hair, stylist or a barber. I'M sure you've answered a lot of questions for a lot of people, and I wish you well in your web series and just carry on doing what you're doing you're, obviously doing something right. Thanks, Larry