I began my next career adventure in Long Island, twenty minutes outside of Manhattan. This is the place where the rich and famous live and play, and I was fortunate enough to be a part of it. I joined the team at the Internationally known Maximus Salon and Spa on the South shore. Although I once again started out as a human hair clip, I received the title of “Assistant Hairdresser”…I was really moving up in the world!
Working sixty hours a week, I became part of a family that was my team. We worked together and played together. From this group I learned everything from hairdressing to fashion. This is where I met top designers such as Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren and Jones New York to name a few. These were the days of the “SUPERMODELS” and, as luck would have it, I had the opportunity to style the hair of many of them. Not even 20 years old yet, I was having the time of my life!!!
At a photo shoot with the famous photographer Ira Mazel, I had my first run in with a supermodel (name withheld). As she was sitting in the chair, completely naked and unbelievably beautiful, I nervously fumbled through her hair. When I accidentally touched her face, I received the verbal beating of a lifetime. “HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY FACE! I MAKE MILLIONS WITH THIS FACE!!!” At that moment my love for supermodels dropped from a 10 to a 2!! It was with this that I learned my first two lessons.
LESSON NUMBER 1: The BEAUTY business can be UGLY!!
LESSON NUMBER 2: Grow up fast!
The day I walked away from that shoot I left the “boy” behind.
As the stories unfold, from Studio 54 to the Hamptons, the funniest moments of my career will still happen behind the chair.
