Cover Story: We find out what makes Sid Sottung Academy tick.

Sid Sottung Academy

Sid Sottung is the founder and director of the Sid Sottung brand. The main focus is education for fellow barbers, hairdressers and those who aspire to become one. He is also a consultant for businesses and products.

After a decade of cutting his teeth in some of the most exclusive salons across the globe, Sid turned his full attention to inspiring and teaching the next generation of barbers and hairdressers. Sid Sottung Academy strives to push the boundaries of hairdressing and barbering education.

With a career as varied as it is successful, Sid’s dedication to the provision of the highest quality hairdressing and barbering education led to the opening of the Sid Sottung Academy.

Sid fell in love with barbering at the age of 14 while working as a shop assistant in a traditional Italian barbershop in New York. Eager to make his mark on the industry, Sid began a 14year career with Vidal Sassoon by training in their Downtown New York salon.

On the back of a decorated career in Sassoon salons, Sid graduated to their academies as an educator, teaching both hairdressing and barbering.

Sid’s first stop was the Santa Monica Academy where, as part of the educational team, he crafted hair for television, as well as taught at international hair shows as far afield as China.

Sid then made the trip across the Atlantic to teach in Mayfair, London; first at the Vidal Sassoon Advanced Academy followed by the Davie Mew’s Academy. After parting ways with Sassoon, Sid pursued an exciting freelance career guesting and teaching in exclusive salons and barbershops.

He was also proudly a member of the hair team, working on the 2005 blockbuster Pride and Prejudice. Having trained educators and written curriculums for other academies, Sid felt that 2014 was the correct time to open his very own academy.

Having travelled the globe educating for Vidal Sassoon and a host of other leading industry names, Sid opened the doors of the Sid Sottung Academy in February 2014.

After surviving the pandemic, which was the most testing time for all within the beauty and hair industry, Sid Sottung opened an academy in the heart of Edinburgh, which offers bespoke education.

To this day, Sid Sottung Academy is

growing and improving everything they do.

Sid said: “At the Sid Sottung Academy, we focus on all aspects of hair. In the past, we have mostly been known for our barbering education side but we have branched out the past few years and are now offering education in all aspects of hair, which includes cutting and styling ladies’ hair as well as hair colouring.

“Here at Sid Sottung Academy, we believe hair has no gender. Therefore, we have merged and adapted our teaching styles to suit that.

“As an academy, we are dedicated to providing high-quality, elite training and are proud to offer the finest tuition. Our aim is to provide all our students with the skills and knowledge to go and make their unique mark on the world of hair.”

Aside from the success of the academy, Sid also works with a wide range of product brand associations.

“I am the International Creative Director for Sakura Scissors and Global Artist for Mood Colour, a Proraso Educator, an Andis Global Educator and have my own special range with the amazing Captain Fawcett. I recently started a new exciting relationship with KMS products as their guest artist. In 2022 alone, Sid has won a variety of awards for his outstanding barbering work. “This year has been a very exciting one for Sid Sottung Academy, as at the beginning of the year, we shot our academy collection ‘AmeriKa’, which was later published in various publications.

“Our Head Educator, Matthew Fleetwood, is currently on the set of ‘The Crown’, styling men’s hair, which is an incredible achievement and I am beyond proud of everything he has, and is, achieving. Our Colour Educator, Guste Kliukaite, also become an Educator for Mood, an amazing Italian brand.

“After a long break from entering competitions, I decided it was time to give it another shot, and I am so proud to say we won an award for Colour World UK for Best Men’s Colour.

“Guste was also a finalist for a Colour World UK for Creative Colour Genius and I have also won Wet Shave Expert award at the Scottish Hair & Beauty Awards.”

Looking to the future, Sid explains his future plans: “The future holds more travelling, more knowledge, inspiration, happiness and spreading the Sid Sottung way of approaching hair, pushing the boundaries and running businesses.”

Visit www.sidsottung.com for more information.