Luigi and Sons Barbershop By Lino D’Adderio

My journey started in this incredible industry of ours officially in 1989 under my mentor, and the man who inspired me - Luigi D’Adderio - my father.

I started my apprenticeship at a time when it was all about women’s hairdressing. We only spent about 10% of our time at college on men’s cutting. Everything else was long hair cutting, colouring, and perming ladies hair. My brother Joey and I did our apprenticeships together under our dad Luigi, an incredible barber trained in old-school skills that he had mastered in Italy.

He taught us everything there was to know about barbering, and I honestly can’t thank him enough… Dad had many barbershops on the Gold Coast over the years, and he had the reputation as one of Australia’s best barbers for sure!

Father & Son

He won countless Queensland and Australian Barbering Championships throughout the 70’s and 80’s, and those comps were hectic!

All scissors, razor, and a blow driers, not a set of clippers in sight! You had to be so skilled to do well, and Luigi was. We followed in his footsteps and have won many Queensland competitions over the years especially in the 90’s and 2000’s. Fast forward some years (maybe too many to giveaway ha ha) and I have been running the Luigi and Sons Barbershops since Luigi retired and my brother went into a fantastic new venture with his wife which I’m very proud of them doing.

Luigi D'Adderio

I have always been super passionate about our businesses and the legacy dad gave us and the legacy I hope to leave to the awesome barbers I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside over the years, and hopefully the industry too.

The success we have enjoyed from our hard work has afforded me to venture into photographic competitions which has been incredible. I entered the American Crew Face Off (now All-Star Challenge) and made the Top 20 in Australia a few years running, as did some of our team. At that point I was recommended to try out for the American Crew Allstar Team and I made it!

This particular year our team presented the ELVIS Campaign and the hair, culture, music and especially Gallery wrapping you losethe grooming of that time. We always do shows around side and backshowcasing Sport, Classic and a Collection. I am finally allowed to share this as the Official Trailer has just come out. I was asked to put a team of barbers together for the soon to be released ELVIS by Baz Luhrmann. We did the hair for all the extras and some of the stars too. What an incredible experience and one to hold tight to, forever.

Lino D'Adderio

An absolute highlight in my life and that of my team too, who couldn’t wait to go for it - an iconic movie about ‘The King of Rock n Roll’. We have also worked on 13 Lives, the new film that was filmed in Australia by Ron Howard. Both were very different but very cool.

ABOUT OUR SHOPS

I have had a handful of my team make the Top 20 on many occasions. We have had a National and Global Winner in the All-Star Challenge.

Our barbershops started way back in 1961 by my father Luigi. I wasn’t even a twinkle in his eye yet as he was only 21 when he migrated from Italy to Australia and started what was known as Luigi’s Men’s Hairstylist. $247 inc GST It has evolved into 3 smooth looking barbershops. Our fit outs are nice and masculine with lots of black timber, steel, concrete, and copper… they are the very current and hold their own amongst the bestlooking shops in our industry and there are a lot of good-looking shops!!!

We also have on display, and clients use them for waiting chairs, Luigi’s original barber chairs from when he started. They’ll be in my bar one day when I hang up the scissors…

We have an amazing culture where the focus is all about our clients and our team… they’re all very special humans and we love looking after them and spoiling them and making them feel amazing with the best haircuts every time. We specialise in all men’s grooming from long hair to short fades to shaves to colour. From young to not so young. We are family oriented and that’s exactly how we like it!

DIGGING A BIT DEEPER

I too, had success in this competition which has given me approx. 14 Years as an American Crew International All-Star Educator and I’ve been blessed to travel the world educating and inspiring and sharing my craft. I hold my American Crew family as super important to me and love the opportunity I have been given and the skills I have learnt as an AllStar. I always say that it put ‘Method to the Madness’ that is barbering and sharing this is pretty special.

I have recently joined the Barber Temple Education Team as an American Crew All-Star along with my American Crew Queensland team-mate Mark Rabone. This is a super exciting opportunity that we are looking forward to and working alongside Fraser Forsey, Steve Purcell, Tim Hutton, Clipper Kayne, and a fantastic team of barbers who are too many to name, we are there sharing our skills to other barbers and the better we all are the better our industry will be…

THE TEAM

They are our business! I honestly give them every ounce of myself in whatever capacity they need. If our team are skilled, if they are rested, if they are happy, then their work is exceptional and our clients are super happy and therefore, so is the business!

With 34 years in the industry, we have had the pleasure of some great successes. As we mentioned earlier, many floor competitions and photographic competitions, myself and my team have worked hard but also have had some great wins. We all learn from each other every day. No one is too proud or too good; if you have a question or feel the need to grow then we are all there for one another and I am 100% there for them. I’m still learning everyday too.

We love a good a time, so it doesn’t take much to get something fun happening and after the last few years we’ve all had, there’s plenty more good times coming!

PRODUCTS ANDS TOOLS WE LOVE

As an American Crew All-Star, I have a huge connection to and affiliation with American Crew, it is my go-to brand. I know the products inside out and know exactly when and how to use them. When we did the ELVIS gig for Baz Luhrmann - American Crew was in our hands 95% of the time.

In our barbershops we also recommend and use Uppercut, Layrite, Reuzel, Mr Muk, Nak, King Brown, Bearded Chap, Milkman and Slick Gorilla. They’re all excellent products too and our clients have all got they’re favourites.

I am also the founder of my own brand KING LOUIS IX; it’s a Styling/ Finishing Tool and is available in store and we also wholesale to barbershops and salons around Australia. It’s a Styling Rake like no other. It’s a bespoke styling tool made from stainless steel and finishes hair off perfectly. My entire global American Crew team have one in their kit, and we are getting interest from around the globe so I’m a bit excited for what’s around the corner for King Louis IX.

The story behind the brand is really cool, maybe a story for another time. We are about to launch 2 new Styling Tools which is really exciting as well, one for hair and one for beard. I say to clients the King Louis does what your hands want to do!

We draw our creative inspiration from all round the globe and every style of barber, that’s the beautiful thing about our industry, we’re all so very different yet all the same!

WHAT SETS US APART

The biggest thing that sets us apart from our everexpanding industry is we genuinely have and ooze authenticity, depth, integrity and have the skills to back it up.

We were barbers before barbering was cool. We are blessed to have been brought up as barbers. Dad started his apprenticeship aged 9 back in Italy and we have this amazing shot in all my shops of dad aged 10 with his best mate with their barber coats learning the craft… it’s as authentic as it gets.

As kids we would be there sweeping up, helping dads team, doing whatever was needed to be done for our father and his business and now I do it for mine!

My team love all types of men’s cutting, we specialise in it all. We have clients booking in for shaves and cuts for their special day, we give our clients kids their first haircuts and we even look after our VIP’s when they’re not well enough to come in. It’s what we do, isn’t it!!!!

We have a beer fridge in all shops and offer all the usual refreshments but we also have a Cocktail Trolley in each shop where a client can select a something a little more refined.

FUTURE ASPIRATIONS

I have 3 fantastic barbershops which I’m very proud of. We have an amazing team of 15, of which, 4 are apprentices working their way through and I am really proud of them all. Our clients are extraordinary, and I feel we are all really fortunate. For me I still very much love my craft, its truly not work, so I’ve got ‘plenty in the tank.’ I would love to get my team another movie to work on, that was epic! My team love doing photo shoots so that’s definitely coming up in 2022.

Way more education - that’s my way of giving back - I honestly love it!

For the barbershops it’s me doing my dad proud and touch wood, I have to this day! He is humble, skilled, kind and giving; and that’s how I roll too, which is why some of our team have been with me nearly 20 years and others only a few months but I give them all the respect they deserve, and Lisa and I are blessed we get it back from them too. I love it that we have clients that expect the best from their barbers and that’s why they come to us…

Something that I live by and hold true about our industry - Always do amazing work, be nice to people and hold your head high, treat people how you’d like to be treated… and it will all take care of itself!

It’s pretty simple really!

Who: Lino and Lisa D’Adderio

What: Luigi and Sons Barbershop

Shop 4, 58 Brooke Ave, Chirn Park, Southport

Shop 5, Crestwood Plaza Shopping Centre, 458 Olsen Ave, Molendinar

Shop 39, Southport Park Shopping Centre, Cnr Benowa and Ferry Rds, Southport