“My life went from Bad to Worse.”
BY SIMON DOYLE
Moving from Ireland where I grew up with limited resources has lit a fire in me to be the best at what I do. Which has pushed me to then help others be the best at what they do. This is a non-negotiable for me; I LIVE BY THIS. For me; it’s not about showing up at the barbershop, doing 12 haircuts and going home. It’s a lifestyle. There’s so much more to this career that I don’t think most people see. To be able to use my platform to have a positive impact on other’s lives is my primary purpose as a barber. Another huge part of all of this, is to have a humble approach to this message. The lines between arrogance and confidence are blurred in my opinion. I feel by me, being fully me, sharing my truth with my clients and other barbers it has allowed them to do the same. This is the first step to breaking down those walls and belief systems that people use to protect themselves. It goes way past the hair for me. Like I said, this is a lifestyle. My career started in Dublin Ireland when I was 15 years old. I started as an apprentice in a local barbershop where it was 12 euro for a haircut and it would take 20 minutes. Those guys really introduced me to the world of barbering and gave me an insight into what it really means to work in a barbershop as an apprentice. While being there I invested the little money I made from that job into multiple upskilling barber courses that were in the most popular barbershops in Dublin at the time. That’s where things really started to become clear to me, that this can be so much more than just quick 20 minute haircuts. I applied for a job in that barbershop I originally did those upskilling courses with. They took me on and I used that as a huge opportunity to grow and learn. I spent awhile with that brand and met some really good people. Including my first mentor Aaron Kiely. He spent so much time with me. We would stay behind in the evenings to go through different techniques. From this he indirectly helped me to mature in this industry.
At this time, I was really struggling with my mental health and I always had a notion in my head that I was less than or wasn’t good enough to do what I wanted in life. I turned to substance to fix this. They just made my problems worse and I quickly spiralled into addiction. I spent years in addiction and my life went down the drain. I lost jobs, friends, relationships and my hope for life. My life went from bad to worse. I ended up deciding enough was enough. I went to a rehabilitation program and cleaned myself up. When I did this, my career took off. I decided I want to travel the world and become a well-known, world-wide barber. I knew there was more to this than Dublin. I moved to Spain where I worked in a Spanish barbershop for about a year, learning and speaking Spanish. Building up a client base there. That was like my trial run for living abroad. After I left Spain at Christmas 2021, I knew I wanted to go somewhere else. That led me to apply for some jobs around the world and I got an offer here in Melbourne, Australia. I have been living here since April 2022. Since then, I have pushed myself to new heights in my career. I have been mentored by some of Australia’s leading educators to push myself into the education space and share my value/ knowledge with the industry here. I have found huge purpose within that space. I offer a wide range of education. Upskilling education for barbers in this industry to come and learn about hair, marketing and seeing their value and self-worth. My goal for 2024 is to build my own education brand and you can follow this journey on my Instagram platform. @simondoylehair.
54 Barber Shop Year 12 Issue 4
