Spotlight On Eoin McCarthy

When Irish eyes are smiling

Eoin McCarthy is a 27 year old Hair Stylist from Cork, Ireland who is a relative newcomer to the industry after a career as a professional cyclist in Europe. When retiring from pro cycling Eoin took interest in the world of hair inspired by his mother Mairead who is a very successful hairdresser. Although influenced by hairdressing, Eoin focused fully on men’s hair and in his first year cutting he was awarded the title of 2016 Irish Barbering Apprentice of the Year. After 1 year of working in Ireland, Eoin set his sights on Australia and found himself a job at Area Studio. Eoin then had an opportunity to expand his skill set and find his unique style of men’s haircutting in a multitalented international team of stylists at Area Studio.

Within his time in Australia he has picked up many more awards including the Victorian Barber of the Year for 2017 after placing 1st in the Victorian/SA Live Barber Battle. He placed two times second place at the 2017 HBIA Australian Hairdressing Championships in the Men’s Trend and Men’s Sport live cutting competitions and contributed to Area Studio winning the HBIA Independent Salon of the Year for both 2017 and 2018, and was most recently Runner-Up in the 2019 HBIA Men’s Trend Competition.

Almost 5 years into his career Eoin is now an International Educator and Brand Ambassador for Andis Clippers and Brand Ambassador for Osaka Scissors in Australia. Eoin actively educates and demonstrates at many hair exhibitions in Australia and Worldwide such as the Asian Hair Expo (China) 2018 as well as having been a part of Hair Expo Australia’s Education Programme presenting his ‘Perspective’ seminar helping thousands of other hair professionals to learn and grow.

Eoin has worked with many celebrity clients such as music artists such as Raekwon from Wu-Tang Clan and Denzel Curry as well as many Australian sporting stars. Most notably cutting hair at Justin Bieber’s Purpose World Tour, The Weekend’s Starboy World Tour and Post Malone’s World Tour.

In 2020, Eoin has had his introduction into the editorial side of the industry by creating his first collection ‘Unity in Diversity’, which featured in internationally renowned magazine Estetica as well as multiple magazines in The Netherlands and the UK.

In 2020 Eoin was also nominated as Finalist for the International Visionary Awards, World Barber of the Year, Irish Best of the Best and AHFA Industry Choice Awards.

2020 saw the creation of AREA Academy in which Eoin is Director and Co-owner. This was a long-term ambition of Eoin’s and being so passionate about having a positive influence on the industry, we spoke to him about his role with Andis as well as his career in general and what the future holds.

What made you make the move to Australia?

It came about somewhat accidentally. I have family in Adelaide and due to my previous lifestyle, I never had the chance to come and see them. My cousin was getting married, so I thought it was a good opportunity to come over. At that point I felt like I’d reached my potential at home, so a change was welcomed. I applied for a working holiday visa, did my research and Melbourne was my destination of choice.

Tell us a little about how you landed a job with Area Studio?

I got the job at Area Studio through a big inspiration of mine, Josh Lamonaca of Menspire. I did one of Menspire’s courses before coming to Australia and I knew that they had just been here for Hair Expo, so I asked Josh’s advice. He immediately contacted my now boss and business partner Jordon McKenny and I was in Area Studio 6 weeks later. Since joining Area I’ve had the most amazing opportunities to work with some of the most diverse and best barbers/ men’s stylists in the industry. It’s been amazing! Now in the strange year of 2020 we founded Area Academy. This was an ambition of mine since the Menspire course in 2016. I’ve found myself in an up-skilling educational role for the last 3 years and now we are ready to take it to a new level.

What do you love about educating?

I genuinely just love helping other people in discovering and reaching their potential. I don’t feel achieved unless someone else is on the journey with me. Educating puts me in a position where I am surrounded by like-minded people who are passionate about our industry and have a growth mindset without ego. I also love the fact that whilst I am educating, I am always growing and learning myself. When you teach something, you learn it twice... So, get involved people! You are helping yourself ultimately.

How does education differ overseas to Australia?

I guess education is quite a universal thing, however I feel like the context changes depending on language and culture. The internet and especially Instagram has helped us create more unity in our industry worldwide therefore I feel like it doesn’t really differ too much overseas.

What is it you love about competitions and awards in the industry?

I love the creative thought process behind them. I try not to think about it from a competitive standpoint but rather a deadline for personal growth and creativity. Just a medium to give me a little push in the right direction. Quite obviously, there can be a lot of ego associated with the awards and competitions, but it’s never really felt like that for me. I used to cycle full time and I think I’ve exhausted my competitiveness through that. However, it is nice to be recognised for hard work and I think it adds credibility to what we are now trying to do with the Academy.

Tell us a little about your recent collection.

‘Unity in Diversity’ showcases diversification within current and upcoming male hair trends and the sense of unity within the multicultural society of Melbourne. It is a concept of unity without uniformity and diversity without fragmentation, that shifts focus from unity based on a mere tolerance of physical, cultural, linguistic, social, religious, political, ideological and/or psychological differences towards a more complex unity based on an understanding that difference enriches human interactions.

How did you get involved in being part of the crew for The Weekend and Post Malone tours?

The owner of Area Studio, Jordon McKenny, has built a reputation of being Melbourne’s goto celebrity barber and he tends to cut a lot of big names when they tour in Australia. Due to learning his trade at an Afro-Caribbean barber shop in London and his meticulous attention to detail, he has built a network which enables him to land gigs such as these. Working at these shows really opened my eyes to the possibilities within hair. Being so close to some of the world’s biggest names in music seemed impossible whilst living in Ireland. It just shows, you can really direct your career in any way you desire. online trials. Shortly afterwards I was offered a place on the Global Education Team which comes with the Ambassadorship also. I now actively educate, demonstrate and showcase my work as a representative of Andis across Australia and Internationally.

What do you love most about the Andis range?

It’s diversity. You can’t build a beautiful house with only a hammer; you need a lot of different tools to achieve different results. In saying that, I like to keep it relatively simple.

How did the Ambassador role for Andis come about and what does it involve?

My role with Andis came about at Hair Expo in 2017. That’s where we first met the team from America, and they were setting up Australia’s first ever education team. I was thrown in the deep end and had my first experience demonstrating my work on their stand before then doing some more

What is your Andis go-to tool of choice and why?

Tough choice, however, I got to say the Supra ZR with the 00000 ceramic blade. When doing a high volume of skin fades, I like to use the Supra to create my skin line and clear out bulk. It’s high power and efficiency helps me save time on each haircut.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time? If my next 5 years is anything like my last, who bloody knows! I may not even be cutting hair! Visas can be difficult to attain these days, but I would hope to still be in Australia and have the Academy built to a reputable point where it’s my full-time job. Ultimately, I would just hope to be in a place in my life where my partner and I are happy. Our happiness is all that really matters.

Some fun…

Favourite destination: The west of Ireland (when the sun rarely shines) Favourite drink: Jameson Dry and Lime Favourite Meal: Can’t beat a good Pizza...