I’m Not Just a Hairdresser -"Empires"

PRESS RELEASE

Vivienne Mackinder - www.mackinder.com - Vivienne@mackinder.com - 516.810.0083

I’m Not Just a Hairdresser is a four-part exploration of the hairdresser’s world produced by VivAldo Productions. This insightful documentary series takes viewers behind the glamorous façade of hairdressing. It dramatically traces the triumphs and the pitfalls—the pride and the passion of the stylist’s life. Our series began with "Legends," a fascinating look at fashion trendsetters in our industry. Now we’re proud to bring you "Empires."
This emotion packed installment will show you how you too can feed your heart and your pocket with this extraordinary profession. Along the way we’ve all heard people say, "There’s no future in hairdressing. You just can’t make any money in this business." Empires demonstrates just how wrong the critics were. Empires examines the lives of three hairdressing icons, Horst Rechelbacher, Frederic Fekkai and Anthony Mascolo. These hairdressers, turned entrepreneurs, turned self-made millionaires share their powerful stories of their climb to the Top. Through the building and branding of their hairdressing empires, these icons not only made millions for themselves, but are still making many others wealthy to this day. Success, as this film demonstrates, does not always come easy. These candid and inspiring testimonies will give you the courage to work hard and never give up. They’ll show you that sometimes failure is just a honing tool preparing you for success. As hairdressers, if we remain committed, we can feed our hearts and our pockets. We can achieve all our dreams.

From the moment they picked up their first pair of shears, Horst Rechelbacher, Frederick Fekkai and Anthony Mascolo had lofty aspirations. Almost magically, walking into the salon gave them clarity, vision and direction. And what they all saw was an amazing opportunity to go beyond just simply cutting and styling hair. Before them was the chance to change hairdressing into something bigger and better than could ever be imagined. Fueled by a relentless desire to succeed, they began developing better schools and educational programs for hairdressers. They searched for styling products that delivered incredible results. They built fabulous salons in fashion capitals round the globe. They led trend-setting photo shoots, platform events, advertising campaigns and so much more. These three hairdressing giants each created an empire.

About those three boys whose dreams we shared with you at the beginning? Did they build those empires they had dreamt about? Well, today Frederick Fekkai is charging up to $600 for a haircut. Clients have to book months In advance to get an appointment at one of his ultra-luxurious salons. And those clients have names like Ashley Judd, Heidi Klum and Jessica Lange to name just a few. Anthony Mascolo’s Toni & Guy Salons now number some 400 around the world. But he’s not stopping there. He’d like the number to hit 500 in the United States alone. And what about Horst Rechelbacher? In 1976 when he launched Aveda, very few people understood or appreciated his knowledge of plants and plant engineering. Two decades and 25,000 Aveda stores later he’s considered a genius. Especially when you consider Estee Lauder bought Aveda for a $300 million in 1997. While These numbers and names sound impressive; these three men were never driven by fame or money. What drove them was one simple idea...to create beautiful hair better than anyone else. That is how you build an empire.