Davide Spinelli has built a reputation as one of the industry’s most respected precision cutters and educators. Today, through shows, seminars and his own education platform, he teaches hairdressers around the world to achieve technical excellence and creative confidence. In this edition of Hairdressing Unbound, Davide shares how education became the focus of his career – and what it really takes to inspire the next generation of hairdressers on a global stage.
How did you get into education?
I was always very interested in improving myself, and I noticed early on in my career that the people with the most skills were the educators. This really struck true when I was working at Trevor Sorbie. I could see that the educators were the people doing everything – education, shows, shoots and all the creative work. They were always pushing themselves.
For me, it began from wanting to improve my skills. On my days off, I spent time in the academy training, trying to be close to the artistic team and the educators. I applied internally for opportunities and competitions, and I just tried to stay as close as possible to that environment. The first step was definitely improving my own skills and being around the people who were already doing education.
Was there a single moment you knew education was your path?
There have been a few moments. The beautiful thing about education is that you can really change somebody’s life. If you help someone improve their skills, their daily life in the salon improves – they earn more money, they feel happier and that affects their whole life. I think that is very powerful. One moment that stayed with me was when I was teaching in Italy. There was a lady at the end of her career, almost retiring.
At the end of the class, she came to me and said, “Thank you so much for teaching me. Usually people don’t teach me because they think I’m too old.” Moments like that make you realise how education really matters.
What have been the highlights of your career as an educator?
The most significant thing for my career was working at Trevor Sorbie. I was very lucky to meet Trevor, to work with him and to see him almost every day for many years. Learning from someone who had truly changed the industry was incredible. Trevor was strong and direct, and if you made a mistake he would tell you, but he was always humble. That had a big impact on me. There have also been some important events. I worked on Salon Congress for Aveda in Minneapolis, which was a big stage with around 2,000 people watching. That was a great experience. More recently I taught at the ‘Train the Trainers’ event in Milan with Elgon. There were educators from 14 different countries. That was powerful because you are helping other educators improve their skills as well.
What’s been your biggest challenge?
To be honest, one of the biggest challenges for me has been adapting to social media. My career developed in a more traditional way – working inacademies, teaching in salons, doing shows and education day and night. Now everything has to be communicated online, and that has been a big adjustment. The teaching itself has not been the challenge, as communication in the classroom is something I worked hard on – I took presentation courses and studied ways to improve how I explain things and connect with people – but learning how to translate everything you know into the modern digital world has definitely been the biggest challenge.
What makes a great hairdressing educator?
For me, a great educator is not someone who simply teaches, but someone who helps people achieve their goals. Observation is essential. You need to understand the person in front of you and guide them in the right direction. My philosophy is that learning requires three things: guidance, practice and persistence. Guidance helps you understand the technique clearly, practice develops the skill and persistence allows you to overcome failure and improve over time.
Haircutting is very physical – almost like a sport. Sometimes you need to physically guide someone and help them find the right movement. Education is about finding the balance between guiding people and allowing them to learn through experience.
What does your essential toolkit look like as an educator?
The most important skill is communication. Sometimes educators say a lot, but the message doesn’t register – you need to learn how people actually understand information. This is why I study communication from different areas – psychology, neuroscience and other disciplines – to understand how people learn and how to explain things clearly. Observation, communication and empathy are the most important tools for an educator.
What does life look like for you now?
My time today is divided between working in the salon, teaching internationally and building my online education platform. I still work behind the chair a few days a week too. Being in the salon keeps me connected to real clients and real problems, which is important for the way I teach.
A lot of my time now is focused on developing DS Academy, my online education platform. I created it because I saw a gap in education. Many online tutorials are quick and don’t explain the foundations properly, so the idea with DS Academy is to provide structured education that focuses on the fundamentals. Things like the mechanics of haircutting, movement, sectioning and technique, all combined with mentorship and feedback so stylists can really improve their skills. Alongside this, I continue teaching globally, delivering seminars, workshops and in-salon education across different countries.
Who are your biggest mentors?
Trevor Sorbie has had the biggest impact on my career, along with colleagues, including Tiziana Di Marcelli. Other educators who inspire me are Andrea Martinelli and Tom Connell.
Is there anything you wished you’d known?
I wish I had understood earlier that how you relate to people – colleagues, students and everyone around you – is just as important as your skills.
SPEEDY 3!
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