Hi Anthony. To start things off, can you tell me what has been your biggest career challenge or failure so far… in other words, what’s been your biggest mistake?
The thing is, I’ve never seen things as mistakes. Everything’s a challenge, but if you make it exciting, then it’s a good challenge and it becomes a lesson. There’s lots of things that make you happy, and some things that don’t, but you’ve got to focus on those good things. For me, demerging the TONI&GUY business was a very sad time. I didn’t expect it, but it was an accumulation of many different things that were happening. The company had become so big, and it was pulling in all kinds of different directions. My challenge was always tying it together because the growth of what we were doing in the UK was also inspired by what we were doing in America. Collectively, we all were doing great, but there comes a time where you need to grow up a little bit and move on.
Do I regret it? I didn’t like it at the time, but ultimately it was a good thing. A blessing in disguise. Maybe at that moment, we thought, ‘oh, sh*t, what’s going on here?’, but it was a great turning point. We’re still family, and we were able to still move forward. The experience also allowed me to maybe grow a bit more and have a bit more responsibility. It allowed Sacha, Christian and Toni’s family to grow into taking the reins. It was an amazing journey that we had and I’m glad I had it. But yeah, that journey had come to an end, and I moved on to another. So, in answer to your question, I don’t believe that you do fail; you just keep trying.
In the beginning, did you have any idea that what you were creating was going to become this monster of a brand?
We always wanted to get just as good, if not better than Sassoon, but then it was about what we added on top of that. Obviously, it became about how much money, right? But for me, it was always how creatively strong we could be.
I’m fascinated by products, so can you tell me what inspired your move into that field?
It was probably my brother Bruno that wanted to do the products. We used to work for other product companies – they’d hire us and make a lot of money from us showing them stuff. So, we thought, let’s do our own and complete the circle. With TIGI, it was originally because we needed certain things to do the looks that we were creating. We needed a gel and then we needed a mousse, and it just evolved from there.
If you could start your career all over again, would you do anything differently?
Not really, because if I knew I was gonna end up like this, I’d take it. I’m happy with the journey.
And would you still always choose hairdressing?
Yeah, without a doubt. I’ve always loved hairdressing and my family always did hairdressing. I started in the shop when I was a kid, and I was doing hair when I was 14 years old.
How does someone create success in their career? How much of it is talent and how much is being in the right place at the right time?
Talent is not just about being creative. I think talent can come from being good at business or from having the nerve to push yourself and have courage. Everyone has talent, and how strong that talent is will push you to great things in whatever you’re doing.
Toni was very talented. He was tough and he was persistent, which made him the ‘business brother’. Bruno was really talented, but he wasn’t talented like that. He was talented in ideas and entrepreneurship. Guy was a brilliant PR man – every client wanted to come and have him; he was an amazing people person. You know, that’s a talent. And I suppose you’d say that I was talented in doing hair, having a good eye and knowing how to achieve balance. I think we all have different talents. Where the luck came in is that we all had each other to be able to express all those different sides.
Do you ever suffer from feelings of self-doubt or imposter syndrome?
No. I think I’ve been blessed because I don’t rely on one thing. I did hair and I love hair; I did photography and I love photography. Now, I’m working with people and I enjoy leading people. My mother died when I was very young, and I went to boarding school from the age of four till I was 12, so I only saw my family every three months. But it was fine. There was nothing wrong with that; it’s given me a very positive outlook on life. You just get on with it. As you go along, you realise the only real friend is your partner, and I have to say, I’ve been very lucky in that regard to be with my wife Pat. Blessed.
Are you a person who takes risks?
I’m working a lot on AI at the moment, learning how to use new tools to express my creativity. The thing is, people are frightened of AI but it’s really the same as how we used to do moodboards and everything else. It’s a new way of getting inspiration and creating things – you still have to come up with the ideas and piece the ideas together. It’s a really brilliant tool if you look at it that way. I’ve never worried too much about what other people think – if I had an idea that I was excited about, and the people on the team were excited about too, then it’s irrelevant what other people think.
Success is obviously different for everyone, but what does it look like to you?
Happiness is the definition of success. That’s it. If you’re not happy and you’re miserable and always a pain in the arse, you don’t feel great. The only way to get through this life is to feel great, and you do that by being happy and doing the things you love.
Who is a successful person you admire, and what lessons have they taught you?
Obviously, that would be my brothers – Toni, Bruno and Guy – for everything they’ve done. You know, people look and see what I’ve done, but they’ve done seriously amazing stuff. Also, Trevor Sorbie and Robert Lobetta – I love their creativity. Vidal was obviously a great and I look up to Tony Rizzo too. He has got such passion for what he does. He’s a wonderful man and I’ve really enjoyed working with him and supporting him. And obviously, I admire my wife.
How do you see the industry today, do you take an interest in it all?
I think it changed after Covid. Social media has changed it a lot, because everyone’s got their own profile and their own clients; everyone wants to be an individual and promote themselves.
What has been your most successful moment recently?
I got the International Hair Legend of the Year Award at the IHAs – that was good. I’m enjoying retirement – traveling back to all the places we worked in, but never saw. We took my daughter to Japan, and I really enjoyed being a tourist.
What piece of advice would you give to anyone at the start of their career?
Have the patience to really study. Be prepared that you’ll find it very hard when you don’t know something, but when you learn it, it becomes really easy. It doesn’t always come quickly, but don’t be afraid of not knowing. And don’t give up.
Anthony, thank you so much for your time. You are a legend, and you have inspired me ever since the first day I met you. Thank you.
