 Hey guys, this is Matt Beck from FreeSalonEducation.com here with American Salon and Steven Lightfoot. I'm really excited for this interview because you have a lot of things going on. So I want to talk about those. Sure. You are on the show circuit this year. So let's just right away tell people if they don't know who you are, your background and where you're at right now in your career. Well, I'll keep it short. So I'm Steven Lightfoot. I'm a hairdresser. I'm the Vice President of Product Development for Peter Copeland Beauty. I'm also a spokesperson and artistic director for Hattori Hanzo Shears. So I have the luxury of being able to kind of walk both worlds, understand how these products are created, help in that creation process. Just do my best now currently to bring the best possible products to the hairdresser. So tell me exactly what that means because I did read that that was your title within Peter Copeland. So when you're working with product development, that's got to be pretty exciting. And I think a lot of people have a lot of questions about that process. So tell me as a hairdresser, how do you get involved? How do you become that? Just like what do you do? So when a company is trying to create a product, they reach out to people who really understand the business. They want to have people on those development teams that not only are looking out from a company's perspective of how to create something that is sellable and that works, but also truly from a hairdressing perspective, how does this work in a business? Does it really function as a styling product or is it just fluff? And I think the confusion comes with there is a lot of fluff in this business. And so my path has led me to be at least respected by these companies enough to say, hey, a hairdresser really needs this. Would you be willing to make it? And after a few successes in that realm, it's become part of my role. Okay. And how long have you been in the hair industry? So 13 years. I'm a hairdresser, first and foremost. I've developed clientels in multiple cities throughout the United States. I started in a small town in Spokane, Washington. Nice. And I still keep that kind of demeanor. You know, we come from my brother and I are both hairdressers. We come from a pretty unique background with a really cool family and we're first generation hairdressers. And we've given our lives to this craft in 13 years for me, six years for him. And I think it's the first and last career for both of us. That's very cool. Very cool. So when did you get started? How old were you when you got started then? So I used to do really terrible haircuts in an apartment complex in a garage with my buddy, Chris Griffith, who's a barber out of Spokane, Washington. Okay. He used to cut our hair with the wall dog clippers, yellow box. Right. And I asked him if he'd show me how to do that. And at the time, there wasn't a lot of work where we lived and there wasn't a lot of opportunity. So I took it as an opportunity to become a barber to pay for college. Okay. Because that was the aspiration, you know, to be smarter, to get out of that. Yeah. And there was a chemistry book at my small private hair school in Spokane and I asked them all, and what do you guys need this for? Having that common misconception that hairdressers aren't intelligent people, that they don't need that information. And I was, I turned. Yeah, like that moment happened. It was just that, that was the moment for me where everything came together and I knew that this was a path that I could take. Yeah. And I developed a love for female hairdressing and that's paid for every good thing that I've ever had in my life. That's very cool. So it was the same thing with me. I was in, I started school because I actually, when I called the beauty school, I said, you guys do this. Right. I was in Iowa. Totally. And they're like, yeah, and they can make great money. I'm like, okay, sign me up. So I went into school with the notion that I would just go in, I would work at a salon forever and like that would be my, you know, that's the job. That's how you work. But then I went to my first hair show and I saw this world. So tell me, so you're in this world. Yes. And you're bouncing from company to company right now. Sure. Your focus is Peter Coppola. Of course. I'm guessing was kind of the initial. Right. I mean, the thing about the show circuit and what we're having a conversation about right now is that a lot of hairdressers and what we want to impart upon the new ones is that there's so many different pathways that can evolve from it. Right. So if you have a love for the craft and you're creating great work for your clients, that to me is the definition of a good hairdresser. Right. But when you start to see the opportunities like the show circuit to be able to find that pathway for you, there's so many options. Oh, yeah. It's unlimited. Right. Like you can get into any facet of whether it's photography, video, photo shoots, you know, stage work, being a comedian. Sure. There's everything you can think of in this industry and you also cut hair with it. Exactly. So all right. So Peter Coppola, tell me about the company, the brand, because I definitely am familiar. Right. I would like to know what's happening now. I know you have, we talked about ABS. Yeah. I do want to talk about that because that would be if I had a company, you know, skateboarding and hair at the same time would be my thought process as well. You'd be into it. Yeah. So tell me what you got going on. So here's the deal with Peter Coppola. We have this amazing opportunity. Us as the people who make decisions in that company to really impart something that we believe in and that we love. And we know that not everybody will love what we do. Right. But we know that we do. So the core values of the company are upheld. Yeah. And I think that integrity and authenticity is what sets us apart and gives us this opportunity. And what that turned into for us is a lot of the people in our brand really gravitated towards specific cultures. Skateboard culture or barber culture. And that may not be what we sell or what we do in print, but we love it. Right. So we are given this great opportunity to reach out to all different genres of people, cultures and businesses, and bring them together. So we're going to bring a skate ramp to ABS. That's awesome. We've got a vert ramp coming to ABS and we can use that stage to attract attention. That's what a show is about. And that's what people don't understand. So when you go to a hair show and you guys will see I'm creating a vlog of today as well. Right. But when you walk in there, it's pure chaos. Absolutely. Like for the most part, hair shows, it's everyone blasting their favorite song as loud as they can to try to trump the other person. You're right. So the only way I think that you can grab attention is either being super quiet, but like putting out the best hair ever. Best work. Or bring a vert ramp. Right. So we're going to use that as a catalyst. Right. And these are people that don't necessarily work for our own brand, but that we're bringing in because we like their work. Yeah. And they love what we're doing. Yeah. So we have like Brian Hurston from the night owl barber shop in Toronto. Pope the barber coming out from LA. He's one of the most killer female barbers ever. I got Dushanka coming out for our natural hair. So we're bringing all these different elements. So the skate ramp, yeah, of course, it's bringing people to the booth. It gets them there. But we have a true belief that if we do the hair that we're the best at, that'll present the best in front of a crowd. Yeah. Well, you have to deliver on the attention. So you get them there. Yeah. But then there has to be, you can't just be skateboarding. So you're now. It will better be good hair. Exactly. They're coming with skateboarding and they're like, why am I at the skateboarding booth? You better have something to back it up. And we brought a team together that we really believe in. And then the education classrooms along with that. We drive people there for the legitimate education hairstylist crave and deserve. Like what you're offering to people. Right. It's like, hey, look, here's how you create this. Yeah. Whether you enjoy it like it or not, I'm showing you a method. Yeah. I'm giving you honest, the honest way that I make this work. And hopefully you can take it to be a better hairdresser yourself. Exactly. It's not about us. Right. And I really think that our brands, all the brands that I work with, Peter Coppola particularly and Hattori Hanzo, want to really give a hairdresser an opportunity. So tell me the thought process of when you were talking about Peter Coppola being, you're bringing in barbers. Yeah. This is fascinating to me because I do, I know Peter Coppola brand and I've never associated it with men's hair. Right. So tell me about that, like how you're twisting that in there. So the way that we're running it is this. If there's a demand from the hairdressing community to learn how to do something. Yeah. Well, what's hot? Barbering, men's hair, traditional shapes, traditional fades. These are things that are really popular. Whether I offer a product that specifically speaks to that market or not. Yeah. I have an obligation to the hairdresser to give them authentic education. So I'm going to bring them. Yeah. Are there products that do cater to that? Yes. And on our line, we have the luxury of having a truly formaldehyde free, like a smoothing system that works on all hair types. Well, God, you have this traditional fade model that's super popular. Right. And you have X amount of hair types that that actually works on. If I want to pompadour a slick or a hard part, if I have a very highly textured head of hair, I'm not going to be able to accomplish that easily. Right. So with our, with our system, you just shampoo them at the bowl. If you have one in your shop, hit it with the treatment for 20 minutes and bang, you've given that man the opportunity to wear that look. Right. So we have one skew that really ties into that. But we think, we think overall is the cosmetology style men's work. Right. These are cosmetologists. Not all of them are barbers. They do female hair too. Yeah. So if we can hit them where they want the education, then we will be able to then in tow give them the products if they would like them. It's the thing I keep trying to tell people every single day is hair is hair. Like whether it's on a man, on a woman, it's all about creating shape. And if you know how, if you know hair, then you can cut anything. Dude, I got goosebumps because that's the concept that's hard. It's the hardest thing in the world to try to translate. Right. And I'm so fortunate and blessed that companies recognize the soul of a hairdresser, like what it's really about. That have given me the opportunity. I'm not special. I'm, I stuck by my guns and really believed what you just said. Yeah. And that worked out. People hired me for that. Yeah. And so if you go watch the diversity through texture shoot, what our year is about the first line in that video is, well, all hair is hair. Right. And all hair is beautiful. Yeah. So we, through diversity through texture, which is a, which is a set that I've created and I've worked with the team to make. That's what we're about. Yeah. I don't care what you look like, where you come from. Yeah. But let's give you the best possible look we can. And then that's what our company stands for. And we really are doing it. Awesome. And that's hard to do. Yeah. It is. It's really cool. If you and far between that a company is focused and has a team that is dedicated to, to delivering that message, you know, how I see these companies. I meet with these companies. Right. And it's such a struggle because I want to come to a hairdresser and say, Hey, we're doing this for you. But everything that we've, you know, seen and we've been taught in the last decade, sometimes the basis, the hairdresser's faith in the company. Right. Well, the hair shows that you love to go to. It's based on the company's revenue. Right. And so we have to find that balance of where we really are catering to our peers and be honest with them. Yeah. And then also serving that industry that helps us create the education. Yeah. And Coppola is the first place. I've never worked for a record company that consulted, helped them build products, done things for their business, but I've never worked for one before. And this company has the integrity that makes me stand behind it like the only other company I work for. Very cool. Yeah. So tell me, I guess to end the conversation, even though I think we could probably talk for a really long time. I would love to. Right. The, tell me the future, what your thoughts are? Like where's your mind headed? Because I know when you have multiple things going on, you know, you have to have a direction. So what's coming up for you? Personally. Or as a professional. Personally. Personally, yeah. There's every single time I've ever stood in front of a group of people. I recognize the basic fact that I'm not there for myself. I'm there for them. Right. And as my career continues to evolve, it's become more apparent to me that watching the lights turn on for a hairstylist of 40 years and a hairdresser that's one hour out of school. Right. Means more to me now than anything. Yeah. And as I continue on the path that I'm at, I'll let it evolve naturally because everything in my career from the day I walked into Glendale Academy 13 years ago to today has been because I've been open to the opportunities, listened to the people that I respected. Yeah. And I want to hopefully become that person for many others. And that's the goal. That is exactly the way that your mind should think in this industry. That's the reason that you have the opportunities that you have. Yeah. It's the reason, you know, like a lot of people out there just, they ask, how can I do it? How can I do it? Yeah. And that's, if you're asking how you can do it, like that's not, you're not in the right mindset. You just do it. Yeah. Like you just go out and you just do it. So awesome, Steven Lightfoot. Yes, sir. Yes. Yes. So very cool. Definitely check out. You have social media, anything. Yeah. You can find me at Steven Lightfoot Hair. You can also follow my ice cream blog at Ice Cream Again. You have an ice cream blog? Dude. I think one of the best things about us as a community, is that we have things that keep us sharp. Yeah. And some people will use martial arts or some people run or some people lift weights. I cook. Okay. It comes, I think, from maybe that left part of my brain that goes, all right, if I have this much surfactant with this much, you know, other ingredient, I'm going to get a volumizing shampoo or a smoothing shampoo. Right, yeah. Right. But the baking element, that's what I do when I'm not doing hair. It's the same thing. I'm formulating an idea. Okay. It comes into a batter. Then I cook it, and hopefully it comes out great. That's awesome. I got to follow this. What is that one? Yeah, so Ice Cream Again. Okay. It's tough to spell, but it's new. Whatever. Just figure it out. I love to cook. Right, that's awesome. And then you can find us at Peter Coppola Hair, of course. Yeah. And the Coppola Crews are hashtag. And, you know, I hope that a lot of people, whatever sees this, you know, whoever sees this, like we want to impart the one thing that we say to everybody is that the most important thing in your business is the person in the chair at that time. Yeah. And it doesn't matter if it's social media that you're into or whether you grow your clientele internally, the more people that respect your vision of beauty, the better you'll be. And that's it. That's all I want to leave people with. So be a part of that. Come and hang out. All right. We'll follow Steven, follow American Salon. Thank you to American Salon Magazine for hooking us up with this table at IBS so we can talk to cool people like Steven. Thanks so much, man. Anytime, man. Thank you guys for watching. We'll see you on the next video. Awesome.