Episode 167

Empowering Through Hair: A Rising Stylist's Equity Mission | Victor Scotti Jr | Founder, Our S.P.A.C.E. | Rising Stylist, Aveda Arts & Sciences Institute, Arlington

Tune in to hear how and why Victor Scotti Jr. is blazing trails, pushing equity and access for underserved folks.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS:

๐Ÿ”… Coming from a heavily racially segregated city, Chicago, led Victor to pursue a mission to tackle equity and access for underserved communities and folks.

๐Ÿ”… Majored in Sociology and Urban Education at the University of Pennsylvania

๐Ÿ”… After Realizing that Victor could not express himself completely, he sought other avenues and found hair!

๐Ÿ”… Doing hair gifts us the ability to be closer to our loved ones during the process of caring for their hair!

๐Ÿ”… Cosmetology school curriculums only focus on straight or wavy hair, and this is a proxy for whiteness.

๐Ÿ”… Opening to more textures and person types is important for progression, and more folks should be diversely educated.

๐Ÿ”…RISING STYLISTS: stay connected with your schools and shadow at salons before applying.

๐Ÿ”…SALON OWNERS: equity, true teamwork, education, salaried pay, and other benefits are very attractive and give you a competitive edge.

๐Ÿ”…Victor is looking for a salon that has a similar mission of equity and access, provides training, and wants to be able to serve folks who wear their hair in diverse ways like barbering, locs, twists, color, etc.

MENTIONED IN TODAYโ€™S EPISODE:

๐Ÿ‘‰Follow Victor Scotti Jr. on Instagram, check out his personal recommendations, and more on his episode page.

The Hairdresser Strong Show is all about Salon Owners, Rising Stylists, and Seasoned Stylists sharing their experiences, successes, failures, and advice to inform, educate, and empower their Fellow Hairdresser. We wonโ€™t stop until we are all: Hairdresser Strong.

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The views and opinions of our guests are theirs and important to hear. Each guest's views and opinions are their own and we aim to bring you diverse perspectives, career paths and thoughts about the craft and industry so you can become Hairdresser Strong! They do not necessarily reflect the positions of HairdresserStrong.com.

About the Podcast

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About your host

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Robert Hughes

โ€œI THINK HAIRSTYLISTS ARE THE COOLEST, NICEST, AND MOST FUN GROUP OF PEOPLE ON THE PLANET! I AM PASSIONATE ABOUT USHERING IN AN EMPOWERED-STYLIST FUTURE, AND I ABSOLUTELY LOVE GETTING STYLISTS FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE TOGETHER IN A NON-COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT WHERE WE CAN LEARN, LAUGH, AND GROW TOGETHER.โ€
-Said by ME!
Robert started his hair journey as a kid in rural America offering haircuts on the street to kids in the neighborhood, not realizing, one day, he would find himself working the front desk at a hair salon while in high school. From there, his experience from salon-to-salon has included the front of the house, back of the house, stylist, educator, and consultant. It was during this movement through various salons he developed a passion to empower stylists and educate owners on how to raise the industry standard of excellence, mutual respect, and professionalism amongst stylists, managers, owners, and clients. Robert currently is the General Manager and a Master Stylist at Violet Salon in Georgetown, DC.