he-ro (n)
a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for brave deeds and noble qualities.

Today perhaps more than ever, heroes matter. They help us to find our way in a complicated and sometimes confusing personal and professional world.

They offer up context to help us know how we fit in and serve as examples to show us the possibilities of the path we have chosen.

Our list of heroes is thankfully long and varied and likely somewhat different than yours; but if we were to guess just one name we likely share with most, we’d guess it would belong to the guy in the photo below – the first of many we look forward to sharing.

“The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.”

Vidal Sassoon

Vidal Sassoon is the hairdressers’ hairdresser’; the artists’ artist; our industry icons’ icon. Sassoon worked his way to success from 1940’s “shampoo boy” to a household name by the late 1960’s.

He went on to define the salon in its most modern incarnation. He brought incredible cred to the art and craft of hairdressing. He helped to create a revolution in how hair was understood and done – by professionals and for the women who depend on and adore them.

He believed – in the power of hairdressers to change the lives of clients in transformative ways and, in doing so, change themselves for the better.

Since “retiring” following the sale of his namesake salons, academies and products in the 1980’s, he has continued to serve as a role model for professionals around the world.

Today, Vidal uses his position in the public eye and considerable wealth to do good as a humanitarian and unofficial goodwill ambassador for the salon industry to the world.

Some 70 years after walking into his first salon, no name is more synonymous worldwide with the art and business of hair than that of Vidal Sassoon.

We heart Vidal.

(photos from Phase 4 Films , Vidal Sassoon The Movie)