Today we’d like to introduce you to Christopher Polcyn.
Hi Christopher, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I love saying that I fell into this, but I should have known I was going to be a hairdresser. Armed with a blow dryer and a bottle of Elmer’s Glue, I was the guy who put my friend’s Mohawks up in high school. I didn’t get into the art school I wanted to go to, and my cousin was in a cosmetology program, I was pressured to go “check it out”. I got lucky that the owner of the school also had the best salon in the city. My cousin started working there after her graduation, and I heard stories of the guest artists that came in, hair-shows they went to. It sounded very exciting and fashionable for Milwaukee Wisconsin. I started showing up and sweeping floors and doing laundry in hopes for an interview. I got the job and the world opened up. Education was a badge of honor and part of the culture there. My coworkers traveled internationally for color classes and hair shows. We produced our own “content” renting warehouse studios and hiring real photographers, taking pictures on film. We styled hair for couture fashion shows and worked with designers. My mentors taught for product companies and were paid to share their expertise. It was exciting, it was fashionable. I worked there for twelve years, climbed the ladder. I was teaching, going to New York for shows. I was working with photographers. I also burnt out. I was working at the salon 5 days a week, 50 plus clients a week. Traveling, teaching or styling on the weekends. It was fun, I was making money, but lost the magic. I quit hair… I bounced around for a little bit, did odd jobs and eventually moved to Scottsdale to start over, from scratch.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Burn out is real. The thing that you work so hard to get, sometimes isn’t what you expect it to be. Looking back, I lost my perspective. I was focused on the wrong things and not the human being that I was there to take care of. I had a very humbling experience, embarrassing actually. That’s when i knew I needed a break. Rebuilding in a new city was also a struggle. I also realized how good I had it in Wisconsin. Erik, my mentor and the owner of the salon I worked at spoiled me on what a salon could be. Consummate professional, Midas touch business man who built a culture that I’ve been struggling to find out here. Ive been fortunate to work in some very nice salons here, but NOTHING has come close to what i was raised in. It’s a bit like Goldilocks… nothing is perfect. Ive spent almost 20 years out here trying to find the impossible. Which is why I finally went independent.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I finally moved out of the big flashy and chaotic salon, into a studio. I had worked in Scottsdale since 2003, so I stayed in the area. I had been living in Phoenix for 17 years commuting daily to North Scottsdale. Last year, I ripped the band aid off and pivoted my business to Phoenix. My commute went from 25 miles one way, to less than 5 mile round trip. I always felt like a square peg in a round hole in Scottsdale. Vanity pays my bills, but that was a whole different league that doesn’t resonate with me. I do Real Hair on Real People. I pride myself on providing a solidly structured haircut and low effort, high dimensional color, that lasts. I don’t complicate it. I attract the people who know quality, and don’t want the hassle of spending a lot of time in the salon. My approach is a bit more laid back, there is good music and conversation but without the chaos and over hyped fluff that our industry has pushed. I use EVO products and their incredible color line Hueverse. It’s clean, high performance and simple. I teach for them, and am branching out to teaching anyone who is invested into elevating their skills. Our industry has been diluted by Instagram, and big product companies selling aspirational lifestyles that 99% of real people don’t have time for. Im trying to bring it back to reality, and deliver quality work for anyone who sits in my chair.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Risks? Yeah that’s been a big part of my journey. I’ve done a lot of things that people questioned, and I’ve learned something from all of it. I like to fall forward. I think what is more dangerous than taking risks is being complacent and not sticking your neck out there. I spent too much time trying to fit into spaces, where authenticity becomes compromised, quality is diminished for quantity. Moving my business to Phoenix was a risk. I lost some clients that really surprised me. It hurt personally and financially. It’s been a year now, some of the clients came back, the new ones resonate with I’m doing and I have built an incredible community of other hairdressers who all are leading with authenticity and perusing what they love. It’s really inspiring. I’m growing out of the space I’m currently in and exploring what may be next. If you quit taking risks, when things stop being a little uncomfortable you stop growing.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.cutcollectiveworld.com
- Instagram: @cut.collective
