Sian Jones speaks to Dan Burnett about his childhood fascination for barbering and his big career change...
Despite a deep interest in hairdressing that was influenced by time spent in his aunt’s salon, Dan began his career in the corporate world, working in recruitment and the health and fitness industry for over 15 years. He tells us that his love of hairdressing had always been present: “At university I did my dissertation on the evolution of hair and grooming, and I got laughed at because I was doing a business degree. The teacher was like - what is this?”
At 37, after taking a sabbatical and travelling around Europe with his wife, Dan realised he wanted to take the leap and change his career. “We were in a campervan, in the Alps and I got this fear about not having any money coming in. I didn’t have structure and had all this spare time. Realising how much of my life was taken up by work and how much it had given me my identity made me realise I wanted to change.”
In 2020, Dan enrolled in a barbering course, and despite the challenges of being delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic and starting over in a new role he embraced the experience. “It was really exciting and really scary because any of the skills that I’d accumulated, were pretty much removed. Your soft skills, your customer service and standards were still there, but learning a skill with your hands from ground zero was hard. I remember thinking, ‘God, I don’t know how I’m going to do this’. Any professional identity I’d built was irrelevant. I was with people half my age, so it took me a while to relax into it.” Dan credits his self-discipline and the ‘soft skills’ he’d honed throughout his career for helping him make that transition successfully. Once qualified, he started working at The Wild Hare in Tooting where he found his age and life experience worked in his favour and gave him a leg-up. “I knew I wanted to work in that shop. I’d seen it was local to me and luckily, they were ready to take on a barber.”
Dan also reflects on the strong sense of community in barbering, with both his clients and amongst other barbers. “There’s your client community and then there’s your shop and where it sits in the community, and I think that’s awesome. I love going into the shop where I know everyone, and you feel that warmth and you start to develop relationships both personally and professionally. I love how willing people are to help.” Anyone who has met Dan at barbering events will have seen him throw himself into volunteering alongside the Lions Barber Collective charity. “I’ve always been passionate about helping others as much as I can, and I’ve always loved working with teams. I love coaching and creating good relationships with people that allow you to move forward but to also create a space where if someone’s having a rough time, you can talk.” He explains that working alongside the Lions Barber Collective came at a good time for him personally: “I had people in my life who were suffering and I wanted to give back, but I wasn’t sure how.” After meeting Tom Chapman at the Raw Talent Barbering Competition Finals in Brighton, he went on to dedicate his fifth day of the week volunteering for the charity. “It was incredible. The people we would meet, and the impact that it had was so good. Because of the training that Tom created I was able to help people in my life that were struggling.”
Looking back on his decision to change career later in life; from sitting in his van in the Alps to owning his own shop, Black L’Amour Barbers in Brighton, did Dan ever think he’d be where he is now? “I really didn’t. I didn’t know if I’d be any good at it or what it would bring. It sounds cringe, but sometimes I pinch myself! My advice for anyone thinking of making that change is do your research, consult widely, and respect the skill - you’ll realise you can’t cheat it.”
