Wedding trip sparks new Rainbow Beach business

Aaron “Azza” Holder is “feeling the love” with huge support after opening the doors of his new Rainbow Beach shop this week

Aaron "Azza" Holder and his wife Nikki moved to Cooloola Cove from the Gold Coast, where they opened Rainbow Beach's only barber shop on Tuesday.

Rainbow Beach’s newest and only barbershop owner Aaron “Azza” Holder says he is “feeling the love” from the community after opening the doors to Rainbow Beach Barber Shop on Tuesday.

Mr Holder said business had been booming already, and the support he and his wife Nikki had received was overwhelming.

“It’s been wonderful – we’re just so happy,” he said.

Mr Holder hails from New Zealand, but after a harrowing experience during the Christchurch earthquake in 2011, he and his wife relocated to the Gold Coast, where they owned and ran a barbershop for the last nine years.

The business was handed over to their daughter, who is also a hairdresser, before the couple headed north.

“It’s just so busy down there, and we love the beach, but it’s just so busy,” Mr Holder said.

He said he and his wife visited Cooloola Cove for their 37th wedding anniversary in March and fell in love with the area before discovering there was no barber shop.

When they found a shop in the IGA shopping centre at Rainbow Beach that had been empty for the past 10 years, he said it was the perfect place to start.

“People are just so excited for us in the area, it’s just awesome,” he said.

Barbering also runs in Mr Holder’s family – his father-in-law, step-father and brother-in-law are all barbers.

He also said Mrs Holder was a hairdresser for the last 37 years, but had now “hung up the scissors”.