He’s seen local iconic businesses like nightclub Melbas and the famous giant guitar of the Hardrock Cafe come and go - and a city transform around him.

But this week, the cape came off for the final time.

On Friday, June 27, he officially shut the doors to Simply Cuts - his unisex hair salon in the heart of Surfers Paradise - priced out of the place he’s called home for more than two decades.

A business that nearly outlasted them all

Nick’s salon stood the test of time in a part of the city where most businesses and attractions have boomed and busted.

“I was here before the tram was going. I was here before Melba’s Disco shut its doors. Before the big guitar of the Hard Rock Café,” he said.

He’s seen Surfers Paradise transform from a neon-lit party precinct into something glossier - and, in some ways, emptier.

“Schoolies used to be a really iconic thing, and so was the Indy car race.

“There’s also no live music in Surfers anymore. It’s become more of an over 55s area.

“Starbucks also came and went. I used to have the Commonwealth Bank where my shop is, that’s gone. Westpac’s gone too.”

His humble $15 haircut outlasted the corporates.

“I’ve sort of beaten all those people,” he bragged.

Now, only two shops in his arcade have been there longer: Montezuma’s Mexican and Costa D’Oro Italian.

He said it’s unheard of for a hairdresser to last in the suburb for 23 years.

But while his business has survived almost everything - from mad cow disease to the GFC to Covid - it’s cost that’s finally pushed him out.

Priced out of home

After more than two decades in the same arcade, the building’s new owners didn’t want to take on Nick as a tenant and he was told his lease wouldn’t be renewed.

The salon is now set to become a real estate office.

He tried to find a new location in Surfers but was knocked back twice. Competing tenants were offering hundreds more in rent.

“Some of the rents were up to $600 more than what I was paying,” he said. “It would cost thousands just to set it up again.”

He also looked into working from home or going mobile, but says red tape made it near impossible. Operating from his Arundel property would breach regulations. Mobile hairdressing would require $3000 in insurance. Even renting a chair elsewhere came with extra licensing and blue card requirements.

“There are a lot of obstacles now,” he said. “They’ve made it too hard for me. I only had 14 days to get out of here - so through circumstance, I’m leaving.”

A bittersweet retirement

Walking away wasn’t easy - and Nick doesn’t pretend otherwise.

He said he only came to a final decision on Thursday.

“The best way I can describe it is the seven stages of dying,” he says.

“I’m angry, I’m sad, you name all of the things.”

But there’s pride, too. Pride in the loyal clientele, the hundreds of glowing reviews, and the decades of stories that passed through his chair.

“I’ve got nearly 500 five-star reviews, I’ve had a great time and I’ve met so many nice people,” he said.

And while the decision wasn’t his, he’s choosing to see it as a closing chapter - not a failure.

“I’m happy to be going. Sometimes the universe makes the decision for you.”

A cult following

Nick says they were a unique beast on the Coast, with plenty that set them apart.

They were cash-only, welcomed walk-ins. And their cuts didn’t break the bank.

“We kept our price at $15 a haircut for both ladies and men and we kept that price for 23 years - we never changed it.

“We became very popular very quickly.”

He said he initially bought the shop so he could move his chairs - giving people with mobility scooters access.

He became a go-to for people with disabilities and the elderly. Word spread. “Nursing homes, Alzheimer’s patients - they all came.”

And they kept coming. “I have well over 1000 people who started with me and stayed with me for 23 years.”

Clients became friends

Hairdressing, for Nick, was never just about hair.

There’s one client he still gets emotional talking about.

“His wife passed away. I’d never seen depression like it. I said why don’t you come with me on my cruise. And he brought her ashes and spread them in the water. Now he’s found love again, and he’s happy.”

At Christmas, he says: “It’s the hardest time. People are so lonely. Sometimes, they just need someone to talk to.”

And talk they did.

Stories and gossip

Nick said the salon is also the place for a yarn, and he’s heard it all.

One of his clients told him her husband started wearing her lingerie and asked him for his advice. “I said, ‘Do you love him?’ She said yes. ‘Does it bother you?’ She said no. So I said, ‘Let him wear it!’ And they’re still together and in love.”

And the heartwarming stories that made him proud: “International students who graduated, got jobs, made their parents proud.”

There were transformations too - people finding themselves again through a new cut and some kindness.

More than just hair

“There’s been a couple of women who got divorced, a couple of guys that have lost their hair and had transplants.

“And when they have a transformation they blossom like a flower. You see the new clothing, the confidence … and they go on to do good things.

“It just takes someone to say you look good and you feel good … and I think I did that to a lot of people.”

Where it all began

Nick started his career as a 16-year-old with a green punk mohawk, doing it “for a laugh”.

“I just wanted to meet girls,” he laughed. “And he did - he would soon meet his beautiful wife Kylee.

“Back then the ladies could smoke in the hairdressers and my job was to clean up the ashtrays and sweep the floor.”

After a 13-year hair career in Sydney he then worked as a strata manager and mediator on the Coast before returning to the craft. He was walking through the arcade when he saw an old mobile phone shop and thought, “that’d make a good little hairdresser”.

“With five grand, we opened the shop.”

Celeb styling

From his mohawk days to rocking a perm, he’s seen the trends come and go and he’s come a long way since cleaning ciggies at his first salon job.

He’s cut everyone from Swedish rock band No Fun At All to Pantera.

He said the most hilarious moment was when “The highest priest of the Greek Orthodox Church in Melbourne swore like a sailor, smoked Marlboros and barracked for Carlton.

“You just wouldn’t have picked it.”

What’s next for Nick?

But now it’s time to hang up his scissors and cape.

Nick’s says he’s off to cruise the oceans with his wife “while he still can”. His goal is a trip to Greece to trace his roots.

He’ll still cut friends’ hair - “There’s always a relative, or a son or a daughter who needs it.”

But a little corner of Surfers Paradise will not be the same without him.