Celebrity hairdresser Joey Scandizzo has gone from high school dropout to stylist to the stars

Joey Scandizzo was told by his teachers that he’d never amount to anything. Fast forward 23 years and Mulgrave-born Scandizzo has worked his way up to become one of Australia’s most successful and sought-after hairdressers.

Celebrity hairdresser Joey Scandizzo has come a long way from “making coin” selling pies at the footy at 13.

But the motivation and work ethic he showed at such a young age goes part way in explaining how the high-school dropout is now one of Australia’s most successful and sought-after hairdressers.

Anna Wintour, Ruby Rose, Steffi Graf, Paris Hilton and Victoria’s Secret models Kelly Gale and Shanina Shaik are just some of the stars who have trusted their manes to the 39-year-old Mulgrave-born and raised stylist.

And while there are several well-known celebrity hairdressers making a name for themselves styling international and locally famous faces, Scandizzo stands out from the crowd for his entrepreneurial spirit and the burgeoning business he has helped create.

The popular Joey Scandizzo Salon in South Yarra is the first of three salons in which he is a partner, as well as the successful UVA Salon in Prahran and the new Hermiz Salon in Richmond.

He’s also a co-founder of King’s Domain, which currently has seven barber shops, with plans to open two more in coming months, as well as two Hair.Do By Joey Scandizzo Salons within Myer stores.

But the most successful part of his business is haircare brand ELEVEN, which he co-founded in 2011 and is now available in 27 — soon to be 36 — countries around the world.

“It wasn’t like an overnight success,” Scandizzo explains.

“It’s been 23 years I’ve been doing it and over the years something else happens, you add a new feather to your bow.

“Every year I set a goal and I say this is my target, this is what I want to achieve. I make them achievable. I don’t go too far ahead where I’m never going to achieve it, that’s why I’ve been able to do what I’ve done.”

Joey Scandizzo in his salon. Picture: Tim Carrafa

Scandizzo with wife Jane and son Jagger, Jensen and Juke. Picture: Instagram

He’s an even more remarkable success story given he was repeatedly told by teachers he’d never amount to anything.

“My teachers always said to me, ‘Joey Scandizzo, you’re never going to be a success’. They used to put me down all the time. I used that to drive me. Not that I was a trouble maker. I was cheeky, a bit of a smart ass,” he says.

“At the time Mum and Dad said, ‘Why don’t you try a job?’ So I tried a couple of jobs. I tried plastering, didn’t like that. I tried carpentry, didn’t like that. Then my Dad said, ‘Why don’t you give hairdressing a go? You get to work with women all day’, and I thought, ‘I’ll give that a go’.”

He did his apprenticeship at a then small, relatively unknown salon in Glen Waverley called Rokk Ebony. But the inspiration for the multifaceted business he runs today came one night 16 years ago when he attended an event hosted by Edward Beale.

“Edward Beale was the big hairdresser at the time in Melbourne and he was doing a talk about hairdressing and where it could take you — shows and fashion weeks — which I had no idea about. I just did hairdressing as a job to make a bit of coin, he inspired me that night,” Scandizzo says

Joey Scandizzo and Anna Wintour.

After working and helping to build up Rokk Ebony for nine years, Scandizzo approached the owner and they went into partnership to open Rokk Ebony on Toorak Rd, South Yarra.

“I was 23 at the time and I thought if I want to open a shop I want to be in the heart of it and I thought Toorak Rd is the hairdressing hub at the time. A lot of people said, ‘You’re mad, you’re going up against Shibui and Toni & Guy, Wieselmann, all the big guys’, and I thought, ‘I’ll give this a go’,” he says.

“I’d started to build a bit of a brand for myself and I thought if I’m going to do this I need to put myself right in the heart of it.”

The gamble paid off and five years later Scandizzo parted ways with his Rokk Ebony partner and renamed the salon Joey Scandizzo.

Perfecting Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour’s trademark bob when she visited Melbourne in January for the Australian Open tennis has been one of his more nerve-racking experiences. But he says she was “brilliant”.

“That was probably the biggest (celeb) that I’ve done,” he says.

A younger Scandizzo bought a salon with Rokk Ebony.

Joey with wife Jane. Picture: Sam Tabone

“The first day we went in there, I was a bit nervous but once we got to know her she was so down-to-earth and chatty. She wanted to know about our families, and at that time we’d had a baby the week before, so every morning she’d ask me about the baby.

“She got flowers sent to our house for my wife saying, ‘Thank you for allowing your husband to be here’.”

Scandizzo’s wife Jane gave birth to their third son Juke on January 6, joining the couple’s other sons, Jagger, 4, and Jensen, 2.

“One day she asked me if she could meet my wife and little baby, so we went down to Crown one morning and Jane and the kids all went up and met her.”

He says the bigger the celebrity, the more down-to-earth and easy they are to deal with.

“Most of the bigger people I’ve ever worked with have been so nice, they’re just so down to earth,” he says.

“I think the more relaxed we are, that’s what they love. I haven’t really had any bad ones. Paris Hilton was awesome, she’s been back a few times and she’s great.

“Ruby Rose is probably my favourite because she was a young girl who grew up here. I was mates with her and seeing her progression and where she’s got to, and she’s always fun to work with. She’s the most creative of anyone, she’s the most open for change, to do whatever you want. Whenever she’s here she’s like family, we go to dinner.”

Joey Scandizzo and Hermiz Daniel.

Scandizzo’s success also comes from fostering and supporting other talent to reach their own goals as well. Marie Uva and Hermiz Daniel have both benefited from going into partnership with him to open their own salons.

UVA Salon has built a big reputation in a relatively short period of time, with celebrity clients including Rebecca Judd, Nadia Bartel, Megan Gale and Rebecca Harding as well as international visitors such as Gigi Hadid, Ashley Graham and Rita Ora.

“Marie is brilliant, she is killing it in everything she does. The way Marie brands UVA Salon and how hard she works, it’s the ultimate” Scandizzo says.

Rather than feeling threatened by the success of the other hairdressers in his stable, he celebrates them.

“Everyone has their own style,” he says. “Melbourne isn’t the smallest city, there’s work for everyone. The main thing for me is that our group is doing it, I’m happy to see when Marie is doing whichever celebrity and Hermiz is doing someone and Aaron (Chan, his partner in Kings Domain) has pop-ups happening everywhere,” he says.

“Having their own names on their own sites is an awesome thing. I don’t want everyone to be under Joey Scandizzo. I want them to have their own name and their own identity and be themselves.

Scandizzo with Jimmy Bartel at King’s Domain. Picture: David Caird

“For me, putting my name on my store was great. It built my own name and my profile and I feel what I’ve had, I want them to feel that as well.”

Scandizzo tries to spend three days a week on the floor of his salon, around managing the growth of Eleven, a new Kings Domain haircare range and the other salons. He has 140 staff in total.

“For me the best part of my job is being...on the floor in the salon. It’s like being home with the team and the people around you.

“I enjoy flying around and doing jobs, but when I come home and have the whole team around me that’s what I love the most. I love doing hair), I couldn’t do hair seven days a week on the floor but I couldn’t do the business side seven days as well — I have to have the balance,” he says.

“It’s the relationship with your clients. People like to go and have a coffee with their mates, I get to do that all day. Some of my clients I’ve been doing for 10, 15, 20 years so it’s not like they’re random people, they’re your mates.

“You just become close with them. I’ve just been to the funeral of the father of one of my clients.”

Scandizzo in his Toorak salon. Picture: Tim Carrafa

Scandizzo with Ruby Rose.

Family time is also important to Scandizzo who dedicates Sunday and usually another day during the week to spending time with them.

“For me my family is the most important thing, setting everything up for them,” he says.

“People ask me how I juggle everything and it’s hard but the main thing is making time for family.

Married for six years to former model Jane Smith, he says there was initially no grand plan for each of the family member’s first names to start with J.

“It was me and Jane and our first son was Jagger. We always loved the name so it wasn’t because it was a J. Then after we’d had Jagger it was like, you have all the Js, and then we thought we’re having another kid. Without a J, will he feel left out?

“At the time we weren’t sure if we were going to have three or four or five, so we liked the name Jensen and then when we found out we were pregnant for the third time, we thought we can’t leave him out, so we came up with Juke.

“But we’re running out of names now.”

Jane has come to prominence in her own right as one of the stars of TV reality series Yummy Mummies.

The cast of Yummy Mummies.

“It went on Netflix about five months ago and it’s just exploded,” Scandizzo says.

“There’s talk about another series happening, it’s just been huge for her. It’s been good for her because she’s got something going on for her, I’m supporting her thing and she’s supporting my thing.”

Working hard is part of his DNA and he hopes he’s an example for his own kids as well as others feeling disillusioned with traditional education and career paths.

“If you’re not good at school it doesn’t mean you’re not going to be successful,” he says.

“A lot of people look at hairdressing and think it’s a high school dropout job and you’ll never make any money out of it.

“Trust me, there is money to be made in this industry, if you work.

“You don’t have to be the doctor and lawyer to be successful and live a good life. I get to travel the world and go to every event there is, and that’s what I love about it.”