At just 22-years-old, Callum Townsend is gearing up to fulfill his dream - of opening his own salon in Manchester's thriving city centre. It has, by no means, been an easy ride, using up every last penny of his savings in a city he only moved to 12 months ago.
He left his Oxfordshire home, where he lived with his family, and uprooted to a city 150 miles away in June of last year. Becoming tired of working for other salons and making them huge profits, he decided to take the plunge and open up on his own, specialising in colourings, curly and afro-textured hair.
Over the last 12 months, Callum, 22, has 'saved, saved, saved' to be able to muster up enough cash - about £5,000 - to launch his first salon 'Human First' on Deansgate along with business partner Keri, who runs business Hair Has No Gender.
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It is a rented salon space in the Phenix Salon Suites building, in the city centre, but will be one of only few salons offering a space for all clientele, including those with curly or afro-like hair. Callum said he wanted the space to be 'completely non-gendered and a safe environment for all communities, cultures and humans'.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News ahead of its launch, on Monday (June 27), the hairdresser said: "Being in the hair industry, everyone's visions are so different. When you have a passion for your career and someone else isn't on board with what you're doing, it can make you extremely unhappy.
"You can be working for someone else or a big company, making them thousands. I wanted to open up somewhere of my own because I specialise in colour and curls - for a lot of people with curly hair, and people of colour, there needs to be a different understanding to other aspects of hairdressing.
"I wanted to open somewhere with that in mind. Having awareness and the understanding of what I do, and the way I do it, is what got me so busy so quickly working elsewhere.
"Social media has been my saving grace, and the word of mouth has been huge. When you have a passion for what you do and you just love it so much, you don't see it as a job and it becomes much easier to talk about and promote."
Callum has been hairdressing for five years, and starting doing curly hair after the first coronavirus lockdown. He said during his training he found there 'wasn't a lot of understanding of curly or afro textured hair' - and wanted to offer that support to customers across Manchester.
Over the last few weeks, the 22-year-old has spent in the region of £5,000 of his own personal savings on setting up shop - including decorating the site, buying the products, rent and insurance - as well as making the salon 100 per cent sustainable with the Green Salon Collective.
He added: "Moving to Manchester last year, I came with nothing. I had no money, and I have scraped every barrel, selling so much of what I have to save, save, save and make this happen.
"I never knew it would be for this, but it all happened so quickly. I have spent every penny on this salon, over £5,000, and that is all my own money, with no loans or anything.
"In my mind, I know it is a risk, but I have no other option than for this to be a success. I have to inspire others to do what I have done, and help people realise how much we are worth.
"When you have such a passion, it can be difficult knowing you are making employers thousands of pounds in profit. I have made other companies over £150,000 for my skill over the years.
"The space is completely non gendered, made for all clientele, and those who don't think they're worthy enough of going to a salon because their stylist won't know how to do their hair. It is a safe space for all communities, culture, and humans."
Along with business partner Keri, who specialises in styling short hair, Human First will open on Monday (June 27) until 8pm in the evening. The salon will be open Monday-Saturday, from 10am until 8pm on Mondays, 6pm Tuesday to Friday, and until 5pm on Saturdays.
Find out all about the business and to book appointments, visit the Human First Instagram page. A website is also expected to be up and running imminently.
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