Premium education service the Great British Barbering Academy is pleased to welcome Master Craftsman Robert Rix to its industry-recognised training team.
With over 50-years of experience in the hairdressing industry, Robert Rix brings an extraordinary amount of talent to the Great British Barbering Academy team. He is the proud owner, alongside his son Daniel Rix, of The Master Barber’s Shop in Southport, where he works a full column of clients six days a week, performing in excess of 100 shaves.
Robert has seen numerous fashion trends come and go during his 56-years in the industry. The father-of-two was introduced to barbering at the age of 14 as a ‘lather lad’ and started his apprenticeship a year later. “I came into the trade just as the Teddy Boys – with their truncated quiffs – were being consigned to the history books. Then I experienced the mod era, skin-heads, punks and new romantics, Kevin Keegan-inspired perms, mullets, tennis balls and tramlines, and everything else that leads us up to today!”
The man from Sheffield now holds the title of Master Craftsman in both ladies and gents hairdressing and was only the second person in Britain to gain this superior distinction. He was awarded this title by the Hairdressing Council for completing 50 practical years within the industry.
Throughout his years, the master barber has achieved various hairdressing accolades: he holds memberships with the National Hairdressers Federation, and the Fellowship for British Hairdressing, and has accreditation from the British Barbers’ Association. He has gained certifications from the Hairdresser’s Registration Council in categories A through to D that date back to 1978. He is an honorary student of The Guild of Hairdressers, Wigmakers and Perfumers, with whom he was responsible for the establishment of the Guild’s Sheffield Craft Academy, and is qualified to teach thanks to his studies at the University of Central Lancashire.
Robert also sits on the UK Barber Council and was recently awarded The Grand Master Craftsman Award from The British Master Barbers Alliance during a ceremony at one of the industry’s biggest trade events – Barber Connect. “Add to all that the fact that I act as an international competition judge for various hairdressing bodies and you will start to appreciate the depth of knowledge that I hold,” he says.
Mr Rix credits many of his accolades to the support he was given throughout his extensive education. He said: “I consider myself very fortunate to have worked with some of the greatest names in the craft. Throughout my career I have been mentored by world hairdressing champion – and the personal hairdresser of HRH King Edward VIII – Roger Poirier, the iconic John Santilli, and the industry-renowned Vidal Sassoon.”
Under Sassoon’s guidance, Mr Rix graduated to cut at the flagship store on Bond Street, where creating exquisite styles for the rich and famous became the norm. “It was awe-inspiring to work in that salon with such great talent. I was at the centre of a cultural and fashion revolution,” he remembers.
His abilities as a barber and educator can be seen in the fact that his shop (and its team) were named as the HJ Male Grooming Salon of the Year last September – an accolade that he says highlights his teaching methods: “A key factor in the success of my business is that I continually engage and mentor apprentices and encourage them to get involved. This drastically helps them to become good practitioners of the hairdressing and shaving crafts, and provides them with a solid base for the future.”
Robert Rix will be leading Great British Barbering Academy courses in Salon Services stores in the Manchester and Liverpool area, and is available throughout Lancashire for Educator for the Day trips. His next course with the GBBA is at Salon Services Manchester on May 14, where he will be teaching the timeless tradition of wet shaving.
On his inclusion among the industry-recognised barbering team, the Great British Barbering Academy’s Head Educator Mike Taylor said: “We’re very excited to have such an experienced barber join our team. Robert is an example of how much this industry has to offer and acts as the perfect role model for those participating in our courses.”
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