Larry tells us about long term goals for his salons and haircare range. Why he thinks people misunderstand career prospects for hair stylists. Why the government need to be doing more to support high street businesses. And that time he had breakfast with Kevin Coster.

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Hello and welcome to this week's BWB Extra where we get to know celebrity hairstylist Larry King a little better.

So let's wind the clock back.

We've kind of dealt with how you ended up doing what you're doing, but what's your long term goal?

My long term goal is to succeed obviously with my products and to grow them to be a global product brand.

My also other goal is I want to open a third salon.

That's what I'm planning on doing within the next 12 months.

And then really is to sort of, um, Use the money that, you know, the salons make to kind of start setting up sort of future salons with my team, do you know what I mean?

Giving them positions.

Rolling them out.

I wouldn't say rolling them out.

I don't want like 30 or 20 or 30, but, you know, identifying my team and if they want to, if they want to do something with me, be in there.

We'll, you know, go, both go in and invest money together, split it 50 50, open a salon together.

If they, it might be that they're very creative, but they not have the business side of it.

Which case I can help or if they're very business minded, but they don't have the creative side again I can help and for me it's about I have a good solid team and helping them Achieve their dream as well.

Like collaborations, almost.

Yeah, collaborations.

So it would be, you know, it might be like someone's name with Larry King, uh, you know, for Larry King.

Or they could sell your products.

I get it.

Could be their sell on and they sell your products.

Yeah.

I don't really, didn't really think about it in the products.

So, um, you know, the products are already sold in multiple places around the UK, you know, I mean, it's more the fact that just, you know, setting stuff up with them, if they are doing to find a

nice place, I've got a manager, he's a very good manager, he might, he's married to an Irish woman, they might want to go and open one in Dublin, let's just say, so it might be that me and him will

open one in Dublin, and he obviously is my manager, so he knows how to run a business, but He might need some more support with the more, more putting the name out there, do you know what I mean?

So I can help with that side of it.

So, so, so, helping out in certain little areas.

I've got multiple staff that might want to do it, and I just think it's, I'd like to be in that position, and that's what I think, having three salons in London.

You know, you've obviously got the one in Monaco.

I think I'd like to open one in New York, uh, but that would be more products for the products to really help push the products across America.

Feels like world domination there slightly, Larry.

Yeah, I've got a lot of things that I want to achieve, you know, and push for, yeah.

What's most misunderstood about your job then?

That it's got no money in it.

That it's got no money in it.

Is that the general thought?

Yeah, I think people generally think that...

Now, people that are hairdressers are working, you know, are working class and don't have a lot of money, and it's not a very well paid job, and it hasn't got a lot of future or something like that, it's, you know, it's looked

upon, it's, you know, yeah, there's a lot of youngsters out there that come into the hairdressing game that maybe haven't done well at school, but the potential of where you can go within the hairdressing industry is massive.

And you can earn huge sums of money, six figures.

It would seem rather a relatively AI resistant job, too, you know.

I don't want ChatGPT cutting my hair.

Well, I'm now thinking of ChittyChittyBangBang when he invents a haircut machine, you know.

I think AI, it's very AI resistant.

I think it's very, um...

Recession proof, you know, people always need their hair cut.

What do you think the biggest problem is for the industry?

Uh, I think the biggest problem right now is bringing the youngsters in.

I think, you know, making people realise that there is huge futures within hairdressing, within the beauty industry itself.

So I think, uh, for me it's...

That is a slight issue is new youngsters coming through, you know, we need assistance that come in working in salons trained and give them a future and that's what I tend to do.

But I think that within the industry, that is a good thing.

I think obviously, we could say that, you know, with what the government is doing right now and with taxations and stuff like that for small businesses is very difficult right now.

And I think that that.

Should be letting on, you know, cost of gas and electricity is through the roof on small businesses.

You know, they're looking at doing all the different, all these different taxes.

But the business from COVID was difficult.

Same as restaurants and stuff, so I think it's just small businesses get sometimes overlooked.

And don't have a, don't get much wits in the government.

Yeah, they often don't plan around them, because they're very hard to plan around to some extent, isn't it?

You know, people make rules for bigger companies.

So many, so many rules are designed around larger companies.

But right now, the high street is dying massively.

Most high streets in most towns across the world, across England, are struggling.

And honestly, Hairdressers and restaurants are the two reasons why people still go into the high streets because they don't go there for shops that much now.

But for little independent retail shops, you know, hairdressers play a massive part.

They bring people into them towns.

You know, the same as restaurants.

So, the government needs to stop sitting up and being aware of that rather than just...

Concentrating on everything being online, and so on and so forth.

I, I sort of mixed on the whole, like, we've got to save the high street.

The high street's evolving, I think, to hark back to what it was.

But you make a good point that there are certain key industries that do draw people in, out their house.

And we had Alan Simpson on, who's the, um, head of, uh, strategy for London.

And his thing was that, you know, there's a contract that goes on when you live in a city.

You know, if you want to live in a city and you want all this wicked stuff around you, you've got to use it.

Of course you've got to use it.

If you don't use it enough, it won't be there.

It won't it, and that, that goes for, and that, I don't think that's the city, I think that's towns as well.

Yeah.

You've got to use them.

You've got to use them, you've got to support them.

Yeah, definitely local businesses local for your agriculture local produce everything needs to be I don't think for me I wouldn't put it in the phrase you want to support them

like because it's almost like you need to support them like you need To it's charitable that will never sort of work It needs to be it needs to be something you need to do.

So you've hairdressing and restaurants It's like there needs to be a few other things and I'm like, oh I want to go in for that, you know Yeah, otherwise what you can do you just gonna you know What do people do?

Sit at home, go on the metaverse, live in a world that doesn't exist anymore and Ready Player one.

Yeah, like it's just mental.

Are you having to do anything about climate change or what are you doing about climate change as a business?

Well, yeah, that's what I said my products are doing sustain sustainable as my products.

I try to do as much as sustainability as I can within my products.

We look to try and do as much as recycling and stuff like that within the salon itself.

You know what I mean?

I think, you know, you have to just book.

Long as I didn't, you know, look after our planet, massively.

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And on this path, where have you mucked up the most?

What's been your biggest fuck up and what did you learn, do you think?

Honestly, touch wood, I haven't had anything that's been...

that big.

There's been little aspects of things that have caused me little headaches for the couple of days, but I would honestly say I've never had anything that caused me massive dramas.

I got through COVID, you know, I was very lucky.

I done certain things.

I don't over leverage myself as a business.

I don't think do things that put more pressure on my, on the business itself.

What did you do in COVID?

Because you couldn't, you had to shut.

No, but you know, you look at what the government was offering.

I also made sure that I had a certain amount of money in the bank.

I don't know, like again, I don't over leverage myself by paying ridiculous dividends and stuff like that.

It's about looking after your, your business that you've got and maintaining and looking after knowing that you've got 60 staff that have also got a part of flats and.

mortgages and rents and stuff like that.

And so I think fuck ups come when people start getting greedy and don't pay attention to their business that much.

In my opinion.

I think that's massively true.

I think that is just massively true.

I think there is other things out there.

Don't get me wrong.

When I say that, people can sit there as businesses and say, well, that's bullshit.

I've had like difficult times that I haven't brought on to myself.

And shit happens and mistakes happen and there's nothing you can necessarily do No doubts things will happen to me and I will have looked to overcome them, but it's about communication I think and talking to people and

getting support and help and not being shy to actually open up and and talk about if you've Got a little difficulty within your business seek To speak to someone and people that can help and yeah get the right answer.

What's the best advice you've ever had then?

Loads loads of people have given me advice and become a hairdresser clearly Yeah, become a hairdresser Loads of people have given me advice some advice I haven't even

agreed with at the time and have argued with people about the fact that I don't agree with them and then I'll Go away and think about I think actually they could be

right there and I've actually applied it and they were right I wonder how many sculptors and painters and people out there doing art should probably go into hairdressing.

I mean, that's the weird thing from what you said earlier is, you know, it's actually quite a good career and, and there's such an artistic element to it, you know, in a way you're a sculptor, effectively.

Yeah, of course.

And, uh, people overlook those sort of jobs.

There's always that, you always want to go for the most glamorous or the most, Oh, what I want to be.

And it's like, yeah, I mean, as my old man said, Bend it, bend it to your will.

Bend it to your will.

You know, don't make, okay, you want to be, you know, make hairdressing something else, you know.

But it does sound like the lesson from all of that is, listen to advice.

Even if you don't agree with it, listen to it.

You can think about it afterwards and decide whether it's the right thing or not.

Yeah, definitely.

Yeah, yeah.

Don't discount things out of hand.

No, definitely not.

And what advice would you give your younger self?

Watch Field of Dreams.

Yeah, what advice would I give my younger self?

Have you met Kevin Costner?

I have, actually.

I have.

Was that a massive letdown, or was it alright?

No, it was absolutely amazing.

And it's just the most random, random meeting ever in the world.

If, do you really want me to say that?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Go.

I was in LA I was on a shoot for a music video and I was standing in a hotel called the Sunset Marquee, and I came down for breakfast and there's often tables of two.

And I, as I've come down for breakfast, I said Just breakfast for one.

Yeah.

Takes me overseas table.

There's a guy sitting at this table for two with his back to me.

And she sits me round on the table with the two that's right next to him, but sits me in the diagonal seat opposite him.

I sit down, open the menu, look up, and it's Kevin Costner sitting there.

No way!

And we proceed to have a 45 minute breakfast with each other, chatting to each other continuously all about...

Me being a hairdresser, me, him in movies, so on and

so forth.

Did you tell him about all sorts of things.

And then he got up, he walked all the way around the table, put his hand on my shoulder and said, It was absolutely amazing having breakfast with you.

Oh, that's so sweet.

And walked off.

And I was literally like, dumbstruck.

And then...

I swear down, three years later, I'm back, after COVID, only last year, sitting at Sunset Marquee, and I've gone to my wife, before I've gone down for breakfast, can you imagine if Kevin Costner was sitting in the restaurant again?

She was like, that would be a joke, fucking jokes.

I've gone down in reception, who's fucking sitting there?

Kevin fucking Costner again!

Did he sit with him again?

No.

He was with a girl this time, and I swear...

I kicked myself to this day all this year because I was like, I should have just gone over and said, Honestly mate, this is going to sound really weird, but me and you sat and had breakfast in this restaurant three years ago.

And I haven't been back here for three years.

And this is the first time I'm back here in three years and me and you are back here in this restaurant again.

And he would have, without a doubt, he would have remembered.

Is that, what's your favorite person you've ever met or, you know?

Oh, you I met, I've met, I've met, you know, I've met more.

I've literally, I've met you.

Name it, I've met everyone.

You met Eminem?

No, I haven't met Eminem.

And I would like to meet Eminem.

I was in a room next to Eminem, uh, in, literally in a dressing room next to Eminem and the door opened and I was standing again.

That close.

Any other recommendations of what to watch?

Listen to podcasts.

Your podcast.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, thank you for that.

Um, no, I'm just, I'm a big film buff, so I watch loads of films.

Okay, favourite film.

I love loads of films.

Fields of Dreams, what's number two?

Star Wars.

Fields of Dreams.

Yeah, loads of, I'm a massive, massive film fan.

Massive film fan.

Massive music fan.

I love referencing.

I think in my industry, it's all about referencing people and past history.

Oh, hair, referencing hair to musicians and looks.

Yeah, like blondie and, you know, it's endlessly, you know, all different periods.

I tell people, like youngsters, if you want to get into that sort of session y photographic world, it's learn the hair that's gone through the years, do you know what I mean?

Because it all can be applied.

And so that was this week's episode of BWBExtra, and we'll be back tomorrow with our finale for the week, the Business or Bullshit Quiz.

Stay tuned.