Moore Style - Build Unshakeable Confidence & Magnetic Presence: Gio Vaccaro Reveals His Winning Formula

Episode Date: August 7, 2025

Your personal style influences not just how you look but how you feel and show up in the world. However, there is more to unshakeable confidence than mere appearance. I hosted Gio Vaccaro, co-founder of Glam Squad and a top executive coach, to explore how confidence, presence, and the bold power of reinvention can transform your life. Gio's journey from hairstylist to building a multi-million-dollar company serving over 250,000 clients wasn't just about business strategy. He reveals how external transformation creates internal shifts and why the smallest daily promises we make to ourselves become the building blocks of unstoppable confidence. Gio's approach to building self-belief through small daily actions is both simple and revolutionary. If you've ever felt stuck between comfort and your calling, or wondered why external success doesn't always translate to inner confidence, this episode is your wake-up call!“Greatness happens when you choose your calling over comfort and convenience” ~ Gio Vaccaro.In this Episode:- Meet Gio Vaccaro- Connection between external beauty and inner confidence- The transformative power of self-confidence and style- Making bold moves and breakthroughs- Taking the leap: starting Glam Squad- Why finding purpose and passion is critical for success- Overcoming fear and insecurities to empower others- Lightning round: wrap up questionsAbout Gio Vaccaro:Gio Vaccaro is a highly sought-after performance coach, speaker, and co-founder of Glamsquad, who empowers creative entrepreneurs to overcome their limiting beliefs and achieve greatness. With over 22 years in the beauty industry, Gio has been instrumental in transforming the beauty services industry and building a vibrant pro community through his leadership at Glamsquad. Under his guidance, Glamsquad has created countless opportunities for thousands of beauty professionals and established itself as a beloved brand among top-tier clients, such as Tiffany & Co., Cartier, and Netflix. Website: https://www.giovaccaro.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giovannivaccaro/  Connect with me here:🌐Website - https://celestemoore.com/👤Facebook - https://facebook.com/profile.php?id=100078179075595📷 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/celestemooreimage/TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@celestemooreimage▶️YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@celestemooreimage

Can you walk us through the moment when you realized beauty wasn't just external, it was a gateway to inner confidence? Beauty is not just about how you look, but it's also, there's a connection between how you feel. One thing every leader should stop doing? Stop controlling and start influencing. What's one thing that you've seen transform most dramatically when someone shows up showing with confidence?

I believe that confidence is self-trust. So when you're saying, I'm going to wake up at 6am and go to the gym, and you do it, like, that's a hit of confidence. everything changes when you start feeling that inner self-belief. Best advice you've ever received. I've received a lot of great advice. What if the key to unlocking your next level

wasn't another goal, but how you show up every single day? Today, I'm sitting down with Giovanni Vaccaro, beauty industry that turned executive coach, to talk about confidence, presence, and bold power of reinvention. You're not going to want to miss this. You're going to want to take notes. So let's get right into it. Can style, confidence, and purpose unlock your next chapter? Absolutely. And today's guest proves it. In this episode of More Style, I sit down with Giovanni

Vaccaro, co-founder of Glam Squad and top executive coach. With appearances on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and countless podcasts, Giovanni brings real-world experience and heart-centered wisdom. Whether you're a founder, creative, or leader in transition, this episode is your mirror and your map. Thanks, Gio, for being here today. Thank you for having me, Celeste. I appreciate you coming all the way down from Westchester in two and a half hours. Who knew it would take this long to get to New York? I used to live here. I know. Well, it's Friday. Yeah, exactly. I appreciate you coming. Thank you for having me. Yeah. So I really want to get into kind of the building blocks of where you're at right now. And, you know, you had such this powerful evolution

from being a hairdresser for what, 20 years? Yeah. Well, 20 years now, but 10 years in the salon world. Yeah. 10 years. And then moving into being co-founder of Glam Squad. Can you walk us through the moment when you realized beauty wasn't just external? It was a gateway to inner confidence. Yeah. So I've been in the beauty industry for 20 years now. In 10 of those years, I was in the salon at one of the top salons in the country called Frederic Fakai, which I'm sure some of your listeners might know what that is, but prestigious, luxurious, and beautiful. And it was there that I witnessed firsthand how a hairdresser, a hairstylist, just from a few snips of their scissors can really impact someone's life. Like impact not only the way that they look,

but also how they feel. Like it was something emotional. There was a transformation that happened. And you can see that just by the way that somebody would walk into the salon and like how they walked out of the salon with this level of confidence and self-assurance, like I've got this, you know? And I mean, you know how it is. You get a beautiful blowout, you get gorgeous makeup and like there's a difference to it

in the way that you move, in the way that you walk, in the way that you talk. And so I kind of found out early on being behind the chair that this is powerful and that beauty is not just about how you look, but it's also, there's a connection between how you feel. and now you know we've had glam squad now for 11 years beauty services thank you beauty services mobile beauty services in the home so think of it as like the salon coming to you we're in 15

different cities around the country and i still hear from clients all the time like they're getting ready for a big presentation or they have a milestone birthday or something monumental in their life that they're getting ready for and they just want to look and feel like the best version of them, whatever that is. And that like that confidence boost from what I've seen doesn't it doesn't stop with women like guys. Guys want it, too. You know, I work with this executive guy who I'm working on his his identity and his confidence. That's what we're working on together. And here's a guy who's really successful, who can afford, you know, any haircut, any suit. And he's been cutting his own hair since covid. And I'm like, what are you doing? Like,

I get it 2020 and maybe even 2021, but if it's like 2025 and you're still cutting your own hair, like not a good look. So, um, so I had said to him like, Hey, that future version of you, that identity, that powerful, self-assured, confident version of you, are they cutting their own hair or are they going to a salon and letting a master stylist create this beautiful structure for you? Right. And he just got it immediately.

He's like, yeah, I'm going to go to the salon. And now he goes to the salon. he has his great haircut he feels more assured more powerful more present and uh and it's a lot of times it's in those like really small sometimes seemingly insignificant choices that we make that lead to massive like confidence transformations yeah i mean you're speaking my language what i do for my client i know it's like the same thing right you you get it yeah i mean and and the One cool thing where this kind of like crosses over is, you know, as an image consultant, I'm doing from, it's very holistic. So it is the hair, the makeup, it's the grooming, not just the custom suits, not just your colors and style, what's best for you.

So when you, I imagine, like, I understand what, actually, I understand what it feels like when you have that great haircut, that great color, that suit on that just makes you feel like, you know, anything is possible. That's right. And then you can, you know, go through your day, whatever that looks like, and just handle your stuff. Yeah. And it's so, it's just, it's so powerful that you can actually shift someone's energy. You know, I say it's not vanity, it's energy. Like you're literally recreating and transforming someone's energy just by, for you, it could

be clothing or it could be color. For us, it's like just adjusting somebody's length in their hair, going from a long layered style to a bob or waves instead of straight. And now they just, they feel different and it's really powerful. Oh yeah. I mean, after I was very young when I got married and divorced and I chopped off my hair and I think a lot of women go through some transition in their life and they're just like drastic, you know? Someone said, what did you do? It probably wasn't my best look, but it was a symbol how short did you go i don't know i think it was it was like chin length bob yeah oh wow that's true that's yeah not for my face shape not good everything that i've always had a rounder

face and it was just like accentuated yeah you're like i'm doing this anyway it doesn't you know someone was didn't tell me like maybe you should yeah because of your face yeah yeah they heard change and transformation they're like let's go for it yes that's some fun i love that story of your client because I'm sure you see this over and over and over. And that's super powerful. So I want to talk about, you said you're an executive coach. Is that what you call yourself now? Yeah. I'm a, I'm a business and life strategist. Okay. Love it. So you've coached top execs and entrepreneurs. What's one thing that you've seen transform most dramatically when someone shows up showing with confidence, like both in style and presence? So I love the topic of confidence

Because I feel like when people step into their confidence, it can mean a couple things, but really for me specifically, when you step into your confidence, it's when you are consistently keeping the promises that you make to yourself. Like, when you, it's like, that's the foundation of it, okay? So when you're saying, I'm going to wake up at 6 a.m. and go to the gym, and you do it, like, that's a hit of confidence. When you say you're not going to eat the cake at night, that's confidence. When you say you're going to show up for your friend or whoever it is, that's a hit of confidence. it's foundational so confidence doesn't only come from the way that you look or i would say uh some outward recognition i think i believe that confidence is self-trust so when you say to yourself and you do the thing that you said you're going to do even if it's something small that

level of conviction and self-assurance it's like now i believe that i can rely on myself like i'm unreliable. And that makes me feel really good. And everything changes when you start feeling that inner self-belief. Then when you layer on top of it, the style, the clothing, the taking care of yourself physically and mentally, then you just become unstoppable. Like that's when you're unstoppable. And that inner confidence with outer expression, when that's in sync, I think people can completely feel a difference in your presence so small promises to ourself that we think aren't important and every day that we don't keep those promises to ourselves because we are it's the foundation is us and that that does cut us down that does um allow us not to even trust ourselves

and that yeah that's exactly right i mean think about it when you we get into those moments where it's like you say you're going to do something and you don't do it. You said you're going to wake up early at 6 a.m. and do whatever it is you're going to do, a workout or meditation or reading or journaling, and you don't do it. We think they're small and insignificant. Okay, I'll do it tomorrow. And you keep procrastinating. But fear, in my experience, fear gets created through procrastination, through hesitation. That's when you start becoming more afraid of honestly yourself and the fact that you aren't committing to the things that you said you were going to. So this is really, really foundational. Everything stems from if I keep these promises

that I make to myself, then I am going to build my belief in myself and I'm going to trust myself more. Think about it from a human to human connection. If you say to me, you're going to do something with me, for me, and you don't do it, I start losing my trust in you. You become less reliable to me so when you internalize that for yourself it becomes really really powerful and you can really see how when you start doing that consistently over and over again like you just walk into rooms differently you lead differently you come from a different place it's really really interesting yeah i'm one of my favorite books is the four agreements oh the best and your word mm-hmm that's right that's like one of the agreements and number one always be

impeccable with your work yeah so i'll never forget that that book for me is like instilled in everything that i think we should show up in as humans in any relationship you know that work family with ourselves uh yeah so 100 yeah you know i have every single one of my i have i have a laundry list of books i'm a big reader yeah and i have a laundry list of these um i mean back in the day we're called like self-help books. We don't call it that anymore. Personal development, growth minded books. Yeah. So that is always number one on the list. I've got a laundry list of them, but it's always number one on the list that I think anybody will benefit from reading the four agreements. Like, and it's so easy, right? It's like, it's an easy read. Yeah. But

it's powerful. Wildly powerful. Yeah. So I love that. Thank you for sharing that story. So you're big on bold moves that align with your mission. Can you share a time where you took a scary risk and how it ended up being a breakthrough? Yeah. So I was in the salon world for 10 years and that was really my identity. I was a hairstylist for many years and a successful one. I had built a great book, a great business. I had incredible clients. I was doing 10 to 15 clients a day. Um, and, and things kind of became really comfortable and really easy. Okay. But I was making great money.

I knew early on that I didn't want to be just a hairdresser and there's nothing wrong with that, but that was not my goal in life. Like I wanted something that I could build from the ground up, something that I had a real mission and vision behind. And what I also knew is that I wanted to like lead teams and I wanted to make a positive impact in people's lives. And so when my business partner and I, you know, my business partner today, we were dreaming up this idea of Glam Squad. I knew like there was a feeling and like some call it gut, some call it intuition.

But like, do you get those feelings, right? Yes. Do you listen to it when you do? I have. And there's also been times when I haven't. Yeah. And I knew exactly what would happen. Yeah.

So when I listen to my intuition, it's usually right. and so I wish I'd listened to it sooner because what it was telling me at this stage was back in 2013 it was telling me that like now's the time make change go all in on glam squad this concept of you know beauty meets technology beauty services in the home it's going to be the next big thing it's going to be you know the future of beauty and that's what I was telling myself but at the same time this like crazy fear came over me and I would procrastinate for months I I mean, I was 28 years old and I was thinking about, and this is what our brain does, right?

It goes to the worst possible scenario. So I'm like living in Manhattan, I got this great life. And my brain is telling me, this thing's gonna fail. You're gonna be like eating out of trash cans in like six months. And I was spiraling and that's all I kept thinking about. Like the what ifs were always negative and that's a big problem, right?

So our brain wants us to like keep us safe, keep us comfortable and it doesn't want us to thrive and wants to survive. Like that's the traditional like 5 million year old brain. So what did I do? I went to, I had a mentor at the time who was a great friend of mine, very successful guy, stylist as well. And I was like, hey, like I'm, I need help here.

Like I am, I'm scared. Like, do I make this move? Do I not? I keep talking this like negative talk to myself. And like, what if this thing fails? And I was not concerned about the failure, but I was concerned. This is what people do. They get concerned about, like, it's not the fear of failure.

it's the fear of what are people going to think when I fail? And like that ego comes into play. And I was like heavy on the ego at the time, not anymore. And he said something to me that was so powerful. He was like, Gio, you're always going to have the skill of being a hairdresser. So like that's never going to go away. So just know that you have that in you as your toolkit. And like this concept, this idea that you're talking about, it sounds incredible. And like whether you go for or not be comfortable with your decision and know that whatever you do like I believe in you and like you're going to be great no matter what and it was like that moment that nailed it for me I'm like wait he believes in me and I didn't believe in myself as much as he believed in me but sometimes

you can borrow someone else's belief until you build your own and so I went all in and I was like I'm going to do this and so I went all in on glam squad in 2014 I left this comfortable life of Fakai and the unknown journey of Glam Squad. And when I did that, you know, I, you do, you're in those moments and you think that like, people are going to be like cheering for you and clapping for you and like, yeah, Gio, you're going to be great. You're awesome. You're a champion. And like, you know, that definitely didn't happen. You know, like my, my, my colleagues at, at the salon, you know, some of them are supportive and that's wonderful and God bless them. Um, but some of them were like, what are you doing? Like, we're going to save this chair for you because you'll

be back here in three months because yeah, because it's like, you know, most startups fail. Why would you succeed? People want to go to the salon. They don't want to go to, they don't want some random person in their house. Like all of the, that negative chatter was like happening. And I realized like, first of all, I went all in. Okay. But I realized that in that moment, and I'm glad that i did was that i didn't need people's permission to follow my dream anymore and i i had that i needed that for a long time but i didn't need people's permission to follow my dream and what and what we have to realize is that we as people we don't need their green light to go for greatness like greatness happens when you're choosing your calling over comfort and convenience

you don't need the green light from them like you give yourself permission you give yourself the the green light. And now 11 years later, like Lamsco is in 15 different cities. We've serviced over 250,000 clients. We've got 2000 beauty professionals and, you know, we're, we're continuing to grow and expand. So, um, if I didn't take that risk, my life today would probably be very different. And so I, I love seeing when people take that risk, calculated, measured, thoughtful, but like take the risk. It's life changes dramatically. It's so fun. What if it's not calculated? Ooh, well, it depends on what it is.

It depends on what it is. I'm a big believer in like, I don't think you have to have the business plan written out. I don't think you need to have the full strategy because we didn't have it at Glam Squad at all. I mean, we had like, stuff was on paper. We didn't have a program. We just, we did things as they came.

Like we weren't ready, but we still launched. So I don't believe in having everything mapped out at all. I think perfection is the enemy of progress for sure. but what I would say is there's got to be some calculation and it also depends on what stage or everything is in seasons right at 40 years old with two kids and a wife like how my wrists are gonna be a little bit more calculated than they were when I was 22 years old true I've different responsibilities now I'm a different person I have different people that rely on me so but I do I do

believe in having a little bit of that like okay what happens if this what happens at this you know you said a couple things in all of that um that really is if you find your purpose and your passion right you don't need someone else to tell you that that really rang true to me because it's taken me a long time to get where i'm at today although i knew this a long time ago but i as as an entrepreneur you know i the valleys the ups and the downs the trying this doing this oh I can't quite see the end so let me add this let me add that and when I just stopped all the noise and when I just sat with myself and I was like okay what do I love what is my purpose what is my what am I passionate about like all of that came you know together and

I think sometimes like when we're listening to others who we love and respect and we need a little of that guidance right and sometimes when we just shut down and really dive in deep and say no you know the answers like you know everything that's so true how did you how did you get quiet what did quiet look like for you because there's a lot of noise there's a lot of chatter there's a lot of distraction what did getting quiet mean to you there's a lot of noise um i think it ended up making me bonkers like i was just like yeah my head was everywhere yeah and i just said i need to stop. I need to stop listening. Just kind of dial back and like, start looking at what do you want to do? And that's like, I was a date coach for three years and I've, I've been an image

consultant for 19 and that was always the foundation of my business, but it got over chattered and overrun. And I was just like, wait, I need to get back to the foundation and the purpose and then so I had to kill her she's yeah she died drastically you know what that it's so powerful when you can really align your goals your mission your purpose with what you do how you do it and how you show up and you're right sometimes you're going to try different things in your life that don't align with like where you know you're supposed to go where your intuition is telling you and that's when it becomes powerful because there's a difference between being busy yeah right and then just being like super productive and driving forward on what your

mission is so well done on making that decision because a lot of people wouldn't because again the ego comes into play sometimes too like right if i kill this thing i started it like how how does that make me look how does that make me feel and so well done for doing that i mean i had a whole nother podcast for two and a half years and it's incredible i was like okay i'm going to i built all this but i gotta let it go so there was a moment of like oh it's a little sad but yeah it also felt 100 you know on point and true to me so yeah yeah that's great that's great i love i love that you you know you mentioned that in your story because i think there's a lot of people that go through that and there are a lot that don't listen to that yeah yeah yeah and i well

you know the fear can really fear is a terrible dream killer it's a bitch it's a paralyzed bitch terrible dream killer yeah and i i now i'm more aware of it because it's not just the fear that i experience but it's also working with incredibly successful clients who still have some of the same fears people will be shocked you think success you think money you think financial success and wealth, you know it, right? You connect with these people and you'd be incredibly shocked at the types of fears and the types of insecurities and the types of inner bully, I call it, right? The voice inside of our heads that's telling us all the bad things that we think we are. That still exists very, very, very much and very loud in a lot of these

people. But getting close and grounded on what's important to you and how you want to show up in the world is the most powerful version of you. Yeah. I think you really want to better yourself and constantly, I think as an entrepreneur, personal growth and personal development is a continuous process to be successful. That's right. And it's amazing how I see I have great clients that's speaking and they're on panels and they're in front of media and now they're authors and TEDx, you know, great. And, and to hear their story sometimes, or to hear that insecurity, it's, um, I'm like, I wish I could just be your cheerleader all the time and help you see how amazing you are. And that just takes time. I think them to really work on that themselves

is I want to, I want to help, but I can't do it all. Right. That's right. That's here. Go to bring them my way, but you've done it all, which is so cool. You know, you've, you've, there's a lot that you've experienced, which is incredible. Life is not worth living. If you don't push yourself, if you don't do adventures, if you don't grow, if you don't ask questions, in my opinion, that's just. I share the same opinion. Yeah. My strong belief is that wasted potential is a sin. Like I really, really believe that. And I, look, I was that, you know, I was somebody who felt insecure, uncertain, and didn't take the risk at certain points in my life. And what I find is that the moments when I've been, that have shaped me the most, where I felt like I've been stretched

the most are the moments where I'm like super uncomfortable. It's when I'm uncertain. It's when I'm challenged. It's when I feel like I'm way outside of my comfort zone. And, and that's what makes me feel like really, really alive. That's when I'm like, oh, this is, this is a growth moment for me, you know? And there's a great quote that I like, I've lived by, which is, you are most powerfully positioned to serve the person that you once were. Okay. You're most powerfully positioned to serve the person you once were. And that's why for me, this is a moment in my life right now to coach strategically entrepreneurs and leaders who are stuck, who are unfulfilled or who are uncertain or unclear and really get them to a place where

they can reconnect with clarity, with purpose, with an understanding that they can take like massive action towards their dream life. Like you can design this yourself. And a lot of people don't realize that. Like, I can do this. Like, I am in control of this. You 100% are. And so when people realize that and they realize the power that they have, that's why I do this work. Like, that's what lights me up and fires me up because you can get people to this place of creating massive momentum in their life, taking action, living their purpose, and loving all of it. So, you know, I, I think, you know, I've come from this place where I've, I've taken the risk. I have, I see what it's like to go from somebody who's comfortable to something who's look, somebody who's looking for something bigger in their life. And I want to be able to show people and guide people to their level of greatness. And that's really important to me. yeah that's awesome um i think that you found your purpose and your passion you can hear it

in your voice so i think you're in a really good spot to help those people because yeah yeah yeah and and i think the the most exciting part about it really is that there's a human connection point to it where you can see somebody's transformation and we talked about this in the beginning this like these aren't big monumental moments like that people think it's like so much of it is just in the everyday small habits and small actions and small wins compounded over time lead to tremendous transformation and result it's not like one big thing that happens and when you can literally see somebody change and you know i had this client that i just worked with literally 90 days later new person new human his belief in

himself the way that he shows up to meetings whether he shows up to his family the way that He talks to himself. It's incredible. So I love it. And it's my biggest mission right now. But I'd love to do like a lightning round style. Let's go for it. It's all a next level.

Okay. What's your power outfit? Right here. This is it. Nice. I love a suit. I love it fitted. I don't care what anybody says.

I love a, you know, pair of fresh, clean white sneakers, a great watch, and a nice fitted crew neck with my pocket square. Yes. I love it. I love this fit on you. I think it matches your personality. Thank you. Cause I like it. Like I like a level up, but I like comfort, you know, I don't want to feel, I don't want to feel stiff. You should feel like yourself. Yes. Best version of myself. Yeah. The best version. Exactly. Okay. Uh, go-to mantra on tough days. Oh, my go-to affirmation is I will act now. Okay. Powerful. Yes. And I literally say that to myself every single day. Because again, small actions compounded over time lead to tremendous results. I believe that. And I've been telling myself that and it's been working. So I'm just

going to keep saying it. Love it. Okay. One thing every leader should stop doing. Stop controlling and start influencing. So good. These are good nuggets, guys. Best advice you've ever received. I've received a lot of great advice. I'm going to go for the Bible on this one. Exodus chapter four. You know, God doesn't call the qualified. He qualifies the called. And that one is like, that's stuck with me for a really long, the first time I heard it, I was like, I'm keeping that one. That's a good one. Love it. Okay. And what's next for you and what's calling you forward? Ooh, um, what's next for me? Well, um, Glam Squad is still growing and expanding, which is very exciting for me. I love building the team. I love seeing where we

can go with this brand um and so that's very exciting i would say what's next for me is i have some great ideas around a book i want to write um i love the podcast concept and idea but for me really it's just the more that i can connect with people and the more that i can help them transform their inner world so that they can be a better version of themselves on the outer world um i can do that with small groups i can do that with many groups uh that's just going to be the next chapter and the next season in my life is really getting people to a place where they can see that they're responsible for the life that they live love that so much all right where can people find you people can find me on instagram so geo vaccaro and people can also go to my website

learn a little bit about me at geo vaccaro.com um and those are two great places where you can find awesome guys if you like this episode hit that subscribe button below and listen and send this to a friend that you think will enjoy this episode so thank you so much for being on the show today