Walking The Dog with Emily Dean - George Northwood

Episode Date: January 27, 2020

Emily goes for a stroll with celebrated hairdresser, George Northwood and his whippet Willow. George has created iconic hair looks for Alexa Chung, Rosie Huntington Whiteley, Gwyneth Paltrow as well as Meghan Markle’s evening look on her wedding day. He talks about his Nan who inspired him to get into hairdressing, coming out as a young man, and how a large part of hairdressing is being a good therapist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I know a good breakup haircut. If a girl comes in and says, cut all my hair off, I've just split up with my boyfriend. I probably wouldn't. I would kind of say, let's do a sexy barb rather than a crop. I'm quite good. I know a good breakup haircut. Yeah. This week on Walking the Dog, I went for a stroll in West London with a man responsible

for some of the most iconic hairstyles of the last decade, George Northwood. George has a whipet called Willow, but as well as being Willow's dance, He's the very discreet hairstylist to some of the most photographed women in the world. Alexa Chung, Rosie Huntington White Lee, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kim Kardashian, and oh yes, Megan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex. We talked about George's passion for hairdressing, which was inspired by his nan.

The moment when he came out to his parents, the role of therapists that a hairdresser often plays, his sadness that losing his dog wrecks, and his joy when Willow came into his life. I think you'll really love George. humble, honest and just sort of passionate about making women look and feel good. My kind of man. If you want to visit George's salon in London, it's a very welcoming friendly place.

There are treats baked by his mum. Oh, and it's dog friendly. Hello. So find out more at george northwood.com. Anyway, I'll let you listen now. Here's George. Willow looks so dainty. Oh, look at the way she walks.

She's like a real lady. She walks like a lady. She really is. sort of trots. No, Willow. What she found there? Chicken bone? Bones, yeah, chicken bones.

He's obviously, she's a sighthound. So she is food obsessed. I went to a Christmas lunch on Saturday and she spent the whole time searching for food to the point where it's quite annoying. But anyway. Well, to be fair, that's what I do. Well, yeah.

Do you think I'm a sighthound, George? Probably. Maybe if you came back, if I come back as a dog, I'd be a sighthound because I look a bit like Willow. Yeah. Well, people say dogs look like their owners. and you've seen my dog, Raymond, be honest. Lots of great hair, which is you.

Well, you would say that, George. He's great, he's in the salon, I love him. He's so adorable. Do you love Raymond? Yes. Where are we going? Left or right? We're going straight down, I'm going to grab a coffee and then we're going to walk through the park.

It's so lovely, man. Have you been to Queens Park before? Yes, I have. Oh, let's cross here. I knew you'd live here. Yeah? Yeah, I could guess. Oh, really?

I love it. I used to live in Shoreditch for five years. Of course you did? Yeah. Oh, Willard? She keeps doing this. This is the third time. George, you want to explain what Willow did?

She took a pee, and she takes to take a pee in the most inconvenient places. She just crouched in the middle of a pedestrian crossing. I mean, I know men who've done that as well. We've all been there. We've all done it. We've all been there. But in the middle of the several crossing, she just crouched over. Yeah, she doesn't, yeah.

I'm going to the bathroom here. I am with the very wonderful George Northwood, King of Hair. dressing. Oh, thank you. And responsible in many ways, I would say for changing the way we do our hair, really. I think you've checked, you had a huge impact on hair in the last 10 years. Would you say that's fair? Yeah, I'll take that. Yeah, we're just going to grab a coffee here. Oh, nice. Yeah, I'll just going to say, we're with Willow, the wicket. Yep. The Greyham the Whippet. Wippet. Whippets, 100% Whippet.

Willow the Whippet. Willow the Whippet, named before he got her. This is my favourite coffee shop. Oh, this is very George Norfolk. We're going into a beautiful. It looks like an art gallery. It's a cafe. Hello. George says he's going to buy the coffees. Seeing as he does the Duchess of Sussex's hair, he can afford it, I reckon.

You know you're in a good coffee shop when you get a nice heart on the top. And I have to have decafie. And I have to have decaf, I've had one caffeinated one. I go wild. I'm very high, yeah, I'm very high on energy. Are you quite high energy? Yeah. Do you think a lot of hairdressers are?

I think so, yeah. Why? I think you need to be. Um, it's the adrenaline. It's more like the day to day packed sort of back to back clients. Being a hairdresser, because it is effectively 50% therapy. Yeah. Isn't it?

Yeah, absolutely. And I mean, I think, I genuinely think 50% of where I've got, to where I am today is because I am, my grandmother was a hairdresser, so I do feel instinctively I have this ability to, hairdressing comes easy to me. Not easy, I mean, I'm not saying I can do it, but it definitely came naturally to me. Yeah. But the other 50% is I think people like to have me around. And I don't know why that is, I think it's whatever it is, my personality.

I think if you're going to be a hairdresser, you're going to be successful hairdresser, dresser, you've got to be the sort of person that people want around them when they're, i.e., vulnerable, having their hair done, hair wet. You know, and if you're in the salon, you know, you want someone that makes you feel at ease. If they're cutting your hair, if you're a celebrity or something, you want someone that's not going to make you be on the worst dressed list of the red carpet. Do you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. So is that kind of trust.

But there's an intimacy as well. Oh, absolutely. And I think it's interesting, we'll talk about this, but the role of the head. has changed in some ways. You know, I think British women, certainly in the last 20 years or so, it's partly the Sex and the City Revolution. It's all that where British women fill in titles to, you know, I think New York women, for example, had always prioritised stuff like that. But it's been quite a recent revolution for us, hasn't it? Would you say? Yeah, I think so. And also, like what you said before, it's that kind of slightly undone approach to hair as well that kind of, I think,

resonates with British women because I think we're quite relaxed with our style here men and women, do you know what I mean? So I think it's that kind of, like you say, it's a new thing, but I think it's because it's the rise of that kind of undone look and slightly dishevelled hair or not completely perfect that fits in with like British style as well, that nothing's too put together, you know? No one wants to look like they've spent hours on their hair, people just want to look like they've effortlessly woken up, got out of bed, and I just looked like this. Yes. Which is kind of... Well, and that was Alexa Chung. Yes. I wonder who did her hair. Oh, it was you, George.

It was me, yeah. I want to talk properly about the Alexa, which was George's creation. Rosie Huntington Whiteley and the Duchess of Sussex, but he's too discreet and he won't talk about it. He did do the wedding hair for the evening and I'm going to make him say something about it. Hi George. We can talk about the, yeah, yeah. Well, I did the evening look for the wedding, yeah, which was an amazing moment. The updo. The updo, which was such an incredible, you know, and it's such an incredible thing to be a part of, you know, there's such great people to work with.

And, you know. Were you so excited? Yeah. Yeah, I was. I mean, it was just like a real. It was one of those kind of tell your mum moments. I mean, I think keeping it all in was the hardest thing. Like, keeping it together.

Were you having to say you had this? this date in the diary and said, what are you doing next Saturday? Oh, I'm there? No, I thought I'll stand and watch the match. It got a bit weird right near the time because I've got this friend that I see all the time locally and she was like smelling a bit of a rat when I was kind of saying that I wasn't going to be around that weekend and I and the thing is for some reason I didn't just think up a really great story or an excuse. This is me all over. Obviously I'm extremely discreet, but you are. If I had been clever with it, I'd have worked out a whole story to say but I didn't. Even the day before, I had Lisa Smarovsky, who comes from the stylist and Joe Elvin in,

and they were all reporting. And I saw Lisa Armstrong as well. And they were all reporting. Who's the Times fashion editor? Yes, the Times, yeah. And Joe Edits You magazine. Yeah, they were all going to report. And they were all like saying, guess where I'm going tomorrow?

Well, guess where I'm going this weekend? I'm reporting on the Royal Wedding. And what are you doing? And I was like, not much. It's just kind of like going to see some friends. Just doing Megan's hair. And I just have to say that, you know, with everything that's, you know, in the press and stuff, I thoroughly enjoy working and knowing both of them and that, you know, I only have great experiences to talk of.

And, you know, yeah, it's an amazing thing to be a part of and they're really lovely people. And I think I met her actually for, through dogs because she loves dogs, doesn't she? And I, she worked for the Mayhew, which isn't far. from here. Actually, I was looking to rescue a dog from there before Willow came into my life because I was so scarred from my first dog that I was committed to rescuing. Then this one

showed up. Oh, Willow! Well, they do such good work there and I... They do. Met the Duchess of Sussex down there and she was so lovely and she wanted to see a picture of Raymond and then I only had it on my Instagram. So I was giving her my phone to... Wait a minute, look squirrel. Do you like a squirrel?

Sight hound, squirrel. Winnow! Look at that. Her ears. When my boyfriend was having her, he lets her off the lead and he just says, oh, we should let her go for it. I get scared. She shouldn't really let dogs off the lead here, but should we do it? Well, I don't want some David Attenborough scenario on my hands. Do you know what I mean? She won't catch it, that's the thing. But no, let's go to the part. I don't want to have to do the sort of voiceover, but this one did not survive.

Hello. Hello? This is a little Shih Tzu, isn't it? Hello? What's this one called? Hi, Phafer. So did you see that I did the dog voice. Hello?

Hi, hey you, hey you, cute. Hello, darling. It's a whipet. She's quite small. She gets confused for Greyhound a lot, I think, an Italian Greyhound book. Yeah, I know. She's a mini-me. Oh, Coco's lovely.

Hi, Coco's cute, George. So anyway, I want to ask you about where it all began. And we should say, which park are we in, by the way? Okay, we're now in Queens Park. Queens Park, which is... Your local manor. My local park in the summer, it's beautiful. beautiful but they don't allow rightly so I'm cool with that they don't allow dogs off the lead here

so we just walk through Queens Park or I'll come and sit in the sun in the summer here with Willow on the lead but then we go through to Tiverton Green which is behind it and that's actually a dog park where you let dogs off the lead so I always take Willow there because she's a sighthound. Whippets need a good run about Wippets need a good run so I take her to the park Tiverton Green. George just did a great turn. I did a twirl with the lead I've got the tricks I take take her to Tiverton Green and let her run wild. So that's what we're going to do. And tell me, so is this your manner when you were growing up?

No, I'm from Luton, Bedfordshire. Born and bred, born in the L&D Hospital. Went to, grew up there. My nan was a hairdresser. I grew up around the smell of perm lotion. I remember my nan doing perms all the time. I used to go and sit around my nans and watch her do this. and I was always very...

I kind of think I really loved... What I loved about it is I just saw my nan talking to women about hair... No, doing their hair and just having a good old chat. And I thought, what a great job, because this is just like socialising. And it's funny the perm lotion, because obviously that's what everyone had been of it.

Yeah. Once you got to a certain age, what did you do think? Oh, you're 50, so you're going to get the perm now? Yeah. Everyone just used to perm. It was more of a thing than colour, wasn't it? Like, it was about having...

having a perm and I remember if you permed and coloured your hair it would just basically cremate it and it would just ruin your hair so most people were having perms so born and bred luteon and what did your mom and dad do George? My mum was she a homemaker she was a homemaker she used to work in London Watts there was a machine that was I always forget the name of it that converted my mum would listen to dictaphones and convert it into text before typewriters Telex? That's probably it.

No. And then she left to have children. By the time she went to go back to work, that job didn't exist because computers had arrived. Yeah. So my dad is a was and is an ambulance car driver. So he takes people to hospital that are non-accident and emergency. So people that are on dialysis. Oh, really?

Yeah. Having treatment, chemo. My dad takes people. He works, you know, through the NHS and just kind of. kind of takes people to him from hospital that aren't, he doesn't drive an ambulance, he drives a car, if you got what I mean. So, but he was an electrician by trade when he started. Oh, gas man, actually, gas.

He worked for British gas for years. And it was you and your sister, Sally. Yep. Yeah, me and Sally. Were you close as a family? Yeah, I'd say we were. Yeah, we were always together. I mean, I think Sally, we used to drive each other mad,

as brother and sister do. But yeah, I think, um, We were. We had a nice upbringing, you know. Everything was, it was great. Did you have, and the hairdressing thing, I mean, in terms of, I suppose, it's an interest in style and fashion, did you always have an interest in that? Or do you think it was more that sort of,

you talk about your nan and watching her having those chats and doing people's hair? Do you think it was more that that led you to it in a way? I think so, yes. Rather than having copies of Vogue and, you know. Yeah, I mean, I was always very into hair as well. Like I grew up like I love Madonna and I was just like

all the hair that she did and you know all that kind of I remember like loving all that blonde ambition tour. Oh did you like yeah? All of that like that well she used to just do so many different things with her hair and her look and I was always so kind of into that and I remember the start

the Rachel cut coming along and all of that from friends and I was kind of still at drama school then and I wasn't even in hairdressing at that stage so I kind of always remember being very into hair but I didn't do it because I went to drum I kind of was really into acting

and performing arts so even though I used to play salons and have a hair set up a hair salon in my parents' loft and used to kind of curl all the people, all the girls in the street used to come up and I used to try and do their hair and play salons one of the kind of local people would be a receptionist

I'd book them in they'd come in I'd perm their hair with water I was obsessed with trying to get like... So it was a bit wet look. It was a bit wet. Well, I'd be trying to get a curl in people's hair, but it was impossible because all I had was a load of rag kind of rollers from my mum.

I used to kind of nick all of her hair stuff. But even though I was clearly into hair, the drama school thing just kind of was calling even more. So I gave that a go for a couple of years. And where was the drama school? In Hitchin, North Arts College. I did a B-Tech in Performing Arts. And did you think you were going to be an actor then at that point?

Yeah, I think I did. I wanted to be. And all that training was really good for what I do now. You know, like being a hairdresser is putting on a performance and you have to like, you know, I've done lots of talks and stuff and I'm quite confident in like public speaking scenarios and that sort of stuff. And, you know, I'm just working on a YouTube channel and all that's kind of really helping. So it feeds into it. And did you, so at that point, were you musical as well?

Did you play? I played the piano. Yeah. Which I've just taken back up. Have you? Yes, I have piano lessons every Monday evening. So tonight, Rob. So did you do it and then you stopped or?

I did it and I got to grade seven and I sat. I sat grade eight three times and failed. Got that far, George. Yeah, I did. Why do you think you gave up? Was it? I think it was time to go to college. And I think I begged for years to stop and my parents wouldn't let me.

And I think eventually it just kind of got to state where I wasn't passing grade eight. I was going off to college or whatever. Nice problem to have. Nice problem to have. But now I've gone back to it because I'm determined to get my grade eight. So I've gone back to it to get my grade. Oh, isn't that nice? Yeah. So.

And did you have... Watch the space. Oh, here. I think we're coming near... We're coming to Tiverton Green now. Willow, you're going to have your little run. I talk to dogs like they can understand, by the way. Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah, absolutely. Would you? Yeah, this is also called dog poo park because it's obviously full of dog poo because it's just for dogs. There's not many people here, but she'll just have a little sniff and a little... You're going to have a run of that.

So do you think, George, that's interesting with the piano and the salons and the... And it shouldn't be this way. But did you have that sense that these felt girly or something, which is ridiculous that they should feel like that, but especially back then, which was, you know, Not as enlightened as it is now.

Do you know what I mean? Yeah. I remember one of the reasons I went to drama school is because I thought if I went to hairdressing school and there was a really good one near me, I would definitely be outed as being gay because hairdressing was such a girly thing to do. And I thought acting at college,

hairdressing college would have been all girls and me and acting was kind of quite a split because a lot of guys wanted to act back then. So that's why I came to it a bit later. I think as well. That's interesting. And did you worry about coming out? Yeah.

Oh my God, it was like my biggest fear. And it was awful. I remember like as being quite a young child and not having any role models that were accepted or, you know, no outed sort of public person really. Yeah. And feeling quite isolated and quite like, you know, not really having anyone to sort of look up to.

So it's quite a lonely experience growing up in those days anyway. in those days in the sun, so old now. Right, I'm going to let her off. Come on, Will. Good girl. That's my dog voice. Hello.

Let's hear it again. Do your dog voice, George. Good girl. Hey, good girl. You sound a bit like, sort of, you sound like Scottish. I know, well, the dogs. I always said good boy for Rex, and good girl didn't say the same.

And the dog trainer says it like this. She goes, good girl. She says, gyrl. So I've just kind of copied it because she responds to it because the dog trainer, Willow, good girl. Now she'll ignore me because she's in a park. She'll ignore you?

Hey! Because she's thinking, why's Nicholas Sturgeon taking me for a walk? Willow. And I was with lovely George Northwood. Hairdresser to the Duchess of Sussex, thank you very much. You won't talk about it, but I do. That's going to be the catchphrase now. That's going to be the catchphrase.

Oh, Willow, you're doing a poo. Good girl! No, that's a week. That's a good girl! Now she'll jump up, you can get mother new. I'm so sorry. George, do you know, as soon as I got a dog, it took me a week, and it was the most liberating thing to stop caring about my...

Yeah, you don't, you cooker. And I'm afraid, I'm not going to lie, George Smell as well. Yeah, you don't. I have lowered my standards on the hygiene front. Oh, look at this one. Oh, look, this is sausage dog. Oh, what a cute dog. What's your dog called?

Tiger. Tiger? Hello, Tiger. Hello, darling. Oh, no, Willow. It's okay, Tyger. No, rightly so she shouldn't be jumping up. I quite like that type is.

Good, good, good, good. She shouldn't, I'm trying to stop her from jumping up. Do you know, Tiger's a great little guard dog? It's the small. smallest dog of all making the most noise. Try and jump up at my guys and I'll put you. Look, she's so... Oh, look, tiger's so noisy.

It was such little legs. I always think people might say that about me. So you were talking interestingly, before we met all those dogs, just about, yeah, that whole thing of coming out. I hadn't thought that. So it wasn't like you had... Were your parents, you know,

were you sufficiently close with them? Or did you sort of think, well, I'm going to have to tell them now? Or do you feel they knew? I think they kind of had... had an inkling. Yeah. But I didn't tell them so I was 21.

And the first time I remember my brother, my mother got to know a gay man was when Brian went in the Big Brother house. And it was the first gay man she'd ever connected to. And I remember thinking, thank God. Really? Because that's, but that, if you think, like, Big Brother's a reality show. So it gave people up and down the country that had never kind of seen. And it's just around, until you've been a.

around a gay person and you realize, oh, they're harmless, they're like us, they're usually quite funny, whatever, you know, like a shop. I'm not going to go down a stereotype role now, but I'm just saying that, you know, like there's lots of, you know, I think until you, on reality, some of these reality shows, I think it kind of showed people a more, a more diverse type person because you kind of live in your city or your town with your friends and you do the same things and no one's gay or no one's like different and it's all just very... Oh, here's our friend again, George. Oh, look.

This is like the bloat you meet at day one of university, and he doesn't leave you alone. Willow's the slightly kind of up herself, kind of quite snooty. Willow came from boarding school, and this is a bit of a culture shop for her. Yeah, but she's quite into it. She likes kind of mixing.

So? So, yeah. Yeah, so that's really, and your dad, when you remember telling your parents. I remember coming, I remember driving down the M4 from Bristol the whole way, and I had like, it's like a godson to me, Emilio was in the car with me and I drove all the way down to Luton

and I remember every mile of the journey kind of counting down because I knew I was going to just drive back because I left London to, I left Luton to move to Bristol to kind of come out so I had to sort of come out away from home,

get my confidence together, then go back and say, this is me, this is who I am. And you weren't hairdressing by that point, I started to learn to hairdress in Bristol. So I moved to Bristol I was in catering at this stage, like hotel management. Yeah.

And I left Loughton to move to Bristol to come out, and I came out in a big way. And you remember the journey there? And what was it like when you told them? They were good. I think my mum cried. I think my dad just stared very. Dad went quiet and I was like, I remember that silence waiting for him to say something, felt like an eternity.

But they were cool. I mean, they always have been. I mean, it's just, you know, they've always. been they've been great ever since no no problems i mean they've just really and i think you know like we said about the the big brother thing i think there's now so many people you know there's such a diverse set of people on the tv now and in life that you know it just it's just the norm now isn't it really i think i don't know well yeah and i think also but i have this theory that i think people that come out, I think they're, I think it was Noel Fielding, you know, as in the comic and the

might as much guy. He said, he once said, I think gay people, it's like they're superheroes. He said, because they have to do something that no straight person will ever have to do. Yeah. Which is basically make this very personal announcement. I always think, though, there's something about that makes you quite authentic as a person. Because if you've had to do that, there's no lying. There's no point in lying about anything there. No, exactly.

Yeah, I think you're right. Yeah, definitely. You go through so much that it's character building and also... Oh, is the sausage? Also, this kind of like, you know, I was so... You grow up feeling shame and there's a lot of books on this. It's like, you know, to grow up and feel quite ashamed of who you are or, you know, a sense of shame can be quite damaging.

Yeah. And I've had to have thought therapy to help me kind of unravel all of that sort of stuff. Yeah. Just holding it when you were younger, you mean, about not being able to talk to anyone thinking, why am I different? Leading a double life. Like, from such a young age, having to pretend to be something you're not. Like, from a very young age...

Do you intend to have girlfriends or fancy girls? Not really, no. I think I had a couple of fake ones just to kind of like... I would have been your fake girlfriend. I'd have loved that, George. I'd be really happy. Exactly. I've got to be even fake marriage.

But also, because I was so determined to not fail and make my parents proud of me that I think, or be just people, proud of me as well. I had this real drive to be really successful. From a business point of view and with your hair, everything. So that's why I wanted to be an actor. You know, I wanted to be, you know, I knew whatever I wanted to do. I wanted to be kind of a big success. And that came from feeling quite inadequate and lonely and isolated. And, you know, so a lot of good comes from that, but it was tough at the time. I bet. And did you, I mean, one thing, so around the

this time you mentioned your nan and how you'd grown up with this perm lotion and this you'd played salons and then the change happened and you thought right i'm going to be a hairdresser um and do you remember that sort of moment and feeling that and how yes yeah i just i was in bristol i was managing a bar and a restaurant i was like food and beverage manager of this huge hotel um you know very again hugely successful but in hotel management which is what i didn't want to do and I just thought I'm really bored. This is not creative. I want you to be an actor.

And now I'm doing hotel management, which is just boring for me. And it's a great industry if you want to do that. But I just, and one of the girls working in the bar that I was managing, lectured hairdressing at college. And I just had this light bulb moment. It's the same as when I decided to open my own salon. I just kind of woke up and thought, because you spend ages in turmoil thinking you get to this point in life where something's not right. Something's not, you know, and you're kind of going over something, you're in turmoil. And all of a sudden it was just, I remember you're, it's weird that you brought that out

because I remember this moment of just thinking, well, of course I'm just going to do hairdressing. That's what you always wanted to do. That was the original thing. I just didn't do it because I didn't want to be able to being gay. And the same as I woke up one morning and I thought, I just need to open my own salon. That's why I need to do. That's why I'm feeling blocked. I'm feeling, you know, it's kind of.

But a lot of people have those moments, George, but they're too frightened. to act on them and... Yeah, I've never been that person. I don't want to get... Someone told me something about a survey of people towards the end of their lives and sort of always saying they wish they'd

taken more risks or... So I always think now and even though my job means I travel a lot, I'm away from home, away from loved ones, I'm seeing the world, I always think when I'm kind of like, I just want to be at home or

I'm out of my comfort zone, I always just think you're not going to regret this when you're old. Yeah. And I just do every, I always kind of take the risk or take myself out so on my comfort zone because I don't want any regrets. Well, it's the door not opened, isn't it? Yeah. There's a G.S. Eliot poem, which is great about that. And it's, it says something like footfalls echo down the lane and it's the memory of the door not opened. And it's that thing of like, oh, God, I mean, sometimes the door should stay shouts. Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. there are those swings, for example, in my case.

I'll keep that door closed. So, does you have a poo bag? Yeah. Yeah, go for it. I'm getting through them today. She's been three times. No, that's all right. I'd give you another one, but I'm down to the last one. You know, the staff is the woman. What's your tattoo there on your eyes?

That's a Sri Lankan Tamil om, the prayer. Oh, that's nice. When did you get that? I got that years ago, actually. I got it years ago. I was just, I was just drawn to it and Since I've learned that it's a Tamil prom. It's like a prayer. So I actually didn't even know what it was when I had it.

Well, that's a relief, George. I know. Imagine if you'd have learned it would be something like... You absolute wanker or something. Yeah, toss pot. Yeah. Who says that anymore? But yeah, I'm trying to say...

Tell me with the hairdressing. You worked in a she-she salon in London. Yeah, well, I started working in McQueen's in Bristol. I started there, and I loved it, and I kind of took over this salon. I was kind of like, you know, hot, you know, hot new hairdresser in town. And after a couple of years, I went to Micronos on holiday. I met a really good friend of mine cat, and I decided I was going to move to London in a second. That was another light bulb moment.

I was like, of course I need to just be in London. Because now I'd found my career. So that's when I just kind of decided I moved to London on my 25th birthday. And did you? And I started working at Hersherson two days later on the 12th of November, being 25. And you started doing Alexa Jones here. Shortly after actually. And you got on with her, did you?

When you met her, did you cut? What happened? Did she just come into the salon and say, I'm a TV presenter, I'm getting my hair cut. I know, no. It's even earlier than that. It's such a great, it's great, really. She came in as a model because Hershison,

the salon's working at called Hershom was doing the, had this deal where they did all these models for free because, you know, they're just starting out and all the rest of it, so you had this deal. She came in, she was a model, she wasn't in even a TV presenter then, she was just a, you know, a model doing some ad campaigns, not well known, you know, a bit of a face, always gorgeous. And she came in and on the first haircut, she said, you're going to cut my hair forever.

Yeah. And we just instantly connected and she just kept coming in. And then one day she came in and she said, oh, I've got this kind of interview coming up for T4. It's like this thing. And I just said, you're going to get it and you're going to be big. And it's just this kind of like, we've been there for each other at this kind of from the very start. And I think she kind of, she's been there for me and she kind of knew I was going to be a success and she held on to me. And likewise, I held on to her.

Wouldn't it have been awkward if one of you hadn't been success? Imagine if you'd have gone on. You said, well, listen, I've fulfilled my part of the bargain. I have been a success in overmind. What about you, love? You're still working in that shop? Did she? No, it just kind of happened so organically.

And then she got the T4 thing and then she got this company magazine cover. Yeah, I've seen this one's so cute. That's like my little Rexy. Oh, we love Frenchie so much. Oh, we need to talk about Rexy because... Absolutely. And also I want to just say,

I just want to tell people to be very careful about getting French. About buying dogs. Buying dogs in general. Well, we can talk about that now and we can come back to Alexa, because as we have got, is this a French ball dog in front of us? I feel like that is the young,

the guy that was. the younger guy on that dance group that won Britain's so do I it is what's that dance group diversity diversity and he's now fully yes it is and they go to the third space gym and him and always had a huge crush on the guy that oh well come on then oh no you've got a partner oh no it didn't work tell me about Rex we're going to go back to Alex right okay Rex I wanted a dog I actually had a bit of a broken heart I think which is like you know you're split up with someone.

I split up with someone. I was going through a bit of a bad breakup and this was quite a few years ago. And I just kind of think I wanted something to sort of love and to love me back. And actually it wasn't a dog just for Christmas. It was a dog for life because I'm now a complete dog lover and I'll always have dogs. And, you know, what's great about dogs is they're always there. They're always happy to see you. No judgment.

It's work. It's work. You know, it gets you out every day walking. I've met some great friends through having a dog. But Rex, yes. I actually took a really, this is the thing, I did take a recommendation off a friend of a breeder that had a dog from them.

But I went, I drove down on Boxing Day to Essex to get this from this special bulldog breeder. And I picked up Rex and... Was he a French bulldog, Rex? He was a French bulldog. He was exceptionally cute, but riddled with health problems. Was he? Bear in mind with Rex, he was on so many meds.

I had to take on a full-time assistant to look after him because he could not be left alone really. Yeah, yeah. I was completely committed. I mean, the vet had said to me about six months to a year before he died, you should consider euthanasia. And I just couldn't deal with that. Like, you know, but I had to home-cook food.

He had to hand-feed him three times a day. Every time he ate, you had to kind of hold him up to let his food go down. He couldn't get exert himself in the park. He just had to sit at home all day. So you knew he was sort of not going to have long? Kind of. I think in my head I wanted him to sort of live to five. I don't know why I had this thing in my head.

I'm not a quitter and I don't want to fail at anything. And I think I was just so determined maybe to the point where maybe I should have, you know, considered having him put to sleep earlier than I did. But the love that you have for them is just so unconditional. Like it wasn't even in my, and we kept him as comfortable as we could. Was it hot? So you had to. I went to Ibitha for my 40th and my mum called me and she said,

Rex can't walk. And his back legs just went. He had like a slipped disc, but they couldn't operate because he was just wouldn't come around from the surgery. So we had to have him put down. I mean, I was in Ibitha. My poor mum had to do it. Oh, Willow. Oh, Willow.

You've got it all over. You're all just nice things. I don't, well. I mean, that is quite bad, Willow. No, she's just. Go and play. Go on play with the dogs. Go on.

She wants to be with the grownups. Where's your boy? You want to be with the grownups. Oh, I've got something to play with. Yeah, go on. Willow, what's this? You must have been. devastated though that was I was

heartbroken I would have cried so much sure I was in I mean I was going to come back from my Bitha and my friends that were there with me for my 40th were like oh god look how my dee is they were like no you can't you've got to stay there's no point my mum was like don't come back there's no point in coming back so yeah it was

heartbreaking and I swore that I would only rescue dogs from now on because breeding was such and I registered with Mayhew and Batsy Dogs home and then just bizarrely someone I knew had got this Whippet and just sort of said like I think there's one more left and for some reason I don't know I feel dogs find you I do and I would have I would have rescued a dog and that's what I was going to do

but when I thought about it I thought I whipits was such a healthy breed I've heard I did all my research this time and also because I travel so much and literally I got her and I think I went travelling on a big tour like a month or two later had that been a rescue, that probably would have got a separation anxiety, because they're kind of scarred. And so I convinced myself that I was doing the right thing by getting a dog that I had been bred, especially, because from a young age then I could kind of, that would be her norm.

Daddy goes away, she goes and stays at friends or the doggie daycare or whatever and boards. Because it's like dogs just adjust, don't there? And that's the thing, you're right. But not rescue. If you're going to get a rescue, you've just got to be, and I will get a rescue, I want to get one next time. As a single parent, I've got a boyfriend, but, you know, I live on my own at the moment. And to have a second dog would be, I don't know, I don't want a second dog on my own at the moment.

If I live with someone, yeah. I think so. I think that's the thing. You've got to make sure it's right because you can bring another into the equation. And I travel. Yeah. So I think if you're going to rescue a dog, I think you've just got to be able to, you've got to have quite a stable life. You can't then go off travelling straight away and oh my god.

There's a little, oh it's okay sweetly. Willow. Well, Willow. Little Dutch out there in a little high-vis jacket which is the most adorable thing. Is that another? What's that? Is that great hand to whip it? I think that's actually a whip it.

Oh it's beautiful. Hello darling. Willow get down because come on. Georgia's got I'd call it luxury leisure wear on. Well, this is my dog walking stuff. I'll be wearing that with Rosie Huntington Whiteley. Oh, gosh. You started, we'll go back to that.

So Alexa, we've talked about it. And then that, I feel around that time was when I started hearing about you. And you get that ridiculous thing. And I know you don't take it seriously, but it is. It's sort of the hairdresser that everyone talks about. And it's like, he does Alexa Chung's hair. He does Rosie Huntington Whiteley's here. And Rosie, by the way, was another model that was coming in exactly the same as Alexa.

I met them as models just starting out. And Rosie moved to New York and blew up as a model and Alexa, and then now an entrepreneur. And Alexa model, TV presenter, again, entrepreneur. And did you notice your appointment book was suddenly, it was getting pretty impossible for people to get in with you? Yes. Do you remember when Sarah Vine had a column in the Saturday Times magazine? It's going back a long time ago. Yes.

Is Sarah Vine the one married to Michael Goh? Yes. Now, she used to have a column in the Saturday Times. And I have to say... She's a journalist, everyone. She wrote this article. She's a journalist that, yeah, used to have a column in the Saturday Times, a beauty column. And she has very fine hair. And she came in and I did her hair and she wrote this piece about me being able to manage fine hair and then doing Alexa. And yeah. And she mentioned Alexa and stuff.

Yeah. And then other, you know, newbie hands wrote this piece in Harper's Bazaar. And all of a sudden, people wanted to write about me. And the phones went crazy and I was stacked. I was doing 18. clients a day at Hershison on a Saturday. And it was all these girls coming in that just wanted to look like Alexa. Did they? It was this kind of conveyor about. And what was it called her hair? It was sort of a messy bob that you gave her.

Yeah, it was like a messy, it was a messy bob. It was interesting because I think your look, which is that sort of chic undone look, I suppose you'd call it. I would say it was a reaction. It felt like a breath of fresh air after we had had, and they'd be the first to admit this, but the sort of girls allowed slightly behind. heavy, sort of big hair stuff? Yes, yeah.

Well, I think people have said, and I kind of do see it, that it was the first kind of cut since the Rachel that was a real cut and a thing. Because the Rachel cut was that long layered cut, and it was very feminine and long. And then all of a sudden, it was this kind of, it was actually quite a short haircut, and it was okay again for girls to have short hair.

And it was short, it was a bob, but it was feminine, because bobs had become quite dated, no one wanted a bob and everyone just wanted long Rachel hair and then everyone just wanted long boho hair and then all of a sudden it was like yeah you can have a cut and we're almost having it a bit again now with kaya gerber who's kind of got a bit of a bob that you know but she's not as you know i just think but your name became i remember and it still happens now if i'm ever doing something and i'm having my picture taken or something like that or someone's doing my hair and makeup and they go oh how do you want your hand i go a bit sort of georgian or offwood and they go oh okay that's so

I mean that, I'm just so, I'm so impressed with that. It's harder to look undone than it is to look done, actually, to get it right. Because almost if it was a case of just being undone, I'd have done myself out of a job and a whole career. But actually, I've managed to carve a whole movement out of a cut that's now become such a thing. Yeah. And people don't even realise that's the thing. They'll have it filters down. You know, there's that thing that I can remember coming into your salon and you cut my hair for me the first time.

and I was like, oh my God, I can't go. It was a bit, it was my Alexa. I can't go to any other salon. Thank you for non. Thank you for being such a great supportive client of the brand. I mean, it's incredible. I see because you let my dog in, George. Sitting in front of a hairdresser,

especially one who does Alexa Chung's hair and Rosie Huntington Whiteley and I've heard he cuts with Paltrow's hair. And this was pre-Duchess of Suffolix, can I say. But I knew you were associated with all, and you've flown to LA and all these people and Lisi of a candor. And so I felt slightly nervous because I thought, is it going to be like going in one of those LA hairdresses? You were so gentle and reassuring and friendly.

And you said to me, I sat down and you said, OK, I think we should go for French. I think you'd look very good if we make you look French. And I thought, yeah, that's exactly what I want to look. It was really weird when you said that. You said, I think you look great French. And I've always wanted to look French. And I just felt, I think I was going through a really rough time.

And that's what I find interesting is I'd gone through bereavements, I'd lost my sister and both my parents, I'd at end of the relationship. And it really was so powerful to me, that haircut. It really was, oddly, because I felt it was a slight rebirth. And I wanted to ask you about that, because I presume you get that a lot, that someone's in quite an emotional frame of mind when they come to you. Yeah, very much. And I'm very, because of growing up and feeling, you know, very emotional about my sexuality

and feeling quite a lot of feelings from such a young. young age. Instead of just like going out to play, I'd be very much in my head and very sad or I would think about, I was just from a very early age having to think a lot. And I really sense that in people. And also being an outcast when you're young as well, I've got a real, you know, I don't want, when the people come to the salon, I don't want to feel intimidated. The salon is not an intimidating space. And if it was, I feel it would be a hypocrite to my childhood because, you know, I felt like I didn't fit in. I remember going into salons and feeling so embarrassed to go into a salon and

I went and had some highlights. And I thought, I'm a guy and I'm going into a lot. I feel so embarrassed. Guys don't do this. And so I've kind of completely, one of my biggest missions was to make the salon a very non-contentious place, not judgmental at all and very embracing. And when people, that's why I love hairdressing is that I can sense how someone is feeling. Can you? So you're quite an empath then? Yeah and my yeah my level I've got like emotional

intelligence about me and I'm just kind of very in tune and I know how much a haircut can mean to someone and the importance of good haircut and what a moment that can be and that's the greatest thing with being a hairdresser is when you can make someone feel how I made you feel that time. Because I read George that apparently there was there were all these extraordinary things. It was something like over half of British women tell their hairdressers things they would never tell even their best friend. Well, that's actually why I've got a podcast and that's why I did it is because the stuff that happens between a hairdresser, that's why I thought it would be a good concept is because the stuff that you talk about, it's the same as the stuff you're talking about walking a dog. It's that kind of like, yeah, I mean, you know, people, I'm a confidant to a lot of my clients. And, you know, like I think a lot of people want me around, like we're saying early before,

is because I think people feel they can trust me and they feel that, you know, yeah. But do you have people? What have you had? I've had a client having, you know, telling me about this. She was coming to London to have an affair and I was like all aware of this and just. Oh, George, you said you weren't going to tell anyone. about that I told you that incompetent. So what do you do then?

Do you have to say, look, I don't, do they ask your advice? No, no, no. It's very hard to give advice and not be kind of judgment, not to kind of drip in your own, I don't know, do you know what I mean? Your own experiences, yeah, I tend to kind of just let people, if they want to talk to me, they can talk to me, but I tend to not really offer too much advice because the advice is always, that's a difference between, obviously a friend I would

but you know, clients. But you probably end up finding out stuff before other people. Like people will probably say, well, I haven't told anyone yet but I'm pregnant or I haven't told anyone yet. Yeah, but I just keep, I've just got this ability of, I just keep everything to myself. I'm not really a, you know, it's like we were saying about the Royal Wedding.

It's just, you know, I just have this, you know, I've just had like the American Vo cover come out with Stella and that's been another kind of moment of like, for me, that was a real moment for me, is doing a cover for American Vogue and keeping that I just wanted it. But I just kind of, I'm just quite, so much great stuff has happened

and I've always just had to kind of just keep my mouth shut. I've just kind of become, that's kind of become the norm. I don't know. And so I think there's a trust thing with a hairdresser and it's about, you're placing your trust in them. Come on.

You must have had moments. Give me a second. Even when you do a brilliant job. Yeah. Or even if it's not you, in your salon, there must be, there comes a moment that you've got no control over when, for example, someone wants their hair to look a certain way because they've had it a certain way for 20 years.

And human beings react oddly to change sometimes. Oh, my God, yeah. And do you ever have people thinking, like crying or, I mean, it doesn't go on much in your salon, we should say. A few times I've had, you know, I've kind of either, not done what they've expected. It always comes down to a lack of communication. The thing is with a hairdresser,

the client that sits down has got a mental image in their mind of what they want to look like, and you've got to try and get that same image in your head. Now, they can bring in a picture, and then you really are on the same page. Even though as a hairdresser, you can still interpret a picture slightly differently because you're cutting it wet and then it ends up shorter than it should be and all the rest of it.

But a lot of the time, on the few occasions I've had someone in tears, it's not really been about the haircut. It's been about something else. And that's why I've always, if someone's going through personal conflict at the moment... Do you say don't cut your hair too much? Well, I don't ever cut. Like, I won't do anything drastic before a wedding.

I wouldn't do? If someone said, I've just broken up with someone. Sometimes someone needs a breakup haircut, but I'm quite good at... I know a good breakup haircut. If a girl comes in and says, cut all my hair off, I've just split up with my boyfriend. I probably wouldn't.

I would kind of say, let's do a sexy bar rather than a crop. I'm quite good at... I love a good breakup haircut. Yeah. You know, because the thing is, I know that if someone's come in and they've gone through a breakup, they need to feel empowered. They need to feel good about themselves.

You need to feel empowered. You don't want to look like her in the army. You know, you were going through difficult time when I first did your hair. You know, I know that a fringe, for example, there's nothing... It's a really big change, but it's not actually cutting all your hair off. No.

So it's a change and it will make you feel great, but it's not traumatic. No. With a cut, which is very much what your hair is, a return to the cut rather than the focus on a sort of a blow dry, if you like, just a massive hair that gets, you know, I think you feel, I felt more ordered. Do you know what I mean?

I felt more sort of... But that's all very calculated. It's all very like, I really think about, you know, and I've grown up with a lot of, like most of my friends when I was young were girls because, you know, I felt more comfortable with girls than boys because, you know, Is that still the case? Yeah, I would say definitely, yeah, I definitely. But then, I mean, obviously, I do do men's hair as well.

Yeah. You do? I'm very in touch with my feminine side, and I kind of understand women very well. And men, do you think that's changing? You know, that it's traditionally more of a female. I hope I'm not being old-fashioned in suggesting that, but you have predominantly, it's women that come into the salon,

and is that changing? A man? Totally. I mean, the male beauty industry and grooming industry is growing at a faster rate now than women's because obviously there's more place to go with it. But no, nowadays, I just think it's very, that's what I love about the world that we live in now is that, you know, men take as much care of themselves and want to try new things with hair and as much as women do.

And they're proud of that. There's no stigma attached to that. I mean, I know I live in London, so it's more liberal than may. I'll be other cities or towns in the UK. But, yeah, and I love that. Men want to have their hair cut by another man, a gay man or whatever, and, you know, just hang out with them. I would only let a gay man cut my hair.

I would never let a straight man near my hair. For a woman, yeah, but for a man that might have not all been the case. For a heterosexual man, now the heterosexual men, they want to hang out with gay men, they want to go out with gay men. They don't care, they want to hug them. They want to, like, you know, that's what I love about now, and it's just, you know. And, George, I have a question to ask.

Go on. Did your nan, did she live to see you be successful? And she lived to see. She saw me go into hairdressing. Good. I wish, Willow, come on. I would have loved my nan and all my grandparents. Oh, I think that's a visler.

Is it a visler? I'm not sure. What is that? Willie. Oh, beautiful. Do you know, like... Do you wish your nan had seen you open the salon? I think she did.

Kind of the royal wedding that had been really. You know, because that generation, royalty, you know, I love royalty. I mean, I'm such a royalist anyway. I'm a meganist. I'm a meganist. I'm a meganist. I can't. Well, you know, yeah.

He can't talk about it. But, you know, it's just I, I know my grandmother would have been so, like, you know. But they know, they all know. She does know. And your mum, we should say George's mom, it's a real family business because Sally, George's sister, is. colourist. A brilliant colourist. Amazing colourist. She likes my dog grey. Oh my god she's dog obsessed. She's having Willow. I'm going to Mexico for New Year and she's having Willough. Do you know why? Because I was in the salon the other day and this very smart, glamorous woman sat down next to me.

And then Sally came over and said, well look, I've got to organise Willow. And I thought, oh, it's Mama Northwood. So Mama Northwood comes in to get her hair done, doesn't she? She comes in, she brings in shortbread every... And she makes shortbread weekly and brings it in to serve with the coffee. And she's done it since day one. She delivers shortbread and clients have got savvy to it. And they book their appointment midweek because they know the shortbread gets delivered. Because it runs out by the weekend.

And then she's just baked. She always makes Christmas cakes this time of year. And you get a little bit of Christmas cake with your tea and coffee. But it's got that family thing. It doesn't feel like, you know, people talk about hairdressing. It's so funny and think of it as a sort of, I don't know. I think some people have this idea. Deer of it as sort of fashion, bitchy, fast.

Do you know what you mean? Drug, all that stuff. And it's like, that's not you at all. No, it's very wholesome, the salon. Yeah. Yeah, and I think, do you know what I really set out to do? Another thing with the salon is that salons had become, there weren't really many cool salons.

So I wanted to make salons cool again because hairdressers, I'm not saying I did, but that's what I kind of, all the hairdressers I knew, wanted to go on photo shoots and they wanted to, they didn't want to be in a salon. All of a sudden, like, you know, those salons that, you know, when I was young, that my mum would talk about, like your John Frieders, your Nicky Clarks, they were of a time. And then it got to this stage now where all of a sudden everyone just wanted to be on photo shoots and doing the cool stuff.

And it's like, why can't a salon be cool? You know, the whole thing about being a celebrity hairdresser was just so not really that cool. But then celebrities have got cool and Alexa's cool. And so it was just kind of, I just wanted to create a space. that was people were happy to be there because it was, you know, modern and it kind of, you know, a modern day super salon, you know, where women travelled from all over the country to come and wanting to look a certain way and wanted to look modern and, yeah. But it's work as well, you know, it takes, there's a business and that's the thing is that I realise it's not just sitting there cutting Kim Kardashian's, oh, are you style, didn't you do Kim Kardashian's hair? who was lovely, I have to say.

What did you do for her? Didn't you say, did you take it down a bit? We did what I did. We did just a bit of a messy wave, a beachy kind of wave. She was going to the GQ Men of the Year Awards. And yeah, it was a real, yeah, I was really touched to do it actually. And I'd do it again. But I just...

And what do you do in a moment like that? Do you look at her and look at what she's wearing and make a decision based on that as well? Yes, but a lot of people, that's what's really great now is that when people book me, they kind of know what they want. Because you book George, you want to look like a George North. Do you know what I mean? You want a George Northwood styles.

Because Claudia Winkelman goes to you as well. I love Claudia. She was in last week. She's got very good hair. She's got a hair campaign now. So are you going to launch, isn't that the next thing, the George Northwood like shampoo and conditioner and hairspray? Yeah, I think that's next.

I mean, you know, it's early days. And I've always, I kind of took me five years to get my head around the salon and to get that into a really kind of strong place. But yeah, I don't do anything until, you know, I was open six months and I had like people coming to me asking me to develop a range and all the rest of it. And I was just did, I just wanted to get the salon running properly. And I didn't want to do anything too soon.

But the salon now runs like clockwork. I've got really great team. in place. It's such a lovely place. I mean, it needs constant. And we should say if you want to go there, it's so beautiful and it's very laid back. Please come. Because I come wearing my slippers and I bring, and it's dog friendly. I was going to ask you, also, Georgia's love life. You had a heartbreak, but now you've got someone, haven't you? Yeah, I met someone in January. I mean, it's early days, but it's all really good. We met in January in New York. I did a pop-up at Moda in New York. and I went out on the last night

the girls from Modra of Brandi were like she's seen a squirrel. They were like we're taking you out, we're taking you out so we went to Chinatown and ended up in some gay bar in Chelsea I think I've forgotten what it's called and you met a nice man. What does he do? What does he do? He's based in L.A., so it's

a long distance thing. What does he do? He's a singer and creative and kind of lived in New York for seven years and I bet he's handsome. Curated these kind of nights and these galleries and exhibitions, like very arty. And, yeah, we met and I, what happens?

I then, he then moved to L.A. I then went to L.A. in June. Yeah, so I spent summer in L.A. in August, which was nice. Lovely. Yeah. And then he came here for a bit. I'm going to Mexico in the new year and then I'm going to go to L.A. in January. So yeah, it's good. It's long distance. Do you cut us here? No. Not yet. You see, if I was going up with George Northwood, I'm afraid that would be a deal breaker. I'd be straight up, look.

He hasn't. I think maybe it's just like, I did say that, I don't know, just in the past, I don't know, he wears it extremely short with a really good fade at the sides. And so I just, I'm just too. With a really good fade. Yeah. What's that?

Is that like a buzz cut thing? Yeah, really short, really. With a fade? Yeah, yeah. But no, no, life's good. It's nice. It's nice to sort of. of be dating and it's like, you know, it's, you know, early days.

So we'll just see how it goes. It's good. I wanted to ask you something, George. You said you'd had therapy and stuff. Yes. So do you... Ask anything. I'm very open. I know you are. Do you, are you a cryer? Do you cry? Yes. When do you cry? I cry when someone leaves a soap opera. If I'm watching a soap opera. Oh my God, I just watched Marriage Story on Netflix and I

cried loads. Isn't it amazing? It's incredible. I cry. I cry... I cried. I mean, I love Adam Dryden. Yeah, yeah. I cried... I think I cried on Sunday just for a little bit. I cried because it's a release. Yeah. I think I just felt a bit on my own on Sunday.

It was a Sunday day and I was like, oh, I'm here in London. I know, like, my man's in L.A., but I was like, had a moment of just feeling a bit. I don't know. I think just sometimes I just think you just got to let it out and then you just feel better. Are you quite a happy person generally? Yeah, because. You get depressed ever? No, really.

I've learned to sort of manage all of that. I kind of just kind of, I think I talk about my feelings. half the problem. Do you? You're renowned. You're well known for being quite a gentle natured, sweet, calm person. When do you have, how do you maintain sort of discipline at the salon and do you have boundaries and lay the law down? How do you do that? Are you good at saying no? Yeah, I've learned to be, I've learned to be, I've just, I've learned to be very authentic with who I am. And if something doesn't sit right with me anymore, if I don't want to do anything I don't want to do, I don't do it. And I say no, if something doesn't feel right. I've got a great,

around me now of people that really get me and have the same goal and the same vision. And, you know, and also think the yoga and the meditation and the self-care and eating well and having a dog and all of that sort of plays into it, you know, I'm very big on self-care, meditation, Buddhism, all of that stuff, you know, I've had a lot of experience with and that's all helped. And I've kind of learned that my thoughts aren't real and my thoughts come and go and if I'm feeling a bit down, I kind of feel that. let it pass and you know it's just life's not easy is it life is ups and downs and you've just got to

kind of kind of go with it and what makes you angry when do you lose it makes me angry like the things in the salon i get angry at very small things when i'm tired and overworked or just not had enough i need to be on my i need time alone i need quiet time that's probably why i got upset i like george we're nearly finishing no you know like you know i said sunday i probably like i had a moment to myself and i probably I felt a bit emotional. That's just because I'd been on the go all last week, and I was working Friday, and then I, on Saturday, I had this big lunch with, like, 30 friends that went on, like, all day into the evening.

And Sunday arrives, and it's like, I'm quite an introverted person. Are you? I need a lot of time on my own. That's the way you get your energy. That's how I get my energy. I need me, to me and Willow, and I need a day where I don't speak, like, yesterday, I didn't speak to anyone. And I spoke to probably one of my best friends for about 45 minutes,

but if I don't get that I go crazy if I don't have time on my own just quiet time and yeah you probably get this because of all the stuff that you do if I don't have that quiet time I go crazy and I fly off the handle at something very small and I know I just need to be in shut the door, do my yoga

just me time do you know what I think is you're very much a people person and you're a chatty person I get invited to things because people want me around and it's lovely and I you know I am that but you know I'm doing that all day with my job I'm sociable. I'm uplifting. I'm happy go lucky. I'm like, you know, I'm just like, you know, and I'm, so I just, I find that my real social life, because a lot of the stuff I do socially is still work social stuff. Yeah.

But my real social life, and when it's the real me, that's not being career George, it's just being George. It's such a great name, George, by the way. I hated it when I was young. It's so fashionable now, isn't it? It's now, but when I was young, I was the only young person called George, because everyone's granddad was called George. I want to be called Matthew. Because loads of guys. Because when you're young, the thing is, I knew I was gay, so I knew it was different. I had this fucking name that no one knew.

So, like, there was nothing about me that was, like, normal. And now I love that. Now I'm like, but the real me, not the real me, because the work George, the George Northwood hairdress, the salon owner, simply headdress, whatever, is, but when it's, I'm not being that person. It's my social life. Yeah. I like really simple things.

Like, I like to go to a. a bar and when it's quiet and just chat to a quiet with no noise. My real downtime is very pure and simple and it's just basic because there's so much fabulous stuff going on the rest of the time. And that becomes your work in a way. It's like I say to people, you know what's interesting with weddings is that, let's say, I don't know, supermodels or people who actresses a lot of the time, they do very paired down weddings.

That's like if I'm going on holiday, because I spend so much time on work, travels and we'll stay in a hotel with a gym and room service which is all lovely but my holiday like in Mexico I'm staying on a shack on the beach because when I'm at work I stay in a hotel so the idea of staying in a hotel with a gym is like for me that's like work I love it we sound so my hotel hell I mean it was a nightmare nice bar hell I'm very I know you are well you're very hey I wanted to ask you George as well do you when you see people do you find yourself on the street thinking Oh, just cut that bit there.

Just, what you need to do is just move. No. Do you not? When I'm not working, I'm not really even looking at hair. I'm looking at dogs, not hair. Which way are you, George? I'm up that way. Oh, George, give us a hug.

I've loved our walk. Can I give Willow a kiss? Of course you can. Willow! Is this a bit embarrassing that I'm begging a dog for a kiss in the street? Oh yeah, she's just, she's mad. I really hope you enjoyed listening to that, and do remember to rate, review and subscribe on iTunes.