From concept to existence! An interview with Jack Robinson Pullen
How did the MBA begin?
Well, back in 2012 I had a friend ask me to teach him how to cut hair and although I had worked with apprentices before, In my mind I wasn't anywhere near good enough to teach someone from scratch. Educating had always been a job for the more senior members of staff in the shops I had worked in and at 20 years old I didn't think it could do it. Over the coming months I had more and more enquiries and I soon started to realise that maybe it was something I could do. After 2 years of studying, market research and planning, The Mobile Barbering Academy was formed. Through a passion for the industry and a realisation that education in men's hairdressing wasn't good enough across the board I decided to try and make a difference. So here we are a year and a half down the line, with over 30 salons and 250 students on our courses over the last year., It seems to be working.
What was your background in the industry?
I started working in a Unisex salon in Milton Keynes when I was 13 years old and soon found a passion for cutting hair. I did enjoy colouring and blow drying but for me there is nothing that compares to the buzz you cut from achieving that 'perfect' haircut. Due to this I saw myself drift into barbering, when I was 16, where the focus is predominantly on cutting. I found a flair in creating patterns and soon started to develop a client base, working alongside some great barbers who helped mould me into the professional I am today. Over the years, the understanding I had in ladies hairdressing helped me to develop my men's work and develop a unique style of cutting which seemed to go down well where I was. I started entering competitions and attending trade shows which helped helped me grow in other aspects of the industry. I now work and represent numerous companies including The BBA and Scissorhands UK as an educator and platform artist.
Why was there a need for MBA?
Over the years I worked in different types of salons and barbershops; traditional, unisex, modern, even afro – caribbean and found that the techniques and skills were so diverse and education was received in different ways, due to this, each type of shop had pros and cons.
In my opinion,
I found that in Unisex hair salons, the theoretical understanding of hair science was far superior due to the fact that the majority of stylists were put through a college system. The professionalism and reputation of these types of salons was bigger, they tended to charge more for their services and spend longer doing the cuts therefore being able to offer a 'better' service however the quality of men's practical cutting wasnt good enough.
I found that in the barbershops I worked in the quality of mens practical work was far superior and was sharper, cleaner, neater and the skills and techniques I learnt were more practical and quicker. however the theorectical understanding wasnt at the same level as the college trained staff I had worked with.
If you look at the two sectors of our industry you tend to find a massive difference in price and quality of mens hairdressing however it is definitely the case that the majority of time 'barbers' are under valued in what they do as more often then not the quality of work is actually better. Barbers tend to receive education in salon therefore the skills they learn are more shop relevant and relatable to the client and until recently barbering education wasnt available in colleges so you could either learn in a shop or of your own back.
So I wanted to try and change this, I have developed a theoretical curriculum which runs in line with the national NVQ's and also incorporates the better practical understanding of cutting which is easy to relate to and understand.
What do you offer?
All courses are either 1,2,3 or 5 day courses, designed with the intentions to lay the correct technical and theoretical foundations to allow for anyone of any level to grow. We also offer contracts to salons so we can do more regular work with their team and hold seminars all over the country.
The courses we offer include;
Basic Barbering course– For new stylists or transitional stylists to help develop basic barbering techniques like scissor over comb and clipper over combs and understand how to do basic cuts
Advanced fade master course – For the stylists who want to perfect a very popular trend nowadays. The fading course has all the information a stylist would need to be able to produce fades and tapers effortlessly.
Artistic pattern course – For the artist in our industry who would like to improve their pattern work or add a new service to their service list, a very fun course to teach
Advanced Men's hairdressing course – A very in depth look at another side to this industry, working with more technical scissor work, sectioning patterns, understanding different shapes externally and creating internal structure, all using a wider range of techniques
Hot Towel Shave Facial course – For anyone wanting to learn more advanced razor work and everything surrounding a shaving service including skin preparation, correct strokes and aftercare care advice.
How popular has it been?
In the past year and a half we have been invited into over 30 salons and taught over 250 students, we also teach a weekly slot in a college and have travelled to Ireland and Scotland with educational classes for all levels of experience. We are have bookings up until may and have massive turn outs on our seminars with great feedback so i feel its be received well!
Is training embraced more than ever?
Yes for sure. The industry is evolving and constantly growing, new styles, new techniques, new tools, new events and best of all this new mentality towards cutting hair. It was often seen that barbering was a quick no fuss service nowadays its becoming more about offering a good service to your client and perfecting the cut. Due to this people wanna learn more and be able to deliever more which is great for this industry and it will grow at a quicker rate.
Do you travel across the country?
Our courses are held in salon so we travel all over the UK and Europe. For me when I had the idea I had to make it affordable and make it work. So we have our educators go to salons, where people feel more comfortable in their natural surrounding and obviously this reduces costs for the 'students' / salon owners With styles constantly evolving, should training be something you do on a regular basis?
Without a doubt! Like I said previously its not just styles but everything surrounding this industry which is growing and you have to grow with it and move with the times or get left behind. A very wise man, one of my mentors, once told me,
''if you always do, what you've always done, you'll always get, what you've always got''
so in other words step outside your boundaries and even if you never use what you've learnt you've added an ability to your arsenal which you can call up on if and when needed.
How many people are involved in MBA
We have a team of 6 people now. We have a backroom staff which consists of a business manager, marketing manager, graphics designer and myself.
We are however looking for more Freelance Educators to come on board and help grow this industry alongside us.
The MBA isn't about us, its about the people who we teach and who come on board and they are helping to growing and evolve this industry too!
How have you seen the business evolve?
In the beginning it was just me, I did it all, but as the work load became bigger and there was more demand we were able to get more and more people involved and now by the end of 2016 we predict that we will have a team of around 10- 15 people who will work under the MBA Umbrella to help do what we can for the industry.
How do you devise the courses?
Initially the courses were designed to run in line with national NVQ's and incorporate the best practical skills too. However we constantly update our courses following feedback from our course attendees and with new information and techniques. We have just launched a new course 'The art of scissor cutting' which simply works on our correct scissor control. Proving to be very popular.
And you go out and about to events too?
We attend all major trade shows as guests to be able to keep up to date on new techniques and share other peoples techniques too. We also exhibit at major trade shows such as HairUK, Barber connect and Salon International, where we allow other barbers to cut on our stand and demonstrate their way of cutting too. Its about the PEOPLE!
What is next for MBA?
There are some BIG plans for MBA over the coming years.
This year alone we are launching our own range of educational videos, products and razors, we have an online store where our students can get the equipment we use on our courses at a discounted rate to ensure they have the best tools. We are looking for educators to join our team and also looking to open our first academy centre to be able to deliver NVQ qualifications too and of course deliver more in salon courses then ever before
PLEASE contact us for more information on our courses and seminars OR become apart of our team!!
JACK ROBINSON PULLEN
MBA FOUNDER/EDUCATION DIRECTOR
