Andy Heasman London Hairdresser of the year

Andy Heasman BHA London Hairdresser of the Year!

The British Hairdressing Award’s 2019 red carpet was rolled out for another year last night.Some of the biggest talent in the hair industry gathered at the Grosvenor House Hotel to see who had scooped a coveted award. The British Hairdressing Awards, recognised as the biggest industry event of the year is presented by Hairdressers Journal […]

Back to listings

The British Hairdressing Award’s 2019 red carpet was rolled out for another year last night.Some of the biggest talent in the hair industry gathered at the Grosvenor House Hotel to see who had scooped a coveted award.

The British Hairdressing Awards, recognised as the biggest industry event of the year is presented by Hairdressers Journal International and sponsored by hair care brand Schwarzkoph Professional.

This year, three members of the Rush Family were finalists for awards these included

Our Finalists

Ryan Humpage a member of the Rush Workshop team. He gained finalist status in the Southern Hairdresser of the year category with his ‘ILLUMIN’ collection

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3uIPSKDfil/

Michael Rackett is another member of the Rush workshop team. Micheal was a finalist for 2019 Newcomer category with his ‘VIRTUAL’ collection

https://www.instagram.com/p/B4AK45NjpEV/

Andy Heasman, our International creative director was a finalist for London Hairdresser of the year with his ‘Point Constellation’ collection.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3mFY-cjVmy/

Andy hair stylist extraordinaire, triumphed against six talented stylists to win the desirable title of London Hairdresser of the Year. Andy has pushed the boundaries of British hairdressing as Creative Director of Rush Salons and Academy’s for many years.



Now is a great time to hear from him about his career, what winning this award means to him and what the future has in store for London Hairdresser of the year!

What does winning London hairdresser of the year mean to you?

It means absolutely everything – I am so humbled by the win. I have been a finalist for London Hairdresser of Year six times at The British Hairdressing Awards and to win is just an incredible feeling.

How nervous were you accepting the award? Were you more nervous waiting to hear it announced?

I was very nervous leading up to the awards but the week before I had been to Milan with Chris Williams teaching, which managed to take my mind off the evening a bit.

The adrenaline started to kick in when I went into the Great Room and walked the stage with the rest of the finalists. That’s when it really hit home. London Hairdresser of the Year was the last award to be announced before the break and each time an award was announced I got a little more nervous.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5TZmIAjJde/

When did you first decide you wanted to get into hairdressing? Was it always a childhood dream or did it come later?

I’ve always wanted to be a hairdresser, I can’t remember the exact pin pointing moment, but I have always felt this creative energy that I guess most artists feel. When I have hair in front of me I just love to see what boundaries I can push with a classic haircut.

I’ve worked with Rush for 21 years now and I still love cutting hair as much as I did all those years ago. It’s my passion.

What is your Rush story?
I applied for Rush and they had just recruited someone so I got a job with a product company teaching. I then bumped into Stell not long after and he said he was recruiting again and was I available. I told him no as I’d not long been teaching. I then bumped into Andy and Stell a year later, and once again they asked me to join. The funny part of the story was, as Andy Phouli was asking me to join, we were both using the urinals in a public toilet. I agreed to work with them, and realised they worked with the same product company I did. It was fate. Stell became my brother, he shared my creativity and passion and together, alongside Tina Farey, we began to push our names out into the industry.

To me I have the best job in the world. I have a fantastic salon in Victoria, I travel the world teaching other hairdressers the Rush Way, I teach students from all over the UK, Europe, the States and Asia and am responsible for training and mentoring our Rush Team.



Tell us more about your Amazing Winning ‘Point Constellation’ Collection?
Point Constellation is a multi-faceted collection of haircuts and dressed hair, in which I used the principals of using star shaped angles to create internal texture and movement, which defines the external shape. I used the evolution of culture and design to create directional hair with intergalactic style. The iconic black and white photography by Jack Eames was inspired by classic ID magazine covers, the characteristic wink having been replaced by a constellation of stars.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5TY7-uDw1V/

What inspires you to come up with these amazing concepts?
Absolutely anything. Music, films, the world, nature, our environment, art, artists, artists vision and fashion. Something will just catch my attention and the cogs in my brain start going.

Last night was obviously one of the highlights if your career. What was the best moment before that?
I have a great team working with me, and the highlights have always been winning Artistic Team of the Year and Fellowship Hairdresser of the Year, bouncing off each other, pushing boundaries together and coming up with something that steps out of that box.

Our teamwork and how we all slot together. I’m so proud of my team, and their support.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5TYPB5jM3c/

Who do you look up to in the industry today and who is in your opinion the best stylists in history?
There are so many great hairdressers that have inspired me but one man who has mentored and coached me is Stell Andrew. At Rush we are family and are extremely team focused and without Stell, Tina, Chris, Baek and Ashley all pushing me and working with me, I wouldn’t be the hairdresser I am today.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3mDieAjii1/

What advice would you give to hairdressers just starting out in salons who want to end up in your position?
Work hard, watch the top stylists in your salon, perfect your classics, test boundaries, don’t be afraid to try something new, get to know your creative teams and go to every course on offer.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3l9wlnDG41/

What style would you like to do but have never tried?
On myself haha well I have no hair LOL – no, I’ve tried a lot – let’s see what inspires me next.

What is next for you?….is British hairdresser of the year on the cards?
Watch this space…

Stell Andrews one of our CEO’s commented on Andy win

I’m am so proud of our International Creative Director, his collection is outstanding. He is a true artist within his field.
Stell Andrew, CEO of Rush

Keep up to date with events, new collections and great offers over on our Instagram here