adventures of a Go GETTER

Pete Burkill has travelled the world, is the go-to hairdresser for A-list celebrities and has appeared on TV numerous times. Here, he shares his journey

Pete Burkill describes his career journey as being very hair-centric from childhood. It was in fact his mum’s best friend who lured him into the industry, even after he left school with top grades and thoughts of becoming a doctor. “She was running an academy at the time, and she talked me into doing her course,” he tells us, as we chat on the phone. “I learned from her, and I qualified in seven months.” You may be thinking ‘wow – that’s quick!’ which was our reaction too, but Pete was simply obsessed with hair. “I grew up in the early Noughties when hair was centre stage and ghd became a thing,” he says. “I would do everyone’s hair in school, so when it came to training, everything was second nature to me.”

At 17, Pete became the youngest ever member of the Clynol Protégé Team, became a product ambassador at 18, and finalised as Newcomer of the Year at the British Hairdressing Awards, sponsored by Schwarzkopf Professional, at 19. Next came travelling the world, being a hair expert on Good Morning in New Zealand, and working on films and fashion shows, before returning to the UK to work with Akin Konizi as part of the Creative Team at HOB Academy. “We would do shows at Salon International and industry events around the world, educating hairdressers and sharing experiences,” shares Pete, who eventually decided to branch out and now works at Josh Wood when he's not juggling shoots, red carpets, and various other projects.

“I WOULD JUST DO EVERYONE’S HAIR IN SCHOOL, SO WHEN IT CAME TO TRAINING, EVERYTHING WAS SECOND NATURE TO ME. ”

Was a varied day-to-day always the plan? “From an early age, I wanted to experience every corner of this industry. When I started hairdressing at 14, I would read every issue of HJ – it was like the Bible. It was a really good way to see what the different routes were,” he tells us. “So, I worked in TV and film, fashion shows, shoots, editorials, in the salon, education – and I somehow manifested that into what I do today.”

But learning to adapt brought its own challenges. “Imposter syndrome comes in when you’re putting on different hats,” reveals Pete. “Telling yourself you’ve put enough groundwork in to be an expert in your craft – that took some time to settle in.” And of course, being an expert in your craft comes with proud moments – let’s rewind to last summer and the surge of the bleached buzzcut… “I created that hairstyle on Romeo Beckham. It was a real 360° moment because I used to take pictures of his dad, David Beckham, to the hairdressers when I was a teenager. When we bleached David’s hair and cut it really short, that summer was just full of boys with David and Romeo’s hair which I had done. It was a really proud moment.”

Speaking of full circle moments and looking back, Pete says he never saw hairdressing as a job but a lifestyle. “It’s bringing out the best in people, and seeing that from an early age, really resonated.” Which leads us to ask, is there anything exciting coming up? “I’m focusing on doing podcasts, events, and educating – I enjoy sharing my knowledge, so I want to go back to my roots a little bit.” Hopefully he’ll be keeping the scissors in favour of a stethoscope though!