ep51 – Mike Karg

One word sums up my guest this week – ambition! He is, right now, taking exclusive appointments at no less than seven different salons in the US and Switzerland. Hailed by the professional beauty press as a rising star from his earliest days, he now has his own shears line and is world-renowned as a pioneer of dry cutting. I am excited to sit down with this week’s Headcase, Mike Karg.

• From the first time he saw Trevor Sorbie on stage in London he knew he wanted exactly that
• His company, Karg Shears, was the first to cut hair in a booth at trade shows
• Mike talks about his dry hair cutting process and what makes it so exceptional
• How does Mike Kark decompress? Ultra running. I think I’ll stick to cheerleading at the finish line, thanks 🤣

Complete Transcript

Chris Baran 0:00
How great would it be to get up close and personal with the beauty industry heroes? We love and admire and to ask them how did you learn to do what you do? I’m Chris Baran, a hairstylist and educator for 40 plus years, and I’m inviting all our heroes to chat and share the secrets of their success.

Well, welcome to another episode of head cases. And I must say that this week’s guest if I had to put it down into one word, ambitious is what comes to my mind. And why you’re probably asking me Well, firstly, He currently works last count about seven different salons across the US and Switzerland. At the start of his career, the beauty press called him and labeled him as the next rising star. Now Catch this. He’s cut the hair of Hollywood legends like Sharon Stone, Marissa Tomi, and he’s been sought out ever since by screen directors and screenwriters. He was the makeup specialist for NBC. Now catch this. He runs two companies, not one but two companies. And not one but two continents catch that. He was the pioneer of dry cutting. So let’s get into this week’s head case. Mr. Mike Karg. Well, Mr. Mike Karg can though is it is it. Michael? Is it just Mike, is it? Because I think we share a name if it’s Michael.

Mike Karg 1:40
I actually saw it was born in New York. And there is Michael. But there is no Michael pronunciation here in Switzerland. So you know, exactly. So it turned to Mike. So one day, my dad came back from a US trip back to Switzerland. And he brought me a t shirt and said Mike on it. And from there on, it was like,

Chris Baran 2:06
I got it. Well, just first of all, first of all, I just want to say thank you. It’s great to have you on board here. We’ve been passing each other in the dark for 100 years. So welcome.

Mike Karg 2:19
Thank you so much grace for having me. This is an absolute honor. I’m a huge fan of your podcast, I listen to them. I know I would say maybe you know, half of your guests that were on it. I enjoyed them very much. Most of them like back to back when I do my long runs and the Swiss mountains. So I enjoy it a lot. And thank you for having me. Well,

Chris Baran 2:43
it’s absolutely pleasure. I mean, I know we I you know I it’s going on in my mind right now is I you immediately said running in the Swiss Swiss Alps. And I want to get there in a second but just for everybody watching and listening we have we have the everybody has this link that hooks one another together and and I don’t want to give much of this wave straight off other than what I talked about in the opening but you have we have a lake of lorries able and doped up sometimes where you work in New York City and and so it’s it’s just, it was so great. I remember being in there one time walking in I don’t know whether it was to pick up my lovely lady or whatever, but or to say hi to Joe or to Lori. But I remember seeing your work and because you work down in that last station on the end, I think because you were usually when I went there was class my carpool with everybody. So I didn’t want to go over and disturb you because you were in the middle with a client. But it’s an absolute pleasure to have you on here. And it’s I’m super excited that we can get a good chance to have a talk.

Mike Karg 3:49
Absolutely, again, thanks for having me on. Yes, Lori Zabel. huge, big respect love her had to work at Dop Dop every so often. And to be honest with you. I mean, on the flight back from San Antonio, which we did a trade show there was a first time trade show at the premiere from the premiere show group and the flight back by coincidence I switched seats so I was able to sit next to Lori which chit chatted it and we just had all sorts of conversation because I love talking to her. And and then in the end that just said like a FYI because I know you’re super tight. You’re like her dad as if Chris ever needs a guest and wants to have a story of a Swiss man traveling to America

Chris Baran 4:35
doing bringing chocolate. It is an absolute honor and a pleasure and I but I always want to know, you know, because I was fine with people like yourself. I mean, you’re you’ve been around for quite a while and you’ve built up this amazing, iconic image that you have. And most people you know, I think are there are sometimes afraid when they when they see somebody who’s on stage all the time. And they’re almost afraid to walk up to them. But I like to get them some insights as to how did you start off? So I mean, was hair always in the cards? Did you have other things you did first. I mean, I, before I even knew I wanted to get into hair, I delivered groceries at the red and white grocery store in Humboldt Saskatchewan center of you know, like, to the western part of Canada. But did you do other things? Or what what happened? What was the hook?

Mike Karg 5:33
Okay, to Oak is very simple. No, so it’s not in my gene, I do not come from a hairdressing family at all. So several backgrounds that come from a very modest Swiss Family, middle class family. And in the age of, you know, 13 we set you know, figured out way b You’re gonna do later on in life, my mom said I could see as a hairdresser, the minute she said that I visioned myself cutting hair. And this is not a joke, Chris, ruining my hair, cutting hair seriously cutting hair in a room, people watching me had no idea of course what it takes. And then at the age of 15 and a half, I after the official schooling, I started an apprenticeship we do apprenticeships in Europe, most countries, so here in Switzerland, as well, of course, and there was a three year apprenticeship at the age of 15 and a half in the mid 80s. I started. So I’m close to 40 years in the business. And I haven’t stopped since. And that’s where it all started. Well, you

Chris Baran 6:40
know what, I, I just want to do this. And for people that are listening, I’m doing that to your parents. You know, I mean, you know, I don’t know what it’s like in Europe. But I know that in in America, often if when kids want to get into the the job, the profession, the skill, the trade that they love, and wanted to do forever, they’re often discouraged. They’re often say, well go get some college savings. If that doesn’t work out, you got something to fall back on. So it’s never sometimes it’s not seen as, you know, the ideal job to go to. So I just bow my head to your parents. For that now, and I have one, you said you came from a modest family as I did. What’s it like now when you go back home and visit with your folks? I hope I’m not stepping on something. I hope they’re both still with us.

Mike Karg 7:34
You know, are indeed Thank you. Oh, that’s awesome. I

Chris Baran 7:36
just I thought I stepped on a landmine there. What’s it like when you go home and they see what you’ve become? And what, what, what it’s like for that for that visit.

Mike Karg 7:50
So I reside in Zurich, Switzerland, with my wife, where we have our second company after company in New York, and I run another one here in Zurich, Switzerland, so they’re not too too far away from me. They’ve always been very close. And let me just track back here for a second you said big two thumbs up for my folks that were behind me from day one. And they really were literally, all they said is like, if this is what you love to do, this is what you should do. So it doesn’t matter. My man my father comes, was a business man, my mom took care of me and my sister so like, you know, the typical split, you know, mom taking care of the kids that goes to work nine to five. So, you know, but that’s, you know, they’ve supported me from day one supported me, you know, still as of today, my dad, my parents, you know, talking mentors. I mean, they’re my mentors. I don’t have business mentors. These are the people I look up to, they’ve grown up in, you know, after war, you know, built themselves a great life, you know, brought two kids up, I mean, you know, have done tremendous job. You know, so absolutely, I mean, just hats off in every direction still, as of today, they’re 86 and 87 years old. And yeah, so absolutely great. And they they love of course what we have built and then and there, they are proud. They

Chris Baran 9:18
are proud. Sure, I’m sure that pride is must be just the right word because I I think when what I’m getting out of it is that if they’re the ones that suggested it there and then you grew to this as empire that you have in two different countries and traveling the world and teaching everybody and your name is on hairdressers lips everywhere to me, I think from a parent’s point of view that must be just absolutely phenomenal for them. So one more time I take my my hat off to them but so now a lot of people in America don’t they know of apprenticeships, etc. But they’re, you know, it’s not it really doesn’t happen like that as much in here even though I mean you can say whether it should or shouldn’t But the reality is that a lot of them go to school here as you well know. And then it’s getting into it. How did what was it like for you now when you went you went to your apprenticeship This is and I heard I got this little backstory from you that you Is it true that you had sort of assumed start you apprenticed did some apprenticing with us as soon as well? No.

Mike Karg 10:21
So what happened based in Switzerland, there is no Sassoon. But the person that I was learning on there came from a very structured background and you also had like a Sassoon thrive and kind of a concept. So mid 80s, geometric haircutting. Right. Yes. Across the board. Yeah.

Chris Baran 10:41
And so that’s you were you were raised with that definition. bodystyle. I mean, I can I, I know. And I have to tell you this when I went to Sassoon, that’s where as my my hook, but I remember and being that you have these amazing scissor products, etc, is that I remember that when I went to them that I had to start with, they said you had to use three and a half inch scissors. And, and, and but those scissors I used to buy them if I remember correctly, because this would have been in been in 1973, 1974 . I’m guessing 1973, maybe five. And before that, we just got the scissors we had at the school. And then now Susie was professing had to use these. But they wouldn’t hold they wouldn’t hold her edge. And I think if I got if I got a month, I didn’t make I may as making $179 a month. But I knew we had to buy three of them. You had to buy three of them at a time so that they would last. And and when I think of the irony that I’m now I’m talking to a gentleman who, you know, you have a whole brand of them. What was the kind of hook for you like and this is going to be a multipurpose question. Is that number one is, what was it like and the transformation that you went from the style of that very discipline style to the dry cutting style that you have now? So maybe maybe let me just make that the first question, then we’ll talk about quality scissors.

Speaker 1 12:22
Yeah. Okay. Great question. By the way, Chris. And I’m glad you’re asking this. So basically, to cut the really long story short, I still cook in a very similar manner, except I cut on dry hair, and use texture sliding shears, soft sliding shares, but the concept is still here. So instead of having dead wet hair, that doesn’t move that just sticks there. And you probably recall that as well. The hair was wet, and you even sprayed it whether that literally the water was running down on people jaq on to the cape. No, it’s, you know, and he was just laying there. No, it is. I mean, I was right in there. And you as well, of course. And so again, it’s the same, I work in the same manner except it’s now on dry hair, or maybe just, you know, a little bit of moist or products and it would also love to work with products in it, but still in a very similar manner. And then using texture, blending shears, and all sorts of stuff. So that for instance, you weren’t allowed to use texture blending shears, and things are still our order. Which I mean, I find that terrible. I mean, it’s like taking a chef salt and pepper away. You know, I mean, he was a philosophy and you know, it was a certain way of doing this, but you know, that doesn’t gel with me. So you know, you have to break that but you know so so all of a sudden, let’s say you know Famous Erica, like a graduate of Bob, if you do this was a texturizing scissor. on dry hair, it actually becomes now if you’ve got a one length bob with texturizing shear on dry hair, it becomes now that’s what’s trending right now. And every hairdresser cuts dry hair, except they don’t talk about it. So that’s what my hook was. And then with that, of course I developed the cutting system with tools and all sorts of stuff. And you know, also as a scissor line, I was the first scissor company to cut hair in a booth to do a classroom from a scissor company. There’s a company now you everyone does it or a lot of people do it. But back then over 20 years ago when I rolled out in doing my own booth at trade shows zero competition. I was the only one that and

Chris Baran 14:56
I think the other interesting part in that is is that Have you learned I mean, I’ve watched you cut, I’ve seen you cut, I loved your work. As a matter of fact, I was just watching you do something the other day where, where most people would spend an hour trying to get this grad beautiful graduated bob and you, you took large sections, you pulled it back, you’ve got you had your over direction was perfect. But you did all of the work on the ends of the hair with a texturizing scissor. So you still have that beautiful line on the perimeter. But the ends were so soft, and they moved so beautifully. And you know, when I just saw that, how that the number one quality of work. Number two is the speed of which you attain quality work. And I think that’s really interesting, based on a couple of things, because I remember you were talking, we’re talking about our friends at soons. And I remember talking to one of their higher up people, and it’s just become they said, would we like to change now? You said, well, it will probably would be good. But he said we’ve ingrained ourselves in that structure for so long, that we almost can’t people would question why we were doing it if we’re changing our, our philosophy, but I, I love the fact of how you cut and how it works fast. You know? So can you give us just a little bit more on like, on the on, if you have an average client comes in? And do you get them to come in with their hair pre washed out? Like if somebody hasn’t done this yet? How would they? How would they instruct your client?

Speaker 1 16:29
Great question. There is no rule and regulation, how to approach this, I approach it and we all know you can train a clientele they know how you work and go about things. You can also have when you have a first time clients and they get new clients, I always asked them, can you please come in with you know, clean hair and like the way you wear your hair a majority of people do, they always show you a new client shows you how she wears or he wears, it’s super easy. And then you can cut it, you know, and you can do like the base coat with it, then you can have a shampoo, washed and shampooed and blow it out. So there is no rule and regulation to it. If you don’t feel right about it, you can wash it to the perimeter, the outline, cut the base wet load right and personalize it, there is really no speed to it. You know, so for instance, John Suhag, a very well known dry cutter from New York State, which I’m sure you know, as well, you know, he you know, he’s had up to like three hours, you know, everything was tapered, but every hair textured was blown and pain straight. And then wisdom Marcel iron, you know, made it even straighter, and then tapered, you know, great technique, good philosophy, everything great, but every hair texture, so I approach and I like to approach her check several like they are because I celebrate someone’s hair texture. And, you know, and so have it a little bit more in a, again, a little bit more open as well. Like, approach it how you feel. Yeah,

Chris Baran 18:00
cuz, I mean, that’s one thing I am. And I think that, that, in watching you cut is that when I watched Lori cut two is that there’s people that and I know everybody talks about the feeling. But when I watched people that that can leave a piece out just because it looks good. I mean, you know, and I mean that sincerely you know, is there’s always a surprise in there. So I think and I’ll give you some of the feelings that I have and tell me if we are on the same track with this. Like when you’re cutting hair, you have a discipline and a structure that you’re gonna go for. But it’s got to be like a fuzzy picture as opposed to clear like an eight and a half by 11 because the hair is gonna throw a curve at you like a piece is gonna fall you fall out of the hair and you’re gonna go oh, God, that looks amazing. I’m going to leave that there instead of just cutting it off. And I’ve kind of watched the way that you I’ve even watched how you take your texturizing scissors and you move the hair on top as you’re cutting it it’s not they’re moving out of the way you’re just moving the hair the way it were. It feels to see how it moves and then adding definition or texture or whatever what is tell me Give me some of the some of the thought process that you go through.

Speaker 1 19:24
Well the I also we have to maybe track back I can also do this with my texturizing soft texturiezers on heavy texturizers and my blinding seamless blending shears because I have a very special technology on them. So yeah, correct. So my texturizing shears you can slide with have a very special blade finish. So my convex edge is placed differently. The top of the scissor is straight. The right has a convex edge, a very fine one, and the left is rounded so instead of cutting the air through, it’s being pushed off Over. That’s why you can do this. So I can point up as my texturizing share I can like literally go into hair, open the scissor, close it and pull out so you can sculpt it. You know, we all know personalizing you know, every one sees seeing their friend Where is too much weight hair needs to be eliminated the bowl, or how hair grows. So you get in so you can almost sculpt it, you know, with such as you can do this with straight shears. For instance, I was the first year company to polish and etch to polish and so I took the convex edge of three wouldn’t off. So it wouldn’t cut too straight. You know, not so blunt?

Chris Baran 20:47
Yeah. Yeah. So she gives you a softer?

Mike Karg 20:49
Very, very forgiving, exactly. I mean, that’s what you’re kind of a razor does as well, it leaves that softness, but razor is on wet hair, and did you cut it differently. So I still like the cut was I really manipulate the hair ends because the hair grows at the root. So slider, the ends is nice, we can hold six shape. And the haircut still needs to be perfect. But if you come from a very structured, I come from a very structural background, you know that and the sections are just a little bit bigger. And you can manipulate that well. And, you know, that’s that’s that’s how you get that movement. Now let me look at all the scissor companies now. Instagram and all of its full of texture and blending shears. And I mean, it’s just been an avalanche now. Yeah. Yeah.

Chris Baran 21:42
It’s really interesting, they find that, that where we used to have, I’m gonna take you back to and I wish I could I still have a pair, I should have brought them down. I use them for whatever now but because I remember I gave my one to my mom. And when she passed, I got that last one. And they’re still the original ones that I have. But the thing is, is that was the only thing you would do. And and now the average hairdresser needs to have a variety. You know, and I’ve seen, I’ve seen people that will have like two or three scissors and I’ve seen some that had they have these big huge pouches full is if there’s is there if you had to say recommend, if you had to recommend, say wedding, whatever your number is three or five deserves that they have to have, what would they be and why? And what would be the purpose of each one? Absolutely.

Mike Karg 22:37
100% So I in my case are 10 pairs of scissors. And I like a variety because we all deal diverse different hair texture and cutting is my thing. I cut hair, I don’t color hair, I see color, but I don’t color hair. So my specialty is cutting hair. My specialty is dry hair cutting, I celebrate dry cutting, always have. I’ve never done anything else. This is my forte. This is my expertise. That’s what also communicate in seminars. You know, people have a thing deep down in their heart that’s pushed through that they should really celebrate whatever it is if it’s color ball aiyaz blonding. Cutting, so mine is cutting. I want to ask also what’s yours? what’s your what’s your forte? What? Sorry, I put you here on the spot. No,

Chris Baran 23:31
no, never. It’s, it’s, I’m an open book. I’ve always been a cutter but my I’m a cutter but I’m, I’m the avant garde dude. And I just I love creating avant garde looks and to the average individual because that’s my therapy, you know, the average person, average person, it’s like, where the hell would you wear that? To me it’s just like making something that’s got an art process to it. Same thing as you do with cutting.

Mike Karg 23:59
Okay, so there you go. So it’s all one God is doing art. So mine is cutting so that’s what I celebrate. So a hairdresser should have precision share. Yeah, I believe you know, I use the six and a half inch precision chair. Then we just launched now I just launched several years back hybrid blade that’s a mix in between a slider and a precision but still is oppression. I call it soft copy because it cuts very softly not so blonde. So I’d definitely a nice add on. Then every hairdresser should have a blender and a texturizer because you can blend share if it’s scissor over comb because you get different hair texture, finer hair texture, you get hair, that’s the mark that leaves more locations. You know you get thicker and you need to take some weight out. You want to texturize hair so they come in all sorts of different shapes and textures and sizes and you want to conquer all of them. You know, you should have a slight cut blade. If this is how you like to work. It’s all about building a scissor kit. Nobody flies flies from the sky, boom, right off to beauty college or school or apprenticing, you build one at the time, and you add on, and you also you’d start to develop, like kind of like how you like to cut. I like things easy. So my tools make cutting hair easy and fun. Because like, you know, again, a texturizing here, you can go in close and pull out without the pole, a drag a band, a neck. I mean, how brilliant that flat EPS, you can point up with can work on the skin. I mean, that’s freedom, you know? Yeah, just leave, it’s makes fun and,

Chris Baran 25:54
and, you know, there’s nothing more annoying than having your hair cut, when somebody is using a texture scissor, and it and it pulls or it you know, it’s got one tooth that just seems to be grabbing on the hair. So you know, I that’s why I think it’s so if what I heard was like, Do you suggest that they have to, in your style of cutting do you say that they should have a straight edge? As well as your as we’re as well as your texture scissor and your blenders as well? Yes. Correct?

Speaker 1 26:24
Absolutely. That’s a great, that’s a great kit to start off with. And then you add as you go on because you start to end you know, you start to develop a feel for it. And again, if you you know, for instance, like you know, we sell a lot of key whites right now this is like my blind. That’s like my slight cut share, because you know, curly hair has a huge comeback, as you’ve probably noticed, you know, the time. Wait, yes, absolutely. Finally, you know, perms or texture treatments are between such as around the corner again. And you know, so and our you know, people’s hair texture is changing in our races intertwine. So kids have different hair textures. And you know, so so they have slight cut, you can manipulate the hair very well you can celebrate again, someone’s texture to curly hair, so it doesn’t cut that straight line. So you know, you start to developing like a style or like how you like to work. And then you add a tool on you know as you go on so you know we have you know, I’ve 26 different pairs of scissors. Of course there’s lefties in there, we got some Western swivel with the swivel thumb, which is not my cup of tea. But hey, all good. I have no issues with the hands. But hey, if that’s someone’s game, be my guest use a swivel thumb. You know, exactly. I mean, it’s for for every stroke, it has something but certainly there’s a really cool philosophy and technology behind it. And and and that really makes I think makes cutting hair so much easier. I mean, goodness, I think back I used to have with my four and a half inch blade, I had to scissor over comb. I mean, these 80’s short hair cuts. I mean, no wonder that thing took me hours. It was never even. You know, I mean, I’m sure what I’m talking about.

Chris Baran 28:13
Absolutely. Believe me. Anybody that knows, I know that spent hours on it. And then we used to brag. I look at this undercut it took me like 45 minutes to do Oh, yeah, very good. You made no money. Right? Brag, right? Yeah. I want to take you back a bit. Because there’s one thing that I I admire about you, I’m sure. First of all, you could probably fly with your airline points. I’m sure you could probably fly around the world, probably 200 times or whatever with your points. Because I mean, and that’s what I want to jump into right now is your the vision that you have of salon and working in a salon versus owning a salon. So that what it got and we said in your opening that in the last time I hope I got it right, I said that right? You were working in seven different salons from between the US and Switzerland. So give us a little most people have that I’m going to work going work in a salon, whether that’s independent or in a in a big salon. And I’m going to build up my skills. And my endgame is owning my own business. So tell us a bit about your philosophy, your the way that you treat it, because you’re not you don’t just have one and you’re not in one salon all the time. Correct?

Mike Karg 29:35
Absolutely correct. So first of all, I never wanted to own a salon. And secondly, every salad I worked at every salon owner, male or female told me Don’t ever own a Salam. All right, so I work in, I work in I still work and work in the best salons so Let’s swipe back quickly. In 91, I moved to Los Angeles from Switzerland I was 21 years old. In 93, I moved to New York from LA at that time, Louis Licari, your mind rings a bell, the colorist opened up a cell in his second salon in New York, in Beverly Hills just around the corner from Lucara salaam, where I was working at. So I was told or heard, he’s flying back and forth. I go, Okay, that’s cool. If he flies back and forth, I can fly back and forth. So I moved to New York to make my money for the rent in New York, I flew back and forth religiously, every six weeks to create a clientele. So that’s when my bicoastal things started to happen. And that was in the early 90s. So in 93, I, by the way, still go to LA to cut hair, and I still see, you can count them off on the one hand now, but still people from that time, which is just tremendous, unbelievable. And so as I went on, I started to work in different salads. So when I was back in New York, I was at one time at La coupe. And, you know, they told me, I would have me on which I’m sure it was Camela pain. So, you know, the manager demanded the manager.

Chris Baran 31:23
Yeah, sorry. No, no, you go ahead. And I didn’t want to know,

Mike Karg 31:28
the manager there told me I would have to spend more time in the salon. I go, No, I don’t, because that’s not what I want to do. So I left, then at work that you know, Miana VL. After that I was working with Bob Racine because he needed somebody to take care of his clientele, a great editorial hairstylist, and all these different salads. I have this program called rent a Karg. So I did in salon education. So when I did insalon education at certain salons, they kind of liked what I did. And then they were basically asking me, could you come here again, to do clients? I go, Yeah, absolutely. I can do that. I have that program as well. Not just for education, but also to do clients so they can promote the salon. And, you know, I still traveled to Germantown, Memphis, Tennessee for 20 years now. I mean tremendously. I do that a Newberry port at Intralox salon, one of the top 200 grossing salons in the nation run by Jeanne Romo unbelievable business. I work in Washington DC at federal salon my buddy Aaron and Marco opened the door top color salon. I work in Beverly Hills well now in Pacific Palisades, Michael Kamali and his salon and Jeffrey Martinez Michael canali. Known for steel as of today. You know, the striking Jennifer Aniston hair cover most requested haircut, as by the way all he does, he works in other salons as well across the nation. So So basically, ingredients to keep that up because it also sounds cool is to be consistent. And now that word consistent is very difficult for a lot of people and for hairdressers as well because you know you need to sacrifice and go this is sacrifice. I miss weddings, funerals, birthdays, small and large, all sorts of stuff because work calls and you need to show up and you need to show up all the time. That’s just you know how it is. So you need to be very consistent. So instead of me and and of course I work at in New York, which I have my largest clientele and be now with Joe for the past 1617 years. I go in and out of there great rap easy going, I go do my stuff. I have my two stations. I do my work. I mean there she loves when I’m there. I love her great community, you know, not a big deal make it easy up all my own clients for the New York kick at the salon stay do it. So you know, it’s all a little bit of a different setup. And the thing is, is this with nowadays, I mean, I used to send out little postcards for to announce my visits, which was really trippy, super cool postcards. And now you could just send out an email makes it super easy. As well on your website. Excuse

Chris Baran 34:16
Yes, yeah. And I think that’s a really key part is when are you available? I mean, let’s face it, if they’re, if you have a clientele and they’re coming in and you space them out over three weeks or whatever, six weeks, whatever that might be. They’ve got that timeframe but if they know that Mike is going to be in town from day one to day seven of whatever month that is, and I booked I just booked my times accordingly. And I get back you have a there’s another thing that I love that you said and I thought it’s an incredible tagline. You said that your clients should only need four haircuts per year. And and I think that’s absolutely brilliant. You know when because I think the way you cut that the inside of that or the outside of that Tori is looking at I’m cutting your hair so well that it’s gonna grow out for you. And I can, you know, it’s a got a higher value proposition to the client, because listen, instead of me coming in once every six weeks, I come in every three weeks or once every six weeks that come in every three months. And not only does it fit in your schedule, but it really helps them along, I just the value is there and afford to hire pricing, do you price accordingly for that,

Mike Karg 35:30
I do put a price accordingly for that the thing is, there’s also there comes a flight in there to the hotel, but also, for instance, in New York, you know, which is probably obviously the most expensive place to go to also have a still, you know, have my companies there. So I go to the office, I have meetings, it’s also home turf, I love going there. So you know, it’s it’s not, you know, it’s also nice to go back home. And you know, sometimes it works out a little better than other times. And, you know, to be to be honest, but you know, it’s usually again, I also combined that with insulin medications, too. So it’s always a tour, I go on a tour. So in the end of the tour, it then all works out. Plus, the thing is this, what I do is I still you know, I, I you know, I work on my name, I still create an image, I spread the name, you know, I have more other exciting things to come. So it’s important that I have that contact to the hairdresser, a hairdresser, you know, it’s I have to be to be, you know, the hairdresser. In the end of the days, you’re my client, and I’m carved out of the same boats as my client, I’m not any better. Not at all, I’m, I’m the same as my, my clients, the hairdressing car from the same boat. And I like the dialogue there. So that’s why it’s nice to know a lot of people around it. That’s why you know, I work in the south on the west, northeast east coast. So it’s good to spread around like that. And a score, of course, as well was like, you know, going to do a handful not anymore as many trade shows, just a handful of trade shows now to also like kind of follow up and see them as well. So again, that’s what I said early, you need to show up, you know, if you want to do that this doesn’t happen overnight. I mean, you know, and this all started pre Instagram and social media when it built everything. Now, of course, you know, the social media, the things you know, it’s a good thing, but it’s also split the industry in half, I think.

Chris Baran 37:33
How did how did the what was the shift that I want to find out how like you were in the salon, you’ve been building yourself up with your clients, and then all of a sudden this tweak for education started how did that transition? What was the spark that you from transition of working in a salon all the time to saying I want to teach?

Mike Karg 37:59
Absolutely. By the way before I forget Laurie, our good friend, your daughter, she splits the time she goes to New York and she’s bicoastal. She resides in San Diego. So she’s bicoastal. So it’s all doable, but you know, she’s there more often than I am. So she’s super concise. I mean, I’m consistent, but you know, with her kind of clientele, and I think she also has a much larger one too. She goes down more often. And she also loves the color and everything. So it’s a little bit of a different take on that. And we start out started. So in 94 I joined well off when they were on the brakes of turning around. Yeah. Mario Jante was the president. Back then he turned that well, both around and I was on the well International Network team. That was the Gulf’s were part of it. Patrick Cameron soons, even at some shows, and the wind team and we toured the country, IBI shows IBI shows used to be in Seattle called nice Atlanta. Yeah, LA, over you know, exactly out New York, of course, we know there was an incident and all these trade shows. So we toured with them. So that’s when I had the bulk. But I have to back up a bit. So my very first hair show in my first year of my apprentice at the age of you know, coordinates so maybe worse than 16 by then was selling International in Earls Court in London. My my boss told me to and I you know as you roam around, I still Trevor Sorbie on stage, didn’t know who he was, but just watched him. And I’m like, wow, that’s cool. I just want I want to do because remember, I had that vision of me cutting air and people watching me. So just something I’m like, Oh, I like that. guy up there, I want to do that. I think that happens to a lot of us because, you know, you see someone and it’s like, you know, I’d like to do what this guy does. So I’ve always had that in the, in the back of my mind. So that’s then when it started to happen. So, you know, always education, I enjoyed it a lot. And you know, with Wello was awesome. I mean, you know, I got to work I remember when, when Michael Gordon from Bumble and Bumble, you know, used to do all the photographs and, and that whole imagery and, you know, we were there like I remember Nick Rocha just got off the boat, literally, and he joined on Bumble and Bumble. So you know, that that crowd, Patrick McIver? You know, there were there’s like searches, like, it’s a really cool group of people. And it just got us around. And I did that for six years. And then, you know, always enjoyed that. And then a little shift happened, and I took a year off. And then I was asked by Goldwell to be outracing, a great consultant for gold oil America. And my responsibility was trendline and use a liquid line styling line. And I taught that for two years and to make product knowledge a little bit more interesting was working with all this distributor built excellent, tremendous business was there for gold. Well, they enjoyed a lot. They were very happy to spice up product knowledge, I actually had my first prototype made of scissor. And I taught that and I was cutting dry hair. So I spread the buck there. That was in 1999. Wow. I remember so well.

Chris Baran 41:34
Well, that was that was the era type product. You could do a a show a weekend. I remember actually in the 80s you could do a show a weekend and never hit the same distributor. If you didn’t every weekend, you could you could travel there was so many distributors at that time that you could just do the same show every weekend. Just look for the haircuts you wanted to cut, do the work you wanted to do. And it was an in and out same stick same guideline that had to do with previous shows. And then they all it was all of a sudden then they started to to narrow down they started the distribution started to get bought up by companies correct where it was really interesting to watch. And then so what do you when you see that? What do you see now? Like we talked about lots of distributions, shows and different different headline shows. Every weekend? What what do you see? Where do you see that it’s going now Mike?

Mike Karg 42:35
What I see what’s going on, you know, I’ve watched this so closely, I’ve been hitting those trade show floors forever, I see they become fewer, there is a shift of people going on the pandemic has definitely left the mark, I believe in education is going back into more insalon education because I also see that and how many requests I receive per email, which is super nice. Also the education out there and you have to be careful nowadays because, you know, almost you know, everyone is now an educator or a coach, you know, which is just mad. And also, I am not so much a fan of that word educator, but I guess that’s kind of like our title above us. I’m more a Malone. Like what I like to do is I love to share my passion. That’s That’s every seminar every gig I start with our distributor in Germany and Austria or Switzerland, I always want to have a group of people I always tell them in the very beginning I’m really not here to learn to how to cut hair that’s not my job everybody knows in here to come here. I’m really here to share my passion like what works for me and hopefully you can take it and make it your own. So you can carve you know a piece because you know when we start we all look up to someone you know we’re kind of inspired company individuals or stuff like that. And as you go on in the business you carve your own style that becomes your signature you know like like a clientele is a reflection of yourself so very much like that to that you know as a hairdresser you develop which is really something nice and and and and that’s what I try to share with the people that are interesting wanting to get a glimpse on you know what’s what’s that education all about so to share drop that knowledge but I believe this is kind of like where it’s heading to I you know it’s a little bit of a sad thing is with trade shows, you know, big companies they pulled out because I understand they want to put their money trade shows are expensive. You know, I mean they’re they’re expensive. I mean, it’s unbelievable. out of the gate was a 10 by 20 booth, no bells and whistles. I mean Easy 1012 Grant, I mean, you know, I haven’t even paid your staff for you, the product that you’re selling costs money to. I mean, it’s just unbelievable. And, you know, I also, you know, but when big companies pull out of that, because, you know, they’re doing their big, gigantic symposiums gatherings however, global coming together as whatever it is, I get it, they, they trigger all the same people in one pot, they they, you know, they’re all, whatever company infuse, so they know what they’re communicating. Sometimes I think like, okay, are these people just here to shop? cheap makeup? Or, or, you know, just forget gadgets or trying to beat the discount price even lower down, you know, just like bargain hunters. So that has shifted a little bit. Very much then also, what I find is we need to, in in presentations at trade shows. I don’t know what happened. But on main stage, I see mannequin heads. I mean, what has happened mainstage presentations used to be with a model parade. Now what do you ever you do in a classroom, that’s a different story on a mainstage. And if you have like, a new breed of people going there, and they see mannequin head on the main stage, I mean, they’re being washed with a whole wrong impression. So I think show companies need to spice things up here a little bit again, and take a little bit of a stand and maybe not always run after whoever. I mean, it seems to me just whoever has a bunch of more followers going instead of accidentally delivering good quality work. And something it can also take home. I mean, excuse me, I’m not sponsored by anyone, never have. I even paid models to cut their hair in my booth to keep the present. Now I have a mannequin head there to try out the scissor always had. But I still have an a actual head of hair. Which, you know, I mean, and so I think with that you could make him take a little bit of a pride in his stand to make it fun again and professional again. So he got very passionate about

Chris Baran 47:27
like, any, never apologize for your passion. This episode is sponsored by the salon associate accelerator from trainers playbook.com. Are you struggling with the time and cost of associate training? Do you feel like your salon is running you will get your associates on the floor, all with 90% Less time from you. So you can get back to building your business. Get them world class design, finishing color, and client care skills they’ll use every day for the rest of their career. While you focus on realizing your vision, go to trainers playbook.com and get the salon associate accelerator. And now back to the show. I really use you hit something in my brain when you were talking about how you’re getting way more bookings for in salons and I remember talking to an owner at one time and they said to me, they said to me, why would I want to send my people to a you know, whatever trade show with there’s 1000 things there and they’re selling everything from jewelry to the floor Sweepers and everything. And they said why would I send them there and I have my team go out there I have no control over them if they’re partying their brains out coming in or whatever, or I can have an artist come into the salon. And and that person and I can help them give the trading that exact training that I want. And I think you’d be we’re hitting something there where it’s there’s a lot more of the insalon that’s happening because they can they can really customize whatever needs problems. Solutions that they have to have for individualized people. I think that’s very, very cool. Let me ask when you when you got into the education when you made that transition and newer, you know this you had your thing you’re doing it really well and because I know God knows I know when I first got into teaching education there was some hiccups along the way when you when you were at first started with shows etc was there was there things that went wrong things that you know, all of a sudden something didn’t work out right what what was there any of those when you When you first started off, I mean, we used to play jokes on one another from from one one team member to the other, just to try and have some fun in our own personal mix up while we’re there. Is there any of that that went on in Europe?

Mike Karg 50:13
Yes. I actually I’m pretty blessed in that retrospect, I guess I’m very swift. When it comes to that I’m super well overly organized. I can get a little bit tense before the shows and stuff. I guess I learned that the hard way when stuff got stolen. I pick it up. Well, so maybe that Yeah, and like my first show, I remember so well, I did my first trade show. And I did not know you had to go and pack up and fill out the bailiff landing. And I just left it in the booth. Somebody Yeah. Like, like, no, it’s just like, I’m not kidding you. I mean, those things. And how you learn how you learn on on getting a different table, and then you get the risers and and you get a proper shipping company, you shouldn’t be maybe going with the company providing so like these things because like I had to, to learn or Okay, hold on, you don’t really need to carpet, you can also buy these foam pads and maybe have them shipped and I have a shipping company that does free warehousing and, you know, like these things along the way. I was luckily always very blessed with the people and still as of today that are around with me that are all hairdressers, passionate people. I treat my people they’re all freelancers exquisitely well, we go and dine well. I love to eat well, I celebrate that. I love the camaraderie I respect, you know, like, I mean, you know, everybody can cut hair in the booth. You know, spread you know, be yourself, you know, and just, you know, show up again, no monkey business. Yeah, so I

Chris Baran 52:03
can only I mean, I’m just my head still caught in a loop here because I’m thinking, I mean, I know I’ve lost something, you know, I usually generally travel with about at least 12 to 15 pair of scissors. And I know my own fault. I left it in the cab. But I it’s devastating. So but if I lose 10 or 15 scissors, that’s nothing compared to if you have your whole scissor collection at a at a booth and that all gets stolen. I can’t even imagine.

Mike Karg 52:33
So I maybe have to advise an inventory as of a merchandise. It was equipment. Oh, I got stereo equipment. They don’t all that stuff around because, you know, we we actually this is because I was I was I started to sell online e commerce when literally ecommerce was invented. Yeah, so I was very, very early. So I have a very high Google ranking. I’ve never paid a dime because I’ve done this very early on my first company that did all the back and was CC now. I don’t even know. It was like, like, like, you know, ever have a palm pilot when I flipped out 10 Out. Okay, that’s like, like ancient stuff. And anyway, so I didn’t have the money and the inventory. So I need to like bring inventory to the show and grab the same stuff again and take it with me I was able to leave it on the crate so that most you know we took home but I just left the boost up in there figuring it’s just somehow you know where I’m at, it’s gonna get shipped so you know, things like that. I mean, just a tremendous and again, I’m very blessed although other than that I haven’t had many hiccups I mean, you know, a bottle or two not showing up or so. But other than that always, you know not worth but also because things are overpriced and then you know when you do these trade shows you see people over and over you’re building a relationship you know that and you know, you start to get friendly even like the people that Jacob Javits Center people from the union you’re like seeing them Yeah, are you doing you know, they’re very strict but you know, they can cut your slack if you’re nice to them they’re nice to you. And also so

Chris Baran 54:21
yeah, your your New York accent was accent wasn’t too bad there. Hey, how are you? How are you doing? Yeah, you go. Let me ask you this Do you give us a little bit more now I want to hit on this entrepreneurship because I the one thing that I think that is so great about for the people that are listening and watching is to know that that you can only if you’re working on your own behind the chair, you can make a tremendous amount of money if you do it correctly. But the reality is you can only still make so much money because you’re you work you can only do because How many hours in the day in booking times etc. And I love entrepreneurship and and I love how you set yours out you have your scissors, you have other things that you sell as well. And you have your multiple incomes from different sources that you get. Now so but now I want to jump onto your entrepreneurship. So do you right now can when you have you got your scissor line and you have to do all this stuff? Do you have other people that help you like? They do keep a small tight group? Do you? How do you how do you handle all of that?

Mike Karg 55:33
I am blessed with a tremendous, brilliant wife that runs to show

Chris Baran 55:41
her name, what’s her name?

Mike Karg 55:42
Her name is Marina Moreno for Reina V rain, r e n a Reina. Alright, so she runs a show, we’ve been married for 15 years together for 18 years, she, she keeps, keeps my back, she she does all the business, she she’s not a hairdresser, she comes from a business side. And she runs it all she keeps my bag open. So she deals with all of that she deals with my accounting, she deals with bookkeeping. Because I’m not good at that. I’m also like, I don’t want to 100% know, and also what’s going on to see if there is a problem, you know, raise the flag so I can focus because otherwise I’ll get all tied up, you know, I think it’s this I, you know, I we work a lot. I’m really we work a lot. Still and I and the thing is, is I also love it, because I have different arms, like it’s like, like, like, you know, like, like an octopus stiff arms. So I’ve got hair cutting, which I enjoy. But I would never want to just cut hair behind. Like, I don’t want to respect everybody else. But my thing is I like to show up to my stuff and leave for instance, this weekend, I’m leaving to burn the capital of Switzerland, to burn at the salon way up in the mountain Hamish one, I’m gone, I’ve been going there for 15 years, I’m working there two days, going to my stuff and leave again. So I like to do days next weekend, I’m actually gonna go to New York or work at quake day, and then take care of some personal stuff. So I tie it in this way. So that’s what I like to do. So with the clients, then we have the education, which you know, in salon and seminars where we invite people to an event or I go and get hired by by a salon, big or small. You know, I do one on ones I do bigger salons then other stuff with distributors in the US than here in Europe, I have distribution in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. So I do stuff with them. And then we of course, the online stuff, you know, the online sales too. And every, all the money, we you know, all the money we make put straight back into develop, because, you know, we’re working on the next thing that’s coming because, you know, we’ve been doing scissors for over 20 years now. And there’s a lot of scissor companies out there now. And, you know, so it’s, it’s, you know, I enjoy doing this, I’m still doing this, but you know, we need to always want it to you know, need to shift a little bit in a different direction. And you know, which which, which will be then the next adventure and which is also important to also keep things interesting and fun. correctly. So do

Chris Baran 58:38
you have to know is there because you’ve got a bit of a different model and then people that they want to just they throw all their money out of they got this big, huge organization. I love how you can’t use small Do you? Do you do your now because I know you’ve had a big background in editorial work and shooting do you how do you what’s the angle that you use for your promotion? Do you do it just on social do you have to do you know shoots where you’re actually this is your advertising campaigns that you do tell us a bit about that.

Mike Karg 59:14
That’s just funny is just this past Sunday, I had my artistic director here from New York Russell Cordero which by the way says hello. Yes, we talked about you you know him you He says you have you have asbestosis hands because you helped him shoot with Lori because you held curls in in the diffuser. And he goes in understand why your hands weren’t hurting. He goes this guy super help or maybe your ears were ringing. I don’t know but fingers back, but he goes like this guy. I have no idea how he does it. No,

Chris Baran 59:50
I have they always tease me that I have Teflon fingers. With your shoots though, . Like, do you? You win You put that together? Maybe let’s give it a more of a concrete. When you do that shoot specifically for your company.

Mike Karg 1:00:06
Correct?

Chris Baran 1:00:07
Are you uh? Are you the kind of person that you’re better on your own putting the whole thing together? Or are you better as a collaborator? How what’s your process that you go to for your

Mike Karg 1:00:19
See, I put it together by my own. I don’t plan too far ahead. I know the girls and the boys that are coming. And I go very much on the spot. And I have again, I have I’ve helped behind many makeup artists I have, you know, somebody that has a little bit of clothing that watches have a great photographer I’ve always been working with, I have Ross here. He knows how to handle me super well. So I do a lot of on the spot. And I’ve always rolled this way. I work tremendously great under pressure. Right. I have a great story on the pressure, which was shot with Robert La betta. I did a photo shoot for Wella at the Soho grand. And I was shooting we were shooting for color touch. I think that was a great color taught. And we’re shooting images and it just didn’t want to happen didn’t want to happen. And and Robert goes like to me goes like, you know, sometimes you just got to let stuff go and maybe just doesn’t happen. We didn’t like like what we’re quitting now. And I didn’t know that’s not going to happen. But maybe that was the Swiss here. Yeah, exactly. Boom. The image that I created became the image for color touch back then, on this beautiful girl. Yeah. So anyway, love the pressure on the spot. Absolutely loving it. That’s why, you know, I It’s so funny. You know, before I got on here with you, I got like, sweaty hands a little nervous. And then I can stand in front of hundreds. Yeah, whatever amounts of people do a haircut just okay. Not a big deal. It’s so funny. That again, that easy flows out of me on the spur on the moment. And I mean, of course, I look at things that I see. But I get very much orientated with music with this information, I get fed listening to sorry, podcasts to and again, when I distract my head and sorry, running the mouth is the best therapy, I get the best ideas I can air out. I need that balance. And that’s why I guess it’s maybe also such an extreme. I guess I like a little bit the extremes, to be

Chris Baran 1:02:46
honest, you know, it’s funny, I think when we mdust be psychically connect connecting here, because I was just going to ask you, with all the travel and all the from show to show to salon to salon to shoots. What does Mike do to just wind down to sort of get your head back on straight again? And, and and is that so I heard Is it is it running? Is that? Is that what I heard you say that it is? I heard? Before we started we said that you were running and that you love running in the Swiss Alps. So tell is that what winds you? That’s

Mike Karg 1:03:25
exactly it has a name. It’s called trail running. And they poured and shocked my heart into it that the pandemic because the first time in my life, I actually was two years in one spot for the first time in two years at first. I mean, goodness, all the time. I’ve been married my wife and I spent actually two years in a row together, which was fantastic. No, no, no, no, no, no, we get along super well we hang out super cool. Good. So all good. So thank you. And then you know, being here in Zurich, I live you know, I walk across the street, I’m on the base of our Zurich mountains. And that’s where it all started. Meaning I was doing it before but never in that craziness. And I found the best therapy ever I do decom I used to decompress differently and I know this is not going to be maybe really a good thing to go on like that for for the next X amount of years. So I found something else and again, I like it a little bit from one extreme to the other. So it’s trail running and it goes into Ultra running. Ultra running is everything about 42k So I just did this summer my first 100k which just you know 18 hours running you know, you know, but it’s super cool, Chris it’s it’s super cool. When you do that. Is

Chris Baran 1:04:55
it like do they always talk about when you do marathons you kind of hit the wall and then you go out the others And it’s almost like a spiritual.

Mike Karg 1:05:04
Absolutely. Totally. So the thing is, is trail running is not all running marathon marathon is flat. Yeah. Straight asphalt or street, like New York marathon or Chicago, or Boston or Berlin. trail running is in a mountain with elevation. Yeah, you go up and down, left and right. You have technical terrain, less technical terrain. I did a run this year in the summer. I was crossing a glacier. I had to put on crampons. That was you had to bring them with you. Yeah, it was amazing. I mean,

Chris Baran 1:05:42
they’re just so that people don’t know what a cramp on is, that’s the thing that you put on your feet, that when you see them climbing and mountains or, or ice and that you don’t fall and kill yourself.

Mike Karg 1:05:51
So those are smaller ones that are made for to do you know, with like, smaller spikes, but he had to bring him and walking over 100 million year old ice over a glacier in Switzerland. I mean, how much better I mean, how much better in my life now? Does it get? Yeah, yeah, you know where I am in my life now. So it’s just the best. This is the decompression. And since I’ve been doing this, I mean, mind is super clear. I love a clear mind. I I don’t drink alcohol. I quit smoking. i It’s so clean. It’s I know the other side as well. Yeah. So now I enjoyed that site. And it’s best I recommend it to everybody.

Chris Baran 1:06:38
Oh, that’s I mean, I can only imagine that the insights that you would get if you’re running through the Swiss Alps. You know, I mean, it comes to the point I mean that yes, if it is competition or not, I don’t know. But it is the clarity. I’m sure that you would get just by having to go deep inside and analyzing yourself must be amazing. No, it

Mike Karg 1:06:58
really is. It’s super cool. And I’m glad my joints are holding up. I’ve had some bull’s eye things circling I just take care of it. You know, I learn a lot about my body too. And you know, who in a million years would have ever thought Karg was gonna do that? I mean, when I actually I did an install on education Arizona. I was into not to simply

Chris Baran 1:07:21
cleaning. So I didn’t have my back. Camelback. Oh Camelback. Yeah. Camelback so forth. Correct.

Mike Karg 1:07:28
And then I went out I was so cool like, way out thumbs Ed, thumbs thumbs some Tom some thumbs some anyway and other in the desert. I took me an Uber took me out there and went running there was like, it was a big run. And I was like in the desert, like, left to right. I was like in the prairie. I mean, it was on a trail. And you know, I have maps digitally satellite maps, everything, watch everything. But it was awesome. But I enjoyed it a lot. I was running by these cactus and like 150 year old, like ginormous.

Chris Baran 1:08:08
Yeah. Yeah, they I believe I might be off on my timing. And I’m sure they’ll hear about it if I hear from somebody but I believe that a Sawara doesn’t even build an arm until they’re 50 years old. Yeah, so it’s amazing. Oh, absolutely.

Mike Karg 1:08:22
So that’s just super blessed. But yes, so we say I trailed here a little bit. I get very passionate now about that to license

Chris Baran 1:08:30
that in anything you do. Like I listen to that part right now we’re we’re at the sort of a rapid fire kind of things. I’m going to throw out some questions to you and just give me like one or two word answers as it goes along with this. What turns you on what turns you on in the creative process?

Mike Karg 1:08:50
crasher challenge.

Chris Baran 1:08:51
Wow. And what stifles it.

Mike Karg 1:08:54
I mean, if you have some bad energy around you Yeah,

Chris Baran 1:08:58
yeah, that’s me too.

Mike Karg 1:09:01
That that that that that actually that has happened on the photoshoot that was luckily towards the end that was like somebody came in I’m like, holy moly. I was bad. You know bad energy on the present. Yep.

Chris Baran 1:09:14
Okay, just in life in general. What do you what do you what do you what is it that you dislike in life in general? Lying of and what do you love the most in life? Being on time? Nice. said nothing to do with the downside of

Mike Karg 1:09:41
each other’s time, you know? Like we Yeah.

Chris Baran 1:09:45
And what’s the most difficult if you had to say, most difficult time in your life?

Mike Karg 1:10:06
difficult, difficult. I mean, to be honest with you, I, I haven’t. I’m not looking forward to when my parents will pass. Oh, so that’s going to be difficult. You know, everything else. You know, I think when people pass, yeah, that’s, that’s difficult. But otherwise everything else is to be conquered and can be figured out and you can sit down and, and, you know, yeah, I guess when you lose loved ones, and even if it’s a pet, I’m not looking forward to that, because we have a dog and I know it’s not gonna live forever. It’s gonna go one day, and I know people have had pets, and certainly my parents and my goodness, I love them so dearly. And that’s already my word.

Chris Baran 1:10:56
I’m with you, as I like sometimes you’re the emotional energy that you have for your pet is almost the same as what you have for humans. So they’re just four legged humans. What’s the thing? What tell me what you what you like most about our industry?

Mike Karg 1:11:16
Camaraderie, if it happens, but we’re all competitive. Yeah, yeah, our very own way. And I wish sometimes, you know, it’s maybe also a little bit on me to a when many people walk up and don’t see them up and say I should, and everybody listens to these nouns and CDs. Now you see me somewhere, come walk up to me sometimes. I’m a little bit of be better at that.

Chris Baran 1:11:50
Yeah, you are. And this is, this is nothing I had planned here. But just from what you had said, No problem, because I know I’m that same way. Would you say? Are you an introvert on socially? I know, on stage, we all expect that we’re this this kind of person they see but are in personal life? Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

Mike Karg 1:12:07
No, I think extra. I mean, you know, I would say absolutely, no, it will totally open loft, striking off the conversation. It goes a little bit in waves to, I guess, maybe, you know, I, when I’m tired, I’m tired. And, you know, the minute I switch off, basically, so I’m sure like after this year, because you know, it’s late here I’ll be then, you know, be happy to go home and you have to get up again, but no, I, I like I like the social thing. But also like the, you know, like, again, when we’re at a trade show, I also like just a team to go out and be together instead of like, you know, be with the with the hairdresser’s and so,

Chris Baran 1:12:46
yeah proudest moment of your life

Mike Karg 1:12:52
when I really decided on going to when I launched that first desert that was like everyone was still with teams and you were at an artistic team and you did the leather and I branched out myself because you know, I’ve never had a corporate gig I just had you know, you had like these 30 Day contracts or whatever you know, your day rate or blah blah blah as you know, you know, they’re not not really branching out by myself and like hit the show floor and like Okay, I’m getting a booth at the show and and so on. i Yeah, like like without having a nervous all my own money nobody’s handed me money or anything was like just you know, taking that step

Chris Baran 1:13:41
and believing in a do or die moment right when you believe in yourself love that. Totally totally living person that you admire the most living yeah living person that my parents my parents,

Mike Karg 1:13:56
my parents, a

Chris Baran 1:13:58
person you wish you could meet.

Mike Karg 1:14:01
Living living Oh, living Oh Elvis.

Chris Baran 1:14:05
Elvis love whipped cream on that jelly doughnut. Oh. Something that people don’t know about you.

Mike Karg 1:14:22
i People can talk because I think sometimes people don’t feel afraid to walk up and say hello. I’m like, I’m like the biggest and I’m so I’m actually super silly. I love silly stuff. Oh, good. I love Fulani stuff. I like when like Instagram stuff. I like fart jokes. I mean, sorry. Sorry. Sorry, I said that now but I I do.

Chris Baran 1:14:53
I’m laughing because my wife and I we had the news on but we put on Instagram and there was this skit for I’m what must have been an Australian one about somebody that was just eating and then they were they were the lady got up to try and move the air through their body and said it wasn’t farting said it was just this we might have to take this awfully I’m not sure but it was I just dying this morning watching fart jokes on Instagram and here we are okay a month off, month off you didn’t have to do any work where would you go What would you do?

Mike Karg 1:15:25
Alps skiing obviously in the winter skiing summertime just always climbing walking running yeah yeah Alps definitely out mountain Mountain High your payoff though Hi

Chris Baran 1:15:40
secludes greatest fear

Mike Karg 1:15:49
I’m really not looking forward to it my parents will pass like that clearing that that club personal clothes that’s how I’m going to deal with it. I’m such so emotional and

Chris Baran 1:16:05
I cried cartoon so I know what you mean. Your favorite curse word shy sing a shy say I did it. Shane English Yeah. Yeah. favorite comfort food

Mike Karg 1:16:27
love popcorn and pistachios.

Chris Baran 1:16:29
Nice if you could change one thing about yourself what would that be

Mike Karg 1:16:39
right now yeah

doll what’s the English word for that? Knocked rock and what’s the you know, when you like, like some sometimes I should get over shade quicker.

Chris Baran 1:17:09
There you go. There the shot get over the shiz and quicker and quicker and quicker. Something in the industry that you haven’t done, but you You’d love it one two. Product. Oh, god. Okay, now, everybody. Sometimes I’ll do over, you know, if you had one thing that you could do over in your life, everybody says, well, I’ll be you know, I wouldn’t be who I am if I didn’t have to do something wrong. But if there was something that you could go back in and change, or something you could do over. But would that be

Mike Karg 1:18:00
my main message, shall we? But the thoughts like because, you know, obviously we have done something differently wouldn’t be where you’re at now. I get that.

I remember I used to do Marisa Tommy’s hair at the time of my cousin Vinnie. Yeah, and she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. I remember and I did Marissa Thomas air till that movie. She came into the salon. And she goes and just, you know, finished a movie that’s doing super well, you know, in the cinema and like, what is it? And she goes, you know, my cousin Vinnie. And I’m like, okay, like, I did not a know the movie. I was totally oblivious. I would not know how to I guess that was was, you know, do over like, I guess be there. Be a little smarter on how to schmooze and and do people never saw her again. Oh, that’s, I think I messed that one up. And I had a few other incidents like that too. With Katie Lange, that I asked her if she knows, but that’s my naiveness Oh, my goodness. I just got off the boat but a caller Erica Kelly died quickly. I asked Katie Lange. If she knows she told me she’s a country singer from Canada and I say would you know a lesbian check from Canada? That’s and she looked at me and she goes, Yeah, that might be me. But by the way, the haircut for the Azure new cover me? Yeah. Was that? Yeah, that’ll do. That may be a little bit more polished.

Chris Baran 1:19:46
Yes. But we listen, what we all know is that nobody expected you to know if you just came in on that one. But so this one I think is going to be tough for you. Because I know how passionate you are about hair. But if tomorrow you couldn’t do Hair. What would you do? mountaineering?

Mike Karg 1:20:02
Oh,

Chris Baran 1:20:04
well, that wasn’t so tough. No. Could say but that’s your that’s your your passion is shifting from one to the other. And then last last question here. If you had one wish for industry, what would it be?

Mike Karg 1:20:18
Stop using mannequin had some domain stage.

Chris Baran 1:20:21
There you go. There you go. Mike.

Mike Karg 1:20:26
I just want to say stage. It’s crazy to me today.

Chris Baran 1:20:32
Yes. Okay. So Mike, I just want to say you know, it’s late in the evening for you with you being in Switzerland right now. But I just want to thank you for being so kind to give up your time to for our audience. I just want to say just from the bottom of my heart, my friend, thank you so much for being here.

Mike Karg 1:20:50
Hey, right back at you. Thanks for having me that you organize that so well. By the way organizing that entry was a breeze with Melody. Absolutely brilliant people write super professional. I love it. Thanks for having me an absolute honor. And yeah, I can’t wait to give you a big old hug when we crawl

Chris Baran 1:21:18
next time all together. That’s a deal

Mike Karg 1:21:21
I was actually not No kidding. i By the way even struck my head I’m like maybe I should come out to Jeff like a thing in Arizona. There you go a big fan of like that are so on anyway. And I know a handful of people out there and I can combine a few things with it like, would be awesome. Like we’ve been thinking that and Laurie was raving about like how awesome you live and I just figured you know, maybe next

Chris Baran 1:21:47
time you’re out here, come to the house and spend an evening you can sit outside make just have a nice dinner and

Mike Karg 1:21:57
I’ll bring you some white mirlo Who white mirlo Have you had a white Marlo?

Chris Baran 1:22:06
Love it? I’ve never had a wait. mirlo No, no, I have not. It’s time I’ve heard I’ve heard of it, but I’ve not had it. Okay, so Mike, I just want to say thank you. One more time and listen, it’s always nice to have a new friend that you can connect with when we’re together. Right

Mike Karg 1:22:22
back at you. Thanks for having me, Chris. All right.