@CONORJMD INTRVW

Name: Conor James Doyle

Age: 29

Time in industry: 10 years

Location: Ireland

KLAY:

I first heard of Conor when we were both affiliated with the brand Eleven Australia. I was working as an educator, and I believe Conor was an ambassador. I followed his instagram page and was wowed by how quickly his career took off. Conor has built himself a massive platform and community. His humour, and authenticity are greatly appreciated by those who follow him. Over the years, him and I have become acquainted and I knew I wanted to collaborate with him in the future. Conor was one of the first Artists who came to mind when I started this blog. The fact that he took time out of his busy schedule to respond to these questions is a testament to the type of person he is. I hope you all will enjoy reading over his responses as much as I did!

How did you become a hairstylist? (What inspired you).

CONOR:

"I actually always wanted to be a hairdresser! Even as a kid (much to my dads dismay) I gravitated exclusively towards the girls toy section. Not just a product of my blatant homosexuality; I just really loved their hair. My generation was still that of shaming people for pursuing hairdressing as a 'drop out' option, so I didn't go in right after school. I did a stint in college before ending up pretty sick which really put my goals a lot more into perspective."

What is your favourite thing to do behind the chair?

CONOR:

"Colour, forever and always. I do enjoy cutting and extension work too; but something about the almost witchy potiony nature of colour work has always captivated me."

Tell us about how you got into educating?

CONOR:

"Frustration mostly. I have ADHD which only recently i've started researching the mechanics behind and how it affects learning. I wasn't naturally good at hair and found if somebody explained something to me as 'just because' it didn't stick. I had to know every what, why and how. A lot of my own techniques are mostly the product of problem solving. After a while people began to enquire how I solved a certain challenge and interest quietly grew around workshops. Combined with social media it sort of just grew from there!"

I remember when you had a more intimate following. How does it feel to grow? And how did you get to where you are now?

CONOR:

"Honestly while there's an undeniable hit for anyone refreshing their notifications to a stream of blue follow buttons; its a bit of smoke and mirrors. It can be really hard to manage and stay connected with your audience as it goes, daunting even. It got to a point where I realised my interactions with followers was less than when I had only half the following. I've slowly been working on re-engaging but it's quite tough!"

"I believe a lot of my social media growth is down to being authentic and providing a 'break room' level of conversation online. My advice would be consistent with it and avoid to mistake; dont get spooked and start stripping back your personality."

Where were you 5 years ago? What would you tell yourself if you could go back in time?

CONOR:

"I was working in a salon hell bent on building a clientele booked months in advance. I would go back and tell myself that aint all it; but I guess i needed to figure it out for myself!"

Tell us about a mentor you have, or have had, whom you have learned a lot from?

CONOR:

"Oh god lots, Katrina Kelly is a great friend of mine who was my first introduction to education outside of the company i was with. Paul Dennison has always inspired my as a colourist, same with Siobhan Jones. My agent Karrie as has also been an almost parental figure over my career this year and i've learned so much from her and her team."

Where the fuck do you find the time to create such incredible content, teach classes, and also run your online courses?

CONOR:

"I dont hahaha. I'm an absolute glutton for punishment and forever guilty of biting more than I can chew. A lot of what I did i had time to do during covid, when the world opened back up i tried to maintain it all and it just didnt work. I recently shut down a lot of elements of my business and brand to regroup and make sure my own human needs were met. It's been difficult but as I learn to prioritise myself, the time management around other projects sort of just slots into place."

How would you describe your personal style?

CONOR:

"Chaotic lol. Balance is not something that comes naturally to me; I'm an all or nothing kinda guy and it reflects in everything I do. My own clothes can be earthy neutrals, boring tracksuits or straight across the spectrum to eye watering print and shapes. The hair I thrive best doing is beautiful , commercial, expensive... or blinding neon placements. I was described as a tornado before that kind of just picks up and disappears as quick; it's the most i've related to anything in my life lol."

What role does music play for you in your creative process? What type of music inspires you?

CONOR:

"I actually studied music in college before jumping to hair. It's something i've always found a form of therapy and have recently vowed to getting back into. Weirdly enough I can't really focus with conventional music playing, but I am HUGE into how specific ambient music can assist the mind. My spotify playlists are actually mostly different solfeggio tones , frequencies, meditation or white/brown/pink noise. I find external racket really stressful to they all help massively."

Where would you like to be in 5 years? What are a few of your goals?

CONOR:

"Up until the last few months I've never really been able to answer this. I kind of just threaded water in my career and grasped almost without thinking at natural progression. It felt kind of easy as my career advanced. In the same way however, sometimes you can drive from a to b without really remembering the journey. I sort of felt this way about my career. This became a pretty big issue when I became self employed and realised at 30, lack of direction and clarity can make you miserable. I've spent the last year exploring what it is I love and marrying that with what I do. I have a huge interest in hair as a social conversation, what it says about us as people and how we can strive to improve that narrative for everyone. I hope to do more education with and around underrepresented demographics, and bring more understanding to the everyday hairdresser about how the true impact they can have."

You can follow Conor on his instagram page @conorjmd.