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jay and oli It’s an Image Thing
The connection between barbers and tattoo artists seems firmly established. On any high street you will find a barbershop full of well-coiffured young men discussing beard wax and comparing tattoo sleeves. We spoke to Jay Hutton, star of Channel 4’s Tattoo Fixers show, and Oli Espley, his friend and barber, about the bond between ink and style. Oli Espley and Jay Hutton both live in North Wales, where Oli runs his salon, Cruze Man. When Jay is not taking care of his own studio across the border in Cheshire, he’s on our screens covering up ill-advised sins of the skin. He knows that with that sort of exposure a shabby hairstyle won’t cut it. “People who have good tattoos usually have a good haircut,” Jay says. “They go hand in hand. It’s an image thing and that’s why I go to Oli.” Oli is equally complimentary: “I’ve known Jay for long time. I enjoy having him in the salon. He’s a cool guy and we always have a lot of banter.” Jay does highlight one key difference between the two disciplines: “My artwork is on people permanently, so it will be around forever.” Customers are precious about their haircuts, but the indelible nature of a tattoo must add extra pressure. “Portraits are most challenging,” Jay says. “There’s no room for error - they have to be perfect first time.” He must have had ice running through his veins when he inked a portrait of former heavyweight boxing champion, Mike Tyson, on to his own brother. Tyson learnt about the tattoo and even viewed it in the flesh. Jay lives to tell the tale, so we must assume he got that one right first time. Both men lead busy lives – Oli says, “I walk in the door of my salon, I pick up my scissors and they don’t leave my hand until the end of the day!” – but they appear to deal with everyday stresses in different ways. When asked how they each relax, Oli replied, “Relax? I don’t know what that word means now that I have twin boys at home.” This is contrasted by Jay’s approach to life: “I’m a really relaxed person. I try
not to let things worry me.” There is a tranquility about Jay that must be useful when he’s dealing with needleshy clients. “The trick is to talk to them calmly,” he says. “I try to make them feel at ease by talking to them as a friend, not a client.” Jay was first approached through his Twitter account and then had to negotiate a series of interviews and screen tests before he was chosen for Tattoo Fixers. Oli holds up the star of a much earlier Channel 4 reality show, The Salon, as his inspiration. “Adee Phelan’s reputation and celebrity clientele is what I want to achieve,” he says. “Simon Shaw is also an influence, because I attended a lot of Wahl Academy courses when I was starting out. I get my inspiration from seeing what other hair stylists achieve. Not only their cuts, but how far they have got in their careers.” Oli and Jay agree on the importance of hard work and determination in both their industries. Oli’s mantra could be straight from Gordon Gekko’s business manual. “There is no elevator to success – you have to climb the stairs,” he says. Jay echoes this when asked about his advice to aspiring tattoo artists: “Don’t ever stop learning. Every time you do a new tattoo you learn something. When you are at the point where you think you are good, push yourself to be better than good.”
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