“GOD, I WAS BIG”

Growing up on a farm, Beel never followed fashion, and was comfortable mucking around in moleskin pants, a bush shirt and gumboots: “Dad always jokes that my wrst hair cut was with shearing scissors.”

In his third year studying marketing and psychology at Otago University, he needed “beer money’’ so he got a job in a Rodney Wayne hair salon. He was surprised how much he loved it, and dropped out of university for an apprenticeship paying $5 an hour.

Since he joined Buoy 20 years ago he has been named Hairdresser of the Year three times (including last year), styled at London Fashion Week once, New York Fashion Week three times, plus many times here and over the Tasman.

With several clients who have stayed with him since he began at Buoy, he loves how a good hair style can make someone walk out with a spring in their step. “We’re counsellors too. I’ve had clients sitting here going through divorce, or going through chemo and I’m cutting their hair off.

“I’ve been part of births, deaths, marriages, divorces. I just love what I do. The day that I wake up and don’t get excited about coming to work is the day I will put down my scissors.’’

Beel yicks to a photo on his Instagram page of how he used to look, before surgery.

“I wnd it quite freaky to see me seven or eight months ago. I don’t know who that person was. I never saw myself as being that big, but now I think, ‘God I was big’.”

Of course he fears he might turn back into “Big Mike”. But you get the sense that Beel will be disciplined about his new lifestyle.

“There’s a lot of negative stereotyping that surgery is a quick wx. It’s not. I’m only at the start of my journey. And I hope to tell people that if you want to change your life, there are ways you can do it.’’

Q