By Laura Medina
A "Guy's Guy" groomed in the grooming business since he was a wee nine years-old lad, Pirooz Sarshar makes it his mission to be a father-figure to boys, a big brother to young men, and a wingman for fellow dudes confused and befuddled by male grooming products while reviving the lost art of a proper shave and how to behave like a real man, in honor of "Movember," Men's Health Month.
“I am in the business of coaching men in how to feel
comfortable and more attractive about themselves, help them in their confidence,
try them to do stuff they normally would not do. So, I make them feel comfortable about taking
care of themselves, washing their face or cooking a steak…whatever it may be. ”
Growing up in the beauty and grooming business, he is dismayed by the lost art of a proper shave, the booming confusion over male grooming products, and the lack of knowledge of what, which, and how...
“But, grooming is how I started; and I started in
grooming fifteen years ago. I started as
a kid. I was influenced as a kid. I grew up in the business; and I always wanted
to create something for men because I feel like there is a missing void; and no
one was helping out the guys out there. If there were helping out guys, there
was no education, basically. They either
learn from their mom and dad or a father figure or what their wife bought them. I thought it was time to take a different
approach. It’s time to give men an
outlet where they can come to and learn all these skills. You know, once you gain a man’s trust, there
is no limit to where you can go with him.”
He’s trying to get rid off the “metrosexual” stigma out
of male grooming.
“The term “metrosexual” was created by a British
writer many, many years ago. You have “metrosexual,”
“ubersexual,” “whatever-sexual,”. The
way I look at the overall men’s business, I really don’t care what type of
sexual you are, it’s all about guys. It
doesn’t matter what color you are. It
doesn’t matter what background you are.
At the end of the day, we’re all men; and as my book is called, “It’s
Not Easy Being a Man,”…Basically, we’re men with the same issues. We all have to get up every morning, around
the world and shave.”
Whether it's the NASCAR Good ole Boy, the Hollywood Producer, or the Wall St. Broker, some guys may have more variety of stuff and services available to them than others but they all share the same amount of confusion and lack of knowledge when it comes to today's male grooming and hygiene. Ironically, it's the NASCAR Good ole Boy who seeks out Pirooz for help.
“We’re sort of been forgotten about. We’re always been looked at as a niche but we’re
the other half of the population..; and there’s always things out there for
women, lot of choices out there. A lot
of areas for women to tap into, to help them out to sort out these things,…it’s
acceptable for women to take care of themselves. But in the US especially, grooming or
actually having some sort of enhancement in your life as a man is always looked
at as taboo.”
He's deeply concerned about the next generation coming up, even more confused than ever when it comes with a new set of male grooming challenges...
"People forget what we’re talking about is the basics
in hair care, skincare, body care but in ten to twenty years, everybody is
gonna look different. We’re all gonna be
mixed. We’re already are. This brings
new challenges to teaching and revamping male grooming fundamentals which means
new breed of products and new approaches in how , where, and when to use them. What’s really shocking, these marketers and
cosmetics executives have to grasp these demographic changes. It’s all global now; and I believe
products should address these skincare issues across the spectrum because they’re
coming up on the horizon."
Pirooz's biggest point of pride is when he teaches then passes on the knowledge of male grooming onto the next generation...
“My goal is to teach them the basics. My goal is to inspire them to feel good about
being a man. With a lot of content that
I write, I always look at this as, ‘Hey, if I can get a guy to take one extra
step or if I can teach one thing out of many things out there, I’ve done my
job. Because, that one thing, per a step,
is that thing that can help them alleviate of those discomforts he has…getting
over those taboos. It’s like anything
else. I have an eight or nine-year old
nephew. I remembered telling my sister
when he was seven years-old, ‘I’m gonna teach him how to put gel, pomade, in
his hair and look…it makes him look good.
As a boy, he will only going want to look better. You’re not gonna want to look back to what you
were…Here you are, watching this six or seven years-old boy putting products in
his hair, watching him enhance his look, this is a very normal thing, for all
guys, but there’s no one there to help them currently.”
“What I’ve done in the past, which I’m proud of, is
teach young men how to groom and look good.
This isn’t done to sell face wash or shaving cream, the purpose to look
and feel better about themselves. When they do go to an interview or when they
are on a date and when they walk into a room,
they know they can capture people.
They know they have momentum.
They know they have power. I
think it’s very important. These things
are very important to a man. When you
take the average man, you think what he thinks about, stress, crap at work,
people nagging him, people pulling at him in all different directions…how many
people you know take the time to step out and look at themselves
outside-in? That’s our goal, to help guys step out and realize the gift
they have.”
"Taking something simple then turning it into
something complicated, these big
companies are turning grooming into brain surgery. Let’s focus on the fundamentals then work our way
up. People forget the basics.”
“Think about the concept of manicuring,…it’s a basic
step towards hygiene; and it’s a basic grooming skill, getting clean. If you teach a man that the first thing
people notice are your hands and the first thing a woman notices about a man is
his hands and you gain his trust, he will do it over and over again. Again, if you teach those guys and they see results,
it will go a long way. It gotta
easy. It gotta simple. “idiot-proof”
Pirooz breaks it down in training men male grooming and hygiene practices, "Repetition represents skills for men"...
- Be honest
- Be Direct
-
Be Relatable.
- Be Fun5. Don't Make Him or Them Feel Dumb.The reverse of “Mad Men” back then, Mad Men used to talk down to women consumers in female products. Now, it is the advertisers talking down to men in male products.“I’m an educator. At the end of the day, I’m here to teach. By teaching men the right way, that’s the way the game is played. That’s the way to win men, to help men to win the game of life.”To boys and a younger generation, Pirooz is a father-figure or a big brother. To guys, his own age and older, he views himself as a wingman, helping men score.Now, isn't that the point of "Movember," to help a guy win the game of life and help him score.
