Hair Maestro

Augustman chats with renowned Hairstylist Junz of Salon 35A on his background and trajectory to success

- AMOS CHIN

IN THE ASIAN CULTURE, you're "off track" if you're not pursuing a career in STEM; artistic roles are frowned upon by those with a traditional mindset, who believe that having legally lucrative/widely respected jobs is integral to success. They, most notably parents, think that happiness and self-worth can only be acquired through making a buttload of money and climbing the social ladder. In turn, it created an informal rule book for success in society. Needless to say, many creatives succumb to the pressure of following the supposedly "right" way, forgoing their dreams of achieving the status of artistic genius.

For Hairstylist, Creative Director and Founder of Salon 35A, Junz Loke, however, the antiquated concept doesn't faze him. Since Loke was young, he has viewed the arts and hairstyling as forms of expression, mediums that tickle his fancy. It was never about ascending the corporate hierarchy; he was more fixated on what made him happy. With a clear idea of what he wanted, Loke enrolled into a hair academy where he was endowed with the fundamental of hairstyling. Thereafter, he continued to hone his craft at salons, becoming the protégé of renowned hair maestros, before fully realising his dream of being a salon owner.