Men’s Hairdresser of the Year 2025 and Co-Founder of MENSPIRE Salon and MENSPIRE Academy, Josh Lamonaca, believes every haircut begins with identity, not technique. Rooted in emotion, storytelling, and artistic expression, his philosophy is redefining modern barbering and inspiring a new generation of professionals. Charlene Flanagan explores the creative vision behind one of the industry’s most influential voices.
Josh Lamonaca has never measured success by trophies, yet being crowned Men’s Hairdresser of the Year 2025 at the British Hairdressing Awards (BHAs) for his DNA Collection, marked a defining moment in a career built on challenging convention, refining his craft, and redefining the boundaries of modern barbering. As men’s grooming continues to evolve, his work reflects a profession that has moved beyond traditional cuts and classic techniques, embracing creativity, individuality, and artistic expression.
As Co-Founder of MENSPIRE Salon and MENSPIRE Academy, Lamonaca’s influence extends far beyond the salon chair. Whether teaching on international stages, developing educational programmes, or producing editorial collections that capture the imagination of the industry, he has inspired a new generation of professionals to see barbering as a craft rather than simply a trade.
What makes Lamonaca particularly compelling is that his approach is rooted in purpose rather than prestige. Ask him about his latest collection and the conversation rarely centres on scissors, fades, or technical execution. Instead, he speaks about emotion, identity, and storytelling. For him, the haircut is simply the final expression of a creative process that begins long before the first section of hair is lifted. It is this mindset that has established him as one of barbering’s most influential voices, shaping not only the work produced behind the chair, but also the future of the profession itself.
WHERE EVERY COLLECTION BEGINS
Lamonaca’s process doesn’t begin with a trend forecast, a cutting technique, or a commercial objective. “Every collection starts with a feeling, an idea, something I’ve been carrying around in my head for months, maybe years,” he says. Before the scissors come out, mood boards begin to take shape. They are filled with fashion imagery, architecture, photography, textures, movement, colour, and visual references that appear unrelated to barbering at first glance. Yet these influences become the emotional blueprint for everything that follows.
Rather than chasing seasonal trends, Lamonaca searches for ideas that evoke a genuine emotional response. Every collection becomes an opportunity to communicate something meaningful, rather than simply showcasing technical ability. “The story I’m always trying to tell is the same one, really,” he explains. “A haircut isn’t just a haircut. It’s identity. It’s who that person is, or who they’re becoming.”
It is a philosophy that immediately distinguishes his work. While technical precision is evident throughout his collections, it is never the headline. Instead, the emphasis remains firmly on the individual wearing the hair and the narrative being expressed through it. The photographs invite viewers to pause, study the details, and connect with something beyond the haircut itself. “If it moves you, if it makes you stop scrolling,” he says, “that’s the job done.”
REDEFINING MODERN BARBERING
For much of the industry’s history, barbering and hairdressing have existed as separate disciplines. Barbering was associated with structure, precision, and classic masculine aesthetics. Hairdressing embraced softness, movement, and editorial creativity. Professionals generally identified with one or the other. Lamonaca, however, has never accepted that division. “My whole career, I’ve refused to be boxed in,” he admits. “I want the precision, the discipline of barbering, the clean lines, and the structure, married with the softness, the texture, and the movement you get in hairdressing.”
This philosophy is evident throughout his award-winning work. Strong geometric foundations are softened through natural movement, while classic barbering techniques are elevated with contemporary finishes that allow the hair to behave authentically. “It’s not one technique,” he explains. “It’s that balance andiscipline and nature, always working together, never against each other.”
Those three principles, discipline, nature, and aesthetic, have become something of a creative compass throughout his career. Together, they create hair that is both visually compelling and commercially relevant. This philosophy mirrors the changing expectations of today’s clientele. Men are increasingly seeking personalised looks that balance creativity with practicality. And for Lamonaca, the future does not belong exclusively to barbers or hairdressers, but to those capable of mastering both.
THE COURAGE TO CREATE
While award-winning collections often appear effortless, the reality is considerably more complicated. “Honestly, the biggest challenge is always the same one,” he says. “It’s not the hair, it’s the doubt.” One image within his latest collection remains especially significant because it represented the moment his vision finally became reality. “It was the first shot of the collection, and it meant everything to me to get it right.”
Having previously worked with the model in Amsterdam, Lamonaca spent months refining the concept before flying him from the Netherlands specifically for the shoot. The image had existed vividly in his imagination long before the camera captured it. “It was a liberating moment knowing I could bring something from my imagination to life.”
However, translating imagination into reality is rarely as straightforward. “You can see something perfectly in your head, and then it fights you when you pick up the scissors or the razor.” Rather than viewing those moments as setbacks, he believes they are essential to growth. “That friction, that’s where the growth is. Every challenge I came up against just sharpened the result, made it more honest,” he says. And this mindset has become one of the defining characteristics of his career.
EDITORIAL WITH A PURPOSE
For Lamonaca, editorial work has never been about creating beautiful images for the sake of admiration. Every collection is designed with a second audience in mind: the barber who wants to learn. In an age where social media rewards instant gratification, he believes the true value of editorial lies in its ability to educate, inspire, and ultimately elevate the profession. “Most people only ever see the finished haircut,” he explains. “They don’t see what’s happening on the inside, the thinking, the reasoning behind it.”
That unseen thought process is precisely what fascinates him. Editorial collections, competitions, and stage presentations offer professionals a glimpse into another artist’s creative mindset. They reveal not only what was created, but why it was created, encouraging viewers to think differently about technique, shape, texture, and design. “This kind of work isn’t just for show; it’s education in disguise,” he shares.
He believes inspiration has a remarkable way of filtering through the profession. “What starts on a stage or in a magazine, six months later it’s walking through the door of your local shop because a client’s seen it somewhere and thought, ‘I want that’.” That progression reinforces why competitions and editorial work remain relevant. They are not detached from commercial barbering, but shape the visual language of the industry, influence client expectations, and challenge professionals to keep evolving.
Equally important is ensuring that creativity remains accessible. While award collections should inspire, they must also offer practical value to the professionals who study them. “If you only chase the striking image, you lose the barber watching at home who needs something they can use on a Monday morning.”
That philosophy perfectly encapsulates his approach to education. Every collection should leave its audience with two things: inspiration and practical knowledge. “I always try to give both. Something to look at, and something to learn.”
BEYOND THE ALGORITHM
Today, the barbering industry has never had greater access to education. From Instagram reels to YouTube demonstrations, technical content is available at the swipe of a finger. Yet, Lamonaca believes that accessibility has also created a significant challenge. “There’s so much content out there now, but it’s all 10-or 20-second videos. Swipe to the next one.”
For Lamonaca, this is information without understanding. “You don’t learn anything. It goes in one ear and out the other.” It was this realisation that inspired the launch of Mentored by MENSPIRE, a mentoring platform founded alongside Chris Foster and Samuel Palmer.
Rather than offering another library of online tutorials, the platform has been designed to recreate something many professionals struggle to find: genuine mentorship. “What’s missing is real depth, real mentorship, someone who’s walked the path sitting with you and going through it properly.”
For Lamonaca, the distinction is significant. Watching someone perform a haircut online is very different from understanding the thinking behind every decision, receiving personalised feedback, and developing the confidence to apply those principles independently. This is where Mentored by MENSPIRE becomes transformational. “It’s not Netflix. It’s not passive. It’s me and my business partners working directly with people who want to grow, whether that’s their skill, their business, or their confidence behind the chair.”
CULTIVATING THE CREATIVE MIND
Despite his impressive list of achievements, Lamonaca’s advice to aspiring barbers is surprisingly uncomplicated. “Don’t be shy, and don’t wait for permission.” It is advice born from personal experience. Starting his career at just 15 years old, he built his reputation through relentless practice, constant observation, and an unwavering determination to improve. “I built it through obsession, through practising on anyone who’d sit in my chair, through studying people I admired and figuring out why their work moved me,” he says.
Yet he believes technical practice alone will only take a barber so far. After all, creativity requires nourishment. The fact is, professionals have become consumed by the demands of daily appointments, leaving little room to explore ideas beyond the salon floor. “We get stuck,” he says. “We don’t make time to be creative.”
His solution is refreshingly simple. “You’ve got to feed your mind before you can create anything worth entering into a competition.” He encourages barbers to immerse themselves in photography, fashion, architecture, and other creative disciplines.
For professionals considering competitions for the first time, Lamonaca also offers reassurance. “Nobody starts a masterpiece,” he says. “They start with an idea and they refine it.” These words perhaps resonate beyond competitions themselves. “Whether developing a new service menu, photographing a first collection, or opening a second salon, every meaningful achievement begins with a single idea and the courage to pursue it.”
THE FUTURE OF MODERN BARBERING
Spend time listening to Josh Lamonaca and one message becomes abundantly clear: his success has never been built solely on exceptional haircutting, but on curiosity and refusing to accept traditional boundaries. “Barbering deserves the same artistic recognition as every other creative discipline within professional beauty,” he says.
Josh Lamonaca may have been recognised with one of the industry’s highest honours, but it is clear that awards have never been the destination. For him, success lies in pushing creative boundaries, sharing knowledge, and inspiring others to think differently about barbering. It is a philosophy built not on perfection, but on persistence. As he puts it, “If you stop the second it gets difficult, you’ll never make anything that’s worth looking at.”