What is your ideal office?
We just spent two years creating a hair studio-showroom-office in an old apartment in Copenhagen, and although I am very pleased with the outcome, I always find myself with my laptop in the kitchen, the only room that is not done yet. So I guess my ideal office is not where I thought it would be when I set out to create one.
How and where do you relax?
With two-hundred days of travel every year, home feels like a pretty good place to relax. Cooking, reading and writing always calm me.
How do you balance life and work?
My kids would tell you that I don’t—to me life and work are very integrated.
Words to live by?
In the movie Colors, Robert Duvall, a senior police officer, offers Sean Penn, the rookie cop, advice in the shape of this joke:
Two bulls, a father and son, are sitting on a fence overlooking a valley full of cows.
Son says to the father, “Hey dad, let’s run down and fuck one.”
Father says to the son, “No son, let’s walk down and fuck them all.”
What idea has made a remarkable impression on you?
The idea that we actually think that we have any kind of idea at all never fails to make an impression on me.
What is the virtue of being messy?
The virtue of being messy can only be obtained once you have mastered the art of being meticulous.
What has been your greatest challenge professionally?
I find it challenging to work with people whose work aesthetic is not appealing to me. Saying that though, being challenged on your taste is also the only way to move forward, so it’s a double-edged sword. If you are always operating within your comfort zone, things will stall. Actually, the status quo is one of my biggest fears.
Have you ever caused a hair disaster?
Disaster is a strong word and hair grows back, so NO :)
What is your favorite sensation?
The mildly-burned smell of my wife’s skin when the first spring sun hits her cheeks in April. It always feels like my whole life is encapsulated in that sensation and in twenty-eight years it has never diminished.
Who would you come back as in your next life?
Upgrades are always welcome, but this one is not too bad.
How do you fix a bad hair day?
I turn up. If that is not enough, I ask the stylist to put a hat on it :)
Your hair is full of secrets—what can you divulge?
To me hair is an emotion, a natural material that can be shaped in so many forms. I see freedom in hair, not restriction, and I love when hair takes over and you can use your skills to just work with it. It’s exhilarating, like a surfer spending thousands of hours practicing and when finally catching a big wave, everything just falls into place without even thinking. Hair has also awarded me an unbelievable amount of freedom in life. It has allowed me to always be in charge of my own time, it has taken me around the world to experience amazing cultures and places, and now it has provided me with the opportunity to work closely with my wife in business as well as in life. When working with hair for so many years, it becomes instinctive, and herein lies the biggest secret, as method develops over time without you even noticing. Instinctive hair is my favorite.
