Uppercut Deluxe Ambassador, Jimmy, and Asia Business Manager, Nick Ramsey, just wrapped up a whirlwind education tour through Mumbai and Hong Kong. A trip full of barbering, culture shocks, big personalities, and one or two moments where Ramsey questioned his life decisions (mostly during turbulence whilst Jimmy was fast asleep catching flies).
Here's what Ramsey had to say about the trip…
“The adventure kicked off with an Air India flight that felt more like a carnival ride than a plane. After being shaken for a few hours, we landed in Mumbai at midnight and crashed at Juhu Beach.
The next morning, straight into it. A “quick stroll” looking for coffee turned into a 10km mission through backstreets and markets waking up for the day. Our first barbershop sighting was a tiny hole-in-the-wall spot where the barber, barefoot, was slapping some mystery cream across his client’s face. Next door: a fish stall stacked with fresh catch waiting to be cleaned. Mumbai hits every sense at once.
Our first big stop was HA Salon Group, owned by the legendary Aalim Hakim, Bollywood’s go-to barber and the guy who charges around $2,000 (AUD) a haircut. Jimmy did four hours of demos while I talked all things Uppercut Deluxe. The team were legends, the questions were great, and pizza somehow ended up as lunch, no complaints here.
The next two days included back-to-back sessions with Juice Salon Group, Jawed Habib Barbering Academy, and Looks Salon. Jimmy’s Textured Mod Aussie Mullet somehow became the haircut of the entire trip, and after a close call with potential “Delhi belly,” he survived to cut another day.
Between the food, the Mumbai sunsets, the nonstop honking, and the pants that kept getting tighter, Mumbai put on a show. Then it was bags packed, overnight flight, and straight into Hong Kong.
We landed at 7am for a 9am demo with Handsome Factory, which meant no sleep, just straight into a cab and straight into a street full of barbers waiting for us. Jimmy nailed the demo again, and even treated himself to a face shave at one of their shops later that day.
The finale was a styling demo with Sauce Barbershop followed by our Blacklight Launch Party at AER, UV posters, limited-edition tins glowing like they were radioactive, open decks for barbers to jump on, drinks, food, and the legendary “spice bag chips”, which genuinely deserve their own Michelin Star.
Huge thanks to every team who hosted us, learned with us, and shared the fun. India and Hong Kong brought massive energy, big support for Uppercut Deluxe, and a lot of laughs. More to come and definitely more mullets.”
