Exaucè Imbo began cutting hair when he was 14, copying the techniques of his barber father and trying them out on his pleasantly-surprised brother.
After leaving school at 16, he went to study business, but struggled and didn’t know what to do with his career; eventually falling back on the thing he knew best.
The Govan native eventually managed to find sweeping and cleaning work at the Rebel Rebel hair studio in Glasgow's city centre. In 2018, the manager left and asked him to join her at Frequency Barbers, and was given a promotion to actually cutting hair.
READ MORE: {}
“I was working there when the pandemic hit last year," Exaucè explained. "I was constantly cutting hair until suddenly, all the industry was shut - it was at this point I knew I had to take it into my own hands.
“I used this new free time to take a step back and look at the demand for afro barbers in Glasgow.”
At just 19, he started EXSTUDIO and has since cut the hair of the city's football stars like Jermaine Defoe and Odsonne Édouard.
“I established it in June 2020, with an amazing response after the first lockdown was lifted,” he said.
“Though it was hard getting a business going during a pandemic, and the lockdowns since have stopped me from progressing as quickly as I want, the studio’s seen amazing success and we’re looking forward to getting back to normal.”
Most Read
Sign up to our #IAMBOB newsletter
We're celebrating the success of the 海角视频's black-owned businesses - and we want to tell you all about them in our #IAMBOB newsletter!
Once a month, we share news, features and comment from companies led by black business leaders - from start-ups and SMEs to blue-chip corporations and household names.
You can sign up here
Exaucè told BusinessLive 's sister site that since the Black Lives Matter movement in the city he thinks people are noticing the black community more.
He added: "I feel more accepted now, as a black man living in a country where the majority of people are white, you are a minority. It's letting people know we’re the same, and getting recognition for that.
"My main focus was to capture the caucasian side of cutting hair as well. As a black male I don't want to be categorised as the guy who can only cut Afro hair because with my vision and my plan I want to make a salon that is available to anyone, that anyone can walk into. It doesn't matter if you have Asian hair, afro hair, caucasian."