get serious

He has now come full circle; not long after

his first nomination, the then 25 year-old Errol joined the F.A.M.E Team, which today he is one of the mentors responsible for shaping. Helping to push new talent to be the very best they can be is obviously something he draws a lot of joy from. It was none other than Umberto Giannini

who pushed Errol himself to try out for the F.A.M.E Team. The pair were best friends until Umberto’s death in 2001, at just 33 years old. To this day Errol keeps a picture of Umberto in his office and thinks of him often: “Umberto was one of the first people I

ever went to the British Hairdressing Awards with. We were green, bog-eyed apprentices watching our heroes on stage. I still remember us saying to each other ‘That’s going to be us one day’, and we meant it. He did it, I did it, we did it. I couldn’t believe it when he died; I knew he’d been ill, but it was still a very numbing moment.” There’s so much more to the über

successful Errol we see – all suited and booted when he’s up onstage; taking home a catalogue of awards; backstage creating jaw-dropping, walking pieces of art; the astute business man. Behind the scenes Errol is a family man and one who wants to make a difference where he can. He’s been largely involved with

Centrepoint, a charity offering support to London’s young homeless people, for over eight years now, and he snapped John Frieda’s arm off when he asked Errol to get behind HAIRraising; a fundraising appeal by the hairdressing industry to help raise £1 million towards new operating theatres at Great Ormond Street Hospital, last year. Errol and Jo’s first son, Joshua, passed away at only four months old, which was one of the reason’s Errol felt so passionately about being involved with this project. He said: “After I got over

the shock of John Frieda asking me, I just knew it was something I had to be a part of. I want to do something to help parents and families coping with that experience. It’s very dear to me, especially after having lost a child.” Today Errol’s youngest,

and very cute, daughter Stella is at the salon. He says it’s a rarity but recently she’s “missed Daddy very much”.

At this point in time, Errol’s family – and new girlfriend Kimberley – is even more important to him and definitely not an area of his life he is willing to sacrifice. “The thing is, I’m not ungrateful for

everything, but who wants to be out having drinks with people they don’t know every night and then going back to an empty hotel room? It’s all about your family at the end of the day. Right now my kids [Stella, 10, Ruben, 12 and Yolanda, 14] need me more than ever. They’re getting into their teenage years, they want to talk, want me there and that is important to me,” he says. However, don’t think for a second that

this means we’ll soon be seeing the last of Errol Fitzgerald Douglas. He doesn’t share too much more with us but we can confirm 2011 is going to be a big year. “I’m always growing, constantly. The

collections, the shows, everything – I keep on doing it, moving it forward and I make sure I stay connected to everything that is happening in the world around me. In the papers, the magazines, in galleries and of course in fashion. Right now I’m working on the next stage of my evolution, the brand – a super brand. I’ve set myself some very big goals. There are countless people who inspire me in this industry but I also have business icons, like Richard Branson, Tamara Mellon and Sarah Doukas. Where they are, where their achievements lie, is where I want my brand to eventually sit.”

“I love being part of the Matrix

family and where it’s taken me. I love its direction, the education, how it is completely global. With Matrix I’ve been in front

of everything from an audience of 12 to an audience of 5,000.

Matrix’s strapline, ‘Imagine all you can be’, that’s exactly my view on everything I’ve achieved.”

Errol Douglas MBE, Errol Douglas, London

you can be please contact us for more info.

To find out how Matrix can help you imagine all

Telephone: UK & NI – 020 8762 4060 Email: contact@matrixhaircare.co.uk Online: www.matrixhaircare.co.uk