A different spin

This youngster has made the transition from playing state cricket to cutting hair, and been successful at it
Daniel Liao (26) Co-owner, Rock Paper Scissor
In 2012, when Daniel Liao decided to convert his two bedroom apartment into a salon, friends disapproved. After all, Liao had played cricket for Karnataka along with contemporaries Robin Uthappa, Stuart Binny and CM Gautam and earned a reputation as a left-arm spinner. His decision to turn hairstylist — even though his grandmother Rita has owned Liao’s beauty salon in Frazer Town for over four decades — didn’t go down too well with his peers and family. “My dad wasn’t convinced since he thinks a job at a salon is only for women,” says Liao. Today, he co-owns Rock Paper Scissors — a beauty salon with partner Preethi Singh in Frazer Town.

Until 2009, Liao, just like any other fresh graduate, was trying to figure out his direction in life. A commerce graduate, he led his college cricket team to numerous victories in all-India tournaments. He even played for Bijapur Bulls at the inaugural Karnataka Premier League, apart from appearing for Under-17, Under-19 and Under-21 matches for the state team. Though he hoped to keep his career in cricket going, he wasn’t selected and eventually faded away.
So it was a happy accident when the fourth generation Chinese descendant in Bangalore had a tryst with hairstyling during a house party in 2009. He found his friend’s hair too long and shabby. “I cut his hair for free and felt good about it.” It would have been the easiest choice for Liao to take over his grandmother’s well-settled business, but he chose to take the long route.
First, he took up a job with his aunt Collette Koo who runs the salon — Collettes in Jayanagar Complex, a popular choice among south Bangaloreans. “My aunt is very strict. I didn’t want to learn from my grandmom because I would get very complacent,” he says.
Liao worked in his aunt’s salon for two years, doing everything from sweeping hair off the floor, to trying new hairstyles on other staff members. In 2011, he joined B-Blunt, headed by Adhuna Bhabani-Akhtar, for a six-month certification. “The transition from playing cricket to holding a comb has been really difficult. I have always been a left hander and taught myself to cut with my right hand,” he adds.
Though he continues to coach cricket at St Germans School and even plays league cricket for Chintamani Club, Liao says, “Getting into hairstyling and running a salon was a good decision and I am really passionate about it.”
In fact, his clients, many of whom are software professionals, invited Liao to counsel their kids about their careers. “Some of my clients work at Goldman Sachs but they don’t want their kids to do a regular software job. Many of them are open to a creative industry.”
That’s a welcome sign, indeed, and hairstyling can’t be dismissed as ‘only for women’ anymore.