He may look like a rock star but hairstylist Jim van Hek has the patience of a buddha. Despite the calmness, he is feisty, determined and driven and, with blossoming business interests, an adventurous entrepreneur who seeks opportunity and maximises on potential.

Born in Holland of Indonesian parents, Jim van Hek was attracted to a career in hairdressing when he read about the success of the likes of Tony & Guy, Vidal Sassoon and Alexandre de Paris, all celebs in their own field, whose opinions were courted and whose own-name products were on shelves of every toiletries department… He visited their shows, fell in love with the creative and business opportunities hairdressing offered and, in the 1980s, enrolled at the Hair Academy. Not the best move; Jim had his own, distinct ideas and wanted the freedom to follow a self-directed path rather than be regimented by the techniques of others.