Tom Chapman Hon LLD may in fact be the busiest Barber in the World. Starting his career with Toni & Guy, he went on to open his own hair studio in 2011 – Tom Chapman Hair Design, in his hometown of Torquay. Going on to become a Global Barber Director for Keune Hair Cosmetics, creating their first men’s education programme and developing a men’s line of products travelling the world launching them globally onstage in front of thousands of hair professionals from Australia to Brazil.
After losing a friend to suicide, he quickly realised that from inside the safe environment of his salon/barbershop, there was an opportunity to not only look after what was on his customer’s heads but also what’s inside their heads too. So in 2015, he founded The Lions Barber Collective, which is a group Barbers, that educate and raise awareness about mental health and suicide prevention. This life-saving collective has grown and impacted a huge global network. Tom developed HereToTalk, that trains hair & beauty professionals and now those outside the industry, giving others the skills to recognise, ask listen and help those in need with their mental health and suicide prevention.
Leading this groundbreaking collective has led Tom to give a TEDx Talk and continue his speaking on both sides of the Atlantic for the likes of WPP, Carfest, Estee Lauder, The Times, Penguin and beyond, sharing the stage with the likes of Romesh Ranganathan and Derren Brown. Multiple awards have been received including one from the Prime Minister, endorsement from HRH Prince William and HRH Princess Kate and gain coverage on National and International Television and Radio as well as in print. All spreading the incredible story of The Lions Barber Collective, saving lives along the way. And if that wasn’t enough, he has even found time to film an Amazon Prime Documentary, entitled The £1.7m Haircut and publish 4 books, the latest being “How to Listen so Men Will Talk“. Tom also received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Exeter in 2024.
