The Walk Of Life – Alex Fox

On this episode of The Walk Of Life Podcast, Cheryl Thibault talks to Alex Fox who is a contributing author to the book Career In The Beauty Industry; See If It’s For You, and has launched a new venture called Glossary Live. The pair chat about Alex’s chapter in the book as well as what got her into the industry and how she developed the global nail competition Nailympia.

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• I didn’t pursue a career in writing about the nail industry I fell into it, but it was one of those beautiful happy accidents that happen in life where you find an industry, find your niche, it feels like the right place at the right time and you stay there. I’d started off as a journalist in the photographic industry, when I got pregnant for the first time the commute was too long. I got a call from people I’d worked with previously who were launching the UK’s first nails magazine, Nails Plus, and would I like to work for them part-time? I said yes and less than a year later I was the editor.
• I inherited Nailympia from the heads of three brands who were running events and didn’t know if they could carry their shows on and wanted to come together to form one big show that encompassed many brands. I wanted to do something like this in the UK and they gave me the go ahead. I set up the first UK leg in 2005 and it attracted nail royalty and amazing competitors!
• Glossary Live is on the brink of launching. It’s basically a digital platform designed to celebrate and elevate male artists and their work on a global platform. It’s a way of bringing together the nail community through education and inspiration, showcasing work, salons, techniques and all the things nail professionals are doing all around the world.
• There was a time in my 30s where I questioned if I had a purpose because I have suffered (until quite recently) with strong bouts of depression which started when I was young and were a very big problem back then, I didn’t realise I needed help. When you battle depression for many years you become someone who hides a lot. IN recent years I’ve got the help and guidance I needed and through that found my purpose and the ability to question what is a purpose and why do I need one. It definitely changed my life path and gave me strength, direction and meaning. 

 

BEST MOMENTS

‘Nailympia was originally called The Nail Olympics, but the Olympic committee asked to change its name in 2012.’

‘I’ve always been a people person, I love people and I love connecting with people. The nail industry is full of characters and people living their authentic life and personalities. I love being able to support and elevate their careers by writing about them and helping them on their journey. With Nailympia I get to reward them and help them become better artists and happier, better, more wholesome people.’

‘I had a series of empowerment sessions with my coach and it was life-changing and it put me and my life back together. I highly recommend an empowerment coach to anyone who feels like they’re struggling with anything.’

‘The 50s-70s were really quite a grim time for people growing up, people weren’t looking out for if you had bruises or you were eating properly. Now we’re the adults of today running businesses and successful salons in our world, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not locked inside.’

 

ABOUT THE GUEST

Alex Fox has been a journalist since 1993 working for six years on photographic titles both consumer and trade. In 1998 Alex moved into the beauty world and worked on the first UK trade nail magazine, Nails Plus. This led to heading a team of 10 journalists as editorial director and launching two salon titles and a spa trade title too. Alex next co-founded Scratch magazine, the UK's only trade title dedicated to hand, nail and foot care professionals in 2003. In her role as editor, Alex then introduced the first consumer nail title, Gloss, which enjoyed two issues a year before closing and has been organising Nailympia London for the last 15 years, which brings nail professionals together from across the globe to compete on an international platform. Since this time Nailympia has expanded into Australia, the USA, Estonia and Canada and is currently running four international competitions a year.

Alex and the Scratch team launched the first ever nail industry awards in 2012, known as The Scratch Stars Awards, which celebrates and recognises excellence, flair and creativity among nail stylists and professionals. The awards is an industry staple and is growing with every year in stature and popularity. More