LAUNCHPAD Remembers Guy Mascolo

Guy MascoloIt is with deep sadness that the family of Guy Mascolo has announced the devastating news that Guy passed away on May 6, 2009 after suffering a massive heart attack at his home in Dallas. He was just 65 years old.

Guy Mascolo, together with his brother Toni, was the founder of TONI&GUY. Their globally renowned hairdressing company was launched in Clapham in South London in 1963 when the brothers were still in their late teens. The sons of Francesco and Maria Mascolo, the brothers learned their hairdressing skills from their father, who was himself a respected hairdresser.

In the mid-1950s, the family immigrated to the UK from their home in Scafarti, a small town situated a few miles from Pompeii in the Campania region of Southern Italy. Guy (whose birth name was Gaetano), and Toni (whose name is actually Giuseppe), were the eldest of five sons. Bruno and Anthony Mascolo subsequently joined their brothers in the business while the fifth brother, Andrea, joined the American arm of the family business during the 1980s, where he continues to work.

The brothers had tremendous vision and energy; their particular style of dressing hair created an attractive alternative to the geometric hairstyles of the late 1960s. By the mid-’70s, the brothers had opened their first salon in central London, on Davies Street, Mayfair, and were receiving coverage in glossy magazines. At the same time, they started participating in hairdressing shows that took them all over the world. During the late ’70s and early ’80s, Toni&Guy opened further shops in Covent Garden and Sloane Square and also opened a hairdressing Academy in central London. They also launched their own product line: TIGI.

In 1983, Guy Mascolo and Bruno Mascolo moved to Dallas where they opened salons in the fast-expanding shopping mall business, and also started to grow their professional product line. Toni and Anthony Mascolo remained in the UK, where Anthony grew the education and creative side of the TONI&GUY, and Toni developed a franchise operation that has now expanded into a highly successful global operation.

Eight years ago, Toni, Guy, Bruno, and Anthony Mascolo demerged their business. Toni Mascolo and his children Sacha and Christian retained ownership of the TONI&GUY operation worldwide (excluding the USA), while Guy, Bruno and Anthony Mascolo took global ownership of TIGI and TONI&GUY USA, of which Guy was Chairman.

Guy Mascolo was highly respected in the world of hairdressing. A tremendously popular and generous character, he was loved by everyone who met him and had an enormous amount of compassion—a quality the Italians describe as simpatico. He was a devoted family man, with two sons from his first marriage, Guy Jr. and Zak Mascolo (who is the Creative Director of TONI&GUY New York), and two daughters, Emanuella and Zara, from his second marriage to Flora Mascolo.

Guy was an avid sportsman with a passion for soccer and was a keen supporter of Chelsea. A brilliant guitarist, over the years he wrote and produced music for himself and others. He was also a very good artist who sold many his paintings to raise money for charities. Another of his many talents was cooking—anyone who was fortunate enough to sample Guy’s “sugo Napoletano” would agree it was the best they had ever tasted. But most of all, Guy Mascolo was known by all as a beautiful man and that is how he will be remembered.

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