Brad is no stranger to the streets of SE15. Having grown up in southeast London, there has always been a tie between him and Peckham.
“I love how much culture there is in Peckham, not the Timeout ‘hidden gems’ but the market stalls, the aunties braiding, the Colombian bakery, the Irish butchers and the jerk drums on the road, they’re all the signs of how many communities are still here within one community despite all the change.”
It makes sense then that when it came time to open his own salon, that Peckham would be the place for it. Enter RINSED. A texture and gender-neutral salon, as Brad describes. After a stint within Holdron’s Arcade, RINSED moved a few roller-doors-down to the iconic Bussey building in Peckham – where it has continued to cater to those underrepresented.
“Us being texture and gender-neutral means that we can be an inclusive space for everyone. Salon services have always been very gendered with you having to fit into the box of a women’s or men’s cut, this excludes people that don’t conform to gender binaries and as a queer person it was important to me that we were a safe space.”
Their latest partnership with UNCLE challenges the concept of ‘basic’ hairdressing, asking the streets of Peckham, through flyposting, to be a bit more expressive up top.
In the interview that follows, UNCLE spoke with Brad to talk early influences, life in southeast London and the importance of community and safe spaces alike.
features
07.25 Creating space for all in Peckham with RINSED
“Salons, to me, are all about community and self care and I realised there was no where we could all go to be in that together, so I made somewhere.”
CAN YOU TELL US WHO YOU ARE, IN YOUR WORDS?
I’m a southeast London born and bred hairstylist and creative. I am the founder of RINSED, a space I built for all the people who feel underrepresented and not catered for in typical salon spaces. I’m queer, so barber shops have never been a place I’ve not felt comfortable in, and most of my friends have textured hair which, until recently, wasn’t even taught in UK hairdressing. I realised there was no where we could all go and have our hair done together, so I made somewhere.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO BEING A HAIR STYLIST? IS SOMETHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO GET INTO WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER?
I was always interested in hair, makeup, anything girly growing up; braiding hair on lunch breaks at school and doing girls makeup for prom, but I never really thought about being a hairdresser. I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up, an artist, a backup dancer for Destiny’s Child. I even thought I’d be a mechanic for about ten minutes. My sister was a hairdresser, and I started to clock on that it was basically a job you got paid to be creative and yap people’s ears off, so I thought I’d give it a go. My sister introduced me to her friend Nathan who trained me in salon and session work, and it started from there really.
WHAT WAS GROWING UP IN SOUTHEAST LONDON LIKE?
Growing up in southeast London was fun! It was tough at times, but it was fun. Gentrification hadn’t really taken off, so the sense of community was much tighter, it felt like everyone knew everyone or at least knew your face (that wasn’t always a good thing, haha).
RINSED PRIDES ITSELF ON ITS UNIQUE TEXTURE-AND-GENDER-NEUTRAL SERVICE. CAN YOU EXPAND ON WHAT THIS MEANS? AND THE IMPORTANCE OF CREATING A SPACE THAT OFFERS THIS SERVICE?
Us being texture and gender-neutral means that we can be an inclusive space for everyone. Salon services have always been very gendered with you having to fit into the box of a women’s or men’s cut, this excludes people that don’t conform to gender binaries and as a queer person it was important to me that we were a safe space. For me being texture neutral was massively important as my friends have a massive range of hair textures that aren’t catered for in Eurocentric salons. Salons, to me, are all about community and self care and I realised there was no where we could all go to be in that together, so I made somewhere.
I’m a southeast London born and bred hairstylist and creative. I am the founder of RINSED, a space I built for all the people who feel underrepresented and not catered for in typical salon spaces. I’m queer, so barber shops have never been a place I’ve not felt comfortable in, and most of my friends have textured hair which, until recently, wasn’t even taught in UK hairdressing. I realised there was no where we could all go and have our hair done together, so I made somewhere.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO BEING A HAIR STYLIST? IS SOMETHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO GET INTO WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER?
I was always interested in hair, makeup, anything girly growing up; braiding hair on lunch breaks at school and doing girls makeup for prom, but I never really thought about being a hairdresser. I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up, an artist, a backup dancer for Destiny’s Child. I even thought I’d be a mechanic for about ten minutes. My sister was a hairdresser, and I started to clock on that it was basically a job you got paid to be creative and yap people’s ears off, so I thought I’d give it a go. My sister introduced me to her friend Nathan who trained me in salon and session work, and it started from there really.
WHAT WAS GROWING UP IN SOUTHEAST LONDON LIKE?
Growing up in southeast London was fun! It was tough at times, but it was fun. Gentrification hadn’t really taken off, so the sense of community was much tighter, it felt like everyone knew everyone or at least knew your face (that wasn’t always a good thing, haha).
RINSED PRIDES ITSELF ON ITS UNIQUE TEXTURE-AND-GENDER-NEUTRAL SERVICE. CAN YOU EXPAND ON WHAT THIS MEANS? AND THE IMPORTANCE OF CREATING A SPACE THAT OFFERS THIS SERVICE?
Us being texture and gender-neutral means that we can be an inclusive space for everyone. Salon services have always been very gendered with you having to fit into the box of a women’s or men’s cut, this excludes people that don’t conform to gender binaries and as a queer person it was important to me that we were a safe space. For me being texture neutral was massively important as my friends have a massive range of hair textures that aren’t catered for in Eurocentric salons. Salons, to me, are all about community and self care and I realised there was no where we could all go to be in that together, so I made somewhere.
THE FIRST ITERATION OF RINSED STUDIO WAS AT HOLDRONS ARCADE, BUT JUST OVER A YEAR AGO YOU MADE THE MOVE INTO THE STUDIO’S NEW LOCATION; WITHIN PECKHAM’S ICONIC BUSSEY BUILDING. WHAT DOES THE COMMUNITY OF PECKHAM MEAN TO YOU AND TO THE STUDIO?
The community of Peckham is massively important to me. I’ve spent so much of my life in Peckham, so it’s a bit like being in EastEnders now where there’s no two characters that don’t interact. I love how much culture there is in Peckham, not the Timeout ‘hidden gems’ but the market stalls, the aunties braiding, the Colombian bakery, the Irish butchers and the jerk drums on the road, they’re all the signs of how many communities are still here within one community despite all the change.
WITH OVER A DECADE EXPERIENCE WORKING ON FASHION AND MUSIC SHOOTS, HOW DIFFERENT IS THE EXPERIENCE OF EDITORIAL WORK AND THE WORK WITHIN YOUR STUDIO?
Editorial work and working in the studio are completely different, while I love them both I love them for different reasons. Editorial can be quite high pressure and stressful, but you get to be much more creative with your process as you’re often doing stuff that’s not everyday wear. Salon is a much more of a personal vibe. It’s familiar, often with regular clients and there’s more connection involved. I always bring a bit of editorial into the studio with little backstage styling hacks and a big range of styling services.
THE ARTWORK FOR THIS PARTNERSHIP WITH UNCLE IS VERY BEAUTIFUL AND REFINED. WHAT WAS THE PROCESS BEHIND THE SHOOT?
I’ve built the salon aesthetic on youth culture with a lot of emphasis on music and fashion, so for the shoot I wanted to reference my favourite point in youth culture which was Gen X in the 90s. I’ve always loved collecting magazines from the 90s and 00s and my favourite ads in them were always for the original CK One. I love how simple they were but still a bit anarchic and provocative with a lot of play on sexuality and gender – casting androgynous models like Jenny Shimizu. I felt that advert perfectly captured RINSED’s aesthetic and the white vests and denim lent themselves perfectly to showcasing the hair. So, I played homage and gave it a little 2025 RINSED spin.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO SEE THE POSTERS UP IN THE STREETS OF PECKHAM?
Peckham has been the backdrop to so much of my life it was a real pinch me moment to see something that was once an idea in my head be all over the streets.
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE OF RINSED LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?
The future of RINSED looks bright! We want to become a beauty brand that stands up in the fashion industry, bringing a lot of backstage work into our salon spaces(s). We want to collaborate with other brands outside of beauty in the fashion and lifestyle scene to widen how we show up in our community of clientele.
www.instagram.com/rinsedpeckham/
The community of Peckham is massively important to me. I’ve spent so much of my life in Peckham, so it’s a bit like being in EastEnders now where there’s no two characters that don’t interact. I love how much culture there is in Peckham, not the Timeout ‘hidden gems’ but the market stalls, the aunties braiding, the Colombian bakery, the Irish butchers and the jerk drums on the road, they’re all the signs of how many communities are still here within one community despite all the change.
WITH OVER A DECADE EXPERIENCE WORKING ON FASHION AND MUSIC SHOOTS, HOW DIFFERENT IS THE EXPERIENCE OF EDITORIAL WORK AND THE WORK WITHIN YOUR STUDIO?
Editorial work and working in the studio are completely different, while I love them both I love them for different reasons. Editorial can be quite high pressure and stressful, but you get to be much more creative with your process as you’re often doing stuff that’s not everyday wear. Salon is a much more of a personal vibe. It’s familiar, often with regular clients and there’s more connection involved. I always bring a bit of editorial into the studio with little backstage styling hacks and a big range of styling services.
THE ARTWORK FOR THIS PARTNERSHIP WITH UNCLE IS VERY BEAUTIFUL AND REFINED. WHAT WAS THE PROCESS BEHIND THE SHOOT?
I’ve built the salon aesthetic on youth culture with a lot of emphasis on music and fashion, so for the shoot I wanted to reference my favourite point in youth culture which was Gen X in the 90s. I’ve always loved collecting magazines from the 90s and 00s and my favourite ads in them were always for the original CK One. I love how simple they were but still a bit anarchic and provocative with a lot of play on sexuality and gender – casting androgynous models like Jenny Shimizu. I felt that advert perfectly captured RINSED’s aesthetic and the white vests and denim lent themselves perfectly to showcasing the hair. So, I played homage and gave it a little 2025 RINSED spin.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO SEE THE POSTERS UP IN THE STREETS OF PECKHAM?
Peckham has been the backdrop to so much of my life it was a real pinch me moment to see something that was once an idea in my head be all over the streets.
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE OF RINSED LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?
The future of RINSED looks bright! We want to become a beauty brand that stands up in the fashion industry, bringing a lot of backstage work into our salon spaces(s). We want to collaborate with other brands outside of beauty in the fashion and lifestyle scene to widen how we show up in our community of clientele.
www.instagram.com/rinsedpeckham/
