After Mike’s phone call the wheels were rolling. I was due for a haircut but I keep it so short even three additional weeks wouldn’t make much difference. I stopped shaving, I went out and bought an oversized hoodie and super relaxed fit jeans— I had a pair of sneakers (I was still wearing them occasionally in the 90s/00s— if you look at the photo above now I wear mostly Italian Loafers like these).
I also stayed out of the sun— I’m someone who tans very easily— but I avoided that— in the three weeks time my hair was a little bushy and I had a full short beard. I showed up with my sneakers barely laced. The other celebrities they got (and I’m certainly not calling these guys Z-list) were my friend and radio host Hank Stolz and a highly decorated Fire Department Official who’s name unfortunately escapes me.
Hank gave me a puzzled look at my outfit as we shook hands, and I smirked because he was wearing a very nice suit. Mike’s plan was pure evil genius.
I makeover was two days— day one was in the hair salon beauty parlor and day two was at a noted high end mens clothing store. The makeover team was made up of talented hair stylists and fashion folks— they had various degrees of flamboyance but they all had a great sense of humor.
Step one was to get me in a tanning bed and they applied some kind of easy bake over solution on me because I tanned even faster than usual. They cut my hair (without my input) almost exactly as I got it cut every week. They shaved off my beard and they gave me white highlights in my hair. The salon was in an old industrial building with exposed brick and pipes, absolutely beautiful, and they gave me coffee and espresso with a mere request.
Step two I had to hit the salon one more time for a quick tanning session before they threw me in the back of an SUV and drove me and Hank and the Fireman over to the mens store which was open only for us and the team of photographers.
Hank figured out why I’d showed up in the hoody when they started holding up Armani suit jackets for me- and they broke out (I’m not kidding) cowboy rodeo clothes for him.
I gamed the system— I also made the cover of WoMag which I have around here somewhere— and I got a nice suit out of the deal.