Vince Manganelli has cut hair for decades in central Geelong and Geelong West.
He speaks to Luke Voogt about his quirky collection and growing up in Geelong not speaking a “word of English”.
Tell us about you…
I’m 58, I live in Hamlyn Heights and I have three sons.
My parents came here in the ’60s from Sicily and Calabria looking for a better life. They were poor, peasants basically.
My father came out with his father and older brother and, when they started to establish themselves, dad called for mum to come out a year later.
Ford was dad’s first job but he did concreting on the side to get ahead – like most Europeans back then.
Their English was non-existent so me being the eldest of three, I couldn’t speak a word of English on my first day at school.
I remember at lunch time I went up to a teacher and told her I didn’t like school, and walked out, much to the disgust of my grandfather when I got home.
The thing is, everything I said to my teacher, I said in Italian, not English!
I learnt through trial and error and, to a degree, taught my parents.
Dad just had his 86th birthday and mum is 79. They’re both in relatively good health living in Moolap.
I’ve been sporty all my life, from social basketball to playing for East Geelong Football Club and at East Geelong Golf Club.
These days I’m not playing sport but I still try to keep a fitness regime going, and go for walks.
How did you become a hairdresser?
I wanted to be an apprentice chef but there were no jobs available.
I got offered an apprenticeship as a barber for an Italian fella in Geelong West. Forty years later, I’m still doing it.
The people I’ve met along the way are what I like the most. It’s very social job.
Once I know what I’m doing cutting hair, I might try something else. I just haven’t perfected it yet!
It’s actually 14 years this week since I moved to where I am now. I’ve owned it for eight or nine years. I was down the end of Pako for about 20 years before that.
How did you collect so many historical items in your store?
Some of that stuff I inherited when I bought the business and other stuff I’ve collected over the years.
Antiques oil bottles, oil cans, china – pretty much anything and everything that court my eye.
My most precious pieces are a 1920s hairdressing work station, which I was very lucky to get off one of my clients years ago, and three barber chairs that are about a hundred-years-old.
What are your favourite things to do locally?
My youngest boy plays footy so I often watch him. I like catching up with mates and I’m in the Geelong Cats Social Club – I love to watch them play.
How are you coping with COVID-19?
I’ve coped like everyone else – it’s been a struggle.
I’m thankful because I’ve been in the business for a long time and I’ve got a good base of regular clients and JobKeeker, so has made it that bit more bearable.
