Lone man in world just full of women Jon-Paul’s beautiful job

Nov 21 2009 by Angela Upex, The Journal

Former textiles designer Jon-Paul Hoy is one of the only male beauty therapists working in the region. He talks to Liz Lamb about surviving in a woman’s world and his new role at a five-star spa resort

EVERY working day Jon-Paul Hoy is surrounded by the opposite sex. From the other female beauty therapists to women clients, girl power is everywhere.

Yet Jon-Paul is an exception to the rule. The 34-year-old has thrived in the beauty industry, working his way up from a student to taking over as treatment co-ordinator at the North-East’s exclusive £55m Rockliffe Hall Hotel and Spa resort.

“I remember going to college on my first day and being surrounded by women and thinking what have I done?” laughs Jon-Paul.

“In fact, over the last five years of my career I have been the only man working in the spas.

“Things like that make me more determined.

“With the girls in the class at college there was no discrimination, there was nothing like that just because I was the only man in the class.

“I have never experienced any prejudice.”

The beauty industry is notoriously dominated by women.

According to the Hairdressing and Beauty Industry there is an estimated 90% female-to-male ratio.

Getting work can often be hard for male therapists but Jon-Paul was lucky enough to get his first job straight out of college.

He says: “There was a lot of concern in the beginning. Many wondered do male beauty therapists even exist, will it work?

“Within six months I had the biggest clientele out of all the beauty therapists.

“I love my job and I have never had any negative issues from clients.

“Back then there seemed to be a perception from management level, who had been working in the beauty industry for more than 10 years, that men didn’t work in the beauty industry.”

Jon-Paul never dreamed of being a beauty therapist. He studied for a degree in fashion before embarking on different roles including a stint as a soft furnishings and textiles designer.

A chance conversation with friends who worked as hairdressers changed his career path forever.

“I studied fashion and came from an art background but it was a very difficult industry to get into,” he explains.

“A lot of my friends were hairdressers. I did a six-month course in acrylic nails and I used to watch the girls doing treatments and my hairdressing friends mentioned that male grooming was now a huge industry.

“I decided this was something I could have a career in.”

Jon-Paul threw himself into his studies and learned how to give facials, eyelash tints, waxing, manicure and pedicures before moving on to beauty treatments.

His first job was at Brandon Hall, a four-star hotel and spa in Coventry, before he left to join the spa at historic Bristol Victorian Lido, where he worked as a therapist as well as a trainer.

It was through this job that Jon-Paul met Denise Leister, founder of the prestigious organic skincare range Ila, which supplies spas in Beverley Hills, the Maldives, India and Hong Kong, plus a few resorts in Southern England.

“I mentioned to Denise that I was looking for a new challenge and within two days she had mentioned my name to Liz Holmes, director of the spa at Rockliffe,” says Jon-Paul.

“I think Liz had interviewed quite a few females for the position and one of the things she said to me was that there was no passion whereas I can talk about treatments till it comes out of my ears.

“I love my job so much. I love working with people as well. It’s also the least stressful job in the world. People come to see us and they are happy and they leave happy. Because of what we do, it’s so chilled out.”

Jon-Paul is now looking forward to a new challenge when Rockliffe Hall, in County Durham, opens to the public on Monday.

The hotel development boasts a 50,000sq ft spa and fitness facility complete with gym, 13 treatment rooms, saunas, steam rooms, a sleep retreat and one of the largest hydrotherapy pools in the country.

The spa is one of the biggest in Britain and it is hoped the development, which also has a championship golf course, will attract celebrity and high-profile clients in the same way Seaham Hall has.

The development has already handpicked a number of well-known people to work there, including Newcastle born-chef Kenny Atkinson, who is leaving Seaham Hall to run Rockliffe’s fine dining restaurant which will be renamed Kenny Atkinson at the Orangery.

The addition to the well- experienced staff includes Jon-Paul, as Nick Holmes, managing director of Rockliffe Hall, explains:

“It’s fantastic to have secured someone of Jon-Paul’s stature.

“His wealth of experience and can-do attitude will no doubt benefit the resort and its clients. He’ll certainly be an asset to our team and our members.”

The spa will offer Comfort Zone products, as well as being the only spa in the North East to use the Ila range.

Other highlights include the igloo, where spa guests are blasted with icy air, tropical showers, Rasul mud room and a bistro and juice bar.

Jon-Paul is confident the spa will prosper.

“I think it is going to be one of the best spas in the country,” he says.

“The staff have been cherry-picked, the ideas for the resort are amazing, it’s five-star standard.

“It’s going to be one of the best places to go in the whole country.”

Treatments include a sweet pea facial and horse chestnut and pine scrub and wrap, which were so named because the hall’s gardens boast a long tradition of the flowers and horse chestnut trees in the grounds.

“They have been really keen to link in the history of the hall and grounds into a lot of what we offer in the hotel and spa,” says Jon-Paul.

“The treatment rooms are named after stuff that was grown in the Orangery when a botanist used to own the house.”

The architects have also been keen to incorporate as much of the outside inside with floor-to-ceiling windows in the pool and hydrotherapy areas showing off views of the County Durham countryside.

While female spa clients make up approximately 75% of a spa’s client base, Jon-Paul refuses to be restricted in his career because he is a man.

He says: “Why should there be any restrictions on gender? I believe that a man in a position such as this, in a highly-rated resort, has to be better, work harder and deliver better results potentially than a female in the same position.”

The beauty therapist now hopes to help other men get into the female-dominated industry.

He says: “I would like to employ men in the future.

“A lot of men who do beauty therapist courses can’t get a job.

“I’d like to change that. After all it worked for me.”

Rockliffe Hall, Hurworth, near Darlington, opens on Monday. The spa offers a range of day packages starting from £50 as well as spa membership deals.

For more information call (01325) 729988 or visit www.rockliffehall.com