The 82-year-old Károly Ress, who is simply revered as "Master" by his students and many colleagues, is a multiple international and Hungarian champion master hairdresser. He is a repeatedly honoured jury member of the World Hairdressing Championship organized by the Organisation Mondiale Coiffure, the international association of hairdressers. Although officially retired, The Maestro is still actively working today; he believes that anyone who stops working is dead. He is dealing with the hair of his decades-long loyal clientele in his former student's shop and teaching in the workshop of one of the oldest hairdresser schools in Budapest. Regularly invited to judge competitions, he revives an annual tradition of bringing together the country's masters and talented colleagues in a Hungarian championship. And when he's not working in his field, he's gardening, winemaking and making plans for the future.
"Even as a child, I worked in the forestry company after school because my mother needed help to buy us clothes. It wasn't an easy childhood. After school, I was going to be an ironmonger, but they messed up my application. My mother wouldn't let me just stay at home or wander in the woods. So, I ended up working as an apprentice to the local hairdresser. They said in the village that the little Ress wouldn't stay there for more than three days because I was a fidgety child, but it didn't work out that way. Every fortnight on Saturday and Sunday, I helped my boss to cut hair in the surrounding villages, sometimes I had to “shear” 50 people. In the meantime, I also spent a lot of time at the carpenters in our village, because I could earn money doing small jobs there."
Why did you retire or why are you still working?
Why did you retire?
Why are you still working?
Because I love doing it, I will work as long as I live—that’s for sure. As long as I can raise my hand and cut hair, I’ll do it, especially as long as I keep getting requests. I’ve worked a lot throughout my life. In my opinion, besides my good fortune, my misfortune is that I was somehow born with the ability to do it all. Not only did I become more than the average hairdresser in the trade, but I can also tile, build walls, and paint. I taught myself many things, and my manual dexterity was of great use when I built my home. That’s also how I got into winemaking, doing it so well that I’ve even won awards for my own product.
Life expectancy 2023
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