From Dubbo to Davenport, dads are mastering the art of hairstyles over a beer or two as ‘beer and braid’ style workshops increase in popularity in Australian pubs.
Aiming to get dads more involved in their children’s routines, workshops are held in pubs where men can come with their mates, enjoy a beer and learn a new skill. These workshops tend to focus on the relationships between fathers and daughters, and on building confidence.
Mannequin heads, tools and cheat sheets are all provided and the men are taught practical styles from buns to braids and given guidance on haircare basics.
The events began in the UK, where podcasters Matthew Carter and Laurence Price, who host The Secret Life of Dads, came up with the idea.
Carter recalls his comment to Price that started the movement.
“I think we should learn how to plait or do our daughters’ hair and we could do it in a pub and we can call it pints and ponytails,” he told the BBC.
The workshop immediately went viral, and before too long similar events were springing up all around the world.
After being inspired by a friend in Melbourne, Perth-based father, TAFE lecturer and hair and makeup artist Manuao TeAotonga organised his workshops at Blasta Brewing, Burswood.
TeAotonga said the workshops were sold out almost immediately.
“It’s crazy. I knew it was a little bit niche, so I didn’t know how well it was going to be received, but I certainly didn’t expect it to be as popular as it has been,” he told PerthNow.
“When I put out extra eight dates, they sold out in 24 hours.”
To meet demand, he created extra workshops at Karrinyup’s Sunny Social.
He found that while many women put men onto the workshops, he also saw a lot of men who booked themselves in, and who organised their mates to come along with them.
These dads took the workshop seriously and wanted their daughters and partners to be proud of them, with some fathers booking in even before their child was born.
Happy to see the shift in fatherhood roles, TeAotonga believes his is the first father-led workshop in Perth.
Similar events have been running successfully in multiple venues around Australia.
