Straight-talking Tabatha Coffey is anything but (straight, that is). For three seasons of Bravo’s hit reality series, Tabatha’s Salon Takeover the Australian lesbian stylist has been imparting her extensive knowledge of hair design and business principles. This season, she’s taking over more than just hair salons, now the show follows Coffey as she travels across the United States transforming a diverse range of struggling establishments. Coffey spoke to OUTinPerth from her home in New Jersey.
Watching the show, the expansion is seamless, but was it difficult to consult businesses other than hair salons?
‘I had so many people reaching out to me… it just seemed like a really natural expansion—to go into other businesses.’
‘I really have the philosophy that business is business… you have to lead your team well, you have to take care of your clients well, and you have to have a really great product…so a lot of the same business principles apply, whether it’s a hairdressing salon, a gay bar, a bed and breakfast, a yoghurt store…’All businesses that Coffey takes over in Season 4—not to mention a bakery and a dog hotel.
Coffey is no shrinking violet, and is well known for shooting from the hip. Fans love this about her, and she went effortlessly from being a fan favourite on Bravo’s hit series Shear Genius to having her own reality show. She’s eloquent, self-assured, and is an inspiration to anyone who ever wished they could speak their mind confidently. Coffey says that she developed a thick skin early in life, and doesn’t take criticism personally.
‘People love to call me a bitch, so I came up with an acronym for the word…Brave, Intelligent, Tenacious, Creative and Honest. I really don’t think I am a bitch—I’m honest, I don’t mind stating my opinion, I don’t mind telling you the truth… I don’t mind standing my ground. If I were a man, I’d be called a go getter or ambitious, and if you’re a woman the only word people know to use is bitch… and it’s the wrong word to actually use—and that’s why I came up with my acronym.’
Coffey’s direct, no-nonsense attitude is to be admired for sure, but does it extend to her everyday life?
‘Yeah, what you see is what you get. The situations in the show can be really heated at times and there’s a lot of pressure on me and also the people I’m working with because the stakes are so high, and the situations I’m walking into are pretty dire a lot of the time, but yes—I’m exactly the same way—if I don’t like something, if I’m not happy with something, you’ll definitely know it.’
When asked where her determination comes from, Coffey answers,
‘I think a lot of it’s from my mother. She was an incredibly strong woman—very ballsy and gutsy and honest—it definitely came from her. I think a lot of it came from just me, and who I am… for me the honesty is not about hurting people, it’s about knowing what I’m comfortable with and knowing what my boundaries are… and what I need to make myself happy—and not being scared to voice my opinion—I think that’s a good thing.’
These are traits we can relate to in the LGBTI community. After all, being brave, honest and comfortable knowing what our boundaries are is what a lot of us grapple with when coming out.
‘I think everyone has to do it in their own time… I don’t think there’s any right or wrong way of [coming out]… I think you have to do whatever’s comfortable for you, it’s a very personal choice…I just think it’s important that it’s done, because living with it, and not being able to come out, not being able to be who you are authentically is a really hard place to live in… I think it’s really important to be true to yourself.’
In the new season of Tabatha Takes Over, Coffey takes over Long Beach’s longest-running gay and lesbian nightclub – Club Ripples.
‘They’re actually the first gay dance club in the community, [from] back in the day when it was shunned and they had to black out the windows and things like that.’
Club Ripples has been proudly gay owned and operated for over 39 years, and with Coffey’s help, hopefully the business will begin to thrive again. Did she find that particular business especially rewarding to transform?
‘Yeah, I did. Ripples is a really prominent place within the community. They’ve been there for a really long time and there were a lot of amazing stories that people came to me with about coming out in Ripples, and finding their first boyfriend…in Ripples. ..I think [it’s] such an important part of not just the community of Long Beach in California, but the gay community –that I really wanted to make sure that I could get through to them and help them to change, so they could be there for another 40 years.’
Coffey shares her compelling life story in her book, It’s Not Really About the Hair: The Honest Truth About Life, Love, and the Business of Beauty. The book reveals the personal tenets that have contributed to her determination and success. When asked to recount how she fell in love with hairdressing, Coffey says:
‘My parents actually ran [drag] clubs in Australia when I was a kid…I would hang out in the clubs… I’d sit in the dressing room with the girls while they got ready and watched them do their makeup and eventually they put me to work setting their wigs… that experience of being able to do that and see the transformation that happened with them is how I fell in love with hairdressing… also going to the hairdresser with my mother every week. I fell in love with smelling the smells of the hairdressing salons and the buzz… and everything else that goes with it.’
Coffey recently won the trophy for fan-voted Most Addictive Reality Star on Logo’s fourth annual NewNowNext Awards. The show certainly is engrossing, in part, due to Coffey’s evident passion for improving people’s businesses and lives.
‘…the reason I do it is to really help people… it’s a really amazing thing to hear their stories and see how they have actually changed. How it’s improved their business, how it’s improved their personal life, their relationships. And that’s ultimately the reason why I do the show.’
Until the next episode, let’s all practice being B.I.T.C.Hes – Tabatha style.
Tabatha Takes Over (season 4 of the previous Tabatha’s Salon Take Over) airs Tuesdays at 9.30pm on Foxtel’s Arena
Claire Alexander
