Widely regarded as one of India’s most celebrated and trailblazing celebrity hairstylists, Savio John Pereira reflects on ambition, fame, addiction, reinvention, and the long journey back home.

By Nichola Marie

“I always knew I wanted to be the greatest hairdresser,” says Savio John Pereira with complete certainty — the kind that comes from someone who discovered his calling early and pursued it relentlessly. Over the years, that ambition would take this Goan boy from a small hill station town to the front rows of fashion, film and celebrity culture. Today, Pereira is regarded as one of India’s most celebrated hairstylists, having worked with Bollywood stars, influential industrialists and polit￾ical leaders alike. With his all-black wardrobe, heavy metal playlists and trendsetting work, he became as recognisable as many of the celebri￾ties he styled. But behind the glamour lay a far more turbulent story — one marked by extraordinary success, addiction, reinvention and an unflinching determination to rebuild his life from the ground up.

Small-Town Beginnings

Born in Kuwait and raised in Panchgani, he grew up surrounded by strong women — his mother and three sisters — whom he credits for shaping his aesthetic instincts. “I’ve grown up with very dynamic wom￾en,” he says warmly. Trips to Pune for beauty parlour appointments be￾came formative experiences. “For us, it was like a picnic. But the beauty parlour was always the main event.”

He would sit quietly observing transformations, fascinated not only by the technical process but also by the emotional effect it had on people. “If the haircut was good, the mood at home changed completely,” he recalls. “And if it was bad, everybody stayed away from the person!”

By the sixth or seventh standard, he already knew hairdressing was his future. While his sisters experimented with styles, he studied magazine references and instinctively understood what suited different faces and personalities. “I knew what would look good on women,” he says. “I just didn’t know how to do it yet.”

Academics, however, proved difficult. “I wasn’t the smartest kid,” he ad￾mits candidly. Though he excelled at sports, studies remained a strug￾gle. Today, he suspects dyslexia may have been the reason, though little awareness existed then. “My mother couldn’t understand how I could answer quiz questions faster than everyone else and still fail exams.” Still, his mother remained fiercely supportive. Her only rule was simple: Never cheat. “You fail, I don’t mind,” she would tell him. “But don’t copy.”

A Turning Point

While his mother and sisters encouraged his creativity, his father Joaquim José — an engineer with Kuwait Airways — hoped for a more conventional career. Pereira dreamed of training in London at Vidal Sassoon and Toni & Guy, but his father insisted he complete his education first.

Determined to carve another path abroad, he joined the Taj Mahal Hotel as an apprentice waiter, hoping eventually to work on cruise liners and save enough money for hairdress￾ing school. Instead, the Taj transformed his worldview. Work￾ing at the famed Zodiac Grill, then regarded among Asia’s finest restaurants, exposed him to luxury, discipline and ex￾cellence. “That really changed my perspective,” he says. “It taught me standards.”

Yet tensions at home continued. “My father was upset. First, I wanted to become a barber, now I wanted to become a wait￾er,” he says with a laugh. For months, father and son barely spoke.

Then came a conversation that still moves him deeply. On New Year’s Eve, encouraged by his mother and sisters, he finally called his father after months of silence. “He said, ‘I just want my son back. If you want to become a hairdresser, I’ll support you’.”

Five days later, his father passed away unexpectedly follow￾ing a heart attack. “That conversation changed everything,” Pereira says quietly.

Bollywood, Beauty & The Big League

The late 1990s and early 2000s became de￾fining years. Pereira developed a reputation for bold, trend-defining work that felt ahead of its time. One of his earliest celebrity col￾laborators was a young Priyanka Chopra, long before global fame arrived. “She would say, ‘I’m going to become Miss India’, and I’d say, ‘I’m going to win the All India Hairdress￾ing Championships’,” he smiles. “We pushed each other.”

As Chopra’s career rose, he became instru￾mental in shaping several of her looks — from dramatic colour changes to daring cuts for films and editorial shoots. Soon, actress￾es like Shilpa Shetty and Pooja Batra trusted him with major transformations, while celeb￾rities such as Neha Dhupia and Gauri Prad￾han further helped popularise this new wave of style and glamour.

At the same time, Bollywood itself was chang￾ing. Directors wanted characters to appear more authentic and less uniformly glamor￾ous. Pereira’s ability to personalise looks for different roles made him invaluable. His un￾derstanding of colour, lighting and camera aesthetics also drew attention from photog￾raphers and cinematographers. “Hair colour changes under different lights,” he explains. “That became my strength.”

Soon, global beauty giants came calling. As Schwarzkopf’s India ambassador, he trav￾elled extensively conducting education￾al seminars and fashion shows across the world. His clientele expanded beyond cine￾ma into influential circles.

The Cost Of Fame

“There was success, money, fame… everything at your disposal,” he says candidly. “People wanted you. Women wanted you. The drugs were available. The alcohol was available.” By then, he was married with chil￾dren, but increasingly consumed by celebrity culture, parties and con￾stant validation. “You start losing yourself slowly,” he reflects.

At the height of his success, he made an unexpected decision. He shut down his salons, relocated his staff elsewhere and stepped away from the industry entirely. “I decided to travel for two years, to find myself,” he says.

The opportunity came through L’Oréal, which sponsored his travels across some of the world’s finest salons. Armed with what he calls his “red book and white book” — directories of elite salons — he mapped out a global journey through Paris, Milan, Berlin, Amsterdam, London, Barcelona, New York, Sydney and Singapore.

Paris became his base while he worked across fashion weeks, salons and creative projects internationally. “When you visit a place on holiday and when you work there are two different things,” he says. “You have to prove yourself all over again.”

At first, the experience felt liberating. Away from Mum￾bai’s celebrity ecosystem, he immersed himself in cre￾ativity, fashion and travel. London brought unexpected recognition because of his association with Shilpa Shet￾ty during the height of her international fame. “Sudden￾ly, the hairdressers I wanted to meet wanted to meet me,” he says with a laugh.

But beneath the excitement, loneliness slowly crept in. “Everything is a high and a low,” he reflects. “I left Bom￾bay (Mumbai) on a high, but suddenly I was by myself.”

The emotional breaking point came one Christmas in New York while he was staying at the Waldorf Astoria. Alone during the holidays, he called home on his daugh￾ter’s birthday. “She said, ‘Dada, when are you coming home?’ Something just hit me,” he says quietly, “I sud￾denly questioned everything.”’

Addiction, Collapse & Recovery

By then, however, alcohol had already become a coping mechanism. What began as social drinking escalated steadily into addiction. “The day drinking started,” he admits. “I was creatively flying high, but personally, I was escaping.”

When he returned to Mumbai after nearly two years abroad, he rebuilt his professional standing quickly. He freelanced with leading salons, launched his own brand and soon won prestigious honours, including Vogue Hairdresser of the Year — an award he had always dreamed of receiving.

But even as his career soared again, his addiction deep￾ened.

“The worst part is, I don’t remember my Vogue Award,” he says. “I know I went on stage because I’ve seen the pictures. But I don’t remember the experience.”

Over time, alcoholism and substance abuse spiralled dangerously, leading him into rehabilitation multiple times. “The first few times, I was in denial,” he admits. “I kept thinking I didn’t have a problem.”

Eventually, the addiction escalated to dangerous levels.

Yet even during those years, Pereira remained intensely driven. He documented everything obsessively in jour￾nals — training schedules, salon operations, business plans and ideas. “I would write down things every single day,” he says. “Even during my alcoholic days.” He of￾ten planned months of salon activity in advance before entering rehab, ensuring the business could continue functioning in his absence.

Faith remained a constant presence. He continued at￾tending church, novenas and temples, often carrying al￾cohol in his pocket. “I would tell God, ‘If you really want me to stop drinking, make me throw this bottle away when I leave church’.” That never quite happened.

The defining moment came after he collapsed and was hospitalised in a critical condition. Doctors reported￾ly told his family he had only months to live. When he finally regained consciousness after weeks in intensive care, his mother was sitting beside him.

“I opened my eyes and said, ‘Ma, I’m done’,” he recalls. “She kissed my forehead and said, ‘I know you’re done’.” He never touched alcohol or substances again after that day.

A major influence during his recovery was Fr Joe Pereira of the Kripa Foundation, who also encouraged him not to hide his struggles. Today, Pereira speaks openly about addiction on social media, regularly post￾ing about his sobriety journey. “I’m not ashamed of it,” he says firmly. “If sharing my story helps even one person, then it’s worth it.”

The response has been overwhelming. People battling alcoholism and substance abuse — or worried about loved ones — often visit his salon simply to speak with him. “Clients have seen me go from being a mad￾man to getting out of it,” he says. “People come and say, ‘Can I just talk to you?’ Imagine the power of simply being honest.”

One Day At A Time

Today, nearly a decade into sobriety, Pereira often mentors others struggling with substance abuse. “People think addicts are useless peo￾ple. That’s not true,” he says. “Most are intelligent, successful and deeply wounded.”

Through life’s highs and lows, he has continued to receive the unwaver￾ing support of his mother, wife Priya, mother-in-law, Priya’s brother, his sisters and their families, close friends, industry colleagues, and loyal clients who have stood by him through every phase of his journey.

Professionally, he has rebuilt his life with renewed purpose and vision. His salons continue to expand across India, while his growing focus on education, affordable industry training, and the launch of new hair and grooming products marks an exciting new phase in his journey. “A lot of young people want to learn but can’t afford advanced edu￾cation,” he says. “That’s something I really want to change.” He also remains known for his signature glamorous layered hairstyles and the warm, indulgent salon pampering that clients fondly describe as “The Savio John Pereira Experience.”

He credits much of his journey to the people he has worked with over the years. “My time at Zodiac Grill taught me stan￾dards, attention to detail, and the true meaning of teamwork and team spirit,” he says. “Even today, my haircuts are ‘pay as you like’, a philosophy inspired by those early experiences, and my teams continue to share tips from a common collection box — something I strongly believe builds unity and respect.” He also acknowledges the influence of the teams at Nalini and Yasmin in shaping his collaborative approach to work. Above all, he remains deeply grateful to his current team, many of whom have staunchly stood by him over the past 17 years.

Among his many high-profile clients over the years are Maha￾rashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and veteran political leader Sharad Pawar. Pereira admits he initially feared his trou￾bled past might affect perceptions of him, but recalls Fadnavis reassuring him, “Your past is your past. Don’t look back there.” He describes the CM as good-looking, extremely disciplined, and deeply aware of his public image, while recalling Pawar’s unmistakably powerful aura the moment he enters a room.

Yet beyond status or power, Pereira believes authenticity and human connection matter most. “People connect with hones￾ty,” he says. “When someone sits in your chair, you want them to feel relaxed. Sometimes that salon chair becomes the only quiet moment they get.”

Fame no longer defines him the way it once did. “I had to lose myself to find myself again,” he says. “Everything is one day at a time now. That’s how I live.” Today, his passions are simpler and more grounding — reading, writing, music, fitness, trek￾king, and long-distance adventure motorcycling. “Love is my ultimate drug and my greatest high,” he says.

After all the accomplishments, personal battles and reinven￾tion, the essence remains surprisingly unchanged. “I still just love hair,” admits the Goan boy from Panchgani, with a flash of that rockstar smile.