Project Feel Good - The Writing is on the Wall

On the last weekend in August, local business Graffiti Masters Mikey Newman and Wade Shaare joined Craig Smith, owner of Fruition Salon in QLD, on a Youth Insearch weekend program in Bundaberg.

Craig facilitated a group session that invited all 80 participants to join him in graffiting a 12 foot canvas that would be used as a backdrop for a professional photographic shoot.

The stimulus for the mural was very simple. ‘Say what you want to say. Dream what you want to dream. The session opened with Craig showing the group a video that introduced him and his own personal journey as a young teenager.

At the age of 15, Craig decided he wanted to be a hairdresser. Growing up in the country town of Toowoomba this was a decision that was regarded as somewhat less than masculine and a prime excuse for an upper cut to the cheekbone.  It was experiences such as this that allowed Craig to empathise with the young people on the Youth Insearch program and understand their challenges.

Twenty two years later, Craig has two thriving salons under his belt and a modest collection of awards including QLD Hairdresser of the Year. He concluded his introduction to the young people by saying “Nobody can make or break your dreams but you.”

Craig and the young people then spent some time sketching out their initial designs before being led up to the 12 foot canvas, a brick wall complete with over 80 bricks, awaiting their illustration.

Say’s Craig “The idea behind the activity was to give these kids an opportunity to be part of a world that is completely different to their own. I guess it was a level of escapism. I also wanted them to be able to look at the end result of the shoot and be able to feel proud in saying ‘I was part of that’. In the longer term I also wanted to give them some confidence to believe that they too can control their own destiny.”

The photographic shoot has been handed up to Schwarzkopf Professional where eight extremely excited young people from Youth Insearch joined Craig and National Manager for Schwarzkopf Professional, Leesa Smith taking part in a photographic shoot as models, whilst another young participant from Youth Insearch, a budding journalist, joined the Culture crew to cover the story.

Say’s Leesa Smith “Schwarzkopf Professional is extremely proud to be part of Project Feel Good. The concept for the project is a very simple one. As professional hairdressers, we assume a professional responsibility to make people ‘feel good’. Unfortunately this is a human condition that not everyone has the ability to attain. By raising awareness and funds for this group, hopefully we can make those who will perhaps never step foot inside a salon ‘feel good’ too.”

Craig Smith and Fruition Salons have already raised $3,800 for Youth Insearch by donating $1 from every client service to the organisation. The photographic shoot is just one initiative planned for Project Feel Good.