MEET YOUR LOCAL CELEBRITIES
Maybe you see their faces on the evening news, hear their voices on the radio during your morning drive to work, see them performing on a stage or recognize their name from the newspaper. Whatever it may be, there’s more than meets the eye, or ear, when it comes to these familiar faces. Meet a few of your local celebrities and find out what they do when they’re not in the spotlight and why they love their careers.
Joseph Olivieri
Owner – Josef’s School of Hair Design
Photos by J. Alan Paul Photography
Although Joseph Olivieri was born in Dilworth, Minn., and has spent most of his life in Fargo, but he’s still not used to the cold. He doesn’t mind the snow, but it’s the cold that gets to him. And at 90 years old, who can blame him?
Olivieri’s name is synonymous with Josef’s School of Hair Design, but the road that brought him here took him through a tour in Italy during World War II, hair school in Hollywood, Calif., and traveling and working all around the world. After celebrating his 90th birthday last year, Olivieri looked back on his life in a business that treated him well.
“The beauty business has been very good to me,” said Olivieri. “I love what I do and I do what I love. I’ve never regretted it. To this day, I still love it and I believe if people would do what they love, they’d never get tired of going to work or going to their job.”
As the son of a railroad man, Olivieri was a self- titled hell raiser in high school. He was drafted into the Army and shipped to basic training three days after graduating. From there, he went to Italy to serve during World War II. His life was irrevocably changed from this experience.
“What did you learn? You learn a lot of discipline,” he said. “You learn you don’t have a life of your own. You go from a kid to a man quick. You don’t have time to think. That’s life.”
> Related: Read about local celebrity Chris Hanson of BOB95 FM and how he’s recognized in more ways than one.
After the service, life continued to happen quickly for Olivieri. His brother was becoming a barber and encouraged him to become one as well. Olivieri said forget that, though. If he was going to do that, he was going to spend his time working with beautiful ladies as a hair stylist.
The education and travel continued for Olivieri. He studied in Fargo and Hollywood before traveling the world and competing in different hair competitions. Despite the fact that he could go anywhere he wanted, he ended up back in Fargo and has ran Josef’s School of Hair Design for the last 50 years.
Despite being a self-learned man, Olivieri recognizes that he didn’t get where he is on his own. “I raised a lot of hell in this business. I had a lot of fun in this business. I never knew where I was going in this business because I didn’t know my own talents. Thank God that the people around me were generous enough to see what I didn’t see and encourage me. They saw things in me that I didn’t see in myself,” he said.
At 90 years old, Olivieri is more active than some 21-year olds. He tries to go out and socialize at least three times a week and frequents many lively establishments such as the Old Broadway, the Sports Bar and Fort Noks. He said that this is one of the reasons he’s in such good shape.
“I think young. I don’t think old. I feel young. No matter how I feel, I always wake up with a smile in the morning. Working in our business, you’ve got to be upbeat. When I go out and socialize at night and I’m around these young people, they’re so gracious to me. We high five and we all act and react alike.”
This ties in with a philosophy that Olivieri practices in his life.
“I sort of preach, and I preach to my students, that people don’t do enough for themselves. You’ve got to treat yourself better in life because if you don’t keep yourself whole, you’re not going to treat anybody else good. Sometimes, people are trying to do things for everybody and they haven’t done anything for themselves. How can you do anything for anybody if you’re not whole yourself?” Olivieri said.
As birthdays are usually a time for reflection, Olivieri believes he made the right choice by staying in Fargo. “I could have worked any place in the world. I had the credentials to do so. I chose Fargo because they’re the greatest people in the world. I made a great living here. I wouldn’t want to be any place else,” he said.
Even if he does hate the cold.
Event:
JAFA 2015
Saturday, February 27 at 7 p.m.
The Josef’s Annual Fashion Awards is coming back for its 11th year. This runway show will feature roughly 250 models who will walk the runway with hair, makeup and wardrobe done by Josef’s students and alumni. This is a unique event that is a blast and pulls out all the stops with lighting and production. General admission tickets are $15.
Ramada Plaza & Suites
1635 42nd St. S, Fargo
The post Meet Your Local Celebrities: Joseph Olivieri appeared first on Fargo Monthly.