QUENTIN QUARTEY LIVING THE AFRICAN DREAM

On a sunny Sunday afternoon, I made my way to the Labadi Beach Hotel to observe a training session for a group of dreadlock and natural hair stylists. This was at the invitation of a young man I had met four years ago, at a Ghana Independence Celebration party at the Ghanaian High Commission in London

Filled with a passionate to promote African culture across the United Kingdom, our subsequent conversations are usually centred on initiatives to be introduced by the Ghanaian foreign missions to sell Ghana to the rest of the world and the role Ghanaians, both home and abroad ought to play to make this a reality.

Quentin Nii Kwatei Quartey, was born and lived in Ghana until 2005 when relocated to the United Kingdom after visiting the country during his vacation holidays whilst pursuing his tertiary education at the University of Ghana. Legon. He is easily identified with his long hang down dreadlocks accessorized with red, yellow and green painted Cowrie Shells behind him.

Growing up with his late grandfather in Accra, Quentin had always wanted to become an entrepreneur having heard the numerous complaints by his uncles about how unrewarding some civil service and corporate jobs could be. He wanted to be happy with his work and also make enough money to own properties though he didn’t know what exactly to do to become an entrepreneur.  

Currently, he is an established loctician (Locs Hair Stylist) and works with the prestigious Morris Roots Natural Hair Salon, one of the biggest natural hair and dreadlocks specialists with several outlets across the United Kingdom. He has been the manager of the Morris Roots branch in Tooting Broadway, South London for the last four years. He is also a part-time disc jockey at a community online radio station, Fire Live.

  

Talking about his experience after staying in London for a decade, Quentin said “my stay in London has broaden my views on several things and has also empowered me as an African. Being in a cosmopolitan society, you need to stand up for yourself, your culture and your identity. That’s makes you who you are and not what people might think about you. I have loved every bit of my stay in London”.

Thought being a hair stylist and a disc jockey weren’t his dream career, he has no regret and feels fulfilled anytime a client compliments him and his boss commends him about his management style and skills. “I am very happy about my job and it’s amazing the kind of opportunities I have had as a result of being a loctician and a DJ. Through my job, I met Stevie Wonder and other great people I might not have had the opportunity to meet should I be doing any other job”.

Just like any other job, being a hair stylist also comes with its disadvantages. According to Quentin, “being a hair stylist comes with a lot of stereotypes in London and across the world at large. This goes beyond race or colour. People think I am a gay because I am a hairdresser and sometimes they will approach me in a very funny way. There isn’t much you can do about it, rather than educating them about the trade whenever you have the opportunity”.

The training at the Labadi Beach Hotel is part of his annual visit to Ghana for the last three years to train natural hair and locs hair stylist on the latest trends – hair treatment, twisting and styling and hair accessories. “Without a doubt, more people are embracing natural hair and it is appropriate for them to receive the best of treatment offered around the world. Every year, I spend three months in Ghana, from December to February and what I do is to help my colleagues here in Ghana by exposing them to the way we do things in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world. The workshops are about client service, hair textures, work environment preparation, treatment, presenting of products, pricing and others”.

As a person who always wants to be identified as an African, Quentin hopes to see more people loving our African attributes and keeping their identity. “We need to preserve our culture and heritage so we need to love who we are and our identity. Through research, it has become known that most ladies who use wigs and extensions loose some amount of their natural hair whiles fixing and removing the extensions. The way to go is natural!”.