Bob People: Courtney Bodger
In many ways, new staff member Courtney Bodger’s journey led her to Bob for the same reasons that salon directors Amanda Berry and Charlotte Archer founded the salon; the 31-year-old didn’t want the way she lived at home to be contradicted by her work.
With 15 years of experience in the high end hair industry - working at some of Melbourne’s best salons - and a genunie interest in holistic health, at Bob, Courtney now mixes business with pleasure; the pleasure of spreading Bob’s anti-crap message among likeminded staff and clients.
With a warm personality, a yoga certificate under her belt, and a high level of experience with hair, here, Courtney talks us through her journey; from holistic health to downward dogs.
Tell us about how you got into hair, and what that journey has looked like so far?
I grew up in Wangaratta and started my apprenticeship at 15/16yrs, and worked in two different small salons for about seven years before moving to Melbourne.
Since being in Melbourne, I have worked at award winning, high end fashion salons where I gained a lot of knowledge. Moving to the city from the country, at the time my goals were to do fashion shows, photo shoots, celebrities and hair competitions.
At 31, my goals have changed 10 years later, and now I want my life to go down a more natural, holistic, chilled path. I decided to go part time for a break, study yoga teaching and started to think about combining hair and health for my work.
Then along came Bob; a place that speaks to both my passions where I could learn about a toxic free salon and a more sustainable lifestyle.
When did natural ingredients and sustainability come into it for you?
I wanted to get into more natural ingredients since the usual chemicals I’d been using at all the other salons started to irritate my nose. I was sneezing all the time and had very dry dermatitis on one hand. It also made my skin break out from being in a salon with a haze of harmful products in the air at the end of a busy day.
I firstly got into a healthier routine in my personally life firstly with food. From there it extended into products and sustainability and thought if I started at this salon bob, then I could learn a lot more about that stuff also plus the toxic free hair side.
What have you learnt from working at Bob, and what have you become more passionate about?
I never knew a salon could be like Bob, compared to the usual fast paced, toxic, wasteful stereotype salons I was used to. This is definitely the way of the future. Now that I’m learning more I’m practicing it more in my own life now; I’m not using disposable plastic and hardly use any chemicals at home. It’s nice to work for likeminded people that have a passion for kindness for their staff and the environment also.
I am so happy to work with such down to earth people whose beliefs are the same as mine and they are teaching me more every week.
Tell us about your yoga and doing a teacher training course?
I still absolutely love working in the hair industry, but because it’s already been 15 years, I was ready for some self-discovery and to explore working with holistic health.
I chose yoga because I have a passion for the practice and I was curious to know more, having practiced on and off for 10 years. I have learnt a hell of a lot about myself through self-study, challenged myself with the anatomy side of it and my mind has been opened with the philosophy. The 200hr YTT is just scratching the surface of this ancient magical practice and I am keen to learn more. I got my certificate last week and will be starting to practice teaching at Bob very soon for staff and clients for free for a while until I get some experience, after which point I will be changing a minimal fee.
Favourite yoga and meditation spots around Melbourne?
Meditation: the beach or nature.
Yoga: Australian Yoga Academy in Prahran, https://www.powerliving.com.au/ (where I did my training) & Warrior One in Brighton or Mordialloc.
What's one bit of advice you'd give to someone wanting to make some more natural and sustainable choices?
Start small and slowly educate yourself, because there is a lot to learn. Small starts are using a reusable coffee cup and water bottle. Cook more to reduce take away waste and do some research into different products. Follow some ethical Instagram accounts to start educating yourself and others. It’s all the little things that add up.