A day in the life: neil smith, hair stylist

I'm up at 6.30am, in the gym by 7am, I grab breakfast straight after my workout and then drive roughly 5 miles to the salon to start there at 9am.

I work once a week at the Leicester salon where I teach on a Wednesday, and then once a month in our newest salon in Ashby. The rest of the time is spent in Anstey - the original Barrie Stephen Hair salon. I drive to them all accompanied by whatever plays on my iPod,  at the moment I'm enjoying Madonna, Dido and Elbow.

First up there's car park issues, finding a spot is always a bit tricky, but once in the salon I look at the bookings for the day, reply to any emails and greet the clients that have already arrived. Then I wait for my first appointment of the day.

Barrie Stephen Hair is an all-rounder; offering a great experience for clients, moving forward with constant upskilling of the team, productivity and involvement with the local community.

Afternoons involve appointments with more clients, but sometimes I can be out of the salon all day though. Recently we've been doing the hair for the De Montfort University fashion course brochures and we styled a fashion show at which the Queen and Kate Middleton attended, so my days can be spent on location or with the art team prepping, going through briefs. There are photoshoots as well and I worked backstage at London Fashion Week, so it's very varied!

My days aren't set 9-6pm, some days require an early start and a late finish, other times I work my normal times with clients in the salon.

I sometimes catch up with friends and cook dinner. On a Friday I head to London to see my boyfriend, or a brilliant way I unwind is to go riding. I used to own a horse when I was younger and be down the stables a lot, even before work. Now I take my friend's horses out. I've started running too around the countryside near my house.