Angie Katsanevas

Oh, she was. She was. She still is. I mean, that's why I laugh. Like, I mean, I love it because I do look back on that. Angie, Sean and I went out to clubs all the time. We were super social. We were out everywhere. And it was just a fun era. And like I was the only girl with platforms in Salt Lake City and I had to get them in L.A. at a special store called Wild Pear.

Do you guys remember Wild Pear?

Yeah, it was like you could only find really cool, edgy shoes there. And it used to only be out of state. And then we got, I mean, you know, I would go out of state to shop and I was wearing leopard print when no one was wearing leopard print. But in the hair industry, you have to be very fashion forward.

And so we were like always inspired by things outside of Salt Lake before Salt Lake became so cool because now Salt Lake is like, Really on the map.

You know all of it, really, honestly, because I think Salt Lake was like the best kept secret. It was a hidden gem because it's so beautiful. It's so clean. And I have to say, like, the Mormon Church keeps our city clean and beautiful. And there's a lot of things to do for families and kids. And our downtown is just pristine. And, well, that's all churches.

But, you know, I mean, the Mormon Church does run downtown Salt Lake until the Greeks came in. But... You know, I will say, yes, but I will say I think the show has really shined a light on Salt Lake City. And it's an enigma. It's beautiful. The mountains, the snow, like you just don't see this anywhere.

Yes. And can I also say like owning a business and multiple businesses throughout the city and being in downtown Salt Lake, our salons, I mean, we're already like max capacity, but we have people moving here from big cities that want to come into our salons that are used to paying for a high end experience in other cities. So like Lunatic Fringe has benefited from our cities growing.

Our real estate has gone through the roof and it's just our city's on fire. Don't move here.

No, no. You guys can. But the traffic, everybody else can't. It's getting bad and things are changing.

Well, okay, so we opened our salon 25 years ago, going on 26. We were like 20, let's see, 26 and 28 years old, young kids. And our mentor and friend, Alan, he always said, he gave us a name and it's like, it means a couple of terms. It means kind of crazy hair, but if you Google it, it's like a group of like-minded people working towards the same goal or vision. And it fit perfectly.

And it was so edgy for its time. And it didn't even say salons. And people just thought, lunatic fringe, what is this? But it's really stood out. And after him saying, you should use this, we just couldn't think of anything else. It was so good. You couldn't top it. And it's become a household name. We have 10 locations. We're a franchise company now.

And we have locations outside of Salt Lake City. We have locations in Boise, in Idaho, and all the rest are in Utah. And with the right partners, we're willing to open more. But you know, our salon's been on fire the last 25 years. And, you know, it was a little dream. We just wanted one salon and had no idea it would become what it is. So we do own a cosmetology school.

So we have like, you know, two to 300 students a year that we educate, train them on business and hair. And that's with Paul Mitchell. And then, you know, they spread their wings and they either work for us or we train hairdressers to go work wherever they want. Wow. I wish we saw more of that on the show. Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, we've only filmed once in the salon. I'd love to share more of that. We also own a beauty supply distributorship. So we're very immersed in the beauty industry. And we have been for years. You know, we do a lot of fundraising with our school that we've been involved in just a lot of great things in the community through our businesses.

Yes. Thank you.

Yes. Yeah. My dad came to America, to Salt Lake City, Utah, when he was 17. My mother came when she was eight and they met here as young adults. We were all born here. And, you know, it's great because my dad came here with... one suit that someone loaned him. And someone asked him when he came to America, well, where's your stuff? And he said, this is it. That's all he came with.

He didn't even have a toothbrush till he moved here. My dad didn't have shoes till he was 11. So we were raised very humble, but I thought I was rich because my dad worked hard. We had a nice house. He drove a Cadillac and I thought I was rich. I always wanted nice things because I loved girlish things. And My mom passing away, like I didn't even have mascara or lip gloss around the house.

And I loved all things beauty and fashion. So, but yeah, I have seven siblings. We're all still here in Utah, very close. I have a very tiny family. My dad comes from a family of 10. So I have the whole big fat Greek wedding history. huge family and the community, the Greek community here is also really tight. So like I was immersed in all things Greek. We Greek danced.

My dad, you know, even though Salt Lake was, you know, really a stronger Mormon population when we moved here and we were the only like Greeks in our neighborhood for miles surrounded like by Mormons. We love the Mormons and they were very supportive of our family. But we still kept our Greek culture going strong and continue to go to our church and keep the traditions going.

And, you know, family is everything for me because I always say part of what's probably been my success on the show is I have a strong sense of self. I have a strong identity. And you really have to have that and to be authentic. And I've enjoyed sharing more of my family, letting people see me more as a whole this season.