b'PROFESSIONAL PROFILEOne-Way Ticketto Salon SuccessDean Delmonte embodied the small-town boywho makes it big in the big city, until COVID hitBy Matthew BradfordD ean Delmonte didnt have aI was lucky to be fitted with a couple plan when he boarded a bus toof amazing salons in the beginning and Toronto at the age of 18. Lookingbuilt myself up from there, reflects back, he says, that was kind of the point:Delmonte. Back then, it was a time when Id grown up my whole life in Timminsyou could grow clientele very easily and and needed something new. So, I literallyvery, very quickly. You learned the ropes, got on a bus with a one-way ticket and amoved from one salon to the next and dream of being this young gay boy whofigured out what type of hair youre going was going become a fabulous person to do along the way.in Toronto. Delmontes trajectory led to work in After that, says the top stylist, I kindTorontos underground PATH system, of fell into hair. where he began fashioning a name for For Delmonte, its been a winding pathhimself. It wasnt long before numerous from Toronto newcomer to celebratedhigh-profile clients caught wind, and salon owner. The journey began when hein 2014, one of them offered to finance stepped off the bus from Timmins, walkedDelmontes dream of launching his own into a hair salon and successfully appliedsalon. Soon after, Dean Delmonte & for his first job. Over the years thatCompany was born with the missionDean Delmontefollowed, Delmonte went on to receiveof bringing high fashion and Parisian training at salons across the city and wasaesthetics to the PATH in Torontoshone in on my style, so having someone mentored by industry luminaries likefinancial core.who believed in me like that, and then to Adrienne Foley. He worked with her as aAs Delmonte tells it: Id been workingbuild my own brand and shape my own righthand stylist for over 12 years. in a lot of different salons and starting todestiny, was amazing.22| QBiz CANADA | Issue 1 2022'