Anthony Morrison: Fit at 50

“Hairdressing is taxing on the body,” says Anthony Morrison, owner of the Londoner Salon and Blow Dry Lounge in Manhattan Beach, California. “You’re standing and reaching all day long. I haven’t had any of the common issues like back pain or leg pain, and I think it’s because of my healthy lifestyle.”

 

Five days a week, Morrison’s routine starts at 5:15am, when he arrives at the gym for a yoga class. He loves to run and has competed in marathons, half-marathons and 5Ks; he also cycles and lifts weights. Morrison dines on mostly healthy meals like an omelet for breakfast, a veggie wrap for lunch and salmon and vegetables for dinner. Despite acknowledging that chocolate is his weakness, he gives up sugar for eight weeks each year.

 

“I celebrated my 50th birthday in the summer, but I feel like I’m 30,” says Morrison, who gained fame as winner of the first season of Bravo TV’s Shear Genius and has been close to fellow contestant Tabatha Coffey ever since. “Exercise and nutrition are the fountain of youth. Every hairdresser should do yoga! Until I added yoga a year ago, I didn’t realize I was stiff from cycling and weight training. Staying in shape can be as easy as going for a walk. Often you’re still half asleep when you go into the salon, so take a walk to wake up!”