Project Patterson – How Empire Grad Gregory Patterson made it to reality TV and beyond.

“No one can do this for you. It has to be you.” That’s the one piece of advice Gregory Patterson wants Empire Beauty School students to know.

An excited and eager classroom of Empire students hung on every word of Patterson’s presentation at Empire Beauty School in Warminster, PA recently. Why? Because, just a few years ago, he was in their shoes. An Empire student in Prescott, AZ, dreaming of becoming a celebrity stylist and platform artist, travelling the world, cutting and styling his way to the top.

Today, as lead hairstylist on Lifetime TV’s hit reality show Project Runway, Patterson is blazing through the beauty industry, styling celebrities and endorsing products. And he wants to help other future professionals along the way.

“My biggest challenge in beauty school was making it through it.” Patterson, a northern Arizona native, admits beauty school was tough for him.

“I just wanted to graduate and get on with my career. I wanted to grab my license and run for the stage.”

But the one thing he didn’t realize, until later, was the value of his Empire education and how those skills would translate in to success.

“The power and strength of a strong foundation is key. Everything I do comes from the foundation of what I learned in beauty school. If you know where it comes from, you can evolve it and take it a step further.”

From styling hair for TV, to pitching styling tools for FHI Heat on the Home Shopping Network, Patterson says without basic skills, he would never have been able to make it.

“You have to be proficient. You need to know how and why hair reacts to certain conditions and how to manipulate it. All of those skills you learn in beauty school.”

When a current student at Warminster reached out to Patterson through social media and asked if he would come and talk to the students, Patterson jumped at the chance.

During his presentation, Patterson, demonstrated a style, and talked to the students about everything from career success to styling tools to social media.

“Social profiles are important because it identifies you as a brand. It’s 2016, it’s huge. If you want to get into any kind of editorial or platform work it is an absolute must. You can do anything you want in this business. But it’s up to you to create the success that you want.”