Best known for his transformational work on the United States hit television show, “What Not to Wear,” as well as boasting notable clients such as Anne Hathaway and Kate Gosselin, Ted Gibson has a culturally and globally diverse Third Culture Kid (TCK) background that many do not know.
Gibson’s Global Mobility
First stepping onto a plane at age 5, celebrity hair stylist Ted Gibson has been traveling and experiencing a myriad of cultures starting at a young age. In contrast to his husband, Jason Backe, who grew up solely in Minnesota, Gibson grew up as an only child. He was moving every two to three years and never was able to maintain friendships from one location to another.
Gibson has bounced among a vast array of countries and states, eventually returning to the U.S. These locations include Germany, Japan and Hawaii. He moved around all the while learning new cultures and differences in life along the way. He had to constantly adapt, as many Military B.R.A.T.s do, and never fully settled into a home. However, this perpetual movement from one place to the next has given Gibson a variety of advantages. These transpire in his personal life as well as in his accomplished career.
His Personal Life
In his personal life, Gibson has been greatly influenced by his military B.R.A.T. background. He enjoys travel in his personal and work life, jumping at each and every opportunity to visit a new location. Gibson prides himself on his fluidity to ability to adapt to a variety of places, people, and cultures. It has given him an edge in understanding and embracing various cultures in travel that many do not have.
Another way in which he has incorporated his TCK background into his personal life is through being fiercely independent. Gibson never grew up with a steady friend group or even siblings. This propelled him to have to figure out growing up essentially on his own. He found his passion and pursued it on his own time.
Gibson is culturally rich and diverse in his globally mobile background. However, this is something many do not know or notice about him. Because he has a traditionally U.S. accent and appears to be from there in his style and appearances on TV, Gibson holds hidden diversity. This diversity is found in his experiences of cultures, various locations, adaptability and independence.
Gibson’s Professional Life
Professionally, the Military B.R.A.T. background Gibson holds has given him an advantage in the world of hairstyling. In an interview with “Denizen,” a website for TCKs, Gibson explains that this background has been of benefit to him. Stating, “It helped me to adapt to different situations very easily and rapidly. I don’t think that I would necessarily have the same experience –— especially the field that I’m in — and really understanding different forms of beauty.” He has learned to appreciate what beauty means to a variety of people. Encyclopedia.com adds to this value held by Gibson. Stating in an article, “his international experiences had left him with an appreciation of the different concepts of beauty in various cultures.”
His Work Today
These attributes have also helped Gibson in his creation of his new salon, STARRING by Ted Gibson. He has been able to overcome and adapt to the challenges of opening a salon. These qualities are also useful in the rapidly changing industry of hairstyling. He goes about his career while incorporating his belief that beauty is found in all shapes, sizes, cultures and locations. Fittingly, the tagline for his product line and salon is “Beauty is Individual.” Gibson states in the “Denizen” interview, “A lot of women don’t know how incredible they can be and how incredible they can feel.” Gibson’s background makes him a one-of-a-kind hair stylist. He knows how to make each and every person look and feel their very best while embracing the individuality and uniqueness of each client.
