Patrick is back!

“I did it to myself!.” That’s what celebrated hair stylist Patrick Diebold said recently about making it back from a deep, dark place where no one really wants to go:  alcohol and major drug addiction.  The sought-after 32 year old hair stylist is in Boulder one week a month now at the Bobbi Ciani Salon when he’s not in Chicago, Illinois at idesign Salon.

“Money makes me nervous.  It provides comfort and freedom but it can ruin people,” he said adding that the amount of “celebrity” he received made him look at life differently at that time. He attained “celebrity” status quickly in his early 20’s.  That success helped turn into the addictive use of every type of drug.  Diebold said it started with alcohol at parties and moved to hard drugs by 2007.

Patrick DieboldDiebold was recently offered the position of Education Director and lead stylist at idesign Salon in a return to his home town of Chicago, Illinois.  He is establishing the structure of an apprentice program there and teaching his way of styling and cutting hair.

His career as a top stylist began in Chicago, Illinois on Michigan Avenue also called the “magnificent mile”  where he molded his signature hairdressing flare and style.  He was under the tutelage of such hair stylist luminaries as Swiss born Pascal Vital at the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Salon and French stylist Charles Ifergan on Oak Street.  From there Diebold was a popular sought-after stylist specializing in cuts.

Five years into his career, he was a guest stylist appearing on several top national TV shows.  By 2005, he was the celebrated guest stylist featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show when he was at Ivan Noel’s Salon now called Studio Vital. Prior to that he was on the Jenny Jones Show in 2002  when  he worked at the Charles Ifergan Salon.

“I let the party get out of control!”  said the charismatic Diebold in his inimitable open way.  His bright blue eyes sparkle and great smile beams when he said, “Big fish in a small sea in Boulder.”   Boulder has the right kind of environment where anything goes, including drugs.  They’re readily available everywhere,” he said.  “All I had to do was ask!”

Diebold easily expresses love and appreciation for his parents and family.  “A friend called my parents to say I was in trouble.  After talking to them, I recognized and addressed my problem by checking into a regular hospital in Chicago where I went into a detox program.”   The stylist was a top athlete in school so discipline came easy for him when it came to gaining control of his life from locking himself in his basement to the early painful days of rehabilitation.  He enjoys the return to Chicago to see regular clients and especially time spent with his parents.

Relating to the early celebrity days, Diebold said,  “I didn’t walk the talk then.  But, I appreciate life now, I love all people and can go from  hanging with the homeless to the richest.   While I’ve had celebrity, I do abide by the Golden Rule of treating people as I want to be treated.”

He said he paid back his monetary debts by working even harder than normal and proving to himself he could make a full recovery.  With reassurance, he easily said, “I know I have not ever ruined anyone else’s life.”

With his high energy and passion for life, Diebold said, “It’s day-to-day for the short term.  For the long term, I want to be at peace with who I am.  Helping people, giving back.”

Lots of love and hugs to Patrick!

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