We recently connected with Tristan Sutrisno and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Tristan, thanks for joining us today. Is there a lesson you learned in school that’s stuck with you and has meaningfully impacted your journey?

“Say yes to every opportunity” was something instilled in the Paul Mitchell Schools culture from Day 1. I never really questioned the “why”, mainly because I was just genuinely excited to be a new learner in the industry and wanted to get my hands in everything, but ultimately this lesson would be something that would steer the path of my 17+ yr career.

Because I said yes to assisting at a major hair show as a student, an opportunity arose to be a model for a Paul Mitchell Artistic Director, which presented another opportunity down the road to relocate and meet more of the Artistic Team, which presented more opportunities like photo shoots, video shoots, hair shows, and events.

A single opportunity can change your life. So why would you not say yes to as many as you can?

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I currently hold a lot of positions under the Paul Mitchell umbrella which include being a National Color Educator, part of the Show Team, New Talent Trainer, Content Creator and leading the Education team at Paul Mitchell the School San Diego.

Hair was not something I “always wanted to do”. The truth is, I did terrible in high school and knew I would never survive in college. Hair was my “easy was out” to be in a creative field and not have to try that hard.

Turns out, I was absolutely wrong and hit with some hard truths my first week of cosmetology school. Not only was doing hair extremely difficult to learn, but I was humbled by the amount of science, math, and geometric understanding that went into it. On top of that, my little 18yr self with social anxiety was trembling at the fact that I had to talk to strangers daily. What did I get myself into?

It took years and years of slowly building up my confidence, self worth, and knowledge to get to where I’m at today. Sometimes it still blows my mind that I talk in front of hundreds of people as my career. My younger self would never believe it.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Something I always try to remember is, everyone is going through something they don’t talk about. Reflecting on the things I went through and experienced within my 17yr career brought awareness to the fact that many of those things I never talked about with others. I kept my head down, worked hard, and kept going. I always try to remember that in my daily life and to be kind to others. We’re all out here just trying to survive.

At the end of the day, the low points, denials, and failures brought me to where I am today and I’m grateful for that. Just like yin and yang, balance creates gratitude and humbled me to try harder, worker harder, and be loud about what my goals are.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I have always had a love for documentation via photography and videography. From the beginning I’ve documented every head of hair I’ve touched, and for a long time they did not get any attention. But because I loved doing it, I just kept posting and with each post I learned new ways to shoot, edit, and elevate my material. I also learned that in this day and age, people love connection, authenticity, and honesty. Sharing my achievements and also the struggles brought in people from all over to share their stories of their failures and hope to move forward with their head held high. Community is everything and you cannot get through life alone.

In 2023 Paul Mitchell liked my content so much, they brought me on as a Content Creator for @paulmitchellpro. Turns outs, if you just stay true to yourself and be your authentic self opportunities will present themselves down the road.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @iteachcolor