Nick Wilkins [00:00:09]: Man, I went through a lot this past year. Like, gosh, if you look at photos me just one year ago, that was like my worst time was around this time. So I’ve only been on this stuff for like a year and I’ve already seen all these changes and I think it’s because I hopped on it so fast. You.

Kevin Rolston [00:00:43]: Welcome back to Hairpod, the podcast where you get to hear real people share stories about their hair. Each journey is as unique as the next. Some may find their hair thinning easier than others, but it’s a universal experience we all go through at some point. And to all of our listeners out there grappling with their hair loss, remember, you’ve got a community right here with you. Can you imagine Navigating High school while your hairs decided to, well, graduate early, we’ve got Nick Wilkins joining us, a bright young guy in his 20s who’s been there, done that, and is now here to share his unique journey. When you look at him now, you’d never know that Nick had at one point lost a lot of his hair. So whether you’re holding on to every strand or simply curious about the human experience, stick around. We promise it’s a story worth hearing.

Nick Wilkins [00:01:36]: So when I started to hit my teenage year, like 1213, I started to focus on hair because I really liked my hair back then and I thought it was all cool and it was like super blonde. But I was looking at my dad and his brother and my grandpa, and there was just a lot of balding going on. I’m like, one day I might bald. It’s like, oh, man, I got to get a wife before that. I was like, thinking of all this stuff. I was like, overthinking it back then.

Kevin Rolston [00:02:02]: But yeah, you’re on a timetable.

Nick Wilkins [00:02:04]: Yeah, exactly. I was like, overthinking. I’m like, man, maybe when I’m 30 or something, it will start to happen. So I was like, dang, I got to get my life in check before then because, man, I was really afraid of it. It was like one of my biggest fears, which is funny, no doubt.

Kevin Rolston [00:02:19]: It’s legit.

Nick Wilkins [00:02:20]: Yeah.

Kevin Rolston [00:02:20]: So you have exactly what I was going through. I had that whole thing where I had this photo of my grandpa that was right there in the hallway every single day. And I do remember just like you, I was back in my teenage years. I was really worried about hair loss, and I started to see mine at about the age of 25. What was the first mark? What did you see and how early in your life did you notice that, okay, I am starting to lose my hair?

Nick Wilkins [00:02:45]: Yeah. So just like you, I would look at pictures of my dad when he was, like, starting to hit 20 and stuff, and he had still good hair. So I was like, all right, it’s not going to happen. When I’m 20 or 18. It’s not going to happen for a while. But when I started to hit 17, I started to look at photos of me that I was posting on my Instagram, and then I was comparing it to the year before. Then I was like, man, it looks a little bit more thin. It wasn’t like, crazy, but it just looks a little different. It’s harder to do, it’s harder to put up more. It was just like laying flat and kind of matted. But it wasn’t until I turned, like, 18 when it really all started just falling out. It was in my combs. It was on my collar of my shirt. There’s kids in my class saying, like, man, you got a lot of hair all over your shirt. Do you have a dog? And I’m like, no, this might be mine. But I was thrown off because they say you lose like, a hundred hairs a day.

Nick Wilkins [00:03:42]: So I was, Ah, this is just like my hundred hairs a day. That like it’s normal still. Yeah, but then it was starting to happen a lot more, and it was a lot more in the shower. My shower drain was getting clogged. It was all that stuff.

Kevin Rolston [00:03:56]: Now, Nick wasn’t just any kid struggling with a little shedding. He’s a full time content creator, and he started making videos long before his hair journey began. As his hairline shifted, so did his passion for the limelight, and he lost his creative drive.

Nick Wilkins [00:04:12]: I stopped posting. My whole job was to post online, and I just stopped. I couldn’t do it anymore because I was so afraid of people commenting about it. Because before then, they all compared me to all these famous people. They’re like, oh, you have such good hair. So it was part of my image was my hair. That was my top thing to be posting. That was kind of the reason why I was posting. I was excited to just put myself out there. But then it started to go, and I just completely stopped working and posting. I was like, Man, I got to get a different job. That’s where it was coming to. Yeah.

Kevin Rolston [00:04:43]: Now, did you try to do any. Kind of other cover up, wearing a hat or anything like that? Because that was one thing in my life where I would wear hats, but then you just get those certain social circumstances where a hat is just not going to cut it. Was there anything like you did with that? What was your process on trying to remedy your hair loss other than just dropping out of society?

Nick Wilkins [00:05:01]: I did this thing where I bought tons of hairbands, like hair bands, like workout hairbands, or just kind of like, I still have so many in my closet, but it was kind of like the style at my school. Like, a kid started wearing all these hairbands and everyone else was doing it. So I was like, okay, this is how I can cover it up. This is how I can do it. And I knew hats would also, I thought, hurt the hair even more. So I was trying to avoid wearing hats all the time. So hairbands was my big thing, and I would wear hats, but I never wasn’t wearing something on my head. I was always somehow covering it up, like Photos and everything. And I remember prom was, like, my worst day ever because I couldn’t wear a hat on prom, and there were so many photos of me everywhere. I hated being there. I wanted to go home. I couldn’t wear a hat. My hair was all sweaty. It wasn’t good.

Kevin Rolston [00:05:54]: Everyone who’s been through hair loss has moments like these etched into their minds. They happen to all of us at different times, and it can be tough if you feel like you’re going through it alone. And since none of Nick’s friends at the time were losing their hair, he really didn’t have anybody to confide in.

Nick Wilkins [00:06:10]: No, man, I was comparing myself to my friends all the time, like, they had such good hair. And I started to just watch a lot of YouTube videos, and I was doing a lot of searching just about hair loss, like, how it’s caused, and it gives you a million different answers. There was nothing that I could say, okay, this is me, because I was watching 30 to 40 year olds talking about it. I’m like, man, but I’m 18, so what am I going through right now? And I started to doubt that it was, like, genetics. I started to think it was like, maybe I was eating bad, maybe I was doing this or that. So I was trying to avoid the fact that I was just losing hair genetically. But, yeah, I was watching a lot of videos. And then it got to a point where my hair was just, like, dying. Like, the whole front of it, you could just tell I couldn’t cover it up anymore with my standing hair. And I went to, like, a hairdresser, and I remember talking to her about it. I’m like, do you know anything about hair loss? And she goes, no, she didn’t know too much. And she was like, everyone who I do hair for, they tell me that there’s no way to fix it. So I don’t think if you are going through hair loss, you can fix it. You can get different haircuts to help it out, to make it look more full. And I was like, man, you know what? I want to prove this wrong. I want to see if you actually can.

Nick Wilkins [00:07:22]: So, like, that day, I got home and I searched online, like, hair loss solution places, and the first link that came up was Hair Club. And I clicked it, and I signed the link, and I got on and, like, had my appointment the next week.

Kevin Rolston [00:07:42]: Stumbling upon a possible solution was the easy part. For many, including Nick, taking that leap to book and attend that initial appointment is a lot harder. I remember freezing up in the parking lot the very first time I tried to go in for a consultation. Yet for Nick, the nudge of a supportive friend was what he needed to step through those doors.

Nick Wilkins [00:08:03]: I had to bring my brother’s girlfriend with me. I had to bring someone with me. I couldn’t do it alone. I had to have someone come in with me because, man, I was embarrassed and I was just so scared because I didn’t know what was going to happen or what we were going to talk about. I compare it sometimes this sounds kind of weird, but I compare it to if you’re going to the doctors to find out that you have really bad cancer or something, you have to bring someone with you to come in for the appointment. It’s too hard to go by yourself, so you have to bring someone. So she came with me and that definitely helped. That pushed me to actually go.

Nick Wilkins [00:08:36]: I never backed out. Yeah. Glad.

Kevin Rolston [00:08:38]: That’s good. That’s awesome. Yeah. You’re braver than I am. Honestly, if I could just go back and if I could say one thing to myself, I’d be like, dude, just walk in the door. It’s a lot easier than you would think. I don’t know what I was expecting, why I thought it was going to be so traumatic.

Nick Wilkins [00:08:56]: I walked in, they set me up with someone who kind of told me what I’m possibly going through, and they gave me, like, two routes on what I could do to try to fix my hair. And it was so easy. I went home the next day and then I told them I want to do it. I thought about it for a little bit and then they got me in contact with another person and they signed me up for everything and they started sending me all the products. And it was like, I’d say, after, like, two months of doing it, I started to see changes already. It was just exciting to see, but it wasn’t, like, crazy yet. I was still going through a lot of shedding when I was starting everything, and it was still kind of like a lot of doubt, but I still had a little bit of hope coming in because I lost my hair really quickly. So I was like, maybe I could fix this.

Nick Wilkins [00:09:40]: But my one thing I wish I did was going in even earlier because there’s like, parts of my hair where I’m like, oh, man, if I went like two months earlier, stopped overthinking it, maybe I could have fixed that part of my hair, you know what I mean?

Kevin Rolston [00:09:56]: Now I hope your content is getting created and you’ve gotten back out into your social life and that you’re feeling confident. Because honestly, man, I look at you right now because I can see you. You got an amazing head of hair. And I would never, ever in my life suspect that you ever for 1 second doubted yourself and had any kind of hair issues.

Nick Wilkins [00:10:15]: Oh, thank you so much. That means so much. That’s like, one of the biggest compliments you can give me. But yeah, man, I went through a lot this past year. Like, gosh, if you look at Photos me just one year ago, that was like my worst time was around this time. So I’ve only been on this stuff for like a year, and I’ve already seen all these changes, and I think it’s because I hopped on it so fast.

Kevin Rolston [00:10:35]: Absolutely. And tell me about your confidence now compared to then and what a difference it is.

Nick Wilkins [00:10:41]: My life resumed once I got the hair back. The little gap where I had a lot of hair loss, that’s kind of a blur, and I kind of reconnected over it kind of like a mountain. Like, I reconnected it and it kind of resumed my life. So I’m posting now. It’s still my job. I don’t go to college because of my social media and stuff. So, yeah, it all worked out for me. I’m able to post and confidence is fully back.

Nick Wilkins [00:11:05]: And so that’s awesome, man.

Kevin Rolston [00:11:08]: Well, Nick, if you want people to find you and see what you’re producing, where would people be able to find and see what kind of content you’re creating?

Nick Wilkins [00:11:15]: I would say Instagram. Instagram is the best for me. My handle. It’s Nick Wilkins. But the I in the Nick is just the one, and that’s just Nick Wilkins on Instagram.

Kevin Rolston [00:11:25]: Very cool, man. Well, I am so happy that you were back in the game. You were living the life that you intended to live, and I’m glad Hair Club could be there for you, man. Thanks for taking the time, Nick.

Nick Wilkins [00:11:35]: Of course. Yeah. Thanks for having me. This was great.

Kevin Rolston [00:11:42]: You know, Nick’s story really resonated with me because I had my own issues with hair loss. It started with a photo and then a dome camera we had in our studio. And trust me, our audience noticed as well, and they would always make comments, and it really affected my confidence. And we’re so glad that Nick has gained back his confidence to be out there posting online again. It just goes to show that there is hope after hair loss. And if you know anyone who needs to hear this message, think about sending them this episode. Thanks for listening to Hairpod. If you’d like to connect with us on social media to see Nick’s before and after pictures and hear about future episodes, check us out at HairClub on Instagram or visit our website, podcast.hairclub.com.

Kevin Rolston [00:12:27]: Until next time.