Dan Medeiros [00:00:09]:
If I stick to the plan, I stick to the procedure, it's gonna work for me. And I'm very OCD and HD, so it's like I found the like as soon as I got on that regimen, I'm like, you know, to a t. That is my pattern. And I worked with it. And I started cleaning up my scalp. You know, within months, I was having much cleaner scalp. I started growing some hair back. Some, like, more follicles were coming through.

Dan Medeiros [00:00:32]:
I was actually able to start growing my hair again. I was starting to get some thickness. I started working on my stress. I completely changed my diet. I started getting back into everything, and I started actually caring about what I was internally and externally.

Kevin Rolston [00:01:07]:
Welcome to Hairpod, the podcast where you get to hear real people talk about their hair journeys. Hair loss happens to people at different times and for different reasons. So each story is as unique as the next. Im your host, Kevin Ralston. And each week I get to interview people from different walks of life whove all been through hair loss in some form or fashion and have found a way to get their confidence and their hair back. Our guest today is Dan Medaris. Hes been passionate about music for his whole life and he began playing guitar at just nine years old. And now hes a professional musician, model, and actor, and he is no stranger to the spotlight.

Kevin Rolston [00:01:44]:
So I was surprised to learn that Dan was actually a pretty shy kid. And it was through performance and music that he was able to overcome his social anxiety.

Dan Medeiros [00:01:56]:
Yeah, incredibly shy. I found it hard to talk to people, look people in the eye, and I only kind of responded when talk to. And most of my talking was with, you know, friends. I found close, I was close enough with, but just socially awkward. And music had been in the family for a long time. It's something that I fell deeply into even before I started playing guitar. I used to create my own guitars and stuff like that, using wood and fish string and all that stuff. And would, you know, I'd have like the top 20 countdown going on, on, you know, MTV and I'd be just rocking out, pretending I was a rock star and hoping one day I could actually do that for real.

Dan Medeiros [00:02:38]:
Yeah. And then by the time I turned nine, I started, I was finally able to start playing guitar. My parents got me an acoustic and I went into lessons with the Ontario Conservatory for the next seven years.

Kevin Rolston [00:02:51]:
Okay.

Dan Medeiros [00:02:52]:
Yeah. And it just, I said music was in the family, so I was always able to hear things and just learn really quickly when it came to music. And it's been my. My way of sort of expressing myself over the years, all of my art, all my writing and everything has been based around music and what it's done for me.

Kevin Rolston [00:03:13]:
How do you go from being a shy kid, flipping that switch, and then all of a sudden, now you're okay with being in the spotlight because you've done some acting as well, right?

Dan Medeiros [00:03:20]:
Oh, yeah. I do everything these days. Professional musician. I do acting. I do model work. Pretty much everything. Anything I can get my hands on. I also work with a group in Iowa called the Iowa League of heroes.

Dan Medeiros [00:03:33]:
We're a select group of people who dress up as superheroes. We go visit the kids in the hospitals and stuff like that, visit at their homes. We do all sorts of events. And, I mean, we are, we live and breathe the characters. So, I mean, our suits are movie quality. I dress up as Superman, so, I mean, my suit is from Batman versus Superman. It's like two, $3,000 that I wear.

Kevin Rolston [00:03:57]:
I've seen that stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Dan Medeiros [00:03:59]:
So when we portray it, we portray it. We do not break character. You know, these kids, you know, we want to give them hope and give them, you know, the ability to see their heroes in real life. And it's an incredible experience, not just for them, but for us as well. It's worth every moment. I drove out to Lincoln, Nebraska one year. I met with this kid whose favorite superhero is Superman. Everything was Superman.

Dan Medeiros [00:04:24]:
He wore his cape in his Superman shirt all day. He was, you know, dealing with lymphoma and spent, I don't know how many hours just hanging out with him that day. And we know that about a year later, he went into remission. And, you know, every once in a while, the parents will reach out to me and just kind of give me updates on him. And it's amazing.

Kevin Rolston [00:04:46]:
Just hearing what Dan's been able to do for those kids will blow you away. As hosts of the KBJ show in South Florida, we have partnered with the children's charity that's been around now for 25 years that helps kids in area hospitals and shelters. So seeing what a performance can do to brighten a child's life, I just know what kind of contribution Dan is making. And look, on Dan's part, it's going to take a lot of strength just to show up like that and give these kids and their families the hope and confidence they need. And the kids we deal with with little smiles. Many of them are going through chemotherapy, so they, too, have their own hair struggles. And hair loss works with kids just like them. So they can also get their confidence back.

Kevin Rolston [00:05:24]:
So I've seen directly the kind of impact that people like Dan can have. And just like adults, kids get a smile on their face. You can tell they have more confidence. So if you can feel it, why wouldnt they feel it? And thats why this episode is so special to me. While confidence is one thing, stress, on the other hand, can be totally debilitating. And Dan started to experience some hair loss as he was just coming into adulthood. He was under tremendous stress, which caused a decline in his overall health and the health of his hair.

Dan Medeiros [00:05:58]:
I'd say when I really started to notice it was after high school, early college. You know, I was working myself to the bone between school and work, trying to afford college and trying to keep my car from overheating on a daily basis to and from, you know, if I found $5 worth of cash, I was like, oh, my gosh, I have gas money. I can actually make it home from school today. You know, running yourself ragged in the stress. And stress doesn't work out too well for me as I came to realize as I started getting older, I wasn't invincible anymore. And stress started taking over out of control with fast food and just an unhealthy lifestyle, because essentially, I just wasn't happy anymore. And the stress of my full time job, which I saw people break down and cry and go on stress sleep for six months within a year of doing the job, it gutted half my head. I was freaking out, wasn't sure what to do anymore.

Dan Medeiros [00:06:57]:
I went from luscious hair when I first started to, you know, barely anything left. I was gaining weight, all sorts of stuff. My scalp. And when stress comes out physically on me, so it came out on my scalp. It was like a minefield up there. Like it was constantly on fire and pain, itchy. It was. Oh, it was a mess.

Dan Medeiros [00:07:18]:
I remember breaking down, crying with my doctor, and I'm like, I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. I've completely lost myself, who I am, how I am, and I don't know what to do anymore. And it took some, you know, trying different things until eventually, you know, I remember staying up really late one night, and again, I saw the hair club infomercials, and I'm like, you know, I've been seeing these for years, and I think it's time I go check it out. So I checked it out, and I got an appointment consultation. And I will never forget what the consultant said to me the very first thing. They're like, you know what? You have landed in the BMW of hair care and all that. And I was like, I hope so.

Dan Medeiros [00:07:59]:
I hope so because I really need some help here.

Kevin Rolston [00:08:01]:
What was your hair loss looking like? Because everybody seems to have their own patterns. There's different patterns for hair loss. Some people lose to the front. Sometimes it's in the back. Were you losing patches of hair? What was your hair loss looking like and how severe was it?

Dan Medeiros [00:08:14]:
It was just, you know, it started with the temples and then right in the middle of the forehead, and it just started thinning and it got thinner and thinner. So, you know, styling my hair, it's like, oh, my gosh, the thickness is gone. It's scalp now. So I'm having to, like, completely change up how I style my hair to try and hide it and cutting it short, keeping it short, and it, again just wasn't me anymore. I couldn't grow my hair out long anymore. I had to. I had to essentially hide it constantly and find ways to hide it. And if, God forbid, there was some wind and.

Dan Medeiros [00:08:48]:
Right, Saba is just like, oh, my gosh, it's like I can't even bring myself to go to work right now because I'm just, like, embarrassed to be out in public.

Kevin Rolston [00:08:57]:
Yeah, we're talking about your confidence takes a massive hit, and for somebody like you, you're used to being a performer. You're somebody that's used to being on stage, acting, doing all that kind of stuff. And I do something relatively similar. I got to tell you, when you dont have confidence, one of the hardest things to do is to grab a microphone, to be on a camera, to be in front of a bunch of kids, whatever it is. And it is kind of weird how just your hair can affect overall that attitude. Did you have some of the same feelings? Was it harder for you to perform and do some of the things you love to do when you were having your hair struggles?

Dan Medeiros [00:09:31]:
Oh, it was extremely difficult. I mean, it takes a crazy emotional toll on you. And it absolutely did with me. I couldn't look in the mirror anymore without just wanting to just break down crying in my hands, you know, I could no longer look people in the eye. I wore a hat anytime I performed because I'm under lights, I'm in the middle of the spotlight. It's just me on stage. I don't have a band hiding me or anything like that. I'm right out front and center, and it's found it hard to do that anymore.

Dan Medeiros [00:10:04]:
I found it hard to even wanna leave the house and go to a show. There was a lot of times I didn't even wanna go. I just wanted to stay home and not perform. Yeah.

Kevin Rolston [00:10:14]:
Do you remember any kind of moment where you said, enough's enough? Cause you wound up at the hair club and you round up at the right place? But what was that moment that just said, okay, I gotta make this happen? What did it for you?

Dan Medeiros [00:10:26]:
When I first joined with hair club back in, it was 2009, going into 2010.

Kevin Rolston [00:10:31]:
Was it the commercial that woke you up? Was that it? You knew you had a problem, and it just. That, that opened your eyes?

Dan Medeiros [00:10:36]:
I mean, I had no, I known I'd had problems for a while. I just, you know, it was, I just so badly wanted it to just be a scalp issue. So I tried dermatologists, I tried everything. And it just, when none of that helped, and when I wasn't gaining any hair back, I was just losing it. I. It was just, yeah, like I'd known, always known about hair club, it was just taking that leap, you know, making that phone call. And honestly, I think that's probably one of the hardest things to do, is to make that initial call, set up that initial consultation. That is the hardest thing to get over.

Dan Medeiros [00:11:10]:
And once you get over that hurdle, you realize just what you've been missing. And I wish I started earlier. I wish I allowed myself to take that step, but I didn't.

Kevin Rolston [00:11:23]:
Hey, I know there's a lot of people out there that can relate to this. No matter what type of solution you're seeking, those first steps tend to be the hardest ones. I know I've talked about this on the podcast before with my own first steps, but the first time I tried to go to the hair club, I didn't even go in the door.

Kevin Rolston [00:11:40]:
I turned right around.

Kevin Rolston [00:11:41]:
I went home weeks later, as I looked back in the mirror and I said, hey, this isn't going to fix itself. I finally went back, and I'm so glad I did. That's why I want to talk to so many people about their own hair loss struggles, because I know first hand what its all about. And I also know what a relief it is when youve got a full head of hair that gives you that confidence. So as hard as it can be to take that leap, for Dan, it was even harder just to keep going with the way things were. Hair loss can come with a real emotional toll. And like so many people out there, Dan tried a few treatments before settling on something that actually worked for him.

Dan Medeiros [00:12:17]:
I started off with the Ext program, which is a lot of scalp care and hair care. I was going in for appointments to have my under the lasers, scalp massages and all sorts of stuff going on the minoxidil and, you know, taking the vitamins to help increase hair growth and a healthy scalp. And I went on the regimen because I just, I'm like, if I stick to the plan, I stick to the procedure process, it's going to work for me. And I, I'm very OCD and HD, so it's like, I found that, like, as soon as I got on that regimen, I'm like, you know, to a t, that is my pattern and I worked with it and I started cleaning up my scalp. You know, within months, I was having much cleaner scalp. I started growing some hair back. Some, like, more follicles are coming through. I wasn't losing as fast anymore.

Dan Medeiros [00:13:09]:
You know, I wasn't taking a shower and having a clump in my hand or anything. That worked great. That for me, like, I was actually able to start growing my hair again. I was starting to get some thickness, and it was just essentially all around a great candidate for the ext, for regrowth. I started working on my stress. I completely changed my diet. Diet is a huge thing as well. I started going for walks again, and then eventually I started playing hockey again.

Dan Medeiros [00:13:33]:
I'm canadian, so, I mean, for me not to play hockey for a long time, I was like, yeah, I started getting back into everything and I started actually caring about what I was internally and externally. You know, I had friends who helped with that, especially getting me out, getting into fitness and playing hockey again. And between everything, you know, every avenue, I wanted to make sure that in any way, shape or form, I could help and benefit me. My growth, my stress levels, everything. I did it, and it worked so well. 2010 through to 2012, I did that. And then I moved down to Iowa in the US, and so the Des Moines center became my new home center. I continued with that process for years, and then it was 2014.

Dan Medeiros [00:14:16]:
I finally, I was like, you know, I've gone as far as I can go. I need more. I want more. Not just for me, but also my wife. You know, she met me back in the early days of social media.

Kevin Rolston [00:14:28]:
About what year did you meet your wife? So we can kind of follow the progress here.

Dan Medeiros [00:14:33]:
We were both in high school at the time, so it was like the very early days. Like, I think just the early days of MySpace, pre MySpace, when online dating was still pretty new.

Kevin Rolston [00:14:44]:
Maybe like 2004. Somewhere around there is that what we're.

Dan Medeiros [00:14:47]:
Talking about, it was around like, 20 00 20 00 20 01 20 02.

Kevin Rolston [00:14:53]:
Okay, so we're talking about ten years in the process of this. So your wife knows you for a good ten to twelve years before, you know, you're like, okay, I want to reintroduce you to the guy that you once knew.

Dan Medeiros [00:15:05]:
Exactly. And, you know, she, despite where I was with everything, and she, you know, she still married me, thankfully.

Kevin Rolston [00:15:13]:
Yeah. It's love.

Dan Medeiros [00:15:14]:
Yeah. So 2012 through 2014, I was still just doing the ext and, you know, I just, she would see how just sad I would get and still breaking down crying in front of the, in front of the mirror and just, I don't know what else to do anymore. I just have reached my limit, I think. I've kind of, I can't get any more out of this. So she actually pushed me into, you know, looking into alternatives with Hairclub maybe taking the next step. What they call the X transplus is actually called the Matrix system. I still love calling it the Matrix system just because Matrix is cool.

Kevin Rolston [00:15:43]:
Sounds cool.

Dan Medeiros [00:15:44]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I was like, well, maybe she's like, we'll take a look and see what the options are. So I met at my center, with the center manager at the time, talked about, you know, whether surgery or the matrix system.

Kevin Rolston [00:15:55]:
And what is that consultation like when you sit down with somebody there and you talk to them, do you show them what the loss is? Do they talk to you about what you want to look like? How does that process go down and how did you decide on the treatment that they walked you towards?

Dan Medeiros [00:16:09]:
Oh, it's incredible. You know, they essentially let you kind of, you lead and they support you.

Kevin Rolston [00:16:16]:
Okay.

Dan Medeiros [00:16:16]:
So, you know, they let you ask you about yourself, what you do when you start, sort of a lot of the questions you asked when you started noticing that you were losing it, what factors do you think came in with it and what you're looking for? You know, so I even found, like, pictures of myself back when I had the early days of selfies, before they were called selfies. It was just a webcam. And, you know, I'm just like, this is what I used to have. I had wonderful hair, thick hair. I had amazing hair. You know, my mom, she was a hairstylist, but for years back when I was a kid, before she stopped doing that. And so I was just always, you know, I loved what I could do with my hair and the different styles, and the eighties and nineties were fantastic for that. So, yeah, so it just, you know, that was a big thing for me.

Dan Medeiros [00:16:59]:
And then it. Not being able to do that anymore, it's just. It's absolutely crazy. But, yeah, my. My wife pushed me into asking the next questions and what I could get. And so I showed them what I wanted to be again, what I wanted, who I saw myself as. The last time I looked in the mirror, I looked at this picture and said, that is me beginning to end. And they were like, yeah, we can make that happen.

Dan Medeiros [00:17:22]:
So I moved over to the system, and within, like, a month or so, it came in. And I will never forget, it was a weekday night. I went to the center. They ran me through the whole process. It was very personalized, you know, because, again, it's a very scary, tough decision, making these leaps. It is. And especially, you know, I'm giving up what I've grown, what I've worked on, and I got the system on. They style it, they cut it.

Dan Medeiros [00:17:49]:
And I was just like, is insane just to see yourself again and go, oh, my God, I still exist.

Kevin Rolston [00:17:55]:
Yeah, right? It's kind of like you just take off this veil and bam, there you are. To me, what was amazing is how many years you roll back when you just have a system on. To me, it was really crazy. I immediately was like, I look ten to 15 years younger immediately. I don't know if you had that same feeling.

Kevin Rolston [00:18:14]:
It's just.

Kevin Rolston [00:18:14]:
It's crazy what the hair does.

Dan Medeiros [00:18:16]:
I remember seeing a picture of myself on a night out. It was like Saturday night out downtown Des Moines. We were drinking. The friends and I saw the picture, they stay. And it was with me and my wife. And I was like, oh, my God. How old am I?

Kevin Rolston [00:18:28]:
Yeah.

Dan Medeiros [00:18:28]:
I'm like, wow. Oh, my gosh. That is awful. And then just coming home, wearing hair that first night, I got it into the parking lot, and then my wife pulled in, like, five minutes later, and it was kind of perfect timing at night. It was one of those, like, kind of out of a movie moment where I got in my car and I started walking down the parking lot, and she got out of her car, saw me and started like, oh, my God. Hands on her mouth, ran towards me, and just. We were both just in tears. And it was incredible.

Dan Medeiros [00:18:59]:
As I said, not just for me, but for her. And to see her look at me that way. And that very night, I took my very first selfie in years. And the first thing my friends see is when they look at it, they're like, oh, my God, my friend is Clark Kentucky. So I was like, maybe there's something to that. Maybe there's something to that.

Kevin Rolston [00:19:23]:
And those of us who have struggled with hair loss know just how isolating it can be. Like, it can be tough to reach out to somebody for help, especially if you don't know anybody else who's going through the same thing, or at least think, you know, somebody's going through the same thing. So I asked Dan if he had any words of wisdom for somebody in the same position as he was so many years ago dealing with the vicious cycle of stress and hair loss.

Dan Medeiros [00:19:48]:
Oh, gosh, I've thought about this a lot over the years. So, you know, you know, at first thing I tell myself, my younger self before I started losing it would be one understand shampoos and conditioners a lot better and what's good for you. And what's not good for you. Hair products, again, same deal. Don't think that you can eat as much fast food as you want and not see the repercussions. It's never too early. It's also never too late. But, you know, I wish I started earlier.

Dan Medeiros [00:20:16]:
I wish I started when I started noticing it. I could have salvaged a lot more, and I could have probably gotten myself back on track. You know, who knows? Again, it's all a bunch of who knows and maybes, but those were definitely a lot of the factors. My favorite thing is talking to people about this and helping others, and I being, you know, not just a salesperson. I've been able to bring in friends, people who know me. I've been able to reach out to me and be like, oh, my gosh, you know, I didn't know you were. You were with hair club, and it's amazing. Give me the scoop.

Dan Medeiros [00:20:46]:
And I talked to them about it as someone who's a client, giving them a full understanding of what it's like and not trying to just give them a sales pitch. And I've helped bring friends into centers and get. And have. And now they're just happier than they've ever been. And it's just like, it's the stigma that came along with what hair club used to be, you know, again, it's not the eighties. It's not the nineties anymore. This is. I mean, we're 2024 with it.

Dan Medeiros [00:21:14]:
This is normal. This is. I feel like the stigma is just really, really out the door. It's a lot more accepted, and I love just how open and easy it is to talk to people about this stuff.

Kevin Rolston [00:21:25]:
Yeah. And you want to share the joy. I mean, you got the joy your journey is filled with a lot of pain that didn't need to happen. And if you can spare anybody that same kind of feeling to get them right to the joy phase, it's a great thing that you're doing. And I think it's so fantastic. Everything you're doing, from your performances to your acting, especially what you're doing for those kids in the hospital, man, that's just one of the best things. It really was a pleasure talking to you, Dan, and I appreciate you sharing your story today.

Dan Medeiros [00:21:51]:
Thank you so much. I hope you have a wonderful day.

Kevin Rolston [00:21:58]:
Look, I think Dan's a great example of what can happen when you get the help that you need. I'm sure it's hard for people to understand just how devastating hair loss could be unless they've been going through it themselves. But one thing anyone can learn from Dan's story is how much becomes possible when you take care of yourself and find your confidence. Like so many of our other guests, Dan's hair journey has inspired him to help others through their hair loss. So if you know somebody who can relate to Dan's story, consider sharing this episode with them, and hopefully they'll feel a little bit less alone with what they're going through. Thanks for listening to another episode of Hairpods. Check us out at Hairclub on Instagram or search us on Facebook and continue the conversation and let us know if this episode struck a chord with you. And if you're enjoying the show, consider leaving us a rating or review on your favorite podcast app.

Kevin Rolston [00:22:50]:
And if you haven't been over to our website yet, check it out by going to podcast dot hairclub.com. Until next time.