HE once played for thousands at T in the Park, living the wild life of a heavy metal band frontman.

His twenties were spent opening for the likes of Limp Bizkit and Black Veil Brides as part of Yashin before moving on to join Arches, who were quickly snapped up by a record label.

But Mike Rice gave up the glamorous lifestyle to become the go-to barber for every gent in the West End with more than a few celebrity clients, including Rangers star Fabio Cardoso and Celtic players James Forrest and Marvin Compper.

And despite the 34-year-old's unusual career route, he believes Glasgow is the only city he could pull off such a transition.

"The modern barbering in Glasgow is a really cool place to be. It's very, very in the moment," Mike told the Evening Times.

"There's lots of talent in Glasgow and coming to Glasgow specifically because it's a really fun, student, arty kind of place.

"It makes it a great city to work in and be a part of this industry."

Mike has been able to combine his passion for music while running his successful Byres Road shop Brothers Men's Stylist for the past three-and-a-half years.

And while he hasn't ruled out a return to the music scene quite yet, he's got his hands full with the opening of his new store in the city's West George Street, along with business partner Tommy Taylor.

The shop itself has been designed as homage to Glasgow's creative side, having once been owned by Alexander Reid – a prolific art deal in the late 19th century who once shared a flat with Vincent Van Gogh.

Mike said: "He shared a flat with Van Gogh in Paris and there's two paintings of him by Van Gogh, one is hanging up in the Kelvinside Gallery.

"We think he sold Monet and Degan from this very shop which is just incredible so we had to stick with the Victorian theme.

"We've done a tribute to him at the front, it's a wee tip of the hat."

Mike views both music and barbering as a creative outlet which "marry well" together but he decided to give the world hairdressing a proper go after a particularly bad day in an office job.

He said: "I came home and Goggled 'how to write a business plan'.

"The bank knocked me back for a business loan so I had to scrape together a few thousand and borrow money from my mum, who didn't really have any money to lend.

"I opened the shop and out of necessity it had to do well because I was skint and in a lot of debt.

"It just went really well. We've got a great team and it's a lot of fun. It's incredible."