We Are Unmuted: Breaking the Rules with Jason Everett
Some people walk into a room and start talking.
Others walk in and get people to do the wave.
We Are Unmuted is where we celebrate the people who refuse to fit the mold, and instead, reshape the world. We had the pleasure of chatting with a lifelong performer turned industry powerhouse, Jason Everett. He began his career onstage, singing, dancing, and learning how to command a room long before he ever stepped into the world of business. After years spent teaching ballroom, managing major brand experiences, and mastering the psychology of high-performance leadership, he eventually found his way into the salon and spa world, where he became one of its most influential voices.
Jason is the founder of the High Performance Salon Academy, a bestselling author, and a sought-after speaker whose trainings have impacted everyone from family-owned salons to global brands like Redken, L’Oréal, and Massage Envy. His work blends behavioral science, performance coaching, and unapologetic stage presence to help salon owners break revenue ceilings, build thriving teams, and prove every doubter wrong.
Jason joined me for this episode of the We Are Unmuted to talk about identity, entrepreneurship, “max volume” leadership, and what it really takes to rewrite the rules of your industry while staying fully unmuted. Below is the conversation that unfolded — unfiltered, warm, high-energy, and very, very Unmuted.
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Q&A with Jason Everett
Noël: For anyone who doesn’t know you yet, who is Jason Everett?
Jason: I always joke that intros like yours make me sound cooler than I really am. At the end of the day, I’m a dad, a husband, and a guy who gets to do cool stuff along the way.
I’ve spent years coaching, speaking, and training people in human performance — specifically salon owners who want to hit $100K in profit. I’ve worked with brands like Massage Envy, Redken, and L’Oréal, spoken to 10,000 people at Mandalay Bay, and written bestselling books. But the heart of all of it? Helping people break the ceilings they’ve been told to live under.
And yes, I believe most of those ceilings are imaginary and optional.
Noel: You weren’t originally from the salon world. How did you end up shaping an entire industry?
Travis: I always say I’m an adopted member of the salon and spa industry. I didn’t come from that world, I came from sales, marketing, performance, and experience design.
My first big step in beauty was training with Massage Envy. One location turned into 26. Then 100+. Then millions of dollars in new revenue. That opened the door to Redken and L’Oréal, where they handed me a stage with 10,000 people staring back at me.
Over time, people kept saying I wasn’t just “adopted” — that I helped reinvent what was possible for stylists and owners. My book Profitable Salon Owner pushed that further. My new book, Prove Them Wrong, digs into breaking industry stigma and empowering beauty professionals to make six figures or more doing the art they love.
I’m wired for art and for business, and those two worlds don’t always collide peacefully. But when they do? Magic.
Noel: That creative/business blend, it hits home for me. What was the toughest part of becoming a business owner?
Travis: The identity shift.
Going from being the doer to being the designer, not artistically, but architecturally. Designing the business. Designing the life. Designing the systems. It’s still creative, just in a completely different way.
I’ve been running my own company for 17 years now. I’ve helped businesses hit their first million, second, tenth. I just onboarded a client doing $30 million a year. None of that happens without learning who you are at every new level.
Starting a business is the greatest personal development program disguised as a career choice.
Noel: What does it mean to you to be unmuted?
Travis: It’s evolved over time. At first, it meant speaking up despite not having privilege or credentials. Later, as I became established, it meant being brave enough to share ideas or take risks, even with higher expectations. Today, it’s about paying it forward — using my experience to help others unmute their own voices. And lately, I’ve realized it’s also about unmuting my ears: listening deeply and helping others find their courage.
Noel: Important question… if your voice had a volume setting, what number would it be?
Travis: Max volume button.
Literally. Growing up, I had this old boom box where the max volume button was missing. And I remember thinking, “That’s me. I am the max volume button.”
I like to operate at one click below blowing the speakers — right before the distortion kicks in. That’s my lane.
Not everyone loves that energy. Some people think it’s “too much.” And that’s fine, it means they’re not my people. For others, I’m the spark that accelerates the fire they already have. My wife calls me an accelerant. I take that as a compliment.
Noel: What actually inspired you to get into all of this? Performance, training, the beauty industry… the whole journey?
Travis: Performance is in my DNA.
I was on a TV show as a kid. I was in choir, theater, band (the nerdy one), and then in a cool band that girls actually liked. I loved creating experiences for people…making them feel something.
Later, I became a ballroom dance instructor (yes, partly to meet girls), then discovered business training and hit my first $100K. I moved into sales, radio advertising, brand experiences, promotional events for huge companies. Every step was about performance, experience, and connection.
Eventually, I realized businesses were starving for one thing: the ability to sell through experience. And that’s the thread that led me into salonss,an industry built on artistry, service, and emotional connection. It was a perfect fit.
Noel: Last one: what’s the big heartbeat behind your work today?
Travis: Helping people turn talent into income. Helping creatives get paid what they’re worth. Helping people break the rules they never agreed to in the first place.
I want to show people that being “too much” is only a problem if you’re surrounded by people who aren’t enough.
Final Thoughts
Jason Everett reminds us that the loudest, brightest parts of who we are were never mistakes. This is shadow work in motion, and reclaiming the pieces we were taught to soften and choosing to let them lead. These aren’t flaws; they’re superpowers.
And when you finally turn the volume up on the identity you’ve kept tucked away, something shifts. You stop building for approval and start building for impact. That’s when transformation becomes inevitable.
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