Here’s Who Won The 2019 American Crew® All-Star Challenge

Find Out The Winner Of The 2019 American Crew® All-Star Challenge

It was a big day for American Crew® in more ways than one. Not only was the men’s grooming brand celebrating its milestone 25th anniversary but it also crowned two All-Star Challenge winners for the first time EVER in the brand’s history. And we celebrated in the best way hairdressers know how—with a party at a trendy location in New York City and plenty of education. (And we were there to capture it all!) Keep scrolling to learn everything from how the finalists were chosen, who the judges were and, more importantly, who won it all!

The Competition
The All-Star Challenge combines the art and science of men’s grooming and creating authentic style—the cut, the model and the photograph—to deliver the ultimate interpretation of the American Crew® man. Having evolved throughout the years from a national event to a global platform, year after year thousands of stylists from all over the globe bring their best to the competition, inspired by American Crew® Founder David Raccuglia’s vision and passion for men’s grooming.

Traditionally there is only one winner, but this year, American Crew® surprised everyone by announcing two! Why? “It was the first time the judges couldn’t decide,” shared Gillian Gorman Round, American Crew® Global General Manager. “There was a really interesting conversation about how do we honor the future and push the brand forward with contemporary nature and how do we make sure we’re reflecting the core DNA of American Crew®? So for the first time in the awards history, there are two winners.”

The Finalists

Back in January, professional stylists and groomers around the world were encouraged to enter the All-Star Challenge by submitting two black and white photos of a men’s cut and style they did. After a screening process of their initial entry looks followed by a preliminary event held within their home country, 14 international finalists are then gifted an all expense paid trip to attend the competition finale. This year’s finalists were:

• Australia—Blade Pullman (@bladepullman)
• Canada —Sandra Perovic (@sandra_perovic_hair)
• Germany—Desiree Hammer (@desireehammer)
• Italy—Giuseppe Messina (@giuseppe_messina_barbershop)
• Russia—Mark Markov (@mark_ov_mark)
• UK—Gemma Willock-Smith (@gws_barber)
• USA—Emma Jankowski (@emmashair_)
• Bulgaria—Maria Ivanova (@hair_by_maria_ivanova)
• France—Fabien Tonicello (@olabo_toulouse)
• Ireland—Chris O’Riordan (@chrisoriordanhair)
• Netherlands—Pieter-Theo Zuurbier (@pietertheoz)
• Portugal —Tiago Pinto (@t.f.p__vintage15__)
• Spain—Pablo Perez (@hairandmore.es)
• Ukraine—Bohdan Vasylevskiy (@vasylevsky)

Click through the slideshow below to see each finalists’ final look, which was shot by David!

Hair by Blade Pullman // Photo by David Raccuglia

Hair by Maria Ivanova // Photo by David Raccuglia

Hair by Sandra Perovic // Photo by David Raccuglia

Hair by Fabien Tonicello // Photo by David Raccuglia

Hair by Chris O’Riordan // Photo by David Raccuglia

Hair by Giuseppe Messina // Photo by David Raccuglia

Hair by Desiree Hammer // Photo by David Raccuglia

Hair by Pieter-Theo Zuurbier // Photo by David Raccuglia

Hair by Tiago Pinto // Photo by David Raccuglia

Hair by Mark Markov // Photo by David Raccuglia

Hair by Pablo Perez // Photo by David Raccuglia

Hair by Gemma Willock-Smith // Photo by David Raccuglia

Hair by Emma Jankowski // Photo by David Raccuglia

Hair by Bohdan Vasylevskiy // Photo by David Raccuglia

The Judges

• Paul Wilson (@paulwilsoncrew), American Crew® Global Artistic Director
• Phoenix Thomson (@pheminx), American Crew® Senior Education Manager
• Vitaly Pimenov (@pimenthebarber), the 2018 All-Star Challenge Winner
• Sandra Nygaard (@snygaard), Freelance Fashion Editor

The Prizes

• A $10,000 cash prize
• A magazine feature
• A trophy
• A framed image of their winning look
• Global recognition all throughout 2019
• Social media promotion across all American Crew® channels
• An invitation to judge the 2020 American Crew® All-Star Challenge

And The Winner Is…

Emma Jankowski (@emmashair_) from the U.S. and Blade Pullman (@bladepullman) from Australia!

Inspiration: “My inspiration was rock ‘n’ roll grunge,” she shares. “I went for a Mick Jagger vibe. I wanted to keep it strong and masculine but I wanted it to fit my model so I went a little more edgy with it.”

Inspiration: “The old school greaser look—the Elvis Presley, the James Dean,” he shares. “And just modern classic really, taking the classics and trying to modernize them. It’s not too out there but it’s still different.”