Scratch pays its respects to Joseph Pham

It is with sadness that the industry says goodbye to one of its personalities and pioneers. Highly skilled in technique, Joseph was a master at sharing information, bringing techs together and educating internationally with a light-hearted and fun nature that was insatiable. We are sorry to say goodbye to you so soon, Joseph, and send our best wishes and condolences to your family and friends at this sad time.

Word of love and from Vu Nguyen, Gelish Dean of Education:

“I have so many great memories of Joseph. It was a major loss to the nail world with his passing.

“Joseph Pham was not only a dear friend to me, but a mentor and a brother. I first met Joseph in Orlando over 15 years ago, when attending with my brother Robert Nguyen, for a competition. We were approached by Joseph, and I still recall him having an energy, excitement and passion for nails. The passion he had was contagious and I started feeling a new type of excitement for this industry. I really believe Joseph wanted to help out anyone, at any level, in nails. He was keen to send myself and Robert products to test for OPI; little did we know then, that we would be joining OPI several months later.

“Kelvin St. Pham had put together a team of Vietnamese educators for OPI and that’s where my nail journey really begins with Joseph or ‘The Professor’ as we called him. There were six of us on this team that we called the ‘A-Team’ (the Absolute Team): Kelvin; Joseph; myself; Danny Phung; Hoang Lefty Nguyen; Robert. We travelled all over the world together and had a blast. I think we travelled so much, we became brothers for life. Even now we are all still close and have reunited with a different company, with the exception of Joseph.

“I want to share a story that still impacts what I do on nails today and Joseph is the reason for this. During my first year at OPI we were asked to create nail art with OPI products. Robert and I turned in artwork for this project and had no idea Joseph was going to turn in artwork as well. When we arrived at the corporate office to turn in our artwork, the boss was not at all happy with us. She pulled me aside and showed me what Joseph had turned in; I was shocked at what he’d created. He’d taken the time to make every design element a legitimate piece of art and made mine look like the work of a five-year-old. From that day forward, I try to put my best effort into every design I do. ‘Thank you Joe for kicking my ass!’”

Photo: Joseph with Danny in London

Photo: Eating out with Vu Nguyen

A tribute from OPI UK – words of appreciation from Belinda Price, OPI UK educator:

“The OPI UK & I team were saddened to hear news that former global guest artist & A-Team member Joseph Pham passed away and we send heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.

Joseph first visited the UK with his A-team colleague Danny Phung, and after a successful Olympia Beauty show, provided training for the OPI UK & I education team in its HQ building for Lena White Ltd in Croxley.

Photo: Joseph Pham with Belinda Price

“The relationship Joseph quickly built with the team and OPI customers was strong and centred around his passion for both education and fun. He made learning easy and was truly inspirational. The hints and tips he shared with us over his visits to the UK and across social media, as it became ‘a thing’, didn’t just improve the quality of our nail services, but also how we educated and thought and worked outside of the box. Nail techs worldwide still benefit through his education legacy as his knowledge is fed down through educators that he taught over his years at OPI.

Photo: Danny Phung & Joseph Pham in the UK with Belinda Price & Amanda Gould

“Anyone who has met Joseph will tell you how he loved fun and was the life and soul of the party. His times in the UK were certainly memorable and leave everyone who was there, with a smile on their face.

Joseph’s approach to the industry was like a breath of fresh air and the thing that struck me personally about him was the ‘multi brand’ relationships he had. It didn’t matter which brand you represented, he believed we could all learn from each other, and it was this same message he shared when talking about Vietnamese-owned salons. I believe he really helped raise awareness about the number of incredibly talented Vietnamese nail techs working not only in the UK, but worldwide and, as he showed us, we can all learn from each other.

“We are thankful for the time we shared with him, his knowledge and inspiration, and he will be greatly missed by us all.”

John Hauk, president of Royalty Beauty, honours the memory of his friend & industry colleague:

“As we say ‘goodbye’ to Joseph Pham, I reflect on all the great memories made and the people he touched in his short life across the world. He was a brother, husband, father and a grandfather too.

“I first met him at an OPI training in Nashville, Tennessee. When I walked in the room he came running up to me, very excitedly to introduce himself. We shook hands and he said , ‘Wow man, that’s quite a grip, don’t break my hand!’ I laughed and asked him where he was from and how long he’d been doing nails. One of the first things he replied to me was, ‘When I grow up I want to be just like you!’. We both laughed and have been best friends ever since.

“Over the years we formed a great bond, sharing nail secrets and family stories. He quickly became a lead educator at OPI and travelled the world sharing his knowledge. He later went on to work with other nail manufacturers.

“I gave him the nickname, ‘The Joker’, because he was always making a joke or telling a funny story to make you smile. Later he earned a second nickname, ‘Da Professor’.

“Over the years we’ve shared many stages, education trainings, symposiums and nail life on the road. When he was younger, he moved from Vietnam to the USA. He told me he was so excited to see a movie in a cinema, so when he got his first salary from McDonalds, he went to see the movie Purple Rain starring Prince. He touched many people’s lives over the years, always sharing what he knew and always willing to help. He made a great impact on the nail industry and the Vietnamese community too.

“He was going to be a Nail Star on my 2021 Cruise with the Nail Stars event, however an angel has called him home before we could set sail.

“He will be greatly missed by so many people around the world. Rest in Peace Joseph Pham.”

Photo: Always having fun – Joseph Pham with John Hauk

 

Photo: OPI training in progress

 

Photo: Joseph with his family