The Squeeze: Chris Appleton – Your Roots Don’t Define You

Host: Taylor Lautner (with co-host, husband Taylor Lautner)
Guest: Chris Appleton – Celebrity Hairstylist & Author
Release Date: January 21, 2026

Episode Overview

This heartfelt and candid conversation centers on celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton's journey with identity, shame, fear, reinvention, and finding self-acceptance. Appleton discusses the deeper layers behind his public persona, the vulnerability of telling his story, and how his work in beauty is intimately tied to empowering himself and others. The discussion touches on overcoming childhood adversity, the critical role of mental health, healing inner wounds, coming out, and the universal quest to be seen—and to see oneself.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Growing Up and If Your Roots “Define” You

Timestamps: 00:04 – 11:49

• Chris reflects on his upbringing in England, experiencing poverty, bullying, and being labeled negatively (e.g., as “gay” for working in salons, or “stupid” for his dyslexia).
• The emotional struggle of being seen as “other,” and how hairdressing became his first channel for self-worth and creativity.
• Chris shares his motivation for writing his book, wanting people to know: "Your roots do not have to define you, but they will always be part of your story."

  "We let [our roots] define us… but it's about knowing that you can reinvent yourself at any age." – Chris (10:45)

• The universal vulnerability of looking at yourself in the mirror, and how small comments from childhood can shape identity.

Notable Quote

"A lot of people don't even know why they've got what they've got... It's not necessarily even yours. You've just inherited it."
— Chris Appleton, 10:23

2. Vulnerability, Success, and the Reality Behind the “Glamour”

Timestamps: 03:13 – 11:49

• Writing the book required deep honesty:

  "It was pretty brutal, really … I said things I never thought I'd say. Things that were so private, I don't think the closest people in my life knew about. And then I'm telling the whole world." – Chris (03:32)

• The price of success: more time spent in shame and sadness than light and joy.
• The transformative, almost therapeutic relationship between a hairstylist and a client.
• The power of helping someone truly “see” themselves—whether a celebrity, a working mom, or someone fighting cancer.

3. Breaking Patterns, Abandonment, and Inner Child Healing

Timestamps: 18:02 – 39:08

• Chris acknowledges how bullying and negative labeling led him to “abandon” his true self, striving for outward success while losing inner acceptance.
• Moving to America was a fresh start, but even returning to England triggered panic attacks from unresolved trauma.
• The importance of inner child work and recognizing, accepting, and nurturing the “abandoned little boy” inside:

  "Part of healing was going back to that. For a long time, I didn’t even like going back to England... I feel really sad about that, and I think a lot of people do that—ashamed into being a version of themselves.” – Chris (19:45)

• Therapy exercises helped Chris connect with childhood pain and rewrite the script he’d inherited:

  “I realized I'd abused myself my whole life. I spoke so badly. I took those voices that people spoke to me and said… I believed it, and I ran away from it… Part of the inner child work is just about coming back to him.” – Chris (36:31)

4. Facing Fear and Seizing Opportunities

Timestamps: 22:15–29:19

• Chris vividly recounts a career-defining moment working with Christina Aguilera on The Voice and the paralyzing fear of being “found out” as an imposter.
• A voice from his past (“If you don't make this work, you can't keep doing this”) helped him push through self-doubt.
• Choosing action—and not letting fear dictate—was key to his breakthrough:

  “If I’d have given in to that fear that was literally coming over me… None of my career would have happened. I would have believed everything I was told—that I wasn’t good enough, that I was stupid, and I was told to stay small.” – Chris (28:44)

5. Shame, Coming Out, and Self-Acceptance

Timestamps: 40:43 – 45:41

• Coming out at 26 was fraught with shame—not just internal, but for fear he was now bringing shame and pain on his children.
• A candid discussion of his suicide attempt, the aftermath, and the turning point in a hospital bed:

  “I couldn't have hated myself anymore. I couldn't have wanted to be anyone else than me. I realized I'd spent my whole life trying to be somewhere else or someone else…” – Chris (43:31)

• The path to healing started with a kind of surrender and learning to “accept” rather than fight his truth:

  “If I’m going to be here, I can’t change it. But what about if I just accept it? ... Step one is just saying, this is who I am.” – Chris (44:06)

6. The Impact of Social Media and Storytelling

Timestamps: 46:00–47:48

• Chris is aware—despite his vulnerability—he can’t be immune to other people’s judgments, especially in the age of social media.
• He credits social media as integral to his success (JLo finding him), but acknowledges the double-edged sword of public scrutiny.
• He hopes his rawness, humor, and real stories will resonate and encourage others to keep it real:

  “So hopefully with that realness and that rawness, people relate to it.” – Chris (48:27)

7. Self-Care & Everyday Coping Tools

Timestamps: 48:43–50:42

• Laughter and not taking things too seriously are central to his mental health:

  "Sometimes you just gotta laugh and be a bit more real about it and, you know, not take it too seriously… Laughter is really powerful.” – Chris (50:23)

• Chris uses humor with friends, pranks, and lighthearted moments to stay grounded amidst life’s chaos.

8. On Parenthood and Personal Pride

Timestamps: 50:49–53:24

• Asked about his greatest achievement, Chris is unequivocal: his kids and the life and opportunities he’s helped foster for them.
• He shares touching anecdotes about their growth and pride in seeing them blossom out of the small, confining world he once knew.
• Receiving letters from his children expressing their pride in him was, for Chris, “the most powerful thing they said.”

  “That they were proud of me to be their dad … honestly that—I’m good now. Like, it’s my greatest achievement.” – Chris (52:49)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Inner Critics:

  “The voice is savage… It’s rare that someone sits in the chair and is like, wow, I look fantastic.” (06:07)

• On Changing Patterns:

  “It's not about deleting the past… It's actually about understanding that your past is a part of you and, you know, it evolves you to be the next version of yourself and that reinvention isn't got an age on it.” (29:04)

• On Accepting Yourself:

  “Step one is just saying, this is who I am.” (44:06)

• On Healing and Being Seen:

  “I love making people feel alive and, like, becoming their best version of themselves and allowing them to be who they wanted to be. I just never allowed myself.” (44:33)

• On Legacy:

  “You can take everything away from me… I am so grateful for my two kids. They are—They bring me so much joy…” (51:11)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Chris’s early struggles and hairdressing origins: 00:04–11:49
• Vulnerability and writing his book: 03:13–11:49
• Discussion of inner child and therapy: 34:28–39:08
• Fear and the Christina Aguilera story: 22:15–29:19
• Coming out, shame, and turning point: 40:43–45:41
• Social media and authenticity: 46:00–47:48
• Self-care tools: 48:43–50:42
• Pride in fatherhood: 50:49–53:24

Summary

Chris Appleton’s episode is an honest dive into what lies behind public image: the experiences, fears, and coping that shape who we become and how we help others. With disarming humor, frank stories of pain and progress, and clear-eyed hope, Appleton and host Taylor Lautner explore why "your roots don't define you"—and how anyone, at any stage, can begin the hard, ongoing work of seeing, accepting, and reinventing themselves. For anyone feeling limited by their past or afraid to take the next step, this episode offers both comfort and a call to action.

Note: Podcast ads, extensive introductory material, and non-content sections have been excluded for clarity and focus.