Sy Sperling, founder and client of Hair Club for Men, dies at 78

Sy Sperling, famous for founding the Hair Club for Men, died in Florida on Feb. 19. A representative for Sperling confirmed to the Associated Press that he passed away in the city of Boca Raton after a long illness. He was 78.

Sperling entered homes in the 1980s and 1990s via commercials catering to men who were follicly challenged. He earned the trust of countless balding males by showing off a photo of his own receding hairline at the end of the ad saying, “I’m not only the Hair Club President but I’m also a client.”

The business idea came to Sperling in the 1960s while selling swimming pools in New York City, as he grew frustrated himself with toupees. He used a weaving technique learned from a hairstylist he later perfected to help countless men look and feel better about themselves.

He founded Hair Club for Men in 1976, which later became just Hair Club in 1995 as they started offering the service to women as well. In 1992, he started Hair Club for Kids, to help kids undergoing cancer treatments or other eligible issues for free.

The company he founded, and later sold to a group of investors in 2000 for $45 million, remembered him on Thursday.

“It is with great sadness that we can confirm the passing of Sy Sperling, the iconic founder of Hair Club in 1976 and a pioneer in hair restoration. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Sperling family,” they posted on their website.

They added, “Colleagues, friends, and family recall Mr. Sperling as a visionary with an immense passion for business, innovation and helping others. We continue to live by his words ‘Live life to the fullest, take chances and risks, and believe in yourself.'”

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