Host Spencer Stevenson sits down with Pete Murtha, founder of Optima Hair in Edgbaston, Birmingham, 25+ years into hair-system work. The cold open isn't exaggerated: armed men forced their way into Murtha's home weeks after he went into business for himself, held him at gunpoint, and threatened him and his family over the competition. It starts a decade earlier. Murtha began losing his hair at 23 in 1994, tried a Harley Street transplant, then the Belgravia Centre, spending close to £18,000 over three years on treatments that didn't work. A hair unit in 1996 — "it felt like a hat on my head" — came with night shifts as a forklift driver to avoid being seen, and, he tells Spencer, a genuine suicidal crisis at a time with no outlet to talk about it. Four years at a London hair-system clinic ended when a six-year-old client, scarred by a kettle accident, became the turning point: told to charge the boy's father for the free fix he'd asked for, Murtha walked and started Optima Hair from his spare bedroom with partner Karen, on five clients. Weeks later came the home invasion, then eighteen months of smashed windows and threats to his family, and a second confrontation years later — none of it stopping him from building Optima into one of the country's largest practices, before deliberately scaling back to keep it personal. He also opens up about a 2005 detour into scalp micropigmentation: Ian Watson, who'd co-found what became HIS Hair Clinic, offered him a 33% stake to help bring SMP to market on Optima's reputation. Differing visions led Murtha to walk away, and he watched the venture unravel from the outside. It closes on his "giver, not taker" ethics: free consultations, pro bono work for an overcharged 80-year-old client, and an unpaid hour and a half talking a mother through her suicidal 16-year-old son's hair loss — tied back to his own darkest period. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN — How armed threats shaped the early years of his business — Why he turned down rapid global SMP expansion back in 2005 — How hair systems work: cost, custom builds, maintenance — Why he still does free and pro bono work decades in CHAPTERS 00:00 Cold open — armed men, a gun, and a threat to his family 00:23 Intro: meeting Optima Hair's Pete Murtha 02:41 Losing his hair at 23, and the 1994 Harley Street transplant 02:57 The Belgravia Centre, and years of treatments that didn't work 03:20 His first hair unit in '96, and night shifts to avoid being seen 03:41 A suicidal crisis, and no outlet to talk about it 04:13 Hired at a London hair-system clinic (1997–2002) 07:50 A 6-year-old client's scar tissue, and starting Optima with Karen 09:06 The home invasion, and eighteen months of threats that followed 11:24 A second confrontation years later, and standing his ground 17:49 2015: a bigger premises, and losing what made it personal 21:24 2005: Ian Watson's SMP pitch, and a 33% stake walked away from 24:45 Watching the SMP venture unravel from the outside 26:44 Back to Optima Hair — small, boutique, built on trust 30:19 How hair systems work: cost, builds, and maintenance 33:07 The "pizza slice" technique, and avoiding frontal systems 34:06 Lace fronts, 20 years ago, and a humbling pub moment 37:28 "A hairline should be a smile, never a frown" 38:13 Free work for an 80-year-old overcharged elsewhere 39:29 A mother's call about her suicidal 16-year-old son 41:22 "A giver, not a taker" — welcoming the trolls and threats 43:38 A same-day echo of another guest's darkest moment ABOUT PETE MURTHA Pete Murtha is the founder of Optima Hair in Edgbaston, Birmingham, with over 25 years in hair replacement, since starting the business from his spare bedroom in the late 1990s. ABOUT OPTIMA HAIR Optima Hair Specialists is a Birmingham clinic offering custom-made, non-surgical hair replacement, built on a patient-first, free-consultation approach. 🔗 https://www.optimahair.co.uk/ ABOUT THE HOST Host Spencer Stevenson ("Spex") is an international hair loss patient advocate and founder of SpexHair. He hosts The Hair Loss Lab, a patient-first educational platform built with surgeons, trichologists, and SMP experts to help people make informed, unbiased decisions. 🔗 Optima Hair: https://www.optimahair.co.uk 🔗 More episodes: https://youtube.com/@TheHairLossLab 🔗 Follow SpexHair: https://www.spexhair.com/ 🔗 The Hair Loss Lab: https://thehairlosslab.com/ 🔗 Hair Loss Lab Podcast: https://bit.ly/4yJ9Bzz 🔗 Spotify: https://bit.ly/4hSUxrP 🔗 Apple Podcast: https://bit.ly/47fIuzS 🔗 Hair transplant doctor guide: https://www.apetogentleman.com/worlds-best-hair-transplant-doctors/ Educational purposes only, not a substitute for professional medical advice. Individual results vary — consult a qualified physician. If you're struggling with your mental health, please reach out to a professional or a local crisis support line. #HairLossLab #HairSystems #OptimaHair #MentalHealthAwareness
