Jason takes his scissors to Russia on a style mission

HAIRDRESSER Jason Miller has swapped cut and blow drys in the Capital for styling in St Petersburg.

The award-winning stylist was whisked away to the Russian city to help cut and style the tresses of the rich and famous at the Laureus World Sports Awards, which took place last night.

When the phone rang a fortnight ago, Jason assumed it would be a client wanting to book an appointment at his Stafford Street salon.

Instead, it turned out to be an invitation that would lead to him trimming Dennis Hopper's beard and styling Boris Becker's hair, as he worked backstage to ensure the stars looked their best.

He said: "The phone call just came out of the blue. It was a nice surprise and I was honoured to be asked.

"It's been a wonderful couple of days. There's been an amazing mix of people. There were golfers, cricketers, boxers and rugby players, as well as Hollywood stars.

"I gave Dennis Hopper a beard trim. He's such a nice person. He just seems really nice and calm. We chatted about his relatives in Scotland."

Now in its ninth year, the awards are held to honour the world's greatest sportsmen and women and are broadcast in 180 countries.

Members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, which includes many sporting legends, vote for the winners.

This year's ceremony was hosted by Cuba Gooding Jnr and attended by President Vladimir Putin. Sporting stars including Roger Federer, Lewis Hamilton and Tiger Woods attended the ceremony at the Marlinsky Theatre.

Mr Miller, 41, was asked to take part just two weeks ago. He has already styled celebrities at the MTV Awards for the past five years. The son of salon owner Charlie Miller, he has 25 years' experience in the family business.

Describing last night's sports ceremony, he said: "The supermodel Natalie Vodianova was incredible. She's absolutely stunning and she knows exactly what she wants.

"Nadia Comaneci was quite glamorous. She is very fashionable and looks very different to when she was a young gymnast.

"Most people were very friendly and down-to-earth. You just have to make sure they're happy – it's just like looking after any other client.

"It's a bit different to doing the looks on MTV. The sports people are a lot more relaxed. They're not so glammed up. They just want to be themselves."

Mr Miller already knew many of the hairdressing team from his work on the MTV Awards. His famous clients have included Joss Stone and Minnie Driver.

When not cutting the hair of the rich and famous, he works as a director of the five Edinburgh salons. As well as his brother Joshua and parents Charlie and Janet, his wife India is also a hairdresser. The couple live in Morningside with their teenage son and daughter.

He said: "I've always wanted to be a hairdresser since I was 12. I left school at 16 and started training.

"I was very lucky as I was able to travel to my first hair show when I was 19. It just grew from there – I've been able to travel all over the world."