FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WTVF) — What is an ETA? We'll get to that in a moment. For one man, it's a matter of both confidence and community.
"A bad haircut, you may not wanna leave the house," said Franklin hair stylist Ryan Collingwood. "A good haircut, I've had clients in my chair cry over having their hair finally done correctly. It creates confidence, really, when you feel like you look good. Hair's a big part of that."
When it comes to great hair, well, you know who's the king. It's a man of rhinestones and fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches.
"I am a huge fan of Elvis," Ryan laughed, the walls of his salon covered in pictures of Elvis.
"This is the 1968 comeback special Elvis," he said, holding up a figure. He turned his attention to the pictures. "Here's a picture of Larry Geller, Elvis's hairstylist. He signed it and sent it to me. My daughter's name is Presley."
The name of the shop?
"My shop is Blue Suede Salon," he said. "Hair is my career. Elvis is my passion."
One picture on the wall isn't Elvis, it's Ryan looking just like The King. He's an ETA.
"ETA stands for Elvis Tribute Artist," he said.
All this started when Ryan was a kid. He was a loner then, his confidence not where he wanted it to be. Then his dad introduced him to Elvis's music and to the classic TV appearances.
"It's like he's effortlessly cool, y'know," Ryan said. "If I can emulate and be like Elvis, maybe I can be less of a loner perhaps."
There is another side to Ryan's story. Ryan styles the hair of other Elvis Tribute Artists.
"We are just the ultimate Elvis fans, really," he smiled.
The clients include Riley Jenkins.
"He's like, 'you have great hair, man, if you were doing the 60s,'" Riley said, remembering an early meeting with Ryan. "'You do the 50s.' He was like, 'let me cut and style your hair.' All us ETAs' hair is, like, number one, y'know? When he said, 'okay, I'm done', it took my breath away. I was just like, 'oh my gosh.' I couldn't believe that was me."
"Which way you wanna go?" Ryan asked. Riley sat in his stylist chair, waiting for his hair to be parted.
"The Elvis way," Riley answered. "The movie star look, brought to you by Ryan Collingwood. This looks great!"
A fresh cut was just what Riley needed. The guys were soon to take the stage.
Fans of The King were at the Factory at Franklin.
"He's still in my heart!" said one fan. "I still love him."
"It's just a joy to hear that music again," added another. "It makes you feel like a teenager."
It was the Nashville Elvis Festival.
Ryan was competing against Riley and a few other ETAs whose hair he styled.
"Thank you for my hair, dude," another ETA told Ryan, shaking his hand.
Ryan wants them all to look their best.
"It is a brotherhood, and it is a fellowship," said Riley. "We're all competing, but at the end of the day, we just want to make Elvis proud of us and continue his legacy. That's why we love each other, truly. As far as me and Ryan specifically go, I truly consider him to be one of my closest friends. I trust him."
"Logan does 70s Elvis, and he's 18, and I'm 47, and I do 50s Elvis when he was 20!" Ryan laughed, gesturing to another ETA. "Go figure!"
A kid who once sought confidence found it through a music icon, through a true brotherhood, and, of course, through great hair.
