Chasing Rainbows With Josh and Snow

Josh White turns heads everywhere he goes. The dog groomer, who runs West Hollywood’s Dogue Spa with partner Mehdi Elias Rezig, and starred in The Pack on Amazon Prime, has a psychedelic style that extends to his Standard Poodle, Snow. While his limbs are emblazoned with tattoos of flowers and butterflies, Snow is a canvas for his artistry, transformed into a beautiful creature more unicorn than dog.

White has been passionate about creative expression since he was a kid, and realised early on that he wanted to fuse that artistic spirit with his love of dogs. Inspired by pop culture, he and Rezig are showing pet parents that grooming is a routine part of canine care – and then some. They use organic, non-toxic dyes to cover coats in cotton candy swirls and leopard spots, so that even the most domestic of dogs can show off their wild side. Oh, and they count Cardi B, Awkwafina and Usher’s pups as satisfied customers.

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Josh, you and Snow have an amazing bond that you capture on Instagram. Did your account start as something personal or professional?

Josh White: I just remember that I wanted to stand out, so I feel like that would have happened, grooming or not. I’m more than just a dog groomer – I love fashion and so many things that aren’t necessarily dog related but [I was interested in] putting them together. When I got Snow I was like, I could do this with her and show off our bond. Plus, the way I look and the way she looks – I wanted to change people’s minds and break stereotypes. Like, yes, an African American can have a colourful Poodle. I’m gonna dress like a rainbow, like my dog, and put smiles on people’s faces.

Do you ever plan your outfits around her looks?

Josh: I do! That’s literally how it works. She’s been rainbow-hued for a while, so I’ve been dressing pretty colourfully recently, but if I dye her hair blue, I’ll wear more denim. She’s my muse and she inspires both how I dress and how I dye her. It’s definitely a partnership in that sense.

Does she enjoy getting groomed?

Josh: She does, it’s so crazy. She’s honestly the best dog I’ve ever groomed and it’s not just because she’s mine. If she was shy or didn’t like to be groomed or dyed, I wouldn’t do it. She’s a huge ham. She loves playing, she loves humans, she loves meeting clients. She’s a great walking advertisement, but I don’t dye her for that reason – I do it because I like to have a colourful, cute puppy dog.

Was hair dye always something you wanted to explore within dog grooming?

Josh: When I was a student, [our grooming skills] were tested on each breed. For my Poodle test, I did this crazy pop art-dyed dog that looked like she came out of a comic book. Hair dye is a form of art I always wanted to explore – adding tools to the artistry that dog grooming is. At Dogue Spa we use OPAWZ. It is a safe, vegan, cruelty-free, non-toxic line of shampoo dyes made for pets, with FDA-approved ingredients used in cosmetic and food products. It’s basically safe to eat.

What inspired you to open Dogue Spa together?

Mehdi Elias Rezig: Josh envisioned having a salon of his own and naming it Dogue when he was a teen. He learned the ropes at his local grooming salon. When we met, we decided to embark on the journey together. Our mission is to modernise the grooming industry as a whole – we want to bring it to the main stage by making it cool, inclusive and part of pop culture.

We focused on shaping the industry as Josh envisioned it, without the limits that would be imposed on him by working for a different company, nor staying in the shadow of the grooming industry, but rather expand beyond that and reach more layers of society to give a different look on what grooming is and the growing diversity of the new generation.

Cardi B, Usher, Awkwafina – you’ve worked with some big names. How did they find out about your work? 

Josh: Being cast on The Pack is when everything kind of blew up for me and Snow. Now she has her own fan base, which is pretty cool to see.

Mehdi: We’ve also built great connections over the years with some of Hollywood’s big names by word of mouth.

What are the most popular grooming service requests? 

Josh: Creative grooms, hair dyes and Asian Fusion, where dogs look almost fake.

What’s your busiest time of year for grooming?

Medhi: We have two busy seasons: summer and around the holidays, particularly around Halloween and Christmas. For Halloween, we tend to book some clients a year in advance. 

Any tips for pet parents looking to make their pets more comfortable with professional grooming? 

Medhi: Take your time to research what grooming salon most fits your vibe and that you would trust your pup with. Also start bringing your dog to the groomer from a young age and regularly – it is the best way to get them used to grooming and actually enjoy it.

This interview was originally conducted in 2021.