Word Play: Inside the Mind of Ian Michael Black

Ian Michael Black (@ianmichaelblack), Aveda Global Artistic Director Hair Color, plays word association with Executive Editor Andrea Dawn Clark.

In the heat of the moment

I do terrible things.

Balloons
Popping them. Anytime I see a balloon I have an uncontrollable urge to pop it—especially in public places, because I want to make people jump.

On the fence

Get off. Pick one or the other. I hate fence sitters.

Women
Friend. Power. Unity. Love. All of my girlfriends say to me, “You’re more of a feminist than I am.”

Barking up the wrong tree

I really need to adopt a dog from a dog shelter. I’m getting obsessed about it.

Optimism
The way forward.

It takes two to tango
I went through a stage where I was taking traditional Argentine tango lessons.
I wasn’t that good, but it was an interesting lesson in how people respond to each other without words. My favorite partner was a 60-year-old woman lawyer.

Wind
Something you shouldn’t have.

Romance
To me, romance isn’t “Oh, you’re going to buy me dinner,” because there’s nothing really romantic about buying me dinner. It’s about effort put into those unexpected moments.

Do It Yourself
Terrible hair dye jobs I’ve spent my career fixing.

Proud
Out and proud. Everybody should be proud of whoever they are.