Arizona man makes an appointment for a ‘manzilian,’ then came the alarming detail. He booked with ‘that sweet little thing, Ashley, the 19yr old’

Peter Nguyen, who runs an esthetician clinic in Little Rock, Arizona, recently shared a video on Instagram that sparked a conversation regarding boundaries and safety in the beauty industry. The video shows Peter at the front desk and captures his reaction to a tense interaction with a male customer who arrived for a scheduled appointment. It starts innocently enough, with Peter greeting him. The man tells Peter that he has an appointment for a ‘Manzilian.’

In the clip, we can’t see the client. Nor does Peter give any context to the conversation. We simply assume the man is a client based on what is recorded. In the video, Peter asks who the client had made the appointment with. The response, “That little sweet little thing, Ashley. Little 19-year-old,” makes Peter freeze. Then he looks at the client and says, So I’m gonna be waxing you today, okay?” The client immediately refuses the change. 

The man is incredibly persistent, insisting that he only wants his waxing session with Ashley. Peter first tells him, “Ashley, um, so she only waxes, like, she doesn’t do like manzilians and stuff. Cause she’s not comfortable with waxing men.” The client responds, saying, “So, I can be her first.” Peter tells him that he doesn’t want to put Ashley in a “weird position.” The client refuses. Then Peter firmly states, “You’re not going to see Ashley today. You’re going to see me. 

Peter kept laughing uncomfortably throughout

At one point in the conversation, the client told Peter that he had never had a manvilian before. When Peter asked him why he was getting one, the client said, “Because the little cute little thing named Ashley.” It had completely taken Peter by surprise. This was the point, despite his laughing, that he got firm. The client absolutely refused, emphatically stating, “Yeah, not getting waxed by a man.” So Peter offered to cancel the appointment entirely.

It is important to note that we do not have the client’s perspective or any other footage of the event. Despite that, the community reaction was intense. Many viewers felt Peter should have been more assertive. One follower noted, “I feel like you weren’t rude enough. I feel like the laughing and smiling didn’t make him realize how not okay his behaviour is.” In an example for Peter, a Utah nail tech blocked a client when the woman started crossing boundaries. 

Others suggested more systemic changes, with one person writing, “I’d be putting on my website and my door that women do NOT service men in this shop. Making sure that when they book an alert pops up, that specifically says, ‘Women will not service men in this business.’ Because this is crazy!” One user simply described their reaction to the record, “The way he said ‘that sweet little thing Ashley who’s 19 yrs old’ made my skin crawl. Immediate ban!”

Even with the unknown details in Peter’s video, his video seems to highlight a troubling trend within the beauty and therapy industries reported by the BBC. According to the report, many female therapists are forced to implement strict policies to protect themselves from inappropriate behavior. The policies need to exist in all industries, as a nurse highlighted when a man lured her into a bathroom.

An example noted was that of a 38-year-old therapist, Maria, who owns Gentle Hands Massage Therapy. She reportedly stopped taking on new male clients after recurring instances of harassment. She told the BBC, “It was like a cumulative experience with men. Half an hour before a massage, I was really stressed every time. I would just go over the scenarios about what could happen and how I should act.”

Maria shared that some clients would repeatedly ignore boundaries, such as asking to remain uncovered during sessions. Another professional, a 35-year-old named Dani who runs Drift by Dani in Glasgow, told the BBC that she only treats men she knows personally or those who come via referral. 

The outlet noted that industry experts are calling for more standardized training to help therapists identify red flags early. Jenny Storey, a 44-year-old business owner and spokesperson for the British Association of Beauty Therapy & Cosmetology, explained that while the issue isn’t new, “As bad as it sounds, I feel almost desensitized by it now because it happens so frequently.” 

Storey shared a personal experience from her own career, claiming that a client once locked her in a treatment room when she was just 19. She emphasized that while it is unfair to generalize about all male clients, the industry must better prepare staff for these encounters. As she put it, “I don’t know why it’s so prevalent in our industry because any other industry, it just would not be tolerated.”