Austin, TX. - In what others called "a very painful intervention", Richard Niedrich was asked by his family and friends to stop perming his hair. Niedrich, a local pharmacist, has been perming his hair since 1975 at the request of his wife. He received great praise for his then new style and felt very comfortable with his bouffant locks. "Sure, I love it at first" his wife Jennifer explained, "It was sexy at the time, reminded me of Trapper John. But that was 25 years ago." Mr. Johnny Stantz, a renowned mediator for such interventions indicated the many steps of retro-hair denial. 34 stages involving hat wearing, highlights, mullets and even a pony tail. Stantz proclaimed to Niedrich that he was somewhere in stage 21 known as the "Sideburn" stage.

The initial reaction from Niedrich was anger. He refused to acknowledge the problem and denounced his friends and family as being envious of his flair. After a speech from Stantz, a tearful plea from him wife, and a story of embarrassment from his youngest daughter Kerry (23) involving a trip to the local pool, Niedrich sat down and faced his problem. The sixteen hour intervention ended with a 30 minute group hug and a mass burning of hair picks.

Niedrich is ready to lead a normal life. He has recently begun hair straightening therapy at the James Brown Hair Institute. He is also talking to a follicle therapist who is guiding him to a new hair style. Niedrich' s comment to Broken Newz, "I have always pictured myself with bangs."