Jeff Laub is the brainchild behind Blind Barber, the men’s barbershop and grooming brand which opened its first location in June 2010 in the East Village.
Since then, the brand has expanded to include locations in Los Angeles and Brooklyn and its own grooming line for men sold at high-end retailers including Barney’s New York.
Jeff grew up in South Jersey where he was introduced to the beauty industry at a young age by his mother, a cosmetics sales executive and salon coordinator.
He attended NYU and after his first year of college, reluctantly took a summer job at a hair salon at the suggestion of his mother. He answered phones and realized that he loved the energy of the salon, from the camaraderie with his co-workers to the stories that were being shared between the clients and their stylists. When he returned to New York City, he landed a job at the Ted Gibson Salon where he managed the salon floor and learned how to build a salon business from the bottom up.
Even though Jeff loved working at salons, the plan was for him to become a lawyer after graduating from college in 2006. He paid his dues working at a law firm and realized after taking the LSAT’s that becoming an attorney was not for him.
Feeling unhappy, he went back to Jersey, sat on his mum’s couch and had a heart-to-heart with his grandfather. Jeff told him that he was thinking about going to cosmetology school to learn how to cut hair and fortuitously, his grandfather ended the conversation by saying, “I used to love my barbershop, that’s where I would go and hang out with my buddies and talk about women and drink a beer.” And so, the light bulb went on. Jeff conceived the idea to create a modern day barbershop where cuts and conversations would take centre stage, all with a cocktail or a coffee in hand.
From that point on, Jeff worked at the law firm during the day, went to cosmetology school at night and wrote the business plan for Blind Barber during every spare moment in between. After a year and a half the plan was finally complete and he was introduced to his soon-to-be business partners, Josh Boyd and Adam Kirsch, by a mutual friend.
With Jeff’s salon know-how and Josh and Adam’s expertise in running successful hospitality businesses, Blind Barber was born. Since 2010, the business has continued to evolve from a barbershop-speakeasy to a full lifestyle brand.
Jeff Laub lives in Bushwick, Brooklyn with his fiancée and their Chihuahua/Pug, Moose.
