From The Street Barber – Bio
How did you become a leader in your industry?
That’s a very interesting question because I don’t see myself as a leader, I just see myself as an equal in this industry because I don’t think I am better than anyone with this skill set or this passion in cutting hair. I just use this skill and passion in serving my community more so than just making money and trying to get the notice or attention as a really cool barber. We all have the capabilities as a stylist, barber or hairdresser to do the same.
“Were all capable of doing the same thing, which is serving humanity and our community and clients through our craft. I’m an equal, we can all do the same thing.”
What came first your passion for the skill or skill turned into passion?
I would say passion came first for sure, I’ve always loved cutting hair as a kid, always had a liking to it. I’m still developing my skill set every day but that passion for cutting hair has been there since day one.
What is your go-to haircut? How has that changed with the trends through-out your career.
My go to haircut would be… That’s very interesting because every year I feel there is something different that comes up, so that becomes my go to haircut. I try to keep up with trends and styles. But you know I’ve always been in love with clipper work, I’ve always been a clipper guy. So, a nice skin fade has been my bread and butter, I love that. Recently I love doing a shape up or a line up on the hairline. There’s something real sharp about such a simple haircut.
What was your biggest obstacle in life and how did you over-come it professionally or personally?
I think the biggest obstacle in my life was becoming sober 8 years ago, it wasn’t until I became sober that I decided to put all my attention into cutting hair. Before that it was more so just casually and just for fun. Once I went to rehab I realised that deep down this is something that I’m going to do, this is something that I love, and if it wasn’t for my new found passion and my love to cut hair and that drive who knows what would of happened if I had gone back to my old habits. I always tell people cutting hair has become my new drug, I’ve replaced one habit with another, this habit has become a passion.
What are your Hobbies outside of work to keep yourself invigorated?
To be honest it’s kind of hard to have a hobby now, If I’m not cutting at the shop, I like to do volunteer work with cutting. We go into soup kitchens and give haircuts to the less fortunate. But the last year and a half I’ve been a part of a program in the prisons out here in Victoria, working with inmates, just showing them basic skills and barbering which has been a great, great thing. I’ve been doing that a couple times a month, so my days off are really limited. But I really love, and die hard for is basketball, basketball is a really, really, beautiful thing to unwind with that has nothing to do with cutting.
How did Covid-19 effect your business and what have you done to adapt or change to counter the effects?
I think covid-19 has affected everyone, but with our business and the customers coming in it’s definitely been an interesting time, there was a period where it was really eery and everyone was really scared of being close to one another. I’ve realised the importance of genuine contact, everything can change with a flick of a switch and for someone to come into a barbershop it’s a sense of normality, It’s a beautiful change in their daily routine. It’s made me realise the necessity of daily contact with others, that’s been a driving force for my services for the last
Being an Innovator in your industry what plans do you have to keep yourself ahead of the game?
I think for me, it’s about how can I adapt to the current society and how can I be there for people in the time of change, literally covid-19 has turned the world upside down. Even more so with styles and techniques and my desire to be more artsy. But my soul focus and the shops focus has been how can we be there for every single client.
Where do you envisage your business to be in Ten Years?
I envisage the streets barbershops to go around the world, to be a hotspot and a hub for people to visit and feel better about their lives, feel more accomplished, with every haircut. I want the barbers to be filled with passion, given second chances or if they’ve come out of youth justice system, ex-cons, people on the streets, a hub filled with people who want a second chance in life. I’ve been given 100 chances in my life and if I can give someone a second chance in the shop, to start fresh and do well in life I feel like they’d appreciate their job a lot more and it would come out when they serve a client, that’s my goal.
