I miss the late 90's and the mid-80's sooooo much.....it seems like those were more definitive times for barbers and hair stylists...I remember what drew me to this profession 17years ago; I SAW SOMETHING.Let me explain......
It was 1986 Regan was the president,( I DID vote for shirley chisholm!)New York City was full of creativity and life. Hip-Hop was thriving and so was the barber profession....let me break-it down for those who were'nt there; because there seemed to be money everywhere...I was eyeing the barbershop because the lifestyle that I saw one of the neighborhood barbers, "KENZO" was his name. Everybody knew this dude! To me, he was one of the coolest dudes on my block. He always wore the latest fashons, was at all the cool parties, all the ladies knew him, the so called "live" dudes knew and respected him too. What really made me pay attention to him was the fact that I was a lil' bad ass kid, pulling pranks, getting into trouble in the neighborhood. One day one of the elders in my neighborhood caught me stealing from the fruit stand and my first mentor walked by. She told me one day I was going to jail if I did'nt stop misbehaving, and that I should try to be more like Kenzo! (It's kind of funny, because not too long ago, barbers were held in higher esteem, and credited with being good guys.It seems like the prestiege has been taken away, and elders only associate the barbershop with DRUGS AND NEGATIVITY)Well , that day changed everything for me because that was the day I put my latent talent in effect with help from the "Great Kenzo"!! He gave me the jump-start I needed because he was within ear-shot of the conversation, and he asked me if I wanted a job as a cleanup man at the shop he worked at. He told me I could make money from not only from sweeping and cleaning, but if I had the courage, I could possibly graduate to master barber some day.( We're adults now and when I see him I always thank him for saving my life.) I was cutting hair as an apprentice 4 months later, and I noticed that everyone started to recognize who I was; older people, older women, the "in" crowd, male and female. soon it was like that Mc Donalds commercial, " You got a job!!! Good for you!!!" As the time progressed I noticed that I became A PILLAR IN MY COMMUNITY. When I mentioned this to Kenzo, he just gave me a stern look and I'll never forget what he told me he said," Yeah kid, the whole world's watching..." that's something that I was'nt ever able to forget...
What happened?!?!? People now-a-days look at the barber profession as anything but that; like all we do isn't difficult at all, or does'nt take any skill at all.For a lot of us being persistant in the face of adversity is an everyday reality; Someone asked me as a matter of factly some time ago , "What made you even want to become a barber in the first place? Do you guys even work?" (My fellow barbers know exactly how frustrating this outlook towards us really is!) I say we just take it back. Our reputation is eroding quickly in our society, and those few who truly service our neighborhood are remembered.......back then though, ALL BARBERS WERE REMEMBERED BECAUSE THERE WAS A PRESTIEGE IN IT!!! I wonder what is it going to take to be remembered like they used to remember us.
Hey brothers! It's time for something new.....I was talking to another fellow barber the other day, and I was shocked on his opinion of beauticians. Being that when I came into this thing,it was a good thing to be able to connect with the ladies in the neighborhood salon. I remember different than he does,so I assumed that his position on the sisters would probably be simular to mine.....NOPE!!! When I asked him why, he could only say; "It's day-time stories and blah,blah,blah all day.... I can't take being in the salon all day like that." My experience was different. I had worked in a salon as the sole barber before opening up my own shop,and the experience was a very enlightening one. There were things that they kept me abreast of in their world, and there were things I kept them up on. I had to ask him; "Don't those same type of things happen in a barbershop?" to my surprise he said,"Nah, not on that level, man. We don't do it like that!" Hah! I like to believe that in some places it's just the same and that's pretty sterotypical due to the fact that I found that women actually gossip openly LESS than men do in the salon. I found when I left to work with the ladies, there was actually less babble and more work.....My own observation was that the ladies were so busy with wash & sets, perms, and braiding , that time was MONEY.It was really cool for me. Plus being the only male there was like living your own little private fantasy with just YOU and a bevy of beauties on your own little island.....(smile!) I say we're no different in behavior; Days Of Our Lives is substituted with ESPN ; and how many times did you and a bunch of the fellas babbled on about this and that?( "Did you see so-and-so's new video?" sound familiar fellas?)I think great things will happen if we look past the typical stereotypical b.s and really start networking.
What ever happened to the barber being thought of as one of the pillars of the community?Now-a-days most of the younger barbers need to understand that professionalism is key in making progress as a barber.I believe that in a lot of black barbershops,(not all)the "ethics "issue is something that needs to be discussed.There seems to be a large number of barbers who believe that they can do at the shop what they see done in the street!!!(where did that come from?!?!) Do brothers actually believe that they can be verbally vulgar all day? do brothers actually believe that they can drink alcoholic beverages during your patron's haircut? Do brothers actually believe they can smoke things other than a cigarette at work?!?!(when did this become ok with us?) Those who went to school for our PROFESSION already know; "Barber Ethics" is something that's starting to become absent with a lot of new barbers. If you still don't understand what that's all about then here it is: PRETEND THE OLD-GUY YOU'RE SERVICING IS YOUR FATHER; PRETEND THE WOMAN WHO WANTS HER SONS HAIRCUT IS YOUR AUNT; PRETEND THAT THE WALK-IN YOU DON'T KNOW IS THE MAYOR OF YOUR CITY. In essence, we need to remember to identify with the patrons as human beings who are looking to us to perform a service, AND THAT'S IT!!!! In parting, here's a question that only the experienced barber with good barber ethics will be able to answer: Is your reputation worth anything?Is it worth saving?Remember; WORD OF MOUTH IS STRONGER THAN ANY PUBLICATION IN THIS BUSINESS!!!! All of us started by being recommended by someone else.For you guys who believe you're only hurting yourself, your KILLING THE REPUTATION OF EVERYONE IN YOUR SHOP!!!! Because patrons do not exclude ANYONE when it comes to shops or salons; To them we're ALL guilty....(Those with experience know what I mean!!)Remember the history of Barbering when we were held in very high esteem in the community.(for those in the blind,peep ask yahoo.com "why are barber poles red and blue?")Don't lighten-up, tighten-up!!!! Help to kill the lowly barber stereo-type!!!!!
Don't kill us, thrill us!!! Be part of the solution, not part of the problem!!!!!
Don't kill us, thrill us!!! Be part of the solution, not part of the problem!!!!!