For generations, the local barbershop has been a site of community and camaraderie, particularly for Black men, as depicted in popular television shows like the LeBron James–produced series The Shop: Uninterrupted. In addition to providing a welcoming third place for patrons, barbershops have established notable entrepreneurial and economic opportunities for the service providers who hone their skills with razors and clippers.

Today, those communities extend beyond chairs in the local shop though. For barbers who develop a reputation as especially skillful, as well as a clientele that is willing to pay handsomely for on-call service, hair styling has transformed into a specialty, luxury service that they promote by establishing their own influencer identities through social media. Many of these now-famous barbers—such as Marcus Harvey, Lionel Harris, and Vince Garcia—got their start in traditional barbershops, sweeping up when they were teenagers, picking up techniques from old-timers, and eventually working their way up to having their own chair.

Then, through some lucky introductions and consistent demonstration of their abilities, these service providers attracted patronage from celebrity clients, including rappers (e.g., Nas, Ludacris), professional athletes (e.g., Draymond Green, Chris Webber, Chris Bosh), and so on. Many Black men prefer to maintain their hairstyles carefully, planning on weekly or biweekly visits to their barbers. Thus, once the star barbers gain a few wealthy, famous clients, and word of their skills spread, they can make a living offering house calls, often at any time of day or night. They maintain carefully packed and protected suitcases with their favored clippers and straight razors, which go with them everywhere they travel.

Another effective option for expanding their reach and earning potential occurs during special events, at which many potential clients are in attendance. A barber who lives in Atlanta books a large hotel suite each year, wherever the NBA All-Star Game is being held, then invites his clients, current and former NBA players, to visit the suite, which he has decked out with all the necessary amenities and tools to offer a perfect cut.

While providing the services, these barbers also take nearly constant videos, which they then upload (with the clients’ permission) to their own Instagram sites. Fans of both the celebrities and the barbers flock to these pages, enjoying seeing both the precise cuts that the barbers offer and the styles that their favorite athletes or musicians prefer. The videos also might feature some of the honest, frank talk that barbershops are known to encourage, with the promise of insights into the internal lives of some of the most famous Black men in the world. (A similar promise represents the key appeal of James’s The Shop: Uninterrupted, which features a mock barbershop but real barbers and clients, talking about a range of personal topics and current events.)

Although these star barbers charge luxury rates and earn a comparatively nice living—compared with the median income of $36,000 for “regular” barbers, they tend to earn well into the six figures—they also leverage their influencer status with endorsement deals. The barber Marcus Harvey has maintained a contract with the clipper company Bevel for more than a decade; nearly every video he posts includes a close-up of his favorite Bevel clippers. Vince Garcia uses Gillette razors, but he also has a deal to promote the luxury brand Dior.

Finally, reflecting the community foundation with which they started, the influencer barbers are determined to help train and bring along the next generation of cutters. During an annual BarberStar Summit, Harvey holds classes in techniques and styles, but he also outlines the best ways for more influencers to monetize their digital barbershop brands and to find endorsement deals. It isn’t enough to wield a razor with distinctive skill. Today, the best barbers need to style their brands, if they want to reach the top.

Discussion Questions

1. What other service providers might transform themselves into influencers too?
2. What is unique about the role and context of influencer barbers?

Sources: Kurtis Lee, “Inside the Life of Influencer Barbers,” The New York Times, May 20, 2023; https://www.hbo.com/the-shop-uninterrupted