Dexter Dapper Johnson, the International Artistic Director for Toni & Guy and Label.M, Head of Men’s Education, has teamed up with CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) to raise money for men’s mental health, by organising a Charity Football Game. CALM is a non-profit organization, leading the movement against suicide.

Dexter said: “We are here to keep raising awareness with regards to men’s mental health and well being. Every week 125 people in the UK take their own lives. And 75% of all UK suicides are male.”

With the aim to raise awareness and funds for men’s mental health and wellbeing, Dexter has organised a charity football match. Hosted by Cray Wanderers Football Club, and sponsored by the Kelleher Group, barbers and hairdressers will gather on Sunday, 29^th of August to play and raise money!

Watch some of the leading hairstylists and barbers in the industry, including Kevin Luchmun, Charlie Cullen, Josh Lamonaca Jonathan Andrew, Jody Taylor, and many more. They may not all be pro players, but they’ll have the best haircuts on the field!

The game will take place at 2:00pm at Flamingo Park Sports & Leisure, Chislehurst DA14 6QQ on Sunday 29 August 2021.

To donate click here:  https://gofund.me/7df6bc52

The Connecticut Barber Expo X and associated events will take place August 14 – 16th, 2021, and be held at the Mohegan Sun Casino.

Finally, after several reschedulings due to the Covid19 Pandemic, the tenth anniversary of CT Barber EXPO, organised by legendary Jay Majors, has finally arrived. As the official media partner, we at BarberEVO can’t wait to see what this weekend has in store.

On Saturday, August 14, 2021, the Expo will start off with the 2nd Annual International Barber Grammys / Pre-Party from 8:30 PM to 2 AM. This will take place in the Ballroom at Mohegan Sun, in Uncasville, CT. This is a dress to impress, black tie affair.

On Sunday, August 15, 2021, the Educational Seminars will take place from 8:30 AM to 2 PM. The Educational Seminars will be presented by some of the industry’s most respected educators. The Barber Battle and Expo will occur from 2 PM to 9:00 PM.

On Monday, August 16, 2021, the Educational Seminars will take place from 8:30 AM to 2 PM. The Barber Battle and Expo will occur from 2 PM to 7:30 PM.

Sharpen your skillset, and rub arms with some of the biggest barbers, stylists and educators in the industry, such as @ivanzoot, @vicblends, @andyauthentic, @kduncangrooming, @andyfademaster, @lici_ladybarber, @be.lechendary, @v.hugostyles, @micdamiano, @diego_djdgaf, @barber.josh.o.p, @bossiocuts, @iamtyrikjackson, @thebizlawyer, @rumbarber and @cutthroat.mike… Just to name a few!

Plus, visit BarberEVO at booth 407!

For additional information, please visit www.ctbarberexpo.com.

The BarbersRide barbers started the first leg of their journey yesterday, Sunday the 8^th of August, taking on the longest section of the journey, from Liverpool to Glasgow. The forty-odd riders gathered on the 7^th of August from all across the UK, in aim to raise money for the Make a Wish Foundation, and to ride their motorbikes across the north of England and into Scotland, stopping at reputable barbershops along the way.

Having gathered at Cut Throat Pete’s Barbershop in Liverpool on Saturday, the barbers’ first full day of riding was nothing short of eventful. True to the Scottish reputation, the riders experienced nearly every variation of weather; including thunder, lightning, and torrential downpour.

Luckily, the night’s event was hosted at the lovely and atmospheric House Martin Barbershop in the City Center of Glasgow. Owner Stephen Martin was there to give all the riders a warm Glaswegian welcome, with high-quality whisky to warm up with! The night continued at the bar next door, the Howlin’ Wolf, where the riders exchanged stories and prepared for their next day’s journey to Fort William.

After their stop at Fort Williams Stag&Buck barbershop, the riders will continue on to Dundee, stopping at Hard Grind Barbershop. Wednesday, the barbers will visit Ultimate Grooming in Yarm, then finish their journey together at Lords’ Barbering in Leeds on Thursday.

BarberEVO was able to catch up with the barbers during their stop in Glasgow and hear a bit about their involvement and love for BarbersRide. One said: “To take on this ride, you have to be a little crazy, love bikes, and love being a barber. That’s what makes it so fun, and the long, wet days like today, worth it!”

Stephen, owner of House Martin said: “It feels great to be able to get involved in the fundraiser for the Make a Wish Foundation, and host members of the barbering community in the shop again. It has been a long time since we have been able to get together and hold an event like this, and it was an honour to be able to represent Glasgow in the BarbersRide event!”

We wish the riders the best of luck for the remainder of their journey, and applaud their efforts and bravery for weathering the storm to raise money for a worthy cause like the Make a Wish Foundation!

To learn more, or to donate to the cause, click here

The Professional Beauty Association (PBA), the largest and most inclusive national trade organization representing manufacturers, distributors, salon and spa business owners, and licensed beauty professionals, is excited to provide two important reminders regarding NAHA. As the top hair and makeup competition in North America, NAHA is the premiere platform for beauty professionals to push the boundaries and bring their artistic visions to life.

The first is to announce the call for entries for NAHA 2022 opens June 14th. The second is to provide details regarding the live awards show for NAHA 2021, which will take place August 29th at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Tickets are on sale now.

Call for Entries Opens June 14th for NAHA 2022

Categories for the 33rd Annual North American Hairstyling Awards (NAHA) are as follows:

New in 2022, NAHA is replacing the Men’s Hairstyling category with Barbering. Additionally, NAHA is bringing back NAHA Remix, which allows artists to enter previously submitted collections as long as they meet certain criteria.

Entrants for all categories must be licensed cosmetologists or barbers, with the exceptions of Student Hairstylist of the Year, Makeup Artist of the Year and Inspiring Salon of the Year.

Key dates for NAHA 2022 are as follows:

Entries Open: June 14, 2021

 Entries Close: September 10, 2021

 Finalist Announcement: November 10, 2021

NAHA 2022 Award Ceremony: January 30, 2022—Long Beach, CA

For specific category rules and to enter, please visit probeauty.org/NAHA2022.

Tickets Now on Sale for the 2021 North American Hairstyling Awards (NAHA)

NAHA 2021 will take place on August 29th at Cosmoprof North America (CPNA) in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Convention Center. NAHA is the must-attend event for the who’s who of the beauty industry, where attendees experience the magic of the red carpet, mingle with the best and brightest in the business and watch artistic vision come to life.

Usually held in Long Beach in January, NAHA 2021 was pushed back to August to ensure it could remain live and in-person. “This will undoubtedly be an unprecedented event,” shares Nina Daily, PBA’s Chief Marketing Officer and incumbent Executive Director. “The level of artistry that will be on display, set against the backdrop of Las Vegas, is just what the industry has been craving.”

 NAHA 2021 will be hosted by Michael Shaun Corby and will feature a Mainstage Performance by 2020 NAHA Hairstylist of the Year Silas Tsang, an Artistic Presentation by Ulta, and many other surprises.

For pricing and information on VIP packages, as well as special offers exclusively available to Professional Beauty Association members, visit probeauty.org/naha. For media credentials, please contact press@probeauty.org or fill out this form.

For over ten years, Erik Zaiatz, owner of the two locations of Bostonian Barber Shop, has been trying to buy the space at 500 Liberty St. in Hanson, where his grandfather Don Botieri had run his barbershop for decades.

Finally, when the location re-emerged on the market a few weeks ago, Zaiatz saw the chance to buy the space, as a way of keeping his grandfather’s legacy alive. “I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to open there,” he said.

Botieri, a Hanson native, ran Don’s Barbershop from 1950 up until 2008, and passed away a year after his retirement. A staple in the Hanson community, Botieri was known as “Mr. Hanson,” and even has a ballfield in town named for him.

For Zaiatz, most of his childhood was spent in Don’s Barbershop, either getting his own hair cut, or just hanging around after school. All this time spent with his grandfather inspired Zaiatz to get into the barbering industry himself. “If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be in this industry,” he said.   

When he set up to open his first shop, Zaiatz teamed up with his sister Kayla and best friend Matt Penardi, who are both master barbers.

As his third location, Zaiatz made an effort to pay homage to Don’s, in terms of both style and services. With a traditional barbershop feel and design, the now Bostonian Barbershop, offers all the same old school styles and services, such as hot towels, and straight razor shaves.

Now, some of Boteiri’s former clients have returned to the Hanson location, to get their hair cut by their former barber’s grandkids.

Brian Hogan, a father of two, barbershop owner, and film buff in Des Moines, Iowa, found himself fairly miserable in the midst of the pandemic. With his Barbershop business all but obliterated, Brian was looking for a project to keep his sanity.

That’s when he heard that his favourite, childhood video store, Video Warehouse, was going out of business after 34 years.

Buying out the contents of the video store, including the shelves and the ‘Tape Return” sign,  Brian embarked on the DIY project to create an in-house video store.

He said, “I spent a lot of days sitting in my chair hoping people would come and get their hair cut. I’d go home and catalogue and start hanging shelves. It took my mind off things.”

With no intension of setting the video store as a business, Brian explained: “It’s more of a time capsule,” meant for family and friends, he said. “Friends who come over get to pick out a movie and we watch it.”

 He continued: “I spent a good part of my childhood in the video store. That was a Friday night thing. You didn’t just go to the video store. You went to the video store.”

Barbers in London are being trained to test the blood of customers to help combat high blood pressure.

Run by London South Bank University, the project was set out in order to raise awareness of high blood pressure, specifically in Black and Asian men, who are statistically more likely to have undiagnosed high blood pressure.

So far, eight barbershops in South London, Croydon, Mitcham, Thornton Heath, Bromley and South Norwood, have signed up to provide on-the-spot checks for customers, which began on Monday.

The idea came from a similar project that took place in Los Angeles between 2016 and 2018. The US project ran from 2016 to 2018 and 68% of people found to have high blood pressure ended the study with healthy levels.

High blood pressure affects more than one in four adults in England, accounts for more than one in 10 visits to GPs and contributes to 75,000 deaths every year – but millions of people are thought to go undiagnosed.

Hugh Benain, from Finishing Touches in Mitcham, said the project could help save lives.

“We’ll be offering our customers on-the-spot blood pressure tests and health information for them to take away,” he said.

“High blood pressure is a silent killer and providing tests and information from our barbershop could save lives.”

Nicola Thomas, an LSBU professor, said: “Sadly, millions of adults in the UK have high blood pressure and half are undiagnosed which can lead to strokes or heart attacks.

“It is the trusting relationship that customers have with their barbers that is so important – we need to take healthcare out into the community.”

A barber who was given a generous tip by a mystery customer has asked for the anonymous do-gooder to reveal themselves so he can say a simple, ‘thank you’.

David Cardoso, owner of new barber’s shop, Billions, in Victoria arcade, re-opened his doors on Monday, April 12, ready to get “hands on” now that the restrictions were lifted.

Billions Barber Shop originally opened on July 4 last year, but – like other businesses – had been repeatedly closed due to lockdown. 

After a haircut on their first day back open, Mr Cardoso was surprised to see an envelope on the floor.

Inside was a card wishing him the best of luck as well as £60 in cash.

The card read: “I am so impressed that you started your business during a pandemic.”

David Cardoso was “really touched” to receive such a gesture, and now hopes to say thank you to the anonymous donor.

Mr Cardoso said: “I thought this was very kind and it really did touch me.”

As featured in the April edition of BarberEVO North America

Looking to rewrite the standards of grooming and fuelled by the knowledge and artistry from leading barbers, the STMNT brand looks to go beyond the product. We caught up with the co-creators of STMNT to find out a little more about what their brand has to offer.

The STMNT brand is a product of the collaboration between some of the industry’s most innovative and cutting-edge artists: LA based, Julius Cvesar and Sofie Pok, as well as Miguel Gutierrez aka Nomad, from Liverpool, UK. Between the three, they have more than 50 years’ experience in the barbering industry, as well as a wealth of knowledge in hair education, visual arts, fashion and editorial.

We asked the group, how did STMNT come to be?

Miguel said: “STMNT was born out of a vision between three creators who all hold the same standards yet have completely different styles to add into the mix. We originally got started after being approached and slowly realized a dream team was being created, that’s when we all got onboard and decided to fully immerse ourselves into developed the brand to what it’s become. Our whole direction was to become a grooming brand that was performance driven, bold and premium in packaging, fragrance and ingredients.”

Talking to the team, it is so clear how well the three get along and fit together creatively. Julius said: “I believe we were specifically chosen to co-create STMNT because of our multi-faceted roles as not only leaders within our industry, but with the already diverse background in visual arts, film, photography, fashion, and education. We all are still active barbering professionals with clientele in our chairs, yet we’ve truly brought a whole new perspective to being a well-rounded image consultant. I believe my connection to raw imagery inspired by metropolis cityscape and brutalism, alongside my visual delivery that takes a lot from my genuine love for art and fashion made me a standout artist to collaborate with my two fellow co-creators.”

So, what makes STMNT stand out amongst the crowd?

“The beautiful thing about STMNT is that it can work for the girl on-the-go, the guy getting ready for a formal event, the couple at the gym, or the family on vacation. STMNT promotes individuality and acceptance. Barbering has been known as a male dominated field, but we knew how important it was to build a brand that would serve the stylists, cosmetologists, and barbers all the same” says Sofie.

Miguel added that the brand is completely gender neutral, and all of their products are cocktail-able: “We are truly set far above any barber brand in my view for versatility and range of types of product.”

In terms of creative process, unlike other brands that just stick a well-known name to a product, the STMNT creators were involved in every part of the process.

Julius continued, “In creating STMNT, it was important that myself, Sofie, and Miguel as the professional co-creators not only put our combined knowledge and expertise to use in creating the line, but truly worked in unison with our brand development team’s strength to bring the line to full fruition. The storytelling and vision had to be vividly clear across the board with every department.”

The question on everyone’s minds? What statement are they aiming to make?

“STMNT is bold, it is demanding, and it’s the definition of how we all choose to live our lives. We hope to inspire others to find their purpose and share their gifts with the world and to get specific! Stand up for who you are and the changes you are trying to make” said Sofie.

“We are really aiming to rewrite the standards of men’s grooming” adds Miguel. “The industry has been and will always be in a transition state from one thing to the next, but I believe what we’ve created will live on way beyond any other trends currently out there.” 

“When co-creating STMNT, one message (or statement) I really wanted to purvey is that being a barber is more than just a hair service – we are so much more. These products were developed with not only acknowledging the core essentials in product styling with the line, but also innovated new iterations of product attributes that can notably be standout to professionals and clients alike.  Bridging the gap between Barbering and Salon ecosystems, the acknowledgement of gender-neutral aesthetics, and a focus on professional grade to lifestyle driven performance were all key points in making our statement.”

To find out more, read about STMNT in our April edition of BarberEVO North America or go to https://www.stmntgrooming.us/

Reece (aka @blufadez) started his career in barbering five years ago now and is determined to further his career by moving on to bigger things in the United States.

Reece grew up in the salon environment and wasn’t sure if it was the career for him, at first: “I had been in the salon my whole life! So, I went to college to study media, but in the end, I knew that barbering was my true calling, as it naturally suited me in every way.”

But ever since Reece started in the industry, he says it has been like an addiction: “It’s never felt like work to me because I’m so dedicated to becoming the best that I can, and that’s never ending. Even times when it’s been a little hard, I still enjoy it, if anything I enjoy it more. I’ve grown my client base quite large in a short space of time and I’ve only just started!”

For Reece, the best part of barbering is the feeling it gives you, and the importance behind every cut: “Giving somebody a good cut can be life changing for them, and there’s no better feeling than a client genuinely liking their cut and telling you it’s the best cut they’ve ever had! A barber can be very important in a person’s life, and it’s nice to know people are choosing you to cut their hair. I think that’s a part of the reason improving your cuts is so addictive, you almost feel like you owe it to your clients. It’s such a skilful art, with a lot of variants, so we need to make sure we’re always on our best game. Being consistently able to give perfect haircuts is what we all aim for, and that’s the best part about it. We’re a big part of communities, we’re barbers, therapists, style coaches, advisers and friends all in one.”

But now, Reece feels the need to grow beyond his home boundaries and is determined that the next step in his journey will be America.

“I’ve always wanted to live there,” he said. “But I kind of gave up after becoming a barber as I thought it wasn’t possible. But within six years, I’ve been offered a job in Houston, Texas, by someone who is one of my heroes, and who I personally think is the best barber in the industry (@smashthalegend). The reason why I want to be in America is because of my dedication to progressing, and I just want to be on the front line of my trade.”

For Reece, although he sees the barbering culture in England as progressive and influential, it still hasn’t quite caught up to where it is at in the USA: “Everything starts there, and I just feel like they take it more serious out there and I know that’s where I need to be. I hope to be in an environment where I can work to my full potential and more.”

We asked Reece if he had any long-term goals for once he reached America. But for Reece, it’s about focusing on one goal at a time: “I never look too far ahead I always just go with what I think is the next step for me. If it’s coming back to the UK or staying out in America and continuing my career there, I don’t mind. I just know want to become among the best in the industry. As long as I’m at the best place to progress and achieve.”