The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
HAIR FLIES, STYLE REIGNS
Barbers battle for championship belt
The art of the haircut became a spectator sport as dozens of barbers, models and observers swarmed to Lorain for the first Steel City Barber Expo.
The event, held July 16 at Rosewood Place, was sponsored by La Fortaleza and Headlinerz Barbershop, with music by DJ Flaco Flash.
The spirit of fellowship and friendly rivalry among the cutters grew as the hair came off the heads of young men who sat in 10 chairs set up on an elevated stage.
“I’m more than satisfied,” said event organizer and Headlinerz owner Gilberto Quinones, who is known as “Pito Da Barber.” “I’m truly blessed. I love it.”
The event drew people from as far as Detroit, Chicago, Columbus, Akron and Puerto Rico, Quinones said.
“It’s a nice event. It shows alotof barberhood, as we call it.” — Columbus cutter Ryan Jones
The group had instruction by Mohammed “Mooby” Jaber, 26, a Chicago stylist who has been cutting hair for 10 years. His family has five shops.
Then the battles began. Barbers and student cutters tested their creativity and skill in competitions such as traditional cuts, fast fade and freestyle design, graded by Jaber and other guest judges.
“The freestyle design is my favorite,” Quinones said. “I wish I could join it, but it’s my show, so I really can’t. They just get in there and it’s like drawing on a piece of paper.”
The barbers were scored on a scale of one to 10 for criteria such as cleanliness, precision and the best overall look. The best of each round were to face off in a final competition for the first ever Steel City Barber Expo championship belt.
The expo included a guest appearance of Chase Farris, an Elyria native who plays for the New England Patriots.
“The amount of positivity that it’s bringing to the city is unmatched right about now,” Farris said about the event. He laughed when asked if he would be a model.
“Pito said he’s going to take care of me,” but at the shop, not the expo, Farris said.
The event included local vendors, such as Midwest Best Grooming Co. The Lorain-based maker of beard balm and other personal products is a business of partners Tim Novak, Michelle Athanas, Fred Lozano Jr. and Krys Machowski.
“As a vendor it’s kind of nice to get invited,” Novak said. “They’re starting to know who we are.”
“The Barber,” a black T-shirt with a white logo patterned after movie poster art of “The Godfather,”
was a popular seller for SoLo Graphix. The company is a business of Lorain native Gyles Keene with help from Samantha Gatter.
“I wasn’t expecting any of this — the stage, the seats,” Keene said.
Columbus cutter Ryan Jones, 28, who briefly lived in Lorain and who now cuts as “Jones the Barber,” left with a souvenir shirt.
“It’s a nice event. It shows a lot of barberhood, as we call it,” said Jones, who attended with his son, Sir’Ryan. After taking home prizes from expos in Columbus and Cincinnati, Jones planned to battle in the freestyle competition.
“Everybody sees it,” Jones said. “You’ve got to do your best, you’ve got to do your best. A lot of hard work and dedication.”