5 questions with MAHER CHEHADE
Move over baristas, tattoo artists and mixologists—barbers are the latest group of specialized people having their moment in the spotlight. To demonstrate their stylish scissoring skills, a handful of barbers will compete in Calgary’s first annual All Star Barber Battle on Sunday.
Josiah Hughes caught up with co-host Maher Chehade, owner of South Trail Crossing Barbershop, for all the details.
What’s your role in the All Star Barber
Battle? I’m actually partnering up with one of my buddies: Arey Kadir, owner of The Ave (Barbershop)…. We came up with (the idea for the battle) together.... We figured we’d try to do something different and get our names out there and build the barber culture in Calgary.
Where did the idea for a barber battle come from? Barbering is getting huge now in Calgary. There’s shops opening left, right and centre. They’re starting to petition for a barber school, too, so more people can get into it as well. We figured, why not get on top of this before anybody else does?
Why do you think barber culture is becoming so popular? Men find it better to go to a man for a haircut. They just feel more comfortable. When a man goes to a salon, a lot of men don’t really feel comfortable with a woman. The conversation’s just not the same. Whereas when they go to a barbershop, they know they’re getting a man to cut their hair. But they like the conversation, they like the feeling of the actual barbershop with the straight razor and the hot shaving cream. Just the whole vibe of it.... And now, especially with beards, too, a lot of guys are afraid to cut their own beards so they get guys who are professionals to do it for them too. With all the beard bombs and beard oils out there now, everything’s blowing up.
Who is judging the event and what are their criteria for judging? We’re flying out five celebrity barbers—from Winnipeg, L.A., Miami and New York. They cut celebrities’ hair and NBA players and all of that kind of stuff. They have big Instagram followings. There’s no real criteria for the judging. We are leaving it up to the judges themselves. Do you think the barbers will crack under the pressure of competing? I think the pressure will help. We’re trying to make it more for the barbers themselves, just to get their names out there. But you never know, right? In this event there will probably be 300 people watching them, including these big celebrity barbers. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.