The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Here for the beer – and haircut
Delight for barber who gives out free beer named best in Scotland
A Tayside gentleman’s barber who gives free beer to customers has won a national hairdressing award.
Benjamin Barker, owned by Keith Langslow, has barber shops in Dundee and Monifieth.
It was named Best Barbers at the Scottish Hairdressing Awards in Glasgow.
Keith, 40, opened his first barber shop on Dundee’s Perth Road six years ago and his second in Monifieth followed three years later.
He said the award came out of the blue. “We entered a regional award for central Scotland and – to my complete surprise – we won that,” he explained.
“We headed through to the awards ceremony and when we were getting ours they asked us to stay on stage afterwards. Then they announced we had won the national award.”
Keith’s two shops have a distinct appearance. “I spent a lot of time on the internet studying the look of old fashioned American barbershops and tried to create that look,” he continued.
Keith, who learned to cut hair from friends after a career as a recruitment consultant, has a unique selling point.
“In the afternoons we offer customers complimentary beers,” he said. “There is the occasional abuse – when it’s been busy I’ve seen a couple of guys work their way through a six pack – but it’s just a nice thing to do.”
Keith’s barber attracts customers of all ages. “Our youngest is one and we have a guy who’s 101 and still has a full head of hair,” he added.