FERGUS – It was a close shave for Mahfoz Adeeb, who placed third in the Canadian National Barber Expo held in Toronto on June 23.
He lost second place standing by a hair – four hairs to be exact.
“Four grains of hair – that was the difference between second and third place,” he said in an interview at his shop the Barber Parlour, located at 140 St. Patrick St. West in Fergus.
“It was a tough match and placing third means a lot to me. But I know where I messed up. I will reflect on it and become a better barber.”
This was the second time Adeeb entered the barber expo, and considering he didn’t even place the first time, he was pleased with his performance.
The first contest was “a complete mess” he conceded.
Not only was he new to how it all worked, his client, who had agreed to be part of the contest and on whom Adeeb had spent many hours practicing, bailed at the last minute.
That left Adeeb scrambling to find someone else and in the end, he didn’t do well.
“But I always knew I wanted to be on that stage,” he said.
Chalking it up to experience, Adeeb had a solid game plan as he entered the 2024 challenge.
He entered the Flawless Fade category in which contestants must have five years’ experience barbering.
Contestants had 30 minutes to complete the cut with the goal to have zero flaws with the cut.
Judges looked for precision, detail, and how well the final cut suited the client.
It was organized chaos, he said, with 1,500 people in attendance, cameras flashing, drone cameras flying around, scissors snipping and clippers buzzing.
To come in third from a pool of 15 contestants was very satisfying, he said.
And it’s already been beneficial in other ways, he added.
He won $500 worth of tools and brand opportunity with Elegance Canada. And he was asked to cut the hair of Baltimore Ravens linebacker Tavius Robinson.
“The contest really shines a spotlight on the barber industry,” Adeeb said. “It’s been a very fun journey.”
It’s a journey that started for Adeeb when he was in Grade 8.
“My dad gave me his clippers and a number two guard and said, ‘Give me a hair cut – and don’t mess it up.’ That was the beginning for me,” he said.
He started working in a barber shop in 2018 and threw himself into learning different styles and techniques.
In 2021 a client who works in the real estate business alerted Adeeb to 140 St. Patrick St. W. coming on the market.
Those were still pandemic days and not the ideal time to start a business that requires clients and staff to be in close contact.
“But good space is hard to find,” he said, and he took the plunge.
The Barber Parlour location had been home to heavy equipment and then a supplement store. So he had a lot of work to do to turn it into a barber shop.
It is now a light-filled space with three cutting stations, a comfortable waiting area, a TV, and a pool table, cool lighting, and graphics on the walls.
Each cutting station has an iPad, so clients – especially the young ones – can watch a show while getting their hair cut.
“My goal is to bring urban barbery to a small town,” Adeeb said. “And I want my customers to have a good experience, as well as a quality haircut.”
Long term, he hopes to have six cutting stations in the shop and expand some of the services he provides.
He’s lost some walk-in traffic because of the closure of St. David Street around the corner. But he’s getting online bookings, return customers, and hopes to “rally with the community” on fundraisers and special events.
And he has his sights set on the design category in next year’s expo, where contestants have just 15 minutes to create and execute their cuts.
“You have to roll with the punches and celebrate the victories. I’m celebrating,” he said.
