HJ ADVERTORIAL
More Than A HAIRCUT
In 2025, STMNT Grooming brought together a collective of barbers and ambassadors to create a campaign rooted in community. We caught up with the team to hear the stories that shaped them
Jed Wilkinson, Crown Barbering, @crownbarbering_
My Journey
I started barbering when I was 20. My family has a scrap metal business so I worked there whilst I was younger. I then started to think about what I could do that would take me anywhere in the world. I enrolled in college and went straight into barbering. I took to it really well because I was so engrossed in it. I love the atmosphere in the shop – it’s a bit of a safe space as well. For me, you can’t be 50% bothered about it. There’s been moments where I felt like giving up, because it’s hard. You get to a certain point in your career where you’ve only got so many skills, but then you need to meet people and you need to learn, and you need to shadow people - I remember paying for a course in London with Charlie Cullen because I’d never cut long hair.
My Purpose
Coming from a close family, for me it’s about meeting people and seeing other people’s journeys and how they’ve got to where they are now. It is important to me because my shop isn’t the most fancy shop, but it’s got everything it needs and people feel safe in there. When they come for a haircut, you build up a relationship with people, which is the biggest thing.
My Impact
If you put Crown Barbering into Google, we come up as top in the area, which is purely down to hard work and good reviews. That’s a huge achievement. I feel that as people get to know who I am and what I’m like as a person, that’s when the conversations change. I’ve got lots of young lads that open up to me in the chair. There are all sorts of different conversations that happen and I'm so grateful for that.
My Voice
People do open up to me. On the first visit it might just be general conversation, but over time it changes. I often get messages saying, “Thank you for the haircut, but ultimately, I was happy with the conversation. You’ve made me walk out here today feeling like a better version of myself.” That’s worth more than any tip. It’s rewarding.
Gregor Brown, Brown Bear Barbering, @gregor_brownbears
My Journey
I started hairdressing when I was 17, I enjoyed it but when I finished my hairdressing training, I started training on men’s hair. I rented a chair in my friend’s salon and made an Instagram for my gents’ cuts. I had the nickname Brown Bear, so I made that my Instagram and put all my cuts on it. As I had more guys coming into the salon, we’d have women in the salon saying, “Oh, that’s a nice haircut – I’ll get my partner to come in”. So, I ended up getting really busy doing mostly shorter styles or gents cuts. I’d always wanted to open my own place so I opened a modern barbershop run more like a salon. It’s appointment-based consultation at the start, a drink offered with your haircut - a bit of a higher end service, but in a more relaxed environment.
My Purpose
Since my early 20s, I’ve had quite bad anxiety. It’s better now but I used to struggle a lot when I was younger. I realised that whenever I was doing hair and chatting with clients I’d feel a lot more upbeat. It’s helped me with my mental health struggles – doing this kind of job, being creative. To me Brown Bear is a safe space where I can feel confident. I might be feeling angsty or worrying about something, but I’m very confident in cutting hair and it’s my safe space to express myself.
My Voice
I try to promote guys talking about their mental health more by being more open about it. A couple of years back I did a triathlon and raised around £1500 for Action in Mind, a local mental health charity in Stirling that’s massively underfunded. I like to use my platform to do some good. It probably doesn’t sound very business savvy but making money’s not my main focus. I’ve gotten a lot more satisfaction the last couple of years out of doing things for charity, which is more fulfilling.
My Impact
We have this really nice team of guys, and we all have fun while we’re working - having a blather. We always make sure we get the clients involved: we turn the chairs around, let people chat and join in on conversations and try to just make it a fun place to come and get your hair cut and just chill out a bit. Clients can put their phone away and it gives them a chance to be more present and in the moment, to switch off from work and social media. There’s no judgement, you don’t have to try and be a certain way, it’s just a space for anybody to come to where they can chat about things and relax.
Roman Radchenko, Three Blades Club, @hair.bybuddha
My Journey
When I was around 17 years old, my father asked me to cut his hair and I did… not the best way, but he liked it. It started as a hobby because I used to play professional sport back in Ukraine so I was playing and cutting hair. Then at some point I realised barbering can actually be a full-time job. It was fulfilling for me and the reason why I focused on it was that I really wanted to do something good in life and make people happier, because when you give a good service to someone, you change their day.
My Purpose
Barbering was never meant to be a job, to me it was a bigger purpose. The financial part is important, but what’s more important is that you see people coming back and you build up a bond. There’s a human part of it. If someone comes in for a haircut before a date or before a job interview or an important event, you are part of someone’s life. You help the person feel better and I feel like I’m doing some good. I like helping to change people’s lives in some way.
My Impact
It’s about how you treat clients as people. Some people have never been to a proper barber. They’re scared and nervous, so we walk them through everything. Being a professional, giving a proper consultation, talking to the client, giving advice and helping them to be more confident – people really appreciate the small details.
My Voice
Sometimes people call barbers psychologists with scissors – I can listen and talk pretty much about everything. Clients open up and talk about family, life decisions, politics. I really like what we’ve created in the Three Blades Club – if my business partner Luke and myself have two clients who know each other, or sometimes they have their friends waiting, we can have a big conversation and it’s like this small community. It’s the way it’s supposed to be.
Matteo Palladino, The Mens Salon, @matteo.barber03
My Journey
My Mum and Dad are barbers, so I started when I was 16 working with my Dad. I think I was 14 when I first knew I wanted to be a barber. They’ve helped me a lot and I’ve been doing it for six years now.
My Purpose
Part of it is the social side of it and speaking to people every day. Making people feel happy and confident in themselves - that’s the main thing for me. Giving someone the haircut is one thing, but making someone feel happy and more confident is the most important thing.
My Impact
We’ve got a very open space where everyone is welcome. I think that’s what makes it so great. A lot of my customers are quite young, I think because they can relate to me a little bit more because of my age.
My Voice
I think especially with social media, it’s one of the big things people constantly look at nowadays. Some of my clients even talk to me through social media too. I also like to post content that’s not hair-related to create a safe, friendly atmosphere and space.
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