Martin “Safro Fades” Safari just isn’t a barber who follows the traditional guidelines of the commerce. As a substitute of utilizing clippers or scissors to model his purchasers’ hair, he chooses to make use of knives, shovels, and hammers.
Passersby are captivated by his distinctive approach, usually pausing to observe as Safari skillfully wields his instruments. Regardless of the unconventional strategy, Safari’s purchasers stay composed, displaying unwavering belief as he maneuvers probably hazardous objects like shovels and hammers round them.
Safari’s unconventional barbering model has earned him each recognition and a way of livelihood. With every shaving session, his purchasers emerge wanting impeccably groomed and good. He was lately topped the Greatest Content material Creator on the 2023 Barber Grammy Awards, changing into the primary winner from Africa to get the award, The New Occasions reported.
“I didn’t attend the (Grammy) awards ceremony as a result of I didn’t assume I might win,” he informed TRT Afrika.
“I had been nominated alongside extra well-known and broadly traveled barbers. My win, subsequently, got here as a shock,” he added.
The 24-year-old is a Rwandese nationwide, who relocated to Nairobi in late 2023. “My relocation to Nairobi 4 months in the past was strategic. I felt the town would increase my profile as an unorthodox barber,” Safari stated, including that his transfer “has paid off.”
His hottest video amassed a formidable 95 million views on his Instagram web page (@safro_fades), which boasts over 230,000 followers.
Safari made a daring resolution to desert his research in enterprise administration at a Rwandan college to pursue his true ardour for hair grooming. His journey gained momentum in December 2022 when he posted a viral video showcasing his theatrical shaving methods, which concerned utilizing a hammer and chisel on a consumer.
This video catapulted Safari’s Instagram following from 2,000 to a formidable 100,000 in lower than three weeks.
“I wished to face out as a barber,” he stated, revealing that he expenses between $45 and $60 per haircut.
In 2023, he had the respect of serving as a celeb choose at a barbers’ competitors in Cameroon. Reflecting on his unconventional strategies, Safari recounted how it’s difficult to earn purchasers’ belief in his craft, notably as a result of distinctive instruments he employs.
To beat skepticism, he typically presents free shaves and treats skeptical purchasers to lunch as an incentive. Trying forward, Safari aspires to prepare a world barbers’ expo that may showcase his distinctive expertise to a world viewers.
“I imagine expos would supply publicity avenues for gifted barbers to develop their markets,” he stated.
He additionally goals to determine coaching workshops for people desirous to be taught his distinctive haircutting methods.
