The barber-client relationship has always been one cultivated in consistency, honesty and for some….vulnerability. The interaction is a public forum and moments of therapy that gives clients the ability to translate their feelings in the chair. The haircut is the medicine. If you think I’m exaggerating, try not getting a haircut for two and half months and let me know how you’re holding up. A prime example of my viewpoint is expressed below with a wonderful story that can speak to all of us.
After losing a friend to suicide, Tom Chapman decided to do something about the biggest killer of young men in the UK. In a personal, moving talk he tells us about the international movement he founded building on the unique relationship between barbers and their clients to prevent suicide and save lives.
Tom Chapman is a Torquay-based barber who has made it his mission to propel the stigma of mental ill health among men into the mainstream. In 2015 founded the Lions Barber Collective, an international group of barbers who have undergone training in how to recognize symptoms of mental ill health in clients and signpost them to relevant support services. The group helps to raise awareness of mental illness and aims to prevent suicide by creating training that enables barbers to recognize, talk and listen out for symptoms of depression. – Ted Talk
