Actual Old School Barbers Think the 'Ye Olde' Barber Trend Is Lame

There’s a lot to like about true old school barbershops. The aerosol hairspray cans, the stacks of outdated People magazine, the posters of soccer teams, and faded 80s advertisements for hair product featuring blow dried adonises. And of course, the barbers themselves—all gruff European guys born before 1965 sporting chunky bracelets and leather loafers with tassels.

Not that I have anything against the explosion of fake old school barbershops. I like tattoos and pale ale just as much as the next guy, but when it comes to haircuts, I’ll take Con or Frank over Josh or Matty anyday.

But what do the the oldtimers think of the new hot shots with their hand tattoos and vintage typeface fonts? We visited some authentic old school barbers to find out what they think about the new guard.

Sammy reminded us to be careful when taking photos in his shop. “It’s OK to take photos of me but some of my customers may not want it,” he warned. Sammy has been cutting hair for 45 years. He came to Australia from Italy when he was 17 and has been cutting hair since. He is what you call a non bullshit hairstylist. Someone who thinks bespoke is something you need to bethink beforehand.

VICE: Hey Sammy, What do you think of new style hipster barber shops?
Sammy: They are good but not very good. The old traditional things are better than the new ones. The new ones offer beer and they offer whiskey. I just cut hair. The most I can offer you is a cup of coffee.

You spend a lot of your time talking to men. What have you learned about them?
Some educate me. Some men are very good men and some are very rough.

What do they want to talk about?
Forty years ago they wanted to talk about woman and then they talked about weddings and getting married. Then they talked about their children and then about their children’s wedding. And now they talk about their pains. Pain in the back and pains in the leg.

How much longer are you going to cut hair for?
Until my hands start shaking. If I shake I can’t cut. So six or seven years. Ten years? I don’t know.

What’s the most difficult thing about being a barber?
Sometimes people try to confuse us. They don’t know what they want. They say they want a Number One shave all over but do they know what a Number One is? If they don’t and I give them a Number One shave all over then sometimes there are problems.

Victor was smoking a ciggie when we entered his shop. But when you’ve been running a barber shop for 43 years you can do whatever you want. He could have a freaking spittoon in his shop if he wanted. He started cutting hair when he was 14 and Brylcreem runs in his blood. His father ran a barber shop that was also a mixed business where you could buy a pack of Camels, a lotto ticket, and get a short back and sides. It looks like Victor is a fan of classic film as his walls feature posters of Scarface, The Rat Pack, Marlon Brando and The Sopranos. He says he had pictures of Marilyn Monroe and Jame Dean but his wife took them to put in the spare room at their new house. The world needs more barbers like Victor. Maybe the world just needs more Victors.

Do your customers tell you about their problems?
Yes they have a lot of problems. They come in and they say I’m sore here or I’m sick there.

Who are your longest and oldest customers?
I have about half a dozen but they all come from far away. Some travel two hours to get here.

They don’t trust anyone else?
Haha. They know me. They are familiar with me. It’s just easier.

What do you think of the new style barbers?
They are showoffs.

Haha. Really?
Yeah, they don’t know what they are doing. In the old days you needed to train and be good.

Do you think there are too many babers now?
Yeah, there are a lot barbers around here. The Turks, Lebanese, the Iraqis.

There are a lot of new apartments being built in this area. Will they help your business?
I’m not sure. You never see the people who live in them. They go to work and then they come back at night and they go straight back into the apartment and they go out for dinner.

Domenic has been putting that weird paper stuff around people’s necks for almost 50 years.
He runs a shop with another guy named Ross. The business is called Domenic and Ross Hair Stylists. It says it right there on the front window.

He started as an apprentice in Italy and came to Australia 47 years ago. He’s been at this spot 43 years. An old photo of the shop is hung by one of the mirrors. It looks like it was taken sometime in the 80s. The shop doesn’t look like it’s changed much since then.

What has changed since you first opened the shop?
The only thing that’s changed is the fashion. Things go back and forth. Now for instance the fashion is the same when we started back 45 years ago the short back and sides and beards.

What have you learned about men after doing this for so many years?
We learn a lot. Once they know you they probably tell us more personal things than their fathers or their brother or their sons. We are like psychologists. They tell us that they should charge us for psychology session. They tell us much stuff and sometimes we fall in the trap and we tell them stuff too. They sit in the chair and they feel relaxed as they trust you in every way. Sometimes they don’t even need or want a haircut. They just come here to talk.

What do you think of the new barber shops?
Someone suggested we change our name to barber shop. It’s more a trend.

Hey Nick, How many years have you been at this shop?
Since 1986. I learned to cut hair in Greece. My brother taught me and I’ve had around 90 customers per week sitting in these chairs here ever since.

What do you think of the new style of babers?
It’s a new generation with different ideas. I’m a real barber. I will shave and cut in original technique. I have had customers who is a father, son and grandson. The new young barbers only have new customers. I use this …

From a drawer he pulls a cut throat blade.

That’s true old school. How often do you use that?
Whenever someone asks for a shave. But the kids these days… some say they want their haircut like Ronaldo. You know?

Yeah I know. When do you think you'll retire?
Last week I had someone come to ask if I was going to sell the business and I said not yet.

You mentioned these chairs. They are pretty great.
Yeah they are Italian, they are 30 years old.

How many people do you think have sat in them?
I don’t know. Since 1986, maybe a lot.

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