Today we’d like to introduce you to Paris Mahaffey.
Hi Paris, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I actually first picked up the clippers when I was 13 years old. It all started because my mom couldn’t afford for us (my younger brother and myself) to go to the barbershop as frequent as what pre-teens and teens would like to go. Being in a single-parent household wasn’t easy but we made it work. I would typically cut my hair on Thursday nights so I could be fresh for my football games on Friday. This continued until my sophomore year when I started working and could afford to pay for a haircut from my “uncle”. I would still cut my little brother because he refused to let anyone else cut his hair and teammates would stay the night with me and see me cut his hair, which led them to ask for haircuts as well. Before I knew it, I was cutting coaches after practices and players during lunch in the lobby of the weight room.
My “uncle” (Adrian Thompson aka AT) had been a master barber in GA for years and really wanted to help the youth not live or travel down the path that he traveled growing up. Being a barber first became a reality to me when during one of my haircuts he asked me if I had ever considered it as a career and I honestly hadn’t because I was focused on going to college and pursuing a medical degree. He gave me my first real set of clippers and told me that I wasn’t allowed back in his shop until I was ready to cut at the open station located to his left. Although he was joking when he said that to me as a 15 years old kid, he kept that booth empty until I came to ask for it after my senior year sports had ended. Unfortunately, he was gunned down three weeks before I left for college and this made me want to pursue and carrying on his legacy the way he was known.
I did end up going to college at Texas A&M University- College Station on a merit and academic-based full ride, but that didn’t end me cutting hair. I quickly became known as the barber on/around campus, so much so that considered dropping out to pursue it full time. I had listened to a lot of family and friends about how being a barber wasn’t a good career and that you couldn’t make real money, so I honestly stopping taking it serious until I moved back to GA after graduation in 2017.
After moving back home, I started off in the corporate world working as a supervisor in a manufacturing plant, but barbering still lingered around. I found myself and my hands itching to get back behind the chair and I did just that. I began working at Untouchable Hair Studio in Gainesville, GA where I feel that my career as a barber really started taking off. While working there part-time and working in corporate full-time, I was also in school full-time to obtain my license as a master barber in the State of GA. After graduating and passing my board exams in October of 2019, I opened up my first studio, known as Iconic Barber Lounge in January of 2020 in Buford, GA. Since then, I have seen tremendous growth in all aspects of the business and those that are around it.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Honestly, I would say that besides the pandemic it has been a pretty smooth road. I only control what I can control and just flow like water. I have had to learn what it means to be a real business owner vs a barber but I believe that that is just a part of the journey to leave a crazy amazing legacy.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a barber that specializes in all men’s haircuts and styles.
I am most proud of the fact that I have created a space that people feel free and safe to express concerns, express opposing views, talk through a personal issue and overall just add to the health and well-being to each individual that steps foot in my establishment. In society men are often told that we aren’t allowed to have feelings, express feelings and I believe that that is toxic way of thinking so I challenge that barrier in my shop to help people move forward and build that confidence back up.
One of the major things that set me apart is my genuine love for the community. Most people stop at barbering as their final destination, but I refuse too. The biggest goal I have set for myself in life is to own a large establishment in Gainesville, GA, so all of my actions and decisions are working toward that goal. I want a place of that stature because I would love to turn it into a school or community for at-risk minority youth in the area to provide them with the resources that they can’t get anywhere else (college prep, sports training, life skills). There are a lot of kids in my hometown that are “me” and don’t have the best opportunities due to the system and the situations that are out of their control. I feel like a place like a school or community center that teaches financial literacy, a trade, people skills, real history and so many other things will aid kids in finding their true identity and set them up to break the chains that hold them captive.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Business is business. Pick up on the clues and follow the path that has already been blazed. Trying to recreate the wheel is going to delay your opportunity to win.
I think oftentimes we want the world to be better a place but that world often starts in your back yard or with the man/woman looking back at you in the mirror. If we constantly define who we are, those around will do the same. I believe Ghandi said it best, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
Contact Info:
- Email: Paris.the.barber@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_theiconicparis/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paris.the.barber04
Image Credits:
THE HILLS MEDIA SHUTTAH PRODUCTION LLC
