Prominent barbershops: The Barbershop by João Rocha

There are barbershops with a special soul, a special spirit, and a good example is The Barbershop by João Rocha. A barbershop located in The Azores. Today we talk with João Rocha, owner of the establishment and professional barber, to learn about his experience.

What took you to become a professional barber?

I don’t know if it was faith or luck, but there was a moment in my life when I was unemployed and found a man who was a hairdresser and encouraged me to take a barber course. At that moment barbershops were almost extinct and no one wanted to be a professional barber. So I took the chance, and at the very first moment I started to cut, that was it, I fall in love with this art.

How old were you when you did this change in your life?

I started a little bit late,I was 28. I would’ve love to start at 16 or 17, but this is how it was meant to be.

Did you learn by yourself or did you take some lessons?

I took a basic barber course and when I finished it I started to watch some videos on YouTube to try to get better and improve my technic. After that, I also started to invest in specialized workshops abroad with the aim to learn from the best in this job.

What are your hobbies when you are not at your barbershop?

I like to play music, drive quads, and travel.

How would you describe the environment at your barbershop?

Relax but professional.. We don’t like to work in a hurry, we took very seriously the work we do, and our aim is to give our customers the best service, paying attention to every little detail.

What is your best-seller in the barbershop?

“Hair + Beard”. Nowadays, men are more concerned about their image than they used to be, not just their hair.

Let’s talk about music. What music sounds at the barbershop?

It depends on our mood, but mostly music from the 70s, 80s y 90s.

And now tell us about your city, what is the place that visitors can’t miss?

Well, obviously, first of all, they should visit our barbershop, it’s in the city center (laughs). Then, they should try our food, our gastronomyis one of the best in the world. And also, they can’t leave without seeing our beautiful landscape, our sea, and our mountains.

Who is or has been your biggest influence as a barber?

I didn’t have only one influence, I had a lot. I like to inspire my work with the influence of a lot of cultures, like the American one, the British, or the Latin. Not only that, but I also take references of different types of styles from the old-school to the new tendencies, which makes me a very versatile professional.