Jon James the barber – credit, supplied North West Remote Health (2)
There’s an old saying: cut a man’s hair, and he’s fresh for a month. Teach a man to cut hair, and he’s fresh for a lifetime.
Er, wait—wasn’t it something about fish?
For Queensland barber Jon James, stepping off a small plane onto Mornington Island off the northern coast of Australia, he found a community that knew how to fish, but if he wanted to find the red and white barber’s pole, he’d need to wait for his flight home.
For that reason too, there was a hoard of people waiting for him as he disembarked hoping for a trim, a cut, or a fade.
James was on the island as part of the Fade Wellbeing Barbering Program run by Australia’s North West Remote Health. He was there to run barber workshops among a resilient and deeply rooted community that nevertheless struggles with listlessness and unemployment, and had recently endured the loss of several men by suicide.
James had spent the previous 6 months volunteering at haircutting workshops across Queensland, and despite the remoteness, he told ABC News down under that the locals were naturals.
– credit, supplied by Jon James to ABC News AU
It wasn’t long before the que of people in need of a barber was quickly diverted from the 42-year-old barber, slightly famous on social media for his tattoos and orange hair, to his various new students.
“I couldn’t believe how quickly they picked up barbering,” James said. “They’re like, ‘Let’s go further.’ And then they were doing skin fades straight up, and then they were doing them on their own.”
NWRH had sent James to Mornington Island with 20 professional barber kits to give out to workshop participants when it was finished, but that was after he got approached by a local with a special request.
– credit, supplied North West Remote Health
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Someone asked him if he were willing to straighten up the doos for a bride and a groom on their wedding day. James needed a hand from his students, who took care of the wedding guests, while he handled the wedding party who then invited him to attend.
“To be part of that emotionally, and be asked to attend the wedding after, it was incredibly humbling. I’m so grateful that I had that opportunity.”
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It was a powerful experience, he explained, before saying he’d love to come back and see what becomes of the new barber boom—perhaps a few new salons.
“They’re so remote and not many outsiders come in there, and they’re just so welcoming. That really means the world.”
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