New Blood in Liverpool, a first barber college in Ann Arbor, and a backyard chair turned studio: Barber News

Three stories this week, and all of them are about beginnings. A young barber from a small Isle of Man town earned a place on one of the UK's biggest barbering stages. A Michigan county opened its first barber college, built on a simple idea about attitude. And a barber in Tennessee went from a backyard setup at his childhood home to a studio of his own.

New Blood: from Peel to Liverpool

Christos Andrea works at Andrea Barbers on Bridge Street in Peel, the shop he and his cousin Marcus opened in June 2025, a short walk from the town's Market Square. The Andrea name was already well known locally through Demetri's, the family's long-established hairdressers and barbers on Douglas Street. When the shop opened, Christos put it simply: "Demetri's was always the roots for us." Now the cousins have a place of their own.

As iomtoday.co.im reported, Christos then secured a place in the New Blood finals at the Great British Barber Bash in Liverpool on 13 September. His shop didn't hold back in its announcement: "He's worked seriously hard to get himself to this point, and now he gets the chance to step up and show what he can do on one of the biggest stages in UK barbering. He's earned this opportunity."

New Blood exists for exactly that moment. According to the Great British Barber Bash, it is open to barbers and hair professionals with no more than three years' experience, meaning they started their career on or after 1 September 2023. Next up is New Blood Scotland 2026, and entries close on 31 October 2026. If you know a newer barber with real talent, this is the week to give them a nudge.

Mindset before skillset: a first barber college for Washtenaw County

On 2 October, Legacy Barber College held its ribbon-cutting at Briarwood Mall in Ann Arbor, Michigan. As 89.1 WEMU reported, it is the first barber college, and the first Black-owned one, to open in Washtenaw County.

Owners Gerod and Stephani Sturgis started out in neighbouring Lenawee County just as the pandemic began, and after six years moved their operations to Ann Arbor. Their teaching starts somewhere other than the clippers. "My whole philosophy is mindset before skillset," Gerod told WEMU, "because I don't want to give them a skillset if they have not changed their mindset."

That philosophy reaches beyond the classroom. The college works with the sheriff's office and people in the county jail, helping train them toward becoming certified master stylists once they are released. It's a good reminder that a barber's chair can be a second chance as much as a career, and that good education shapes how people carry themselves, not only how they cut.

From a backyard chair to Backyard Barber Studio

In Bristol, Tennessee, Nate Smith has just opened his own shop. According to WJHL News Channel 11, Backyard Barber Studio held its grand opening on Saturday 3 October at 607 Holston Avenue. Smith told the station that opening the shop is a dream come true, after having a backyard setup at his childhood home.

His reasoning will sound familiar to anyone who has opened a shop in a smaller town. "Bristol just really doesn't have anything private and exclusive like this," he told the station. "I feel like all the barbers go towards, like, Johnson City and other areas like that, and I feel like Bristol really needs something professional." Instead of following the trade to the bigger city, he brought a professional, private setting home.

Every shop starts somewhere: a kitchen chair, a garage, a corner of the garden. Not every one keeps a nod to where it began in its name, and we like that this one does.

What ties them together

A competition stage for barbers in their first three years. A college that teaches attitude before technique. A backyard chair that turned into a studio. Different places and different scales, but the same story underneath: barbering keeps making room for people who are just getting started, as long as they put the work in.

At SULTAN we enjoy telling stories from this side of the trade. If you have a beginning worth sharing from your own shop or town, especially in Sweden or Germany, we would love to hear it for a future edition of The Barber Journal.