Bobby: Hi my name is Bobby AuRein.
I have a this barber shop slash retro game and
toy shop.
It's called the Ruben og Bobby.
And I've been having it for eight years actually this
location for three years.
Before that I was five years into the next street.
HCH: What's so special about this shop.
Bobby: The thing that's special about this shop is that it's
like you can see it's quite full with the with all retro 80s toys
and video games.
I think the concept of putting it together with a barber shop.
I think that's quite unique.
Everyone can come in with older game boys or Dino-Riders.
He Man figures and trade
for something else or get some money
for it or a haircut.
So it's also a trading station but also a place to hang out and
have fun and and dive into all the memories and the nostalgia
about all these things.
HCH: I see you have some pinball machines back there.
I mean, what do people come for the games or the haircut?
Bobby: Mostly we are two hairdressers here.
Me and my colleague Sasha.
So haircuts.
That's the main thing.
That's what that.
That's what our passion.
But I also have a passion for pinball machines and old arcade
machines and people come in here also to play arcades and
pinballs.
They pay 50 crowns per hour and then they can just play as much as they want.
Yeah.
So a lot of people that come here they're they're into this
stuff.
Also they collect or maybe games maybe toys.
But I think the majority they just think it's inspiring or
quite fun to see all these things and some they can get
inspired to a to a haircut or something like
I want the same as this one or I'll just get inspired in
general you know, but so but a lot of people are not ... they
don't collect.
They just think it's a fun place to be you know.
HCH: How many people actually come in and ask for a haircut
like like Papa Smurf.
Bobby: Papa Smurf.
I can't see I don't know his hair but most people they they
they I don't think they they point out Papa Smurf or or
Oh yeah.
He Man or Prince Valiant or something.
I think most people they they come in with some other idea of
how have a haircut.
HCH: So why don't you tell me the story behind the behind the
He Man .
Bobby: This is where I had to do my calling so this is like.
It's my my place.
So it's filled with of course with most of this with a lot of
the figures that I'm most fond of.
So some of the figures there they can be hard to part with.
For example,
this is it's a bootleg.
He Man figure so its it's not even an original.
And the value is it's not that much but for me you know some
things they can have more value than like
Like what the value is on eBay.
This one I got from a Mexican collector called he's a You Tube
guy I think its maniac collector or something like that.
So he came to make a video about the shop and then he gave this
as a gift.
And so right now I'm asking 700 cronies just to to try to scare
people away from buying it.
And it's been it's been a success.
No one's bought it yet.
Yet!
HCH: Seven hundred cronies in dollars.
That's.
Ten hundred one hundred dollars.
Bobby: One hundred plus something.
Yeah.
Ok.
But that's a ...
HCH: Have you ever thought about putting it on eBay or something
so you can get more?
Bobby: No.
But on eBay you wouldn't catch like fetch like that such a high
price.
It's just you know the value that it has for me you know and
sometimes things it's not the the money value it's more like
what you think of it.
You know, if you've got a gift from someone it's hard to put a
price on it.
But I'm trying like everything should be for sale in the shop.
HCH: Tell me about the.
Bobby: Yeah I got this nice a present also from a Swedish guy
called the Pappas San Palo Paolo.
So he made these, in English it's a beads, it does stuff in
beads he's really really cool.
And he bought,
he made a pop up shop here in my shop and gave me this as a gift.
And it looks it looks quite a similar I think!
HCH: So it's kind of like Danish bling.
Bobby: Yeah yeah.
I should actually put it on and I need to wear it more I think.
So and this is out here we do then we wash the hair that's
also a back room out there and then Sasha's in.
HCH: What you tell me about this thing?
Bobby: Yeah.
This is a blow dryer.
HCH: Do you actually use that on people?
Bobby: Yeah it's actually it's quite rubbish actually.
So mostly just for fun for the fun of it you know.
And this is a blow dry also.
I got this as a gift actually from I did a collaboration with
Urban Outfitters years ago and they sent me this as a gift
because they knew I was I had this one.
So if anyone has one one more I like even more than I like to
collect as you can see around here.
So I did one it was in I did a pop up shop.
I think it was four years ago in Marble Arch that they opened a
new Urban
Outfitters, so they actually recreate it.
my whole shop with arcade machines and pinball and toys
and I was there for three days cutting people who won like a
contest and Instagram and stuff but they were really nice and
said I had a private driver was driving around and they sent me
stuff and I was actually like
Yeah, fun stuff to have happened.
HCH: You were like the bomb!
Bobby: I felt like the bomb in a weird way, but you can get fun
experiences sometimes having.
HCH: Ocassionaly
Bobby: Yeah occasionally.
I don't know if you want to see more in here.
I could show you more.
I could show you that I'm actually have prizes.
You know that's I should show you this trophy.
This is actually is the most ugly looking but that's but it's
the trophy I'm mostly fond of.
It's the second place on the Danish championship in pinball
last year.
HCH: Oh wow.
Bobby: So it it only it's glued here because my children did
destroyed it after six hours in my property my belongings.
That's like how it is to have kids but it's also pinball
trophies.
One bowling trophy and small arcade trophy.
HCH: So what is your favorite?
Knick Knack or collectible that you have here.
Bobby: I think I think the most the most beautiful figure and
the one I always feel really sad if I don't have this in the
shop.
This is the android body from turtles.
It's Krang's android body.
I like this brain evil evil brain thing here.
I used to have nightmares as a child and then he talks like
rah-rah dash radar.
And has this big baby thing but,.
it's just one of the reasons that I that I collect toys retro
toys is that I like the how it looks you know the aesthetics of
it and the colors.
I think it's it's beautiful beautiful art piece almost you
know it's it's it's hard to it's hard to make it action figure
that's more cool than this one I think.
But I like you know like all these things do things I want to
have in my shop is it's things that I think is cool and and
interesting or I like how it looks or I like the feelings I
get.
And looking at these things and there and playing with them you
know I had this one as a child also.
It's also about nostalgia.
It's also about the things you and you had as a child.
But it's also about just weird things like I'm a hairdresser
and then then it's fun to have like weird scissors you know.
That would be really really bad to cut hair with this one but
maybe one day I have to open it and try it out.
HCH: Maybe next video we do yeah.
Bobby: I should have done it.
HCH: How did you get any like haters?
You know people like.
You know what are you doing here?
You know you're a grown man with three kids.
Bobby: Yes.
Yeah.
Grow up.
Yeah.
Get some.
You can say I get some haters.
I think some people think this is like it is ridiculous to be a
grown up man and collect children toys and play video
games.
Like grow up and get a job and a haircut you know.
But I think with the way I see it most is that a lot of people
get frightened away to go into the shop and get a haircut
because they think maybe he just only cuts like a really weird.
Bob Carter like a prince Valiant or only weird mullets you know.
So I think in that regards I think some people they see this
shop and they think OK this is a weird and he only cuts weird
hair you know.
So I think in that regards it can be a bad thing to have a
weird shop like this one.
But but it's also some things that I'm into.
So people who also thinks who are into these things or just
think it's funny and maybe they don't care but they just think
that I'm cutting their hair good?
You know then they can they go in here so there so I don't have
many like really old ladies mostly.
Normally I say I have like one third of my customers is nerds
and one third I like creative musician artists kind of people.
And one third is normal people.
HCH: So when they come in and they just looking for a break or
are they looking for.
I mean are they coming in.
For what reason besides a haircut.
Bobby: It's.
Kind of like just come comes for the haircut and they goes like
mouth to mouth and they tell like oh he's a good hairdresser
come in and get a haircut.
So that's the main people.
The main customer I get here.
And then they just think it's a really nice in some ways it's
just nice to be here.
Like the atmosphere that is chilled and fun you know.
And then.
What was the question again?
HCH: A minute ago.
Yeah.
Bobby: And now was it somebody is somehow really into the like
the gimmick of the things and some don't care at all.
You can also while you get your haircut you can play.
You can play video games.
Right now it's Superstar Soldier on this.
We had a system called The P.C. Engine.
So people they can sit here.
And they can play a play this one and if they beat the high
score in the video game they get 20 percent off the haircut.
So a lot of people that they don't like the normal normal
hair salon or barber shop.
Where they have to like talk about the weather or talk about
gossip and read bad magazines you know.
They can just sit here and play some video games maybe beat the
high score.
Maybe talk about like some nerdy stuff maybe you don't talk you
know.
And so and so.
I think there's a lot of people who are fed up with with it like
a white salon.
Or like the normal concept of how a hair salon or like how a
Barbershop should be.
And they like that it's different and more chilled.
And you can talk about other things than The kardashians so
something like that.
Yeah.
HCH: So what is the main topic of conversation when they come
in here?
Is it the nostalgia that the games the I mean the way?
Bobby: Yeah.
I think.
Yeah I think it can be.
Yeah.
I think the conversations often go around these kind of things.
It can get triggered you know you can you can see a ninja and
you get triggered.
And you think about like oh I had a friend when I was a boy
when I was a child and we were we dressed up as ninjas and we'd
throw apples after what you know someone can just get like a
memory or something.
HCH: Bob down the street.
They didn't like.
Bobby: Yeah yeah or talk about like new video games coming out
or old games that you just completed.
But I don't know.
It's a you can talk about whatever.
HCH: So in this job you I mean it's really it is your own thing
it's your own.
Yeah yeah.
And and that's important.
So what.
You've done your own thing.
It works.
So what advice do you give people that are umming and
arghing about stuff.
You know what is a one piece of
advice you would give people.
Bobby: If they want to open their own place up?
Oh yeah.
Hi yeah, I should give advise.
Yeah.
HCH: well you've done this you've done it.
Yeah.
Bobby: Yeah.
Okay.
HCH: So what is your advice to people?
Bobby: Ok.
And my advice to people like what I found out.
If I should give advice to people who wants to do something
like that which we're thinking about which direction to go I
think.
Let me think about like how to say it.
My advice to people is that they should just do what they're
passionate about.
I'm passionate about cutting hair and then I also collected
old retro toys or video games.
And I was like okay let me put me on my passions together and
then start out small and just then.
And don't have a too big budget.
You know you have to you have to also in the beginning not not
have a car and you know like not not live.
It just for me it's normal to not have so much money.
And then of course now it's going better and have a bit more
money.
But if you're used to living cheap I think that's a really
good concept of life.
If you want to start something weird you know or if you want to
have a good life and to be able to choose.
I'm really I love my work here you know and the for me that I
could choose to live my life like this.
And have a relaxing work life cutting hair and selling cool
stuff you know.
And I think maybe the number one rule is to just live live cheap
and go after your dream.