- Alright, what's up?
This is my friend Ade and today
we're gonna be swapping barbers.
- I'm petrified.
I don't know if this guy knows how to work with black hair?
Like texture, hairstyles, does he even know black people?
- Ade told me that his barber is the best barber in all of
New York City.
- Number one.
And I'm telling him, I've had my barber for the past
five years, he's never messed up my hair,
he's the only guy whose ever given me a good haircut.
- Wait, wait, wait was this the same barber
that gave you the little thing on top of your head?
- Yes it was the same barber that gave me a man bun
but I asked him for a man bun
and it was a pretty good man bun when you think about it.
And this is the barber that gave you this?
- I get haircuts every two to three weeks so we're in the
second week right now.
- I wait til it gets really jew-fro.
So my jew-fro gets like so jew-fro that I have to cut it.
I've almost never gotten a good haircut until I met my
current barber and I've never gone to anybody else.
I've never cheated on my barber ever, ever, ever.
Every time I come in he says, have you been working out?
He's like, oh my God you look bigger.
And I'm like, stop...I didn't even go to the gym yesterday.
- Maybe he might have a little crush on you, I don't know?
- He does.
Honestly Ade's in for a great experience.
My barber is the nicest man I've ever met he's gonna bring
up Ade, he's gonna wash his hair, give him a little massage,
give him a nice little trim, make him look fresh
and let him go.
- When they walk in, he's either gonna hear some like
gangster rap, he's gonna hear trap,
or he's gonna hear some, like, salsa?
I think this is gonna be the new and improved Eric.
He's gonna be like the R&B Eric.
He's gonna be like the Soundcloud rapper Eric.
This is gonna be something you've never seen before.
If my haircut ends up looking anything like Ade's hair,
I might cry.
How much does your barber cost?
- It's 25 to 30 dollars.
- Yeah, same as mine.
So, we have basically the same price line and we're gonna
see whose barber's better.
So, let's swap barbers.
Alright, what's up?
We're at Rafael's barber shop, my barber shop.
Ade's about to get a nice haircut, facial shaping.
He's about to meet Kit, who's my barber.
So, let's go up.
How are you feeling?
- Well, the fact that I see this and I see somebody that
looks similar, like same kind of hairstyle as me I feel
a lot more comfortable.
- Alright, let's go, let's go.
- Hey, how are you boys?
- This is the best place in the world.
Where's Kit, is Kit here?
- Kit is here, Kit.
(gentle music)
- So this is who you're gonna be giving a haircut.
What's your plan how are you gonna tackle this?
- I have no idea.
- How do you feel about me getting
a haircut from his barber?
- Oh, really?
Surprise.
I'm not going to get mad.
- You're not gonna get mad?
- No but I know I'm good.
- So I'm gonna come back.
(gentle music)
Let's go give Ade the best haircut of his life.
- [Kit] You ready?
Don't be scared OK?
I know what I'm doing.
- OK so while Ade gets his haircut we're gonna turn him away
from the mirror so he has no idea what his hair looks like
until the very end.
(heavy beats music)
- Have you ever given anybody a bad haircut?
- Of course.
- You have?
- Yeah.
- No.
- So, like, where are you from originally?
- Oh OK.
I've never had my hair get cut by
a person from Thailand before.
(upbeat music)
- [Kit] See, it's looking better already.
- So you're gonna make my barber hate me.
He's never gonna talk to me again.
'cause he's gonna see this right after and he's gonna ask
me who cut my hair.
- And next time you go to him, he's gon' to mess it up.
- Ohhhhh.
You remember the time you gave Eric a man bun?
- Yeah and he come back two day later.
(laughter)
(hair clipper buzz)
- Am I getting more beautiful?
- More handsome, more juicy.
- Juicy?
- Yeah more textured.
- [Eric] How did you get into barbering, how did you start?
- I want to make money.
So difficult, I wanted to quit many time.
- [Eric] Really?
- Yeah many time, so hard.
- [Eric] How long did it take you to get comfortable?
- Oh, four year.
- [Eric] Four years?
- Yeah.
- [Eric] Wow.
What did it feel like when you were first starting and
you would give a bad haircut, how did people react?
- Before it feel bad but afterward I say,
oh it's good I like it.
- [Eric] People would yell at you?
- No, sometimes, they say what you doing?
Do you know what you're doing?
(upbeat music)
- Ade's about to get the straight razor on his face.
This is for the blood.
Ade, good luck.
- [Eric] Ade, how do you feel?
- Hmm?
(muffled laughter)
(dramatic music)
(calming music)
(laughter)
- What did you think, does your barber give you an
experience like that?
- Absolutely not.
That was amazing.
That was intense.
- Ready one, two, three.
- Hey, I like it.
OK.
- [Kit] You look great.
Now you look more juicy.
- Juicy.
(laughter)
Thank you Kit.
(gentle music)
- Thank you.
- Appreciate it.
- Me too.
- OK, honest review, what did you think?
- I mean now that he's not here.
I felt a little guilty but I mean he did a good job.
But it's not how I'm used to getting it...
this is serious 'beardage' going on here.
- What do you think of the top though?
- No, the top was good.
I think the top is on point.
- It's just the beard?
I think once you get used to your barber it's hard to switch
barbers 'cause it's like a family member they know you
better than anybody else,
so it's like really hard to switch barbers.
That's why I'm nervous to go to your barber 'cause I just
feel he doesn't get me.
- I actually just sent him a picture
of one of your photos on instagram.
He said, this him.
I make better.
And he's like, you know me Papi, OK.
And that's all you need to hear.
That means he's gonna hook you up and you got
no need to worry.
- So, we're here at my barber shop on Queens, VS Exclusive.
You're gonna meet my boy Alex.
There he is.
- Oh what's up?
- What's up Papi?
- What do you think?
- It's alright.
I'm gonna do the same to you.
(salsa music)
- How long have you been cutting hair?
- 24 years.
- 24 years?
That's older than me?
Alex is just going for it.
You cut hair in Puerto Rico?
- Yeah.
- How long did you live in Puerto Rico?
- Me, I had 15 year over here and all the rest of my life.
- Wow.
(upbeat music)
- Is he putting his initials in my hair?
- Right, finished.
- You finished?
Ohhh, dude.
I like it.
Ooh, the back looks nice.
I think this was a great experience like trying a new barber
was fun, learning new things, I'm down to be more
experimental with my barber and my haircuts and stuff.
- I realize that a barber is a place you can relax,
it's not, y'know, you tend to get in and get out,
you can just take your time.
Appreciate and enjoy the haircut.
- Each barber is like super different too.
My barber took like longer and did like massages and stuff.
Alex was like, bam, bam, bam, bam.
Exciting.
And I got a new name, I'm Papi now.
This is fun dude, thank you.
- Alright.
- OK are we ready?
- I like it a lot.
- Good, you guys are gonna be best friends.
You guys should open up a barber shop together.
(salsa music)