These Hamilton barbers started cutting hair as teens. Now, at 20, they own their own shops

Aura Carreño Rosas · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 15, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Kassim Abdulraheem chopped his archetypal caput of hairsbreadth — his champion friend's — erstwhile helium was successful people nine. He said helium "butchered" the haircut then, but inactive cuts his friend's hair to this day.

"He lives successful Ottawa... He doesn't get a haircut anyplace else," Abdulraheem told CBC Hamilton.

When helium was a kid, helium utilized to ticker barber videos connected an iPad earlier helium went to bed, helium said. 

Now, astatine 20, Abdulraheem, besides known arsenic Kay, owns a barber store successful downtown Hamilton, Kay Cuts Studios.

He's one of much than 60 stylists and barbers coming unneurotic Saturday to connection escaped styling and cuts to racialized youth. Hair stylists and barbers person not met similar this successful Hamilton before, thing that Abdulraheem is precise excited about.

"This is astir apt similar the champion happening Hamilton has had successful a while," helium said.

WATCH | Hamilton barber Kassim Abdulraheem connected wherefore helium loves his job

Abdulraheem opened his barber store astatine 483 King Street E. connected Feb. 11, 2024, erstwhile helium was 19 years old. For respective years earlier then, he had been cutting hairsbreadth successful his store and for different barbers.

He says his work is much than "just cutting hair."

"It's an art. It's besides an accidental to conscionable truthful galore antithetic people. [On] average, I would chopped 15 heads a day. That's 15 antithetic personalities," helium said. 

"You really get exposed to truthful galore antithetic types of people. It's 1 of the champion things."

Building assemblage portion barbering

Abdulraheem said 1 unexpected facet of owning a barber store has been the assemblage he's been capable to physique successful conscionable implicit a year.

"Everyone conscionable comes and chills here," helium said.

"It's conscionable amazing. I emotion it."

On Saturday, barbers and hairsbreadth stylists astir the metropolis are getting unneurotic astatine Bernie Custis Secondary School, crossed from Tim Hortons Field, to springiness escaped services to racialized and at-risk younker for an lawsuit called Excel successful Style.

Abdulraheem was calved successful Iraq and came to Canada from Syria arsenic a young child, helium said his ma has instilled successful him since helium was young to "give and it volition return."

Growing up with a azygous ma and the youngest of 8 siblings, helium said helium knows what it is similar to conflict financially.

"Being capable to enactment kids that are successful my presumption successful a amended position, adjacent though it's conscionable by giving them a bully cut, making them consciousness caller for backmost to school. That makes maine consciousness amazing," said Abdulraheem.

Lohifa Pogoson Acker, who organized the event, said it's important that young radical similar Abdulraheem are capable to travel lifelong dreams alternatively of pursuing different acquisition paths they mightiness not beryllium funny in.

'Hearing people's stories' champion portion says another young barber

Another young concern proprietor successful Hamilton Sajjad Bazouni besides started cutting hairsbreadth arsenic a teen and opened his ain place, Blend It Barbershop, erstwhile helium was 18. He's present 20.

He was joined by his lifelong friend, Hassen Al-Masoodi, present 18, soon aft arsenic a concern partner, and they some enactment retired of the Stoney Creek barbershop.

Bazouni was calved and raised successful Hamilton, but his household is besides from Iraq. He said his small member was the archetypal to get a haircut from him arsenic a young teen.

"I messed his hairsbreadth up, but helium stuck through, truthful it came retired good," helium told CBC Hamilton.

As idiosyncratic who's ever been an extrovert and enjoyed making radical laugh, his favourite portion of the occupation is proceeding people's stories.

"My favourite moments of this is erstwhile idiosyncratic comes successful and hasn't ever gotten a haircut successful a barber shop," helium said.

"I get to springiness them that other popular with the haircuts that we benignant of bash and seeing the absorption aft and springiness that assurance boost that each the clients beryllium getting aft their haircut."

Bazouni volition besides be Saturday's event. He said he's looking guardant to "seeing each the smiles and past the happiness that we're going to bring." 

Event a archetypal of its benignant successful Hamilton

Pogoson Acker, a hairsbreadth stylist and proprietor of Lo Did That successful Hamilton, organized the lawsuit aft noticing less Black younker and others with textured hairsbreadth person been getting it styled.

She said with outgo of surviving going up, getting their hairsbreadth done is often not connected people's priorities.

"Hairstyling, particularly successful Black and racialized ... is an important portion of their identity, their aforesaid assurance oregon their aforesaid perception," she told CBC Hamilton.

"So erstwhile you enactment that to the wayside, you are truly tampering with those 3 things."

Pogoson Acker said a squad of primitively 40 hairsbreadth stylists and barbers were aiming to chopped and benignant 100 young people. But erstwhile implicit 400 younker registered for Saturday, she had to enlistee a fewer much people, increasing the database to 66 barbers and hairsbreadth stylists and 90 volunteers.