Peleti Oli, a Hastings barber, was winner of the Master Creator category and Master Pattern category at the national BarberCraft competition. Photo / Duncan Brown
Peleti Oli, a Hastings barber, was winner of the Master Creator category and Master Pattern category at the national BarberCraft competition. Photo / Duncan Brown
Local barber Peleti Oli won big at the recent national BarberCraft competition. He talks to Mark Story about the rise of the industry.
What sparked your interest in barbering? Back at Hastings Boys' High School, in Year 11, my good friend John Whiunui said to me 'your hair would look goodwith a 'FADE'. I said 'what's a Fade?' and he said let me cut your hair and I'll show you'. That's where my barbering journey started.
Barbers seem to be enjoying a resurgence - why is this? Barbering has found its 'cool' again. It's traditional barbering with a modern twist. It's become like how tattooing now is - popular with everyone. I follow the urban American culture so barbering in the US has never lost its cool. Over there they have big barbering expos. Even barber competitions in nightclubs! So I guess us Kiwis are slowly catching up. I feel as a barber it's part of my responsibility to bridge that gap and keep our people up with the trends.
So, what's the difference between a barber and a hairstylist? I feel there is not much difference between barbering and hairdressing. Hairdressers tend to do a lot of shear (scissor work) on longer hair. Barbers favour the clippers a bit more for shorter lengths. The stereotype with not allowing women into a barbershop is becoming a myth because a lot of women are now getting shaved sides with designs and we love to cater for that.
Beards and moustaches too – are they part of what you do and if so, are they part of a barber's training these days? Yes the traditional hot towel face shave has made a comeback. Men love to grow beards so we take care of keeping their beards groomed and sharp. They do include face shaving and beard grooming training at barber schools. It's now become part of the assessments, especially at HITO.
You've said barbering is 'spiritual' for you – what do you mean by that? My friend who taught me how to barber, John Whiunui, has now passed away. I taught my brother Someh how to barber before he passed away in 2012. So this barber journey is special and very spiritual for me because they are no longer here on earth. It's become my duty to continue both their legacies through barbering as a thanks to them. So when I compete at BarberCraft I can feel their presence on stage with me as I'm cutting. I didn't do any formal training yet I have become a national barber champ. All thanks to the big man upstairs. All glory goes to him.
