"It's not my cutting style its really because I'm the shit"
Barber, artist, puppeteer, interior designer, event planner, and the list goes on. All of these hats belong the incomparable Douglas “Doug” Thompkins, owner and head barber of Flavaz Styling Team in Atlanta, Ga. As a young boy of only 13 years old Doug discovered the art of barbering. “Barbering is what I do for fun and art is my passion,” says Doug in our recent interview. Being that he was an artist first enabled his creative mind to push forward into what would catapult to a career that would thrive for 25 years and counting.
Growing up in Atlanta, Ga. Doug always had the ambitions of a hustler. 15 was the legal age to apprentice for barbering in the state of Georgia, so a young Doug would catch the bus from school, to the shop, and back home and built his clientele that way. After high school he decided to go off to college at Alabama State University and changed his dorm room to a barbershop. Doug was so in demand he would still come back to Atlanta 3 days a week to cut his loyal clients. Being that barbering was such a success Doug decided that his two years of college was enough and barbering would be his fulltime career. All of these things led him to open his first barbershop in Atlanta at age 20.
Aside from running a business and his personal life, Doug embarked upon competitions. He builds his own sets, styles his model, has full makeup, and hair styles with structure of the Tahj Mahal. He’s won over 50 hair competitions including: Best Barber Award from Ford, Best Barber Award from AT&T, four time Barber Battle winner, four time Hair Battle winner, Barber Legend Award from Bronner Brothers, and so on. When asked what made him want to go out to dominate in competitions he said, “I just like to win! It’s like taking a deep breath from coming out of the pool. It’s a feeling you yearn for, the crowd appreciates it.”
As barbers I’m sure everyone wants to know Doug’s tools of choice. His favorites are the Wahl Masters and Andis T-Liner. He wants people to realize that, “It ain’t the clippers, it’s the barber. You can’t use but one tool at a time.” With select tools, precision, and raw talent he has cultivated a cutting style that is beyond compare.
Though it seems that his list of accolades couldn’t be more impressive, the list goes on. Educating within the industry for 10 plus years Doug wants people to know that in order to get to another level it’s going to take time and money. “Respect the trade and never stop learning,” says Doug. When he got his start in the industry he traveled to hair shows near and far on his own dime to be in the audience to scope not only the artists on stage, but the actual audience themselves. This observation led him to pay closer attention to stylists to be able to do more that just a typical taper.
Comrade and former business partner Terrence Davidson were in accordance when it came to coming up with name for the now Flavaz Styling Team. Doug being a barber and Davidson being a stylist were sitting around one day and Doug blurted out, “Man we got flava!” and the rest is history.
In recent years social media has been at the forefront of promotion and entertainment. Though Doug is old school and is used to beepers and flip phones, social media has been a great tool to have access to. During the February 2014 snowstorm in Atlanta, he utilized Instagram to communicate that the streets leading to his shop were open and ready for business. He keeps a steady clientele base, but for business purposes social media is a great (not to mention free) way to promote any endeavors one may have.
Being the father of three and the role model of many he holds true to the term of “hard work.” This is the legacy he will live out and that will live on.
If you are looking to keep up with Doug check out his website: www.flavazstylingteam.com, follow him on instagram @dougflavaz or simply visit him and his team at Flavaz in Atlanta, Ga. Doug also wants everyone to come check him out all three days at the Outkast #ATLast concert where he’ll be painting during performances on stage.
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4 |WINTER | 2014
BARBER SPOTLIGHT
by Lori D. Johnson
Doug
Thompkins