Congratulations on your shop! I have known you since
high school but never expected you take this this direction.
Can you fill us in on how you ended up in hair-cutting and
setting up your own barbershop?
Ian Balaccua: Thanks! Neither did I!
Back when I was an intern in 2014, I stumbled upon a documentary
about the Schorem Barbers of Rotterdam. That’s the first time I saw barbers
who were slick, well-dressed and covered in tattoos. Also, around that time,
I did not know that a similar scene was brewing here in the Philippines. For
me, the Slick Barbers Co. started the barbering and pomade culture here.
They were also the inspiration for me to drop whatever I was doing [at the
time], and pick up the clipper and razor.
Opposite page: The barber-
bosses of Underboss Barbercafé
Below: Owner Ian Balaccua
Can you describe the initial aha moment for Underboss?
Marikina is a quiet and laid-back city. Before I opened up shop, there weren’t
concept barbershops around. I thought, “Why not build one?” I established the
first concept shop with a vision of promoting the barbering culture. With that in
mind, even if competitors came around, I would still be unique.
What was your goal for setting up Underboss,
your mission or vision of sorts for it? What do
you want to achieve?
The initial vision/mission was to promote
barbering as a craft and viable career. I also wanted
people to see that one can make it as a barber. I’ve
heard a lot of comments made, not specifically to
me, like “Sayang ka naman, magba-barbero ka lang”
(“It’s a shame you’re only set out to be a barber”) or
“Malaki ba kita diyan?” (“Does it even pay well?”). I
wanted to change that through Underboss.
Underboss is proudly barber-owned and
barber-operated. In a way, as long as Underboss
stands, that idea also stands.
Was Underboss a solitary undertaking?
Who were your collaborators for the shop?
Underboss started as a “barber-café”. I
operated the barbershop while my mom and
sister operated a small snack bar that served
coffee, frappuccinos, burgers, fries, etc. My
sister recently built a small tattoo shop within
the confines of Underboss.
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