golf Mike Hatch to give the 23-year-old a shot.
“ I mean, obviously, he’ s a tremendous people-person,” Hatch said.“ He’ s very charismatic. He’ s very, very good at working with people. He has a huge passion for the game of golf.”
Hanover was a smart starting point. It had a small membership, and Barber executed the Hatch playbook well— giving lessons, keeping the pro shop stocked with merchandise, coordinating club events, and more.
There was also a sense of pride in being a young Black man holding a head golf professional position at a club in a county where, according to the 2020 U. S. Census, more than 80 % of the population is white.
“ As you think back to my grandfather, who grew up in Richmond, they remembered separate fountains,” Barber said.
“ My grandparents remember when Tarrants, which is a restaurant we enjoy very much now, was a whites-only pharmacy. So, it was pretty cool to see that, even though that’ s ages ago now, they experienced that generation— and in the same lifetime, they were able to see their grandson become a head pro at a club that they otherwise, maybe many years ago, wouldn’ t have been able to play at.”
STARTING POINTS But Barber couldn’ t shake the acting bug. With the golf social media space taking off, he decided to start making his own content. Admittedly, not everyone at the club loved it at the start.
“ At first they thought,‘ We don’ t know if our head pro should be making this type of content.’ But I truly do consider myself a comedian at heart; I like making fun of things that sometimes people might not want to talk about,” Barber said. Over time, the club realized his online persona was just that— a character he plays for laughs. As Barber put it, he treats his Instagram like a TV show, creating episodes that showcase this exaggerated version of himself.“ I’ m giving people episodes of this character.”
“ And I really never expected it to be this full-time thing that it is now,” he added.
In 2022, Barber reached a crossroads. The social media content was taking off, but it was hard to fully invest his time in it while working 60- to 70-hour weeks at Hanover. As he noted,“ If you’ re going to take a risk and bet on yourself, now’ s the time.”
As his content has grown, so have sponsorship opportunities— though he picks his spots carefully. Barber also considers himself a cigar aficionado, having had his first cigar with his father when he turned 18. Now he has a line of his own cigars through Greenside Cigars, with $ 10 of every box sold going to the Global Lyme Alliance. As someone who’ s been diagnosed with Lyme Disease, it’ s a charity close to his heart.
LOOKING FORWARD Barber is an active member at The Club at Viniterra, has a 2.0 Handicap Index, and still plays plenty of golf. He drives it far and straight and can dial up the occasional spectacular shot, like he did at Keswick when he holed out from left and short of the 8th green for birdie.
Both golf and comedy have opened doors for Barber. He still pinches himself when he talks about playing golf with Stephen Curry, interacting with Hollywood stars like Anthony Anderson, or playing in charity events with NFL veterans like Victor Cruz. The“ bet on himself” seems to be paying off handsomely.
What’ s next? Barber aspires to create his own TV show, go on a comedy tour, anything to keep the momentum rolling.
“ I just always knew I loved making people laugh,” he said.“ And I knew that we always live in this kind of this dark world where everybody is angry and sad and people are mad at each other all the time. I wanted to create very shareable content, something that whether you were laughing with me, laughing at me, or saying,‘ Who does this guy think he is?’ Whatever the reason, you’ re going to send it to your friend.
“ I’ m passionate about acting, I’ m passionate about creating, and that’ s what I want to do.”
“ If you’ re going to take a risk and bet on yourself, now’ s the time.”
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