April 08, 2016

The Sweeney Todd musical incident in Auckland made me reminisce on my time living in Nepal.

A visit to any barber in Kathmandu would not be complete without a cut-throat shave.

Of course there is a huge trust factor involved – a complete stranger is literally holding a razor close to your throat . . . yet every barber I met over there had ridiculous skill and also great energy.

The first time I was nervous as hell, but after the first amazing experience I was hooked.

It became a ritual . . . every few days I would walk into a barber shop and the barber would usually give me one of those distinctive head-bobbles you experience so often in India and Nepal.

When my turn came, the barber uncurled the razor and placed a fresh blade in the tip. He proceeded slowly and with artistic patience, wiping the blade with a towel on his arm after each brush of the blade.

There would often ensue a drawn out body language debate about ‘no moustache’ . . . as if their default vision of what a man looks like includes a moustache.

You walk out of the shop feeling like a new man…Zen Mani Padme Hum Refreshed! I never once got cut or even nicked by any barber I visited.

You get the safest, closet and by far the best shave of your life . . . for around 60 Rupees = less than a dollar!

I believe there is no better way to pamper yourself for a normal, non metrosexual men than to indulge in a cut-throat shave (No Jersey Shore, real men don’t do Gym, Tan or Laundry!)

Women have day spas, tanning salons, hair dressers, nail salons, make up and beauty salons and so on as places where they can transform into the best versions of themselves – fresh and clean and filled with confidence, even if only for that night.

Yet almost every man won’t get their nails or make up done . . . the only thing they will likely do is go to their local barber shop and get a hair cut. The shame of it is that not enough barber shops offer a cut throat shave service and if they do, it is prohibitively expensive.

Men want to feel sexy too and there is something incredibly powerful about having the closest and best shave of your life – like when you put on your best suit to go to a wedding.

MASSIVE VALUE MARKETING IDEA: Any barber shop who offers a hair cut and cut-throat shave combo as a mens pamper package at a decent price could easily double their current income . . . as long as they don’t go all Sweeney Todd on their customers!

Massive Value to the last breath,

Ben