Daar issie vir Cape Town se barbers nie.
The Mother City was well represented at the annual national Bump Patrol’s Battle of the Barbers Super Slick Finale in Johannesburg over the weekend.
Barbers entered by making videos showing off their skills and sent them in.
Only six finalists were selected from over 80 barbers from across the country, and FIVE of them were from Cape Town, the other being from Joburg.
The five - from Atlantis, Mitchells Plain and Bonteheuwel - were a cut above and brought home both the first and second prize.
The manne were flown up to the City of Gold by Bump Patrol and on Saturday, Amien Hare, 27, from Morgen’s Village, scooped the first prize and pocketed R30 000.
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A post shared by Bump Patrol Africa(@bumppatrolafrica) on Oct 20, 2019 at 3:03am PDT
Amien says he will use the cash to open up his own shop, a dream he has had for many years.
“It was truly a special moment for me, I cried,” the barber said on Monday.
“Whatever I do, I do for my wife and two children. I’ve been a barber for 13 years and only seven years ago I went full-time.
“I work at Eve & Steve in Promenade Mall but can now open my own shop which is the dream,” Amien says.
In addition to the R30k, Amien also won the Wahl 100-year anniversary limited edition clippers valued at R8 000, and received a trophy and the coveted Bump Patrol apron, which cannot be bought, only earned.
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A post shared by Bump Patrol Africa(@bumppatrolafrica) on Oct 19, 2019 at 12:47pm PDT
“Winning this competition changes everything for me. I had a tough life and now I can secure a future for my children so they may get all the opportunities I did not, and they can be secure,” the father says.
The runner-up was Bonteheuwel’s very own pattern master, Adiel Salie, 37, who’s been cutting hair since the age of 16.
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Congratulations to our runner up @adielsalie! #Masterbarber #superslick #bumpbarbers
A post shared by Bump Patrol Africa(@bumppatrolafrica) on Oct 19, 2019 at 12:45pm PDT
Adiel already owns his own barbershop and says he was actually after the bragging rights.
“Since last year I’ve been entering competitions, doing my best but I started losing hope and became demotivated,” he says.
However, his luck recently turned.
“Three weeks ago I entered into the Duel of the Barbers in Paarl and I won the pattern category. And on Saturday, I was runner-up for the Bump Patrol competition.”
He says he didn’t know who he’d be up against at Bump Patrol and was pleasantly surprised when he recognised his fellow Capetonians.
“It truly was something else. We all knew each other and having 90% of us from Cape Town was amazing.”