“A haircut can do so much for someone.”
It is this mantra that inspired Nasir Sobhani to begin his “Clean Cut, Clean Start” initiative.
Known as “The Streets Barber,” Nasir dedicates his one day off a week to give free haircuts to the homeless.
What inspired Nasir to perform this generous act? It all began two years ago. Nasir was speaking with a former heroin addict who he met because the former addict washed the windows of the salon Nasir worked at. To honor being clean for a month, the man wanted a fresh haircut to celebrate. Nasir was happy to help, and when the man’s mother took a photograph of her son’s transformation, she smiled through tears.
The raw emotion from the encounter left a deep impression on Nasir, leading him to realize that he can use his passion to do some tremendous good in people’s lives, especially for those who really need it such as the homeless.
After all, Nasir can relate to their plight quite well. As a former cocaine addict, Nasir understands what it’s like to feel as though you’ve hit rock bottom.
“I remember the days of when I used to just hate myself, and not even look in the mirror without crying because I would just be so disgusted at who I was. And I find that, like, embedded within a lot of my street clients. They feel so ashamed of who they are,” Nasir says in a PLGRM documentary focusing on his kind deeds. “They need actual human contact. They need some stimulus to help engage them in some intimacy with human beings who actually care for them.”
And Nasir does just that. He engages in interesting and riveting conversation while cutting their hair, discussing topics such as music and religion. He also genuinely asks about them, such as how his homeless clients ended up on the streets and what they’re doing to get by. Sometimes their discussion topics grow more somber, such as inquiring about one man’s alcohol reliance to deal with the loneliness of the streets.
But Nasir returns their confidence, revealing some personal details of his own past struggles to offer hope in the idea of starting over.
“Cocaine was the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me,” he shares. “The reason was, because it sped my way to recovery.”
Nasir’s passion for barbering, along with his Baha’i faith, paved the way for his successful recovery. As a result, it seems somewhat fitting that he uses his instrumental tool for recovery to help others in need.
Above all, the idea behind Nasir’s “Clean Cut, Clean Start” initiative is to give his clients a clean start to life.
With the confidence of their fresh haircuts, they can try and move past their struggles and look forward to a brighter future.
It just goes to show that even the smallest gesture can make a tremendous impact on people’s lives.
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