00:00If a guy with an axe, machete or a slasher approaches you in Nairobi, what do you think of?
00:07And especially if he's going for your scalp.
00:11Certainly not the coolest haircut in the world, right?
00:14But that's what Safari Martin from Rwanda does.
00:17I was done and I gave him the opportunity to say his last word.
00:21Do not try this at home.
00:31Whoever thinks this is just a skit for media attention does not know Safari's story.
00:35Let's explore how he has transformed his craft, overcoming doubts or criticism because of being an immigrant.
00:42I started as a normal barber in 2019, cutting hair as anyone else.
00:47But as you know, this hair industry, if you're not out there on social media, you cannot make it.
00:55You can only make a living out of it if you put yourself outside there.
00:59One day I just decided to try the old African way of cutting hair.
01:03So, how does he really use these unconventional tools to give his clients a clean haircut?
01:09There are different tools. There's the slasher, there's the shovel, there's the hammer, there's the knife.
01:15African charcoal and there's the razor.
01:18So all these tools depend on how much money you have.
01:23But the shovel is bought from the city. We bring it to the village and make it sharp.
01:28So I usually use my razor to do the final hairline.
01:33Then I apply the African charcoal to make the hairline enhanced.
01:37Hair is composed of keratin, a protein that is considered dead tissue.
01:41The portion of hair above the scalp is non-living, which is why cutting it causes no pain.
01:46But with Safaree's unconventional tools, how does he ensure his clients' safety during such daring hairstyling methods?
01:53I love his type of shaving because it's different.
01:56Some tools are very real and they're very intimidating, but he's quite confident in what he does.
02:04At just 24, the Rwandese-born Safaree moved to Nairobi in late 2023
02:10and quickly made a name for himself in hairstyling and content creation.
02:14And this is despite the fact that the Kenyan capital seems to be the hotspot when it comes to barbering,
02:20because weird cuts on customers are the order of the day here, as geometric barber Zakaria Mwaora proves.
02:27When you look at my cuts, they are always perfect.
02:30I don't believe in failing to have cuts that are balanced.
02:34I believe in perfecting everything.
02:37When it comes to quirky ideas, he is certainly in no way inferior to Safaree.
02:42Now, apart from the offline tools, what does the Rwandan have over his geometric competitor?
02:48I come up with ideas, first of all, by watching a lot of tutorials.
02:53A lot of skits from other content creators and African movies.
02:58And when I'm editing my videos, I'm always in a group.
03:02I'm always having a friend or two friends tell me what they think about it.
03:06My first time, I really tried out a full haircut, and I just posted the video.
03:10In less than a month, I was from 2,000 followers.
03:14I've gotten to 180K on Instagram.
03:17There are different things that happen that make me happy.
03:20The first was being posted on The Shade Room.
03:23One day, they just DMed me.
03:25They were like, hey, can we post your content?
03:27I was like, huh, why not?
03:29A few days after that, Jason Derulo also requested if we could post one of our videos.
03:33Yeah, that's when I got to know that this is becoming a global attention.
03:36His daring artistry has earned millions of online views
03:40and the prestigious Content Creator of the Year award at the 2023 Best Content Creator Awards.
03:46Winning the 2023 BABA Grammy Award was something really great.
03:50It's something that I really never expected.
03:53So even on the night of the awards, I was all sleeping.
03:57I didn't mind even to watch the awards because I knew that I wouldn't win.
04:00Waking up that morning to find out that I'm the winner of the award, I mean, it was life-changing.
04:05What really is content creator of the year?
04:08Well, I'm a content creator.
04:11What really is his motivation for using these unusual tools in his craft?
04:15These tools have really set me apart from other BABAs
04:18because wherever you go, even on Google, chat, GPT, YouTube,
04:24you just read BABA that cuts with a knife, that cuts with a shovel, that cuts with these weird tools.
04:30I mean, I'm the only one that appears.
04:32So I really think this has put me apart from other BABAs.
04:36So I really think this has put me apart from other BABAs.
04:40The difference in tools that I use, yeah.
04:42Okay, this is about much more than cutting hair.
04:45But that's always been the case.
04:47Social politics is done at the hairdresser.
04:50And Safari Martin also educates people against prejudices of all kinds.
04:55The biggest lesson I've learned in this grooming industry
05:00is that it's not about the tools you use
05:03but it's really about the experience you give to someone that is sitting in your seat.
05:08I was done and I gave him the opportunity to say his last word.
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