Safari — the barber with machete and shovel - video Dailymotion

DW (English)

This Rwandan-born barber is not only taking over Nairobi and TikTok but is taking hairstyling to another level! Could Safari Martin be the world’s coolest barber? Watch this and decide for yourself!

Transcript

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.

Safari — the barber with machete and shovel

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