30 Jun ‘Trying to Get My Lines as Crispy as I Can’: Youth Get in the Barber Battle Flow

Dozens of young, aspiring barbers from around the Bay Area and as far as Fresno participated in the School’s Out Barber Battle at Conbello Academy in Pittsburg on June 22.

Story and photos by Denis Perez-Bravo

Middle and high school barbers from across California came to Pittsburg on June 22 to compete for trophies and professional recognition in an event designed to give underground talent a guide toward career paths.

The School’s Out Barber Battle drew youth from cities like Fresno, Pittsburg, San Francisco, Newark and Hayward to compete in five categories judged by licensed Bay Area barbers, organizer Tati Hernandez, 29, said.

Hernandez, her mother, Joanna Hernandez, and Tracy Clark, a 34-year-old West Pittsburg resident, teamed up with Ivan Contreras to host the event at his Conbello Academy.

The all-day competition departed from traditional barber battles that require professional licenses and opened the doors for underage participants to display their craft publicly, the younger Hernandez said.

“We want to motivate them to go to Barber College and not just graduate [from] high school and keep cutting in the garage,” she said.

Among the competitors was 16-year-old Edgar the Barber, who traveled from Fresno with teammate JoelBlurrzz for the student tag team category. Edgar spent weeks preparing, practicing with experienced barbers, and completing three to four tag team sessions weekly.

“I’ve been working with people who’ve won trophies, trying to get my lines as crispy as I can,” Edgar said. “They’re looking at how it connects, how everything flows without cuts or splatter.”

 

The competition served multiple purposes for participants beyond winning trophies. Edgar used the event to network and promote his family’s barber supply store in Fresno called Diamond Pressure Supply.

“Instagram helps spread the word, but coming to these events helps with branding,” he said. While fun, Edgar said, competing and networking are also a good business move.

When asked about his motivation in barbering, he kept it simple: “Passion, bro. That’s it.”

Clark, a 2010 Pittsburg High School graduate who pioneered youth-focused barber competitions, recognized students were already cutting hair despite the risk of getting in trouble for doing it in the wrong settings.

“These kids are cutting hair in junior high in the bathrooms and getting in trouble for it,” Clark said. “Let’s bring y’all in, with open arms, and show y’all we can do it.”

 

Clark launched a Barbering and Financial Literacy class at Pittsburg High in 2018 after returning from Washington State University, where he played football on scholarship.

The program “sparked fire as soon as I started it,” he said. His first youth-focused barber battle in 2022 featured established barbers including 360 Geezy and Cuts by Matt. The concept initially surprised industry professionals in his circle.

“They were just like, man, you’re throwing a battle for high school kids? I’m like, yeah. We’re going to put it on for them,” Clark said.

Multiple competitions have followed since, and he hopes to organize another just before school resumes, he said.

Another motivated barber in the competition was 13-year-old Giovani Sarpec from Redwood City.

 

Hernandez told the crowd that Giovani inspired this event because he continued to ask her to organize something for underage barbers after he attended a Bay Area Student Barber Expo event on Dec. 15, 2024.

“I just asked if I could compete,” Giovani said.

Despite initial nervousness about his first competition, Giovani entered four categories: the Honor Roll Taper, Beat the Bell Fade, Art Class Freestyle and Group Project Tag Team.

Apart from these four categories, two young girls also faced off in the Lunchroom Braids category.

 

Micah Bruce-Bahati, a 32-year-old Oakland barber cutting hair in Richmond, was one of the judges.

“We’re just looking for some of the cleanest blends, no lines left, you know, sharp hairline, making sure the hair just kind of fits the canvas,” said Bruce-Bahati, a.k.a. Mike Willcut.

Bruce-Baharti’s barbering background began in childhood with his military barber father, but he didn’t pursue it professionally until his wife became an aesthetician and showed him the entrepreneurial possibilities. They opened their own shop next to Nicholl Park in Richmond after he graduated from barber school.

To stand out amid the competition, Bruce-Baharti believes success comes from authenticity. “As long as you know, be unique and be yourself, you’re going to attract the clientele that is looking for that.”

 

For student competitors, Bruce-Bahati emphasized the value of performing under pressure. “I hope that you bear down, knuckle up, and get ready for the competition because if you could cut in an environment like this, then you could cut anywhere.”

The young barbers provided inspiration to the adult haircutters who came to judge or support the event.

Draun Manning, the emcee of the event, traveled from Reno, Nevada, to witness what he says represents the future of the barbering industry.

Manning, who goes by “Jack of All Fades,” has been cutting hair for five years and recently won a Barber Grammy at the CT Barber Expo.

 

He said opportunities like this weren’t available when he started his career. “When I started, I never saw kids cutting — you know what I’m saying?” he said. “This is tight, man.”

Manning emphasized that success in the industry requires dedication, and events like these can generate determination in the competitors, he said.

“I just expect to see some hungry, motivated young people that’s going to do something crazy. This is the future of the industry. That’s what I get to see today,” Manning said.