An Architect of Hair

Spike the Barber. Submitted photo.

When hockey players, ATV riders and snowmobile enthusiasts descend on Kangaroo Lake for Baileys Harbor’s second annual Winter Carnival on Feb. 7, Green Bay’s Spike the Barber will be doing what he does best – making gentlemen look spiffy with retro haircuts as part of Door County Brewing Company’s Winter Carnival SideShow.

The event, dubbed the “Shave & Shake,” will celebrate men’s haircuts the old-fashioned way by offering up appointments under the brewery’s chandelier with music on vinyl as an accompaniment.

Spike has been in the business for 10 years, after an odd job delivering dry cleaning during a midwinter blizzard led him to the cozy confines of a Fond du Lac barbershop.

“I saw these barbers cutting hair and it was warm, and it looked like they were having fun even in the middle of a blizzard,” Spike recalled. “I thought, ‘Wow, that looks like a cool trade.’”

But beyond that initial glimpse, Spike noted the age of the barbers in the three shops on Main Street in Fond du Lac.

“They were close to retirement,” he said. “It was a skilled trade that I saw would have a need based on the fact that most barbers were older.”

He started talking with the barbers, getting background on the job, and then enrolled in barber school. In the decade since, he has apprenticed at Benz Barber Shop, worked at Russ’ Barber Shop, and last year, started his own shop in Green Bay – Spike’s Barber Shop & Shave Parlor.

While his beginnings in barbering were unintentional, the course of his life in the trade has been carefully crafted to reflect the true nature of 1950s-era barbershops.

When he comes to work Tuesday through Sunday (his shop is closed Mondays, a longtime tradition of barbers), he dons the classic barber getup: dress pants, dress shirt, tie, vest and hat. The chair in his shop, on which customers’ hair is shaped and their stubble cut clean, is authentic from the 1950s and he does his work to the tunes of the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s.

“Everything is very throwback, traditional, from the straight razor outline to the aftershave on the neck after the haircut,” Spike said. “Closed on Mondays. That’s all what makes a barber a real barber in the traditional sense.”

Spike himself owns what he says is the only “true, full service barbershop” north of Milwaukee and Madison. A full service barbershop is one that offers not only haircuts, but straight razor shaves as well.

Spike’s Barber Shop & Shave Parlor. Submitted photo.

It is that respect for the traditions of the trade that has led to his popularity at retro culture events – for several years, he has brought his mobile barbershop to events throughout the Midwest, offering retro haircuts to people whose lives revolve around honoring pre-1964 rockabilly culture.

The Shave & Shake sideshow at Door County Brewing Company will be his first venture into the brewery world. He was fortunate to have a relationship with the McMahon family (as their barber, nonetheless) and was able to run the idea by them.

“We’re trying to do stuff that is creative and unique to what other people are doing,” brewery owner John McMahon said. “You would just not expect to have your hair cut at a brewery but to think about, as a kid, you went to the brewery to get your hair cut? That’s kind of a cool thing. I just think that’s really unique and we have such a great spot for it. I think it fits in really nice to what we try to do.”

With today’s hair trends focused more on what’s on your face than what’s on your head, Spike’s brewery tours will highlight the lumberjack-esque look of 20-somethings – a generation focused on finding the unique in a world of mass produced goods.

“Males of today have a mixed market,” Spike said. “They’re looking for microbrews, underground barbers – they’re looking for something that’s unique and special to make them feel like, ‘I’m part of something unique.’”

That’s what Spike is here to do. While many view hairstyling as a sort of art, Spike views himself as more of an architect, with structure (rather than creativity) the focus of his craft.

“I have no artistic element to myself; I’m not artsy, I don’t see things like an artist would as far as colors and creativity like that,” Spike said. “The way I was taught and the way barbering is taught, it’s very structured … I look at myself as not an artist, but more of a sculptor or architect of hair.”

But the result is undeniable art, whether it’s in the form of a faux hawk, Mohawk, military cut, flat top, fade or today’s most popular requests – the executive contour and the pompadour.

In his decade in the business, Spike has seen many trends come and go (he himself has tried “every hairstyle known to man” but has settled on a completely shaven head). The inspiration behind most of these is, not surprisingly, movies and television.

“A lot of guys have been coming in wanting this look of Brad Pitt in Fury, that’s the latest trend,” Spike explained. “It’s very cyclical. Another is David Beckham, his hairstyle has definitely influenced guys for years.”

While he doesn’t often run into the issue of men not knowing what hairstyle they want, Spike will have a selection of photos available for any daring last-minute man who signs up for a cut at the brewery. They might not know what haircut to expect, but one thing is clear – the experience will be unforgettable.

“They are going to get a haircut that’s like none other – it’s going to be like what a traditional barber does, and what a traditional barber does is makes a male look his best,” Spike said. “It’s an experience that makes you feel good when you’re done and it makes you look good. If you look good, you feel good. All around it’s just a nostalgic piece of Americana that every man should experience at least once in his life.”

Haircuts by Spike will take place on Saturday, Feb. 7 from 11:30am – 6pm at Door County Brewing Company, 2434 County F in Baileys Harbor. Haircuts are $25 (no straight razor shaves will be offered). To schedule a haircut, call the brewery at 920.839.1515.