From Cutting Hair in His Mom’s Garage to Reaching 11 Million People on TikTok, Meet the Barber Who Went Viral for Giving Haircuts to Strangers
Over the past few years, TikTok has become an essential part of our lives. From finding the newest Latino-inspired recipes to watching entertaining videos of animals, the platform offers content for all tastes.
But TikTok is also a great platform to find inspiration and learn about what’s going on in our communities. And one source of inspiration is the story of the viral barber Vic Blends.
Vic Blends is the stage name for 22-year-old Victor Fontanez. He started cutting hair in his mom’s garage in Fayetteville, North Carolina, as a side hustle while getting through high school.
After going to barber school, he ended up moving to Atlanta. He gained notoriety for being a barber in the city’s booming rap scene, shaping the hairstyles of celebrities like NLE Choppa, Mozzy, Lil Baby, Nelly, and NBA players like Trae Young.
But when the pandemic hit, he couldn’t work as a barber. So, like a lot of us, he had to reinvent himself to get by and pivoted to creating videos on TikTok.
From barber to influencer for a good cause
Blends explained his process on the Nick Cannon show in November: “I’m a barber, and I thought that was all I had to offer to the world. That’s what everybody knew me for. I was cutting celebrities, and it was something cool to look at. But the one thing I was good at got [taken] from me.”
“So now I’m sitting at the crib wondering who is Victor Fontanez if he can never cut hair again? Then I realized god blessed my voice long before he blessed my hands. You gotta reinvent yourself,” he shared. Since then, he’s blessed audiences with his wisdom via TikTok, sharing videos of him cutting hair and talking about life to his 11 million followers.
Most people tune in to watch his motivational videos, where he asks people on the street if he can cut their hair and then talks to them about their story. But Vic Blends also uses his TikTok and other social media platforms to share his opinions on bad haircuts, community issues, and even financial advice.
In one video, Vic stops a teenager in Venice Beach, California, and, after some hesitation, convinces him to get his first haircut in a year—the two talk about the effects of the pandemic and the decision not to pursue higher education.
Vic tells the teenager that he went through a similar situation where his parents were scared about him going to barber school instead of college but, in the end, came around to supporting him, saying, “If you want your family to be behind your dream you gotta prove it to them with your acting.”
It’s deep conversations like this that made Vic Blends grow popular on TikTok
They’re stories we can relate to and find inspiration in. Vic shows that one person can make a difference, one haircut and conversation at a time.
Despite the fame he’s gained as a barber and influencer, Vic hasn’t forgotten about the community he came from. In December, he returned to his hometown, Fayetteville, to organize an event that gave out free haircuts, toys, food, and clothes to children in the community.
“To me, what’s a blessing if you can’t share with other people?” Vic told the Fayetteville Observer. “God placed me in a very special position last year in my life, and I know it ain’t for selfish reasons. I don’t think blessings come to hold to yourself. It’s there to share with others.”
