MEMPHIS, Tenn. — After years of cutting hair, the owner of Shop Open Barbershop, Xavier Baldwin now uses his business to start meaningful conversations.
“Over the years I got good at it. So my family doesn’t have to worry about haircuts anymore,” Baldwin said.
Barbering quickly became a passion of his, so he easily made a living out of it. The day that he had to talk one of his customers out of committing suicide, he realized being a barber meant so much more.
“Your clients become your friends. Things they have going on in their lives, they come tell you about,” Baldwin said.
He now hosts a podcast in the same shop he owns, giving people the opportunity to have real, open conversations surrounded around men’s mental health, empowerment, and fatherhood.
“Growing up, I always wanted a father. It was something I always wanted,” Baldwin said.
The Shop Talk 901 podcast recently featured well-known Memphis rapper Al Capone and a well-known Memphis mental health doctor.
“We go through so much, and you don’t really realize how much it affects you mentally. Instead of talking to someone for help, we deal with the mental issues on a day to day basis,”
As a parent to 4 girls with one more on the way, Baldwin hopes these conversations spark the change he feels the community needs to make life better for everyone. Especially his kids.
“I want them to know there are other outlets. All you have to do is keep going,” Baldwin said.