Tattooed Barbers With Big Hearts: Neighborhood Barbershop To Create Reality Show

FALLS CHURCH, VA — When Dustin Foley met new friends that would become his fellow barbers, they clicked through discussions about the few places heavily tattooed people could work at. In 2016, Foley opened Neighborhood Barbershop, providing a place where the employees could be themselves and serve the community in the process.

Neighborhood Barbershop is a traditional barbershop in the sense that conversation is king. Foley and his fellow barbers Will Armstrong, Jay Ryason, Bronwyn Hill, and Tom Burr offer conversation with their haircuts.

"I fell in love with the idea of being able to goof around all day, tell stories, tell jokes and do good work like we do," Foley told Patch.

Armstrong and Ryason have been with Neighborhood Barbershop since the opening, finding direction in their lives through their work.

Armstrong told Patch he became a barber as a way to "stay out of trouble." He said he was heading down a bad path in his life when someone suggested he get barber training. He was the only man out in school with hundreds of women.

Nevertheless, it was fate when he met Foley and learned he would be opening Neighborhood Barbershop. The rest was history.

Ryason had been working in the restaurant industry for 16 years and was not getting any enjoyment out of it. But he found direction when he was getting a haircut from Foley and learned Neighborhood Barbershop would open.

"I signed up for school and put all my money into a down payment," Ryason told Patch.

Eleven weeks later, he'd finished school and became a barber at Neighborhood Barbershop when it opened. He called it the "best decision" he's even made.

Burr, who wasn't present during Patch's visit to Neighborhood Barbershop, is a barbershop veteran. According to Foley, Burr has adjusted well to the modern day barbershop, although the conversation element between barbers and customers hasn't changed.

The newest addition to the team is Hill, a military wife who relocated with him from Virginia Beach to Northern Virginia. A former cosmetologist who worked in all-female shop, she's the only female barber at Neighborhood Barbershop.

But that fact doesn't bother her, since she fits in well with Neighborhood Barbershop's "raw energy."

"I'm just as sarcastic and loud as the rest of them," Hill told Patch.

She traded mostly military clientele in Virginia Beach for government clientele in Falls Church. Now's she's trying to break the stereotype that women cannot be barbers.

"I'm trying to shine a light that there are women in this industry and we are skilled at what we do," said Hill.

Aside from being barbers who work together, Foley says they are all best friends who spend time together on holidays, vacations and other outings. Three of them — Foley, Armstrong and Ryason — even have a band together called False Church.

Building a Community

Despite the group being self-proclaimed outcasts, they've found success in the DC suburb of Falls Church. Customers had been present since day one, but they've thrived more and more with a strong presence in the community.

"I think early on, people were apprehensive based on appearance. But then it turned to, 'they're the ones with the big hearts,'" said Armstrong.

After all, Neighborhood Barbershop's brand isn't just outcasts. Their work for community and charitable causes is nonstop. One of the biggest efforts is the annualcut-a-thon, where barbers will cut hair for 24 straight hours to raise funds for a homeless shelter. They also regularly provide haircuts for the homeless, working with two of New Hope Housing's shelters in Fairfax and Arlington counties.

In May, the barbers will participate in New Hope Housing's Over the Edge, where daring participants rappel down a 14-story hotel. Neighborhood Barbershop is currently fundraising in support of the event.

The staff has also fundraised for the Falls Church Education Foundation in the Battle of Broad Street, a friendly food competition between Neighborhood Barbershop and Mister Finster's Tattoo Studio hosted by Harvey's. Neighborhood Barbershop's Ryason claimed victory as the first to sell out his food creation, a bacon-wrapped poblano pepper. However, Armstrong was declared the loser for selling out his cheeseburger sushi last and had to get an image of the winning dish in a permanent tattoo by Mister Finster's Tattoo Studio.

According to Ryason, Neighborhood Barbershop is looking to get involved with another Battle of Broad Street that Harvey's is planning for Fourth of July.

Along with community involvement, the business strongly supports inclusivity. Armstrong said given they are the "outcasts of society," they want everyone to feel welcome regardless of race or ethnicity, sexual orientation and background.

"You can feel like you've got a home here," said Armstrong.

A New Venture for the Barbers

Over the years, clients have suggested Neighborhood Barbershop pursue their own reality show, given their tight-knit group, barbershop antics and community efforts. Armstrong pitched the idea to the other barbers, and to his surprise, they were all supportive.

The show's working title is "Running with Scissors. They are working with Falls Church-based Torasu Productions on the concept, which focuses on four misfit barbers giving back in one of America's wealthiest cities.

"We've been told no our whole lives. This no's not going to stop us," said Armstrong.

"In our heads, it's going to happen. We're going to do one season no matter what," added Ryason.

The business has secured funding for the show and is pitching the concept to networks. A sneak preview reel was unveiled to the community at Clare and Don's Beach Shack in January.

Hill said there's much to explore in the show, from the barbers' appearances to the work they do and where they go in the "Little City."

"I think it's a world that not a lot of light has been shed on," said Hill. "There's been nothing on the tattooed misfit barber and being in the wealthiest city."

Foley also sees the show as a way to generate interest for Falls Church. During production, they plan to bring a camera crew to the places they go around Falls Church and bring in local restaurants as caterers.

That's their way of thanking a city that has given the misfits a place to call home.