THE Evening Times recently caught up with Alan Findly and Colin Bauld, owners of Glasgow Barbers Rebel Rebel, to find out more about their story. 

How long has Rebel Rebel been around and how did it all start?

We have been developing the brand over the last 10 years. It all started with a conversation in a kitchen with two long term friends and now business partners over the possibility of creating a totally unique type of barbershop that was open to everyone and focused on a quality service that we felt wasn’t available at that time. We started in 2008 just as the financial crash was happening so we fought tooth and nail to survive. We had a focus and a pioneering mentality that it was the right thing to do. 

Who is Rebel Rebel for?

It's for anyone and everyone: male, female, young, old and everyone in between! Our aim is to focus on the individual and to give them a great service and experience topped off with a fantastic haircut. Our barbers are individuals and we help teach them how to be professionals in their chosen industry. We teach them to tell the client the truth and to help them understand what is and isn’t possible.

How has the business grown over the years?

Massively is the answer, but it’s not just our business - it’s the full industry. Barbering has made a stand again as a true profession. Barbershops have had to up their game in order to survive. New shops have popped up everywhere with better quality barbers. The customer has driven this growth and we are thankful for it. 

What awards or achievements have you received?

We have won multiple awards over our tenure including Scotland’s best barbershop for a number of years, best female barber, best male barber and best apprentice, to name a few. We have taken on young apprenticeships and trained barbers to achieve SVQ level. We love a challenge and some of the best barbers are those that have experienced a challenge in their life.

Tell us about your shop in Finnieston and what does the future hold? 

We chased the current shop in Finnieston for nearly four years and finally succeeded to sign a lease and after 8 months of renovations we opened in October 2016. Business was going great but unfortunately had a fridge fault fire in September 2017 so we didn’t even get our first year under our belt but the good news is it's about a week away from re-opening. The local community has been great and the number of well wishers for our soon return have been amazing. We’re looking to expand into other services and retail offerings so stay tuned. 

You’ve recently launched the Made Academy – what’s it all about?

It’s been a dream of Alan’s to be able to pass on his knowledge and give others the chance of being involved within the barbering industry. The MADE academy of Modern Barbering came about through a conversation with a friend and one of the heads of the hairdressing department at Kelvin College. We’ve all agreed there was a gap in the market for college-based learning with the skills of real life Barbershop. So, we decided to join forces and create the MADE Academy for Modern barbering. Rebel Rebel take care of the training and barbering education using the very best of our barber educators combined with Kelvin college’s expertise in accreditation and managing student courses, as well as all their resources for modern learning.

MADE is a unique course in the UK where you can learn Barbershop Ready skills in a working Barbershop environment to achieve a City & Guilds qualification which is recognized across the world.

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