Joseph Devine has been a barber for 10 years and currently works at Black L’Amour Barbers in Brighton. Alongside seeing his clients, Joseph also hosts his own YouTube series, which combines barbering with his love for content creation. Here, Joseph shares more about his social media endeavours, tells us about the time he worked with The Black Eyed Peas and sheds a light on the main challenges facing barbers right now.
You currently work at Black L’Amour Barbers – how important is it to find the right shop for you? What did you look out for when searching for a shop to work in?
I think it’s so important to find the right barbershop for you. In the first few years of my career, I worked in shops that had a lot of 'lad culture’. There's nothing wrong with that, but it’s just not me. Unfortunately, this made me question whether barbering was for me, as at the time there weren’t many other vibes out there—at least not in my area. Nowadays, there’s so much variety and so many options for both barbers and clients. It’s definitely worth trying a bit of trial and error. Something I’d look out for is the interior design and the music the shop plays. These are good indicators of whether the vibe aligns with you.
Tell us a bit more about Section D?
Section D is a YouTube series I started about a year ago, where I invite guests to the shop and interview them while giving them a haircut. I’ve always had a love for content creation, and for a number of years I’d been trying to figure out a way to combine barbering and content creation in a new and exciting way.
Do you think it’s helped you reach new clients?
It’s definitely helped me reach new clients – that was the original idea. It’s a win-win and benefits everyone involved. It promotes me and my skills as a barber, promotes my guests, and promotes the shop. People want to get their hair cut in a barbershop where a local celebrity or cool, interesting person has been.
Do you think barbers need to be active on social media to be successful?
I think it depends on how you define success as a barber. Is success having thousands of followers on Instagram, or is it having consistently fully booked days in the shop? Social media definitely helps with the latter, and it’s deeply embedded in our society now, so you may as well use it to your advantage. That said, good old-fashioned customer service and word of mouth still go a long way and can bring you the success you're looking for. If you're aiming for busy days in the shop, social media isn't crucial, but it definitely helps!
What do you think are the main challenges facing barbers right now?
Finding a quality booking system. It might not be the most obvious issue, but it’s definitely something my colleagues and I deal with on a weekly basis. We need something that is affordable but also includes features like deposits and pre-paid appointments for no-shows. Most importantly, it needs to be easy for clients to use and navigate—and without any unnecessary fees.
It's also no secret that the cost-of-living crisis in this country is a serious issue right now, and the costs of running any high street shop are becoming more expensive. While I’m not a barbershop owner, I do think the industry could benefit from more support from the government.
What’s the highlight of your career to date?
Cutting The Black Eyed Peas' hair before they headlined Brighton Pride in 2023. It was an amazing and surreal experience. I went to their hotel rooms, and it was one of those moments where you just think, ‘Wow, this is crazy!’ I would absolutely love to do something like that again.
Do you have any goals for 2025?
My main goals are to continue growing Section D by bringing in bigger guests for the hot seat, getting on stage to do some live cutting at major events and continuing to develop my skills as a barber.
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