CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. – Near the corner of Harrowgate and Old Hundred Roads in Chester, customers stroll into Clippers 3.0.
“I appreciate you coming in today," said barber Thai Nguyen to his regular client.
Nguyen shows off his skills with a steady hand on the clippers. The 24-year-old isn't quick to admit it, but he's become what some might call a celebrity barber.
One year ago, Nguyen started posting videos of his specialty textured fringe blowout taper cuts to Instagram and TikTok.
WATCH: Can TikTok famous barber Thai Nguyen turn Will into a 10?
“I started seeing other barbers blowing up, so I was like, dang, like, if they could do I could do it too," Nguyen said.
Since June 2023, the young barber has grown his social media pages to a combined 860,000 followers.
"The DMs keep blowing up asking me, like it's too much for me to handle," he noted. "I'm not going to lie to you. I'm like booked down into August right now."
New clients have driven from as far away as North Carolina, Georgia, and Kentucky for Thai’s talent and technique.
"She said it was a nine-hour drive," he explained. "I was like, oh my God, like the pressure was definitely on me when she told me that.”
Faizan Shah doesn’t mind battling Interstate 95 from Woodbridge during the morning rush hour because when he’s in Thai's chair, he knows he's in good hands.
"This is like the best cut I've ever gotten," said Shah. “I haven't been to anybody else for the past two and a half years. He gives you confidence. If you watch his Reels, you can see how like, the transformation really just changes you, you know."
But nailing viral reveals didn't always come easy for Thai.
"I usually pick things up pretty quick," he said. "Barbering was definitely not one of them.”
Perfecting the fade took years and many heads of practice.
As Virginia Commonwealth University student, Thai gave free haircuts to the homeless and children in Richmond.
"Whenever I have the opportunity, I always want to help out as much as I can," said Nguyen.
His charity work helped him get discovered by Clippers 3.0 owner Maurice Carpenter.
"A lot of barbers don't take the time off to do things like that, you know, especially people who can't afford haircuts," explained Carpenter.
But those are often the styles Thai enjoys most.
His parents immigrated to the United States from Vietnam. The majority of his family is still overseas.
"When I went back to Vietnam, I just realized how lucky I am to, you know, be living here," he recalled. "And so I was like, you know, I want to be able to, if I have the power to, I want to be able to give back to the people that isn't as fortunate as I am.”
"He's a very humble, energetic young man," his boss explained. "And you know I like to see the success hasn't gotten to his head."
That’s because, for this creative cutter, his sense of accomplishment doesn’t come from his follower count or packed calendar. He beams with joy when he turns his chair around and sees his clients' reactions to their new hairdo.
"People smile, and when they come out the chair, when they feel more confident about themselves, it makes me feel really good," said Nguyen. "It makes me feel really happy to be able to do that."
Nguyen's ultimate goal isn’t to own his own shop. He hopes to be able to visit his family in Vietnam and give back to the less fortunate in the area where his parents grew up.
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