A Kenyan barber who wields a sharpened shovel thrives on Africa’s social media craze

In a sparse shack on the rural roadside in Kiambu, at the edge of metropolitan Nairobi, Safari Martins uses unconventional techniques to cut hair. On the shack’s wooden walls hang a shovel, an iron, agricultural shears, and a wrench. “I just use unconventional tools,” Martins says, smiling, moments before sliding a razor-sharp shovel edge across his client Ian Njenga’s head, lopping off a swath of hair in the first of a series of moves that yields a surprisingly clean haircut. Unconventional tools are a hallmark for Martins, who is one of Kenya’s most recognizable barbers with around 1 million followers on each of his Instagram and TikTok accounts, where he is known as Chief Safro. As he makes precision cuts across Njenga’s head, a helper stands to the side, capturing every moment from different angles on a smartphone camera. Influencer barbers are a new trend in Kenya, where social media usage has exploded in recent years and platforms like TikTok are being used both for entertainment and as a lucrative side hustle. Born in Rwanda and now based in Nairobi, Martins started barbering in high school in 2018. Using borrowed clippers, he began offering trims outside classrooms and in cramped dormitories. Five years later, he added a camera and dropped a conventional trimmer—and never turned back. Martins went viral for zany barbering methods, but he has increasingly incorporated traditional African folk tales into voiceovers on his videos. “I’m motivated by African culture, by African stories,” he says, adding that one of his tools, a sharpened iron box, was blessed by village elders. The barber’s staying power has come from the haircuts themselves, which his customers say they love—and the chance to be featured on one of Kenya’s most magnetic social media accounts. “If I compare him with other barbers, his talent is next level,” says Njenga, who first visited Martins last year. “When I get shaved here, I get very comfortable, while walking in the streets, I get very confident.” The draw of a unique barbering experience and five minutes of social media fame is enough for customers to push past the price. This article was provided by The Associated Press.