Nasir Sobhani knows first-hand the toll addiction and homelessness can take. Which is why these days the recovering cocaine addict and barbershop owner spends his time helping others in need in an effort to pay his good fortune forward.
“I love it so much, it’s like my new way of getting high … It’s like my new drug,” Sobhani, a Canadian who lives in Melbourne, Australia, tells a customer in an online video posted by PLGRMAGE.
Sobhani, 26, used to spend up to $400 per day on cocaine before getting clean, blaming his addiction on a deep-seated self-hatred. He was able to overcome his addiction through a stint in rehab and shifting his focus to his religious convictions. Sobhani was raised in the Baha’i faith, a monotheistic religion originally founded in Persia that he says is more about “action” and “serving people” than strict beliefs.
The barber also credits his family with sticking by him and encouraging him to pursue his passion for hair-cutting. Thanks to their support, he was able to move to Melbourne three years ago and make an entirely fresh start. He realizes that not everyone has such a support system.
“I used to see a homeless person and give them loose change think, ‘I’ve done my part for the day,’” he tells PLGRMAGE. “But I realized that wasn’t enough.”
He started doling out free cuts to needy individuals in his area one year ago, aptly naming the effort “Clean Cut, Clean Start.” Now, on his one free day a week, he rides his skateboard through the streets of Melbourne and neighboring Footscray, seeking out anyone who may be in need of a touch up.
“You already have a new-found confidence when you get a haircut, and now imagine what it’s like for someone who’s really been in a bad place in their life,” Sobhani tells The Herald Sun.
Sobhani hopes that the time he spends with his clients will have a mental as well as physical impact. He encourages the men and women he works with to open up about their struggles, and hosts a weekly devotional meeting in his home that he invites clients to attend. At the meeting, he asks guests to share insights, Bible scriptures, song lyrics, or other words that hold special meaning to them.
“It doesn’t matter what walk of life you’re from, what religion you’re confined to, what beliefs or philosophies you may have,” Sobhani says. “There’s only one rule and that is respect one another.”
His efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. Sobhani, who goes by the name “The Streets Barber” on social media, has nearly 30,000 followers on Instagram alone, posting photos throughout the day of his various clients and interactions.
“People ask what’s the craziest thing that’s happened to me in the streets while cutting,” Sobhani writes underneath one such photo. “It’s hard for me to answer that because every time is just as memorable as the last.”
(Warning: Video contains graphic language)
