​I: In the Arizona Republic’s profile of your business, you said you started cutting hair at 19. What attracted you to barbering? 

 

JP: Honestly, it was just kind of random summers, and having a younger brother willing to let me mess around with his hair was my start. Then going into high school, I had some friends of mine whose families were all barbers. I was just hanging around at the barbershop all the time. It was a cool craft and trade where you could meet people–very raw and organic. I knew I always wanted to have a brand or a store. I just didn’t know what would be behind that. So, when I found barbering, I thought it was a cool way to brand something—that was a traditional trade. That’s kind of how I got inspired to get started. 

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I: In the same profile, you talked about how, as a kid, you got free haircuts from people in your community—from family members to friends. Was that community aid an early influence on The Greater Good’s philosophy?

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JP: That initial influence was definitely what got me into barber school. Then I had mentors along the way who were doing community outreach stuff. That was when I started really getting the grasp of what it meant to donate your time and skills. To me, a barbershop represents a community. Seeing people from those communities help those in need was super powerful and something I knew I could do without just giving someone some money. It was a very personal experience, and it taught me that early on.

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I: Beyond cutting your hair, what have barbers and barbershops meant to you? What roles have they played in your community? 

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JP: Growing up–as a young person–you’re in a barber chair for at least an hour. I’ve always asked questions; my Uncles would get annoyed, and they would call me ‘a million questions’. I would just ask, “What is this and why?” I would always come up with random questions in my head to ask people. So when I started getting my haircut, I started asking them about life questions and questions pertaining to the craft. Luckily, all the people I’ve encountered were always willing to give me any advice or tips. I always tell young barbers coming up: go learn from anyone and everyone who’s willing to give you a little bit of knowledge. You might not want to take everything from them, but that little thing you add to your arsenal is going to mold who you are and your style. How you carry yourself and your process and stuff. I always encourage up-and-coming barbers—and just people in general—just to ask questions. If there’s someone doing something you’re interested in, go out of your way to soak up as much game as you can. 

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I: You worked at Nipper’s Clippers before starting The Greater Good. When did the idea for the shop come, and what motivated you to create your own barbershop? 

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JP: That was the goal from day one. From day one of going to barber school, I knew one day I was going to open up my own concept, or my own business or store. That has always been the dream, but with anything, everything is a process. So you have to go learn the ins and outs and go through those struggles to get an idea of what that even looks like. Nippers was my last stop before opening up my shop. I thought I was ready to open my own shop before I went there, but I still felt like I had more that I wanted to give to another place of business—that I believed in and vice versa. I felt that I needed that experience in my journey before I opened up my own shop. I’m glad that I got to do that because I was able to help their business, which was a brand new business, and also just learn so much myself. 

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I: What made you choose Downtown Phoenix as the shop’s location? 

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JP: Downtown is such a big creative hub. It was a little bit of both, like very creative and an easy destination point. Luckily for us, we’re right on central, which is right in the middle of downtown. We found a great spot—I was actually looking at other places before I found this one. Once I found this one, I just knew. A lot of things were aligning where I was like, “this is the one.” I was pestering the management company, and they were like, “we still have other applicants.” I was just like “no.” I was just very excited, and I knew this place was it. So I was being very adamant, and it ended up landing in my hands. We were able to create a place we’ve always dreamed of.

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I: How has the city influenced the shop? 

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JP: Well, the city was changing before and has changed a lot since we started. A lot more now—like a lot more luxury apartments. Right now it looks like it’s getting a lot more gentrified. A lot of our old buildings with good tenants are being bought up, torn down, to build up. Which is a sad thing, but in the grand scheme of it, it is growing our city. I just really hope that we can keep that organic feeling of what Phoenix means. My side of it is that I’ve been able to see all these amazing businesses, creatives, and the people that show up and support these businesses. It’s only been growing. It’s an interesting way to look at it because you can be worried about the future, but when you see the people behind the movement of what’s going on here, you’re just inspired. 

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I: With Phoenix changing so much, what do you think is your shop’s role in the community? 

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JP: Initially, we started as a place where people can go: “Hey, if no one else believes in us, we got this place that believes in us.” From day one, we’ve always been that for people. And most of it is the “creative community” here, but they’re just people looking for something and willing to take that jump. Willing to ask, “Hey, can you be a part of something I’m starting?” Or, sometimes, they’re not willing to ask, and we just do it for them: “Hey, we love what you’re doing, would you want to do something here?” Honestly, just offering opportunity or space has been our role, and it’s just been essential to people who have had that experience. For us to have the chance to work with so many people, it’s given us the chance to grow so much more and really solidify what we plan to do here. 

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I: In various interviews, you’ve talked about how the barbershop is a place of community. With the slow demise of third spaces, do you think your shop—and barbershops in general—can provide that much-needed community space that’s increasingly getting rarer?

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JP: Yeah, I think so. Not everyone sees it that way: a lot of people that either own or work in barbershops see it as a way more transactional thing, or a way more like, “this is what we do and how we do things, and if you don’t like it—then this place isn’t for you.” For us, it’s like the opposite: we prioritize progressing and growing. The community’s perspective on what we’re doing is very important to us. For a barbershop, being a community presence is easy, but sometimes a lot of barbershop owners overlook that opportunity. We try to double down on that, and we see there’s a lot of value in knowing everyone and just showing up. Outside of being here, we go out and support other businesses and concepts because these are the people who also support us. You gotta just show up, show up for your people, show up for things you believe in. In turn, those people winning is you winning. 

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I: Is there ever tension between the transactional demands of running a barbershop and being a community space? 

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JP: The tension there isn't common for us. If anything, people who just hear about us, maybe they walk in and we don’t have availability day-of. I feel like that could be frustrating for a brand-new client or a customer. For us, we’re a pretty small space here, so it’s kind of hard to service everyone. We take our time with everyone that does come in, and we make sure that they’re experience is special. I guess that would be the only issue we’re running into right now: having more space and availability to be able to give more people that experience. 

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I: The shop has collaborated with a lot of businesses, artists, and musicians. What makes you want to collaborate with them? Do you look for any particular values or missions? 

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JP: For me, it’s always been like starting with an idea, going crazy with the idea, and then figuring out how to make it happen. It’s just like that core of our why: why we do it. Honestly, being a barbershop is hard because people only see us as that. Sometimes, it’s hard to break that mold: “Well, why would we want to collaborate with you? You’re a barbershop.” Not only is this the advice I take for myself, but I also like to give to others: work with people who want to work with you just as much. It's way more organic, as far as being fulfilled by the idea and bringing it to real life. To work with people who want to work with you just as much is a special moment, and then you make it happen with an event or like a short film. That is just a moment versus being transactional: someone hired you to do something, you’re just supposed to stick to what you do, and that’s it—not really breaking the mold. Personally, that’s why I wanted to have my own business or brand, to not let anyone else limit us. At our five-year event, there was no haircutting whatsoever, I wanted to show that we were much more than what people might see us as. The people who were there, the people who support us,  know that. So, when it comes to us doing a collaboration or project with different artists, they show up for what they love and back it up with their work, just like we do. That’s why it was a successful event. Anyone who was part of that event was amazed by the turnout. A lot of them said this was their favorite. To me, that means a lot.

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I: Haircuts are a central part of self-expression. What’s a barber’s role in facilitating that self-expression? How do you figure yourself into that process? Do you try to draw back as much as possible, giving way to the client’s vision? Or do you see it as a partnership?

 

JP: It’s definitely a partnership. You have to consult with them because no one’s hair is exactly the same, and no one’s style is exactly the same. So you put all those things into perspective and feel it out, and then they’ll give you their ideas and references. You have to use your professional advice, but definitely take into consideration who that person is: make that haircut tailored to who that person is, their style, and their lifestyle as well. 

 

I: The shop was recently awarded the small business empowerment award by the Phoenix Suns. How did it feel to be recognized by a Phoenix cultural institution such as the Suns? 

 

JP: Man, that was amazing. A lot of people were stoked to see us on the court and see us get an award like that. Like I said, when it’s us winning, everyone’s winning. A lot of people see themselves in us as well; I just thought that was a big win for the community. Luckily, a lot of our friends have been getting opportunities from the Suns. That’s one thing I love about the Suns specifically: I think a lot of sports organizations here should highlight more local artists and stories. I think it’s essential and opens up perspectives: the people who follow sports might not be the people who follow art, but they’ll kind of get a little glimpse of it. For us, it was a great opportunity. It hasn’t really translated to business for us yet, but it was great to be recognized. 

 

I: What do the next five years look like for The Greater Good? 

 

JP: In five years, we’ll definitely be opening up another location in Phoenix and continuing our mission. Potentially opening up another chapter in another state—ideally, I’d love to go to different countries: I love Mexico City; I love Japan; I love places like that. But one by one. We definitely need to have a bigger presence in Phoenix as far as a physical location. In the next five years, we’ll have another location here in Arizona.