From Garage Haircuts to Business Owner

Some businesses start with a business plan. Old School Barbershop started with a garage. Alex, the shop's co-owner, cut his first hair in high school — friends, in a garage, learning the craft one head at a time. The film follows what came after: barber college, an unexpected partnership, opening Old School Barbershop in San Francisco, and expanding the business. Its arc does not end at ownership: Alex thinks past his own chair — creating opportunities for other barbers and building what he calls the Old School legacy.

Film inside the working day of the shop and let its ordinary rhythm do the talking: an interview with Alex between clients, and the shop itself — chairs, clients, work — as the visual argument. At 5:03, the film is sized as a brand story a small business can actually use: a permanent, forwardable version of the story its customers already knew.

Credits

Cinematography & lighting — Leomar Moring; Editor — Sean Ayres; a personal project by Sean Ayres, used with his permission

Shoot

Two days, Tuesday–Wednesday, July 30–31, 2024, inside the shop on Sacramento Street, San Francisco

Subject/interviewee

Alex, co-owner, Old School Barbershop

Runtime

5:03

We filmed over two days at the end of July 2024, inside the shop — interviews with Alex between clients, rather than a closed set. The hero still used with this film is a portrait of Alex in front of the shop window, 'Old School' lettering and the barber pole behind him; supporting frames are drawn from the film itself (Alex cutting a client's hair at 2:10; the interview frame at 3:35).

1. 01From Garage Haircuts to Business Owner | Old School Barbershop, San Francisco

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Purpose (verified): a street-level San Francisco brand story — one shop, one owner — that gives the San Francisco service page a nameable, watchable local proof project.