Anthony Vankirk cutting a client’s hair
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Growing up in the rough streets of northern Philadelphia, Anthony Vankirk, co-owner of the Nothing But Hair Salon on College Avenue, spent his days dreaming of a future that would one day include him with a career as a barber.
At the young age of 11 he began cutting hair, he said, but the road to the future was never unclouded or straight and he faced some tough roadblocks growing up that temporarily stalled his dreams of one day opening a barber shop.
When Vankirk was a teenager he was placed in a juvenile facility for behavior problems that stemmed from hanging around the wrong crowd.
“There [are] a lot of negatives that surround you when you live in a neighborhood like the one that one I lived in,” said Vankirk. “Where I come from you don’t hear about positive opportunities like college or the army.”
At the age of 18, Vankirk was released from juvenile placement but trouble continued to follow the aspiring barber. Three weeks upon his release, Vankirk got into a dispute with someone he was doing business with, which resulted in a shootout that would leave him wounded.
Aside from being severely injured, Vankirk spent time in jail as a result of the altercation, a time that he labels as the low point in his life and an eye opening experience.
“After I was released from jail, I said enough is enough,” Vankirk said. “I need to do something positive in my life and cutting hair was the only way to do so.”
So, Vankirk returned to the original passion he had found at 11 years old to help him turn his life around. He followed his dreams all the way through barber school and soon saw major doors open for him.
His dream of opening up a shop would soon become a reality when his close friend, Isaiah Haywood, contacted him about fixing up a 2,500 square foot basement that they planned to turn into a unisex hair salon.
In July of 2014, Vankirk and Haywood came into agreement and began renovating what would eventually become the Nothing But Hair Unisex Salon.
“Anthony and I basically built this shop from scratch. We worked 12 to 18 hours a day with plumbing, [electricity], painting and other things just to make sure this shop was perfect when it opened,” said Haywood. “Making sure it was up and running by [the] grand opening [time] was [our] biggest concern.”
Vankirk and Haywood moved to State College mainly due to the lack of barber shops in town noting the opportunity for success.
“Once we saw there weren’t many barber shops around here, we knew we could make a lot of money here,” said Vankirk.
On August 16th, Nothing But Hair Unisex Hair Salon (NBH), their biggest and most time consuming project ever, opened its doors on August 23rd, just one month and 23 days after renovation began.
To welcome the State College community, the salon gave free haircuts to kids under the age of 11.
“Giving back to the community is very important to me and I welcome anyone in State College to come to my shop,” said Vankirk.
Today, the staff at NBH and Vankirk are successfully washing, cutting, and styling, the hair of close to one hundred customers a day and this is just the beginning. They hope to expand and one day own a franchise.
“I see success [in the future],” he smiled.