Barbers & Stylists are Essential.
ClipDart’s concept came to me via my own mental wellness struggles while attending Grinnell College in Iowa. Being an African-American from the south side of Chicago, I never had an issue finding a barber for the first 18 years of my life. If my barber was not available, I could easily locate another nearby barber without any drop-off in the cultural experience. Then, I moved to the middle of Iowa and I was not able to find a barber within hours who was skilled at cutting minority hair texture. This is when I truly realized how essential hair professionals are to one’s mental wellness. Within most minority communities, barbers are viewed as therapists, mentors, and pillars of the community. The barbershop is a safe-haven and cultural institution within black and brown communities where generations after generations share stories, unpack struggles, and listen to life’s challenges. It is a safe space. This continual mental struggle of feeling as if my culture was not included became one of the main reasons why I transferred after three years and started ClipDart’s movement.
At ClipDart, we continually create innovative strategies to prevent individuals from experiencing the same mental adversity that I went through. Our mission is to make a powerful, positive impact on the mental wellness of communities around the world through hair professionals, while, concurrently, revolutionizing the hair industry & common view of hair professionals' essentialness.
Today, ClipDart Hair Professionals around the world cultivate equitable, cultural spaces within (and with) our struggling communities via their very unique and valuable talents. We are certainly the future of haircare!
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Kyle ‘Paco’ Parker
Founder, CEO