My name is Younes, but they call me Jonas around here. I’m 27 years old, with 8 years of experience. My passion for barbering started when I was in high school. I used to cut my friends’ hair in the classroom after watching YouTube tutorials throughout the night. Shout out to them. Since then, I have been cutting and styling hair. With a master’s degree in clinical psychology, I worked as a psychologist for 3 months. I decided this was not what inspired me which led me to pursue my career as a barber. Here I am, straight from Algeria to Dubai with Chaps and Co! I worked for 4 years in numerous barber shops, learning and developing myself and my craft, until I opened my own barbershop. There, I put all my knowledge into this and created something different back home. I established a safe place for men to be and feel more comfortable, as I felt this was something lacking in other barbershops.

My studies helped develop my craft in understanding different types of people and how to engage with my clients. An important part of giving my clients a safe space was making sure they felt comfortable and not judged by having good conversations and listening to them. I always felt boosting their confidence with great haircuts and styles was extremely important because they would leave my chair happier than they arrived. The thing I like the most about being a barber is the human connection, and being able to connect with my clients has always brought me so much joy. In my own perspective, I see the barber as the psychologist of his community. So far, it’s been a great journey, and I am very excited to see where the future takes me.