There are many parallels between getting a haircut and sports. University of Kansas golfer Gary Woodland must line up his putts exactly in order to win tournaments. Barber Rex Porter of Rex’s Stadium Barber Shop must line up sideburns and bangs with the same precision in order to please his customers.
It’s a cutthroat business full of rivalries and intense competition for a customer base. Rex knows that he must always be on top of his game in order to satisfy those who come to his shop and trust their locks to his experienced hands.
Rex was groomed from a young age to become a barber. His adopted grandfather was a barber, as was his father, but Rex attended KU majoring in music. He realized eventually that he would be able to live out his passion for sports by talking with customers, becoming a walking Kansas athletics encyclopedia and cutting hair.
He started 25 years ago with Mike and Jon Amyx at Amyx Barber Shop. In 1987 their competitive nature forced Jon and Rex to open Downtown Barber Shop. The business grew and in 2004 Rex was ready for a change of pace. He didn’t like the mentality of just saying next and wanted a friendlier atmosphere. The 43-year-old family man decided to open his own shop at the behest of his wife Laura.
“Rex, go do it,” she said to him and the Stadium Barber Shop became his.
It’s 7 a.m. and Rex opens his shop. The lights illuminate the ghosts of the University’s past hanging on the walls in black and white portraits; their jerseys hang from the ceiling and their legacy lives in Rex’s memories.
His uniform is simple. He wears a KU t-shirt, KU athletics pants and a pair of Nike tennis shoes. Rex is ready to step up to the plate of a new day.
“Brown… on the ceiling,” Rex says. There’s a green Memphis Mad Dogs football jersey hanging above the third chair in his shop. Sure enough it’s the jersey of Derrick Brown, a former Jayhawk football player who enjoyed a brief career on the Canadian Football League team. “Military man, high and tight,” Rex recalls. There’s no need to discuss what he’s doing with his regular’s hair. He knows exactly how they like it cut, and can focus on talking sports with them.
D-Brown was his nickname and soon his brother J-Brown started coming to Rex’s clippers for his haircut. Rex explained his tactic for building a customer base, “If you get one, you get ‘em all,” he said. Brown’s legacy as a football player and friend is explained to those in the shop. Everybody learns something about jayhawk history that otherwise would have been lost. It’s a unique aspect of Rex’s friendship with his customers; not only do they provide his income, they fuel his passion for the world of sports.
At about 8:45 a.m. a man comes in and takes his seat in the chair. Rex goes straight to work trimming. His every move is purposeful, precisely clipping and snipping the man’s hair. Anyone can pick up on the friendship between them as Dave Ross has been coming to Rex for about 10 years for a trim. Ross’ son is a member of the University’s “yell leaders.”
“They lift the girls up,” he explains as he gets out of the chair and proudly points his son out on a calendar on the wall. Rex’s shop has a quality that is hard to relate to most sporting venues; a deep intimacy with everything related to sports. Cheerleaders on the walls, pictured players forever locked in gridiron battle, the announcer on ESPN giving the fans the play-by-play of the day’s news and a friend to talk to in the coming together of all of this.
At 9 a.m. a new customer pulls up a seat and Rex immediately starts up a conversation about the man’s work as a detective. For Rex, these moments are what it’s all about, wondering who is coming in that day and just visiting.
The news breaks the regular chitchat as ESPN announces that Kansas State basketball coach Bob Huggins is leaving the Wildcats.
“What about ‘Huggie Bear’,” Rex teases his customer, a Kansas State fan. The man shifts in his chair and explains, “It’s kind of like losing your first girlfriend.” The two laugh and the conversation moves to coaching from there.
The day continues like this until it’s time to close at 6 p.m. Rex estimates he has put in 60 hours a week since 1983 when he started cutting hair. He’s had struggles but he’s worked through them. His passion is obvious as he explains he will never lose his zest for what he does, talk sports with friends and cut their hair.