1,000 Hours Inside A Mobile Barbershop

I've spent thousands of hours inside a mobile barbershop.

People assume the conversations are about sports.

Sometimes they are.

But more often it's:

"My wife and I are thinking about moving."

"My dad's health isn't great."

"I don't know if I should quit my job."

"I think I want to start a business."

The haircut is almost incidental.

The barber becomes one of the few people a man sees regularly who isn't a coworker or family member.

There's no expectation to impress anybody.
No performance review.
No likes.
No algorithm.

Just forty-five minutes where someone is present.

Interestingly, newer research around loneliness suggests the problem isn't necessarily that men have fewer friends than women. The bigger difference is that men tend to rely on those relationships less often for emotional support.

That observation stuck with me.

Maybe the answer isn't convincing men to talk more.

Maybe it's creating environments where talking simply happens.