Eketāhuna barber sets up shop for first time in about 40 years

Nick Olliver works on a young client. Photo / Leanne Warr

For about 40 years, there’s been no barbershop in Eketāhuna.

It was in the 1980s when the last barbershop closed its doors, and the owner’s son is now in Masterton.

But Nick Olliver has changed all that by opening up his own shop - Stay Sharp Barbershop.

“I grew up here,” he says.

“I could see the potential for the market, for the town.”

With no other barbershop between Dannevirke and Masterton, Nick believes there was a good market for it.

“Having grown up here, I knew there would be a good clientele base as well.”

Nick didn’t start off his working life wanting to be a barber and did a lot of trade jobs, such as in shearing sheds, or hard labour.

Then a friend recommended training as a barber and Nick looked into it - and says he found his niche.

He got his qualifications by studying at a school in Auckland, before working in Palmerston North for three years, then in Masterton for three and a half years.

“I thought it was time to have a crack at going out on my own,” he says.

With a lot of competition in Masterton, he saw a need in Eketāhuna and decided to give it a go.

It’s now been just over a month and he has been getting a lot of support from the locals, as well as from Pahīatua.

He’s also had a few of his regulars from Masterton come up.

He believes the community needed “something like this” that was new and fresh, and he’s been able to catch up with some of the old faces he hasn’t seen for a long time.

Men’s hairdressing has come a long way since the old short back and sides.

Nick says like anything, fashions come “in swings and roundabouts” and a lot of the styles that were popular 30 to 40 years ago, like the mullet, are popular at the moment.

Some of his clients go for very short, close-to-the-skin styles, while designs are also popular.

Shaves haven’t changed much, although now barbers use disposable blades rather than cutthroat razors and men are now wanting more services, which Nick hopes to offer in the future.

Being a barber is also a way for Nick to support men’s mental health, as he believes that it’s a good way to talk to other men, giving them a safe space to be able to open up.

He also hopes to take part in Movember next month.

Leanne Warr is editor of the Bush Telegraph and has been a journalist on and off since 1996 when she joined the Levin Chronicle, before moving on to other publications. She re-joined NZME in June 2021.