Nippy snippy: Meet Cape Town's barber-on-wheels

17 January 2016 - 02:00 By Farren Collins

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a two-wheeled hairdresser. Farren Collins meets the quickest cut in the Cape Jonathan Joel Ueckermann doesn't give off the kind of self-assuredness or faux intellect often associated with hipsters. Instead he appears nervously aware of his limitations. We sit down for sugar-free coffee - he and his girlfriend recently quit sugar after watching a doccie - in his Tamboerskloof flat in Cape Town, where he has been smiling since my arrival, and possibly before.story_article_left1I immediately get the sense Jonathan, better known as Jonny Barber Joel, has had nothing handed to him and appreciates what he has. My suspicion is confirmed when the owner of one of Cape Town's most unusual businesses recalls how he worked as a runner in restaurants and would take old people for runs after school to earn money."I didn't come from a wealthy family; my dad worked lots of shifts," says Jonny, who also moonlights as a nightclub barman. "I had wealthy friends and I tried to stay on the same social level as them, so I always found ways to earn money."Today Jonny owns Scoot n Cut, a mobile hairdressing service, whizzing around on Henry, the scooter he bought when he was 15, armed with a self-made hairdressing kit and five years of styling experience."I created a basic kit with a floor mat and everything I needed to work on a mobile basis. The mat makes it easy to gather the hair and dispose of it. Clippers, water spray bottle, mirror. I still have the same kit and I put it on the back of my scooter."Jonny earned his chops at Palladium Hair Company in Cape Town, where a former Springbok was a regular. "You get celebrities like Jeannie D who go there, and Percy Montgomery was one of my clients. I would do his highlights and his cuts. He was really down to earth and chilled."story_article_right2After five years, Jonny decided to go it alone. "I got impatient but waited it out and perfected my art, which I'm glad I did. I knew I had to do something new and I needed a change. I wanted to change my lifestyle. Now I can start at 11 and first practise my music, go for a surf or exercise."Jonny has a client to see in Buitenkant Street and invites me along. A drive downtown in afternoon traffic can take up to 30 minutes, but Jonny does the trip in under 10.His client's office is above a coffee shop, and before I can get my notebook out, Jonny is set up and ready to go. "I'm about practicality. You need a haircut, I come to you and I cut your hair, you're fresh and you go on with your day. People try me out and say: 'Hey, you gave me a decent cut and you only took 20 to 30 minutes, and you came to my house or office.'"Scoot n Cut has become a hit since its launch last February, particularly with people in marketing and advertising. Lawyers and CEOs are also starting to use it."It's not a weird thing any more. It's more like 'Oh, Jonny's coming around'. Some offices, I go there and cut everyone's hair."..

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