Nikko Rudolph: Making the cut

Even though Nikko Rudolph’s dad and stepdad were both barbers, cutting hair was never on his radar until he moved to Hoover in 2013. That’s the year he met PJ Hunter, owner of a series of barbershops in Hoover and along U.S. 280. 

“I never paid attention to it when I was little… But maybe it’s in my blood,” Rudolph said. “I’m a patient person. I like transforming someone’s life.”

Hunter said he first noticed Rudolph, then a Hoover High School sophomore, hanging out with one of his barbers and coming around the shop a lot after school. He wasn’t really doing anything, Hunter said, just sitting around.

So he and the other barbers started getting to know Rudolph.

“We were like, ‘What are your grades like in high school?’ Since he was hanging out with the barber after school, we thought maybe his grades weren’t that good, but come to find out, Nikko was making straight As and Bs,” Hunter said. 

“And so I said, ‘Hey, Nikko, you can’t be around here and not doing something productive. Everybody has got to do something productive.’”

After making sure there were no customers in the shop, Hunter grabbed a broom and “knighted” Rudolph, first on his left shoulder, then his right. Just like that, Rudolph because a part of the “barbers’ legend,” as he called it, and got right to work sweeping and cleaning up the shop every day. 

At that point, Hunter and some of the other barbers came up with Gentlemen in Training “for young people who are coming to the shop and hoping to hang around and learn.” 

“If he was going to get paid, it would have to be all about work ethic,” Hunter said, which he saw in the young man. “[He would] learn how to be a gentleman, learn manners. He was going learn how to be a catalyst in the community, how to be involved.”

Rudolph smiles when he remembers the story — that was the start of it all.

In Rudolph’s five-year journey from sweeping floors at Legends Barbershop at 17 to managing Exclusives Barbershop at only 22 years old, he said he has the city of Hoover to thank and the people in it that encouraged him. Like a sign, he’d end up back at the barbershop every time something went astray.

“At first, I didn’t even see the potential in me,” Rudolph admitted, adding that he was struggling in school in Montgomery before he moved. “A lot of people were saying, ‘You can do so much better.’”

When he moved to Hoover in 2013, he said he started believing a different story — one of hope. He was introduced to HooverHigh School and the city, which he said changed his life.

 “I felt like I could go to college and really focus on school, and when college didn’t work out, I saw this opportunity and decided this is how I’m going to be an asset,” Rudolph said.

Every day after school, he walked to the barbershop to work for several hours. Every Saturday and Sunday, he also came to the shop to help out. The consistency of the job, he said, helped him stay away from things that could have led him astray from his goals. 

One of those goals, Rudolph said, was becoming financially stable and independent. Another that developed over time, he said, was to become a successful and certified barber. 

At first, a lot of his learning was done by simply watching other barbers. Rudolph was then able to also start saving up some money and be able to feed himself, which he said he desperately needed.

Hoover Councilman Derrick Murphy said he’s been going to Hunter’s barbershops every two weeks to get his hair cut for years, and he repeatedly noticed Rudolph sweeping and cleaning the floors and being a help to the barbers. Murphy said he noticed Rudolph was always punctual and absorbing knowledge about the job.

“He not only wanted to learn about the craft of cutting hair, but he also wanted to put his business footprint in it, which is really interesting, especially as a 17-year-old with that type of maturity,” Murphy said.

When Hunter introduced him, it became routine for Murphy to ask Rudolph how he was doing in school and at home, and Murphy came to watch his progression as he grew through the years. Over time, he realized how focused and driven Rudolph was. It was refreshing to meet someone so young like that, Murphy said. 

“I saw him a great deal. He enjoyed knowledge, and he listened more than he talked,” Murphy said.

Eventually, the barber Rudolph was working under ended up leaving, but Rudolph stayed cleaning the shop. Hunter and the other barbers decided, based on Rudolph’s work ethic, to go ahead and make him an apprentice since he wanted to cut hair. 

The summer before eleventh grade, Rudolph started going through the training of cutting hair and learning the various techniques. Before he knew it, he had enough money to get himself school clothes for the upcoming year, as well as continue to feed himself. Rudolph said they were hard on him during his apprenticeship and made sure he maintained all As in his classes

“It taught me to be above average and to not settle,” he said. One day, when he came back with one B on his report card, they made him do 30 pushups in the store. It was embarrassing, Rudolph said, and he never got a B again.

“He did well as an apprentice. He showed that he had the capability of being a good leader and also that he would listen. He was very responsive, anything you asked him to do, he did and kept doing it,” Hunter said.

Plus, Rudolph started falling in love with the craft. 

“You get to talk to everyone, a philosopher, a doctor, a teacher. I love the platform,” Rudolph said. “People come and talk to me. They give me knowledge and decades of generational advice.”

He said he’s learned to be patient with the kids, and even they teach him lessons. 

“I’m just learning from everyone,” he said. 

In the summer before 12th grade, Rudolph had his moments of doubts about whether he wanted to be a barber and had to ask several people to help him as he struggled financially and experienced homelessness. He calls it his “rough spot” in life, when he had to rely on the Bible and wake up thankful every morning that he “had a chance to do it right” through the barber training.

People like Hunter helped him out for a while as he saved money and “used his hands to afford living,” as Rudolph said. 

“I executed seven days a week, every week, and stuck to the grind, learning and perfecting my craft,” Rudolph said. 

The team of barbers showed him everything he needed to do to build a shop and empower himself. When Hunter started to build Exclusives Barbershop at 5287 U.S. 280, Suite 267, Rudolph stepped in and helped.

“He’s like my godson,” Hunter said. “When it was time for a promotion, he happened to be at the shop, and he was the most loyal and had the most knowledge.”

At only 20 years old, they made him manager of the new store. Even though he was nervous about it, they told him that he would grow into it, that he’s “already been a leader” for three years. Over time, Rudolph said this promotion provided him with enough money to pay for his own housing.

“I’m not surprised he’s managing a store… because just watching the way he handled his business, [he] never wanted to be a know-it-all. He wanted to find out from people who knew more than him. It’s not surprising to me, based on his temperament, that he’s managing a store,” Murphy said. 

Plus, cutting hair is one of his passions.

“Trust is built upon character and competency, and he has both,” Murphy said.

Rudolph is now “passing it on,” as Hunter said, by teaching hair cutting at Exclusives Barbershop to other interested students.

“The number one thing I think that makes him a good leader is he has a good heart. He’s willing to help anybody,” Hunter said. “The reason why you’re great is that you see greatness in other people.” 

As long as he has two hands, Rudolph said, he “can make a difference,” and that’s what matters to him the most: giving back to the people who gave to him.

He said he makes sure his barbers give “the best of the best” haircuts, respect everyone who comes into the shop and keep their work areas clean and welcoming. He manages barbers from 16 to 60 years old and still comes into the shop every single day.

“I welcome everyone with open hands,” he said, and is always willing to share his story.