Boredom led Maz Hojabri to switch his profession from lawyer to barber.

Now the owner of a new barber shop in town, Soul Blade Barber, Mr Hojabri, says his mission is to make long wait times a thing of the past and to have affordable prices for men’s haircuts.

So far, he believes he has achieved his mission by offering what could be the cheapest haircuts in Whakatāne.

Mr Hojabri said Soul Blade already had repeat clients of all ages.

Most told him that the online booking system saved them time.

Instead of using their whole lunch break to find a barber shop that could fit them in, they could book online, get their hair cut and still enjoy their break.

Parents who take their sons for haircuts after school have said the same.  

“It really makes it worthwhile when I know I'm saving the parents’ time and money,” Mr Hojabri said.

Mr Hojabri was a lawyer, but became bored with the work, so did a barbering course in Auckland.

When he moved to Whakatāne, he worked in a few barber shops before Covid hit and he was let go.

After Covid, he worked at a gym as a personal trainer, and then last year he opened his own barber shop in a corner of Salon 113 on The Strand.

Mr Hojabri makes his signage, manages his own accounts and cuts hair – saying he prefers a hands-on approach to business.

At the same time he left the legal profession he found Christianity, and asked himself, “what does the big man upstairs want me to do?

“He said, ‘you're so good with people, I want you to look into different things’.”

Barbering, said Mr Hojabri, seemed the perfect choice.

The barber shop is open two days a week because Mr Hojabri works at a gym three days.

“I love working at the gym three or four days a week; I like that diversity.

“And I don't want it to become a five-day-a-week barbershop because I don't want it to become mundane.”

The prices at Soul Blade Barber can range anywhere from $10 for a beard trim to $40 for a skin fade, with just a standard haircut costing $25.

Soul Blade Barbers is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays and bookings are done through the Soul Blade Facebook page.