\u201cI was working in this exact barbershop that I own now, sweeping the floors at 14, and when I was working here at 17, the shop went under.\u201d<\/p>\n
He started giving cuts from a cabin on Ngatai Rd in Ot\u016bmoetai and building a following.<\/p>\n
Two years ago, he bought the old shop space from the previous owners for \u201cbugger all\u201d and opened Barber Spence & Co.<\/p>\n
Spencer McNeil describes his work as “heartfelt” and says it has brought him into contact with some remarkable people. Photo \/ Kaitlyn Morrell<\/p>\n
\u201cBarbering saved my life and I feel like I wouldn\u2019t be anywhere near where I am today if it wasn\u2019t for actually taking that first step.\u201d<\/p>\n
McNeil said he wanted to create a space to talk about life, struggles, and mental health.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always tell people: don\u2019t just build a clientele, build a community.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want it to be a place where you can come sit down, have a yarn, feel safe, and know that regardless of what you\u2019re going through, you\u2019ve got a purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barber Spence & Co employs four barbers, taking them on after barbering school and training them up.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey can stay, they can do whatever, but a lot of them go do their own thing after.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the moment he realised he was doing more than giving fresh cuts was when a young client revealed his haircut could have been his last.<\/p>\n
Two years ago, Spencer McNeil opened Barber Spence & Co in Brookfield. Photo \/ Kaitlyn Morrell<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said that if it wasn\u2019t for him coming for that haircut, he wouldn\u2019t have made it. If I didn\u2019t accept him into my chair that day, who knows.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two years later, that client has rebuilt his life, and McNeil was proud to have played a part in that turnaround.<\/p>\n
\u201cStorms never last, and time heals; prioritise your own mental health before it gets too late.\u201d<\/p>\n
McNeil said he opened the conversation with the same question for every client: \u201cHow are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s more about opening space and letting them talk, not taking their spotlight. If it\u2019s beyond you, then it\u2019s about trying to point them in the right direction to get them help.\u201d<\/p>\n
He has had many people in his chair over six years of barbering.<\/p>\n
While it was \u201cexciting\u201d working with high-profile clients such as All Blacks Leroy Carter, Anton Lienert-Brown, Quinn Tupaea and Pasilio Tosi, as well as TikTok star Uncle Tics<\/a>, it was the everyday moments that stayed with him.<\/p>\n His oldest and youngest clients were the most memorable.<\/p>\n \u201cCutting a 100-year-old man\u2019s hair and asking him what\u2019s the trick, or listening to his advice, is so much more important and heart-warming.<\/p>\n \u201cCutting a kid\u2019s hair for the first time is special for me. I\u2019ve had kids I started cutting at 1 year old, and now I\u2019m still cutting their hair at 5.\u201d<\/p>\n In videos on his thriving social media with one young client, McNeil patiently entertains and calms the easily distracted child so they can get the job done.<\/p>\n He described his work as \u201cheartfelt\u201d and said it had introduced him to remarkable people.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes I\u2019ll go outside and just say, \u2018Come on mate\u2019 to a homeless fella and offer a haircut. I\u2019ll ask how he got here, how he ended up in this situation.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a cruel world, but it\u2019s also beautiful if you see the bright side of it.\u201d<\/p>\n He said his surprise recognition at the recent Tauranga Business Awards<\/a> \u2013 a Judges Impact Award \u2013 was a \u201cmassive wake-up call\u201d to keep being himself.<\/p>\n That was followed with the Youth Spirit Award at the Western Bay Community Awards<\/a> on Thursday night.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m only 21, and I need to keep growing, keep grinding, and be the best version I can of me, so I can relay that on to my staff and all my people.\u201d<\/p>\n McNeil is a graduate of the Graeme Dingle Foundation\u2019s Project K<\/a> youth development programme.<\/p>\nSpencer McNeil of Barber Spence Co, with Tauranga Business Awards head judge Jamie Lunam after receiving the surprise Special Judges Impact Award. Photo \/ Salina Galvan<\/p>\n
Dan Allen-Gordon and Spencer McNeil at the Western Bay Community Awards. Photo \/ Studio Muse<\/p>\n