• African youths are prominent for creativity.
• They find available ways to showcase the diverse beauties of the continent.
• Young hairstylist, Safari Martin, has defined himself as an unusually creative barber.
• His regular social media videos have drawn attention to the precision with which he presents his creative haircuts.

Either by word of mouth or by watching some of his delightful videos on Instagram one may have come across the thrilling tale of 23-year-old Martin Safari, a creative young man who, in his spoofs, cuts clients’ hairs with all types of tools, hammers inclusive. Surprising as it may, Safari finds hammers, knives, forks, and other weird tools useful in doing a remarkable job.

In his videos, actually acted out, the young barber dresses for each part, sometimes he simulates a mechanic trying to fix a spoilt car, other times he explores other roles. Safari mentioned that, as a child, he always imagined himself living the life of an extraordinary artist using pencils, brushes, pallets, and paint. But his parents had nudged him into the sciences because they expected a doctor to emerge from their son.

Many years later, neither medicine nor artistry has kept Safari gainfully engaged; though he has found a unique way to bring art into his work.

Safari talked about how he obeyed his parents at first and closed in on the sciences, deserting his interest in arts until, one afternoon, in his boarding school in Uganda, a friend asked for help with tidying up their hair because a proper haircut outside the school was quite beyond most students’ budget. That was destiny’s call; Safari answered the call wholeheartedly. From then on, without fully understanding what he was getting into, he found a new interest. For him, it continued as a simple hobby, just a courteous service to his peers. But, when the demand for this hobby of his began to swell, he joined heads with his school friends, and they smuggled in a clipper after which he began to attach stipends to his services.

Most of his needs in school were met and he stopped asking his parents for pocket money. He explained that “when I went back home for the holidays, I decided to take it to another level. I subscribed to some of the biggest barbers’ YouTube channels and took some online courses. “Safari substantially added to his skills during holidays so much that his school noted his improved talent and hired him as the official school barber. Just after his graduation, he set up a small-scale barbershop in that Ugandan neighborhood. Eventually, he returned home to Rwanda.

Safari has gone ahead to carve a brand in Kigali as one of the most skilled barbers in town. He leverages on the internet; he picks ideas, shares his unique works, as well as secure clients’ appointments online, through his Instagram handle, @safro_fades. Currently, he does not operate from a fixed address, he has niched himself as a pro barber who is accessible online and available for home services. Safro, as he is fondly called, charges from 15,000 Rwandan franc upward; his distinct home package goes for about 20, 000 Rwandan franc and above, depending on factors like location, clients’ preferred style, and other cost influences like dyeing, tinting, etc.

Averagely, Safari’s cuts usually take about 40 to 50 minutes. He believes he is still an artist and his art manifests in his haircuts, he says “I think my talent didn’t fully disappear. People tell me that they see my art just by looking at how I present my content and the way I make a haircut. This gives me the ultimate satisfaction”. He says that the ‘beauty of existing in this era’ contributes immeasurably to some of his successes in the barbing trade. “I can imagine that if this was a decade ago, I would just be some other barber. But because of technology and social media platforms, through proper content creation, I’m able to reach my desired audience, willing to pay adequately for my services,” he pointed out.

While a lot of people see Safari as a skilled barber, he looks beyond the trade, he works to establish himself as a captivating content creator, consistent and creative. “Most of my clients are Rwandans, but considering their conservative nature, I usually have a hard time convincing them to let me post them on my online page,” he mentioned while explaining probable reasons for a possible delay in his global exposure. Safari opines that anyone can prosper in any career path they pick to pursue, whether they originally dreamt of it or not. He admonishes young African talents by saying “make sure you master your craft, attract and keep your clients coming back and then promote your craft and then, make money.”