Published in the Quad-City Times on May 21, 2024

On a Monday afternoon at Allied Barber & Supply in Davenport, the barber’s chair is a revolving door. 

From owner Russ Maidlow’s perch above the chair, natural light fills the oaky room, pouring in from a large street-facing window. Outside the front door, a chalkboard sign reads: “Homeless Haircuts Mondays.”

Those haircuts are free.

People from all backgrounds stop to read the sign, pondering for a second before moving on. Others walk in.

Once inside, they’re met with Maidlow’s calm, booming, “What’s going on?” 

On Monday, the sign attracted Barry Flachman, a Quad-Citian who has lived in Minneapolis, New Jersey, Phoenix, Wichita and Mount Pleasant.

In the chair, the quiet, mild-mannered Flachman had stories to tell.

He remembers his dad taking him to the barbershop for buzzcuts as a kid. There was the time when he was hit off his bike and needed two months of physical rehab. He recalls 12-hour days drilling water wells in Arizona, where he once saw a man fall 100 feet from a rig just to catch himself 15 feet from the ground. 

These conversations are what make the job worth it for Maidlow. In his profession, he says “shooting the s–t” is about half of the trade. 

“I’m a bartender who doesn’t serve beer,” Maidlow said, pausing for a second to collect his next thought and zero in on Flachman’s hair. “Guys tell me what’s going on with their lives, and I can usually relate to most of it.” 

Growing up, Maidlow remembers going to a barbershop in Silvis with his grandfather. His grandfather was bald but just wanted a place to talk. 

Maidlow, too, has a bald head. The 44-year-old also has a burly beard and arms covered from top to bottom in colorful tattoos. But his hands are gentle, and he’s nonchalant about his tradition of giving cuts for local homeless people. 

“I don’t have anything to do on Mondays,” he said. “It turns out that between me and (clients, they) don’t have a whole lot going on either, so we just get together and cut some hair.” 

Maidlow is a barber student at New Style Hair Academy in Moline, and the extra hours help get him closer to his barber certificate. 

Maidlow initially founded Allied with a group of friends in 2019, with the five-year goal of becoming a full barbershop. But the store opened doors in 2020, months after COVID-19 restrictions closed barbers down nationwide.

So for a while, it was a barbershop with no haircuts. It threw off the plan, but the store persisted, thanks to its retail selection. On its packed store floor, Allied offers interior decor, men’s apparel and a wide range of soaps. 

Most of the soaps at Allied are made by Maidlow, who started soap-making as a hobby in 2016 as an outlet to cope with his brother’s suicide.

“It kept me alive,” he said.

Maidlow began selling the soap in local barbershops, where watching others open up to their barbers urged him to open up, too, through therapy. There, he learned the value in having a place to let emotions out. 

“As guys, we’re trained to not (talk),” he said. “I’m the guy that barreled up everything, and boy, it don’t turn into wine.” 

Maidlow sees a haircut session as a sort of therapy session, too. The cuts themselves are crucial — once, he had a client come in after attempting to shave their own head with a dry razor — but the kinship of a barbershop might be just as important, Maidlow said. 

“I would say most guys who go to a barber regularly probably consider that barber a friend,” he said. 

For Maidlow, he said it’s important that someone that comes in for a free haircut gets their time’s worth, if even just to soak up the air conditioning a little longer. 

“I try not to do any buzz cuts,” he said. “‘Just take it all off?’ Eh, let’s make you look a little better than that.” 

 “I’m happy to hear you say that,” Flachman interjected from the chair, with a laugh.

All in all on Monday, Maidlow said he gave out 15 free haircuts. 

As his free haircut wrapped up on Monday, Flachman eyed his new style in a handheld mirror. He ran his hand through the fresh buzz, spiking it to his liking. 

Flachman said he had a job lined up at a local metal recycling plant, meaning he wouldn’t have the free weekdays to stop back in to Allied for his next cut. 

“Sorry Russ, I’m gonna have to look elsewhere, unless you want to cut for free on Saturdays,” Flachman joked. 

He and the barber shook hands and parted ways. 

Outside, Flachman felt the breeze run through his hair and smiled. And inside, another man took his place in the chair.