Tucson barber Jalen Robles was used to having high-profile college athletes in his chair, but on that warm November day when one of the most recognizable names in UA Wildcat sports walked through the door, he knew it would be a moment to remember.
It was Bryce James, UA men's basketball player and the son of LeBron James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
Robles is not one to fanboy over Arizona basketball players. He’s had high-profile players in his chair before, including Jaden Bradley and Carter Bryant, who is a rookie for the San Antonio Spurs.
But when he saw the text from James on the day after UA’s 93-87 win over Florida on Nov. 3, he knew this was a next-level opportunity.
James has only had a select few cut his hair, and he trusted Robles.
“I wasn’t necessarily nervous to meet him,” said Robles. “I was more nervous to give him, like, the best haircut of his life … It was more pressure on me to make sure I could give him the best haircut possible.”
When James came in, Robles treated him like all of his other clients. Their conversation was “organic and natural,” Robles said.
For Robles, this was just another day at the office.
Until it wasn’t.
Robles posted the haircut on his @JalenCutz Instagram page where it got attention from Overtime, a sports media company with over 10 million followers.
Robles collaborated with Overtime to repost the video of James’ cut under the title “When you sense your barber recording and gotta lock in.” The post got over 14,000 likes.
“When I posted the haircut, I ended up getting a lot of attention from that,” Robles said. “A lot of new clients have started booking with me and so I’ve been extremely busy, which has been a blessing.”
There weren’t always thousands of likes and plenty of clients for 21-year-old Robles, whose passion for being a barber goes back to his time at Salpointe Catholic High School.
Back then, Robles had dreams of playing football in college, but cutting hair was always on his mind. When he suffered an injury on the field, becoming a barber became his Plan A.
Robles began watching haircut videos on YouTube during class to learn as much as he could.
He gave his first haircuts from his parents’ garage and didn’t charge. He wanted to attract clients and practice on them.
He eventually attended barbers’ school and got his license.
“From when I was in the garage, it gives me a sense of gratitude for where I am now,” said Robles, who recalled spending hours on every haircut, looking at YouTube tutorial videos so that it looked like he knew what he was doing.
After he got his license, he got a job at Ascension Dynasty, a Tucson barbershop where he built enough clientele to start his own studio.
Robles sees his success as a blessing and gives full credit to his devotion to God.
“God opened up so many doors to meet certain people I never would’ve thought I’d be cutting the hair of,” he said, including Lebron James’ son.
Cutting Bryce James’ hair was Robles’ viral moment, but his reputation was steadily growing for months before that. He had been cutting hair for UA basketball players who had come to him at the recommendation of team manager Sam Smith.
Smith met Robles by chance. He was looking for a barber in Tucson, and his father — who is also a barber — sent him a few to check out, including Robles.
“He looked like the best barber to me, in all honesty,” said Smith.
Once Smith sat in Robles’ chair, he kept going back and their friendship grew. They now attend Bible study together and hang out from time to time.
“He’s a great person, friendly guy. He can definitely hold a conversation,” Smith said. “It’s like really easy to talk to him.”
Word of Robles’ haircuts got around the team after Robles offered Smith a free haircut for every person he brought in. Smith began to tell people on the team, and one by one, members of the team began scheduling appointments.
Smith said Robles offered players a free haircut on their first visit.
The first player to come in was rising star point guard Jaden Bradley.
“Because of Sam’s love for me and him spreading the word about me I was able to cut Jaden Bradley,” said Robles.
And from there it was history, Robles, is now the unofficial barber for the No. 1-ranked UA basketball team.
