Chidera Ohajianya ’28 takes a seat and dons an apron while Abraham Cohn ’28 fires up his clippers and unpacks the events of the week. Cohn shears the heads of many Masters students who display his work throughout campus everyday. In our school of students with diverse interests, Cohn’s hobby stands out amongst the rest both for its prominence and effect on students.
Cohn’s motivation for joining the barber industry was through meeting a mentor, Leonardo F., a barber from Chicago whom Cohn met at summer camp. Leonardo showed Cohn the ropes of what it means to cut hair. Leonardo’s guidance eventually developed Cohn’s skills. Cohn credits him with opening his eyes to the craft by helping him develop the skills to perfect Cohn’s signature “Edgar” cut.In addition to influencing Cohn’s skills with the clippers, Leonardo also influenced other aspects of his life. He said,”Leonardo still inspires me in the things I do everyday, even stuff like my music taste, and l am grateful for him teaching me.”
While his passion for the craft started with Cohn’s introduction to his mentor, he reflected on the biggest benefit. Cohn said, “It’s a great way to have a thoughtful conversation and do someone a huge favor.”Cohn also aims to expand past Masters, potentially working as a barber part-time after high school perhaps as a side gig.One Masters student who sat in Cohn’s barber chair was Harvey Peña ’27. He said, “Abe is great and has done a great job on not just my haircut, but also on others’ as well. He knows what he’s doing with his clippers.”Another client of Cohn, Luca De Salvo ’26, also shared his thoughts on his experience with Abe in his first haircut last May.
He said, “I’d say honestly he did like an 8 out of 10 [on my haircut], especially with the situation he was in. We were in the IEC bathroom and didn’t have the greatest supplies but he gave me a very, very crispy line-up for sure.” Cohn no longer cuts on campus and solely operates off campus.
The Masters Barber said, “I’m always ready to experiment and try new things.”
