Sports Clips Haircuts—A Spot for Real Guys to Get a Hair Cut

Sports Clips Haircuts owner Jim Dahl just opened his fourth barber shop-kind of place. It's a venue where guys feel comfortable getting their hair cut. There are no services for dying hair or getting a permanent. Pastel-colored boxes of nail polish are nowhere to be found.

In the nutshell, Sports Clips, located at 420 E. Lincoln Highway, is for guys, said Dahl. It's an eight-chair shop that features a wall mural of a football game. A big screen TV is set on ESPN and the magazine rack is stuffed with the likes of Sports Illustrated.  There's a row of lockers to stuff a backpack or a baseball cap, but there is no place to get a manicure or facial. 

"We're geared toward guys, but we take women too," as long as it's just a hair cut. The concept for the shop grew out of Dahl's own impatience with stepping into a women's hair salon. The atmosphere of the traditional hair salon was off-putting, he said. The feminine nature of it was a turn off.  

An entrepreneur by nature, he said, "I thought about what I'd want. I used to go to barber shops, but they're not around anymore." So when he found the Sports Clips franchise, it was the perfect opportunity to trim off the annoying aspects of getting a haircut.

Surprisingly enough, one of the biggest selling points appeals to women. They won't have to hassle with the men in their lives to get a haircut anymore, he said. It doesn't take long; the conversation is easy, and it's not feminine.

Sports verbiage and sports vernacular dominates the shop.  Scoring a haircut is completed by executing a five-point play. 

• The Kick-off is the greeting you get when come in the shop. It's not a simple "hello" or "please wait." The greeting is delivered in sports terminology that's bound hit a home run because it puts the guy at ease. He's just standing on the sidelines or on-deck waiting to step to the plate.
• The Huddle is a consultation with a stylist who's going to listen first and then figure out what kind of cuts or style might work best for the individual.
• The Main Event is the actual cut.
• Hitting the Showers means washing the hair post-cut to get the strays out before you leave.
•  The Extra Point is an opportunity for guys to stop back in about two weeks for a free clean up around the neck and ears.

Dahl's first shop opened in 2005 in Oak Lawn, at 106th Street and Cicero Avenue; store No. 2 opened in Mokena, 19854 S. LaGrange Road, and store No. 4 is in Bradley, off Interstate 57 at Kinsey Road. A former resident of Frankfort, Dahl said he's more than familiar with the variety of sports teams and interests in the community.

On Nov. 2, Sports Clips is participating in Operation Uplink, a benefit at 191 S. Restaurant. Last year, Sports Clips raised money for the VFW and more. "We do a lot of these things. This is being part of the community; we like it," he said.

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