x
Breaking News
More () »

Five Points Barber Has Cut The Hair of Every USC Coach

Barnes says he has no plans to hang up his scissors any time soon.

Columbia, SC (WLTX) — When you want to get something off your chest, who's the first person you turn to? A sibling, perhaps? Maybe your mom?

"I've known when somebody was gonna get a divorce. I've known when somebody was opening up a business. I've known when different things were happening in everybody's life, babies being born that their momma's and daddy's don't even know it, I've known that first," says Ed Barnes, owner and barber at Kings Row Barber Shop in Five Points.

For many, it's your barber. And in the Five Points borough of Columbia, South Carolina, Ed Barnes has been listening for a lifetime.

Barnes says, "We opened up here in 1970, in this same location. Been in this same building for all those years."

And when Barnes cuts your hair, it's as sacred as church on Sunday.

"I have a vault. If he [a client] tells me something and he says do not let that out, it stays there," says Barnes.

He has 47 years of confessions and admissions locked tightly away. And over those years, every head football coach that has graced the field of Williams-Brice Stadium has come to Kings Row and had their hair cut by Ed Barnes.

Barnes recalls, "Lou Holtz was quite a character. Steve Spurrier was quite an interesting character, and still remains an interesting character, as we all know."

He's cut them all, except one -- Coach Will Muschamp

"I have not cut the present football coach's hair this time, but I've cut every one up to this point," Barnes says. "But I do cut his two sons' hair. His wife told me she was gonna get him in here. She hasn't done it yet, but we'll see."

So why have all those coaches made their way to the same man, year after year?

"I hope it's because they think I'm good. That's about all I can say," Barnes says humbly.

But Ed Barnes isn't in the barber business for fame. He's in it because he loves it.

"I tell everyone that I've never worked a day in my life since I found barbering," Barnes says happily. "I've enjoyed this thoroughly. It is a passion in my life."

And Barnes says he has no plans to hang up his scissors any time soon.

"As my wife says, I'll probably die behind this chair," Barnes jokes.

So when coach Muschamp is ready, or anybody else for that matter, Ed Barnes will be waiting, in the same place he's been for the last 47 years.

If all that wasn't enough, Ed Barnes has also cut the hair of every South Carolina governor since he's been in business, all except two. Those two are Nikki Haley, the current United States Ambassador to the United Nations, and Mark Sanford.

Barnes was inducted in to the National Barber Hall of Fame in 2011.

Before You Leave, Check This Out