Even in our time, there are practical examples like the Biblical Joseph, whose stories have inspired nothing short of resilience, doggedness and determination. Jimmy Ofuoyan, Nigerian-born international hairstylist and founder of 360Kuts, who is based in Italy, is in that rank.
Since his arrival in Italy after enduring and surviving over one year of the worst harrowing experience many others won’t in a day, his profile and fame continue to peak in the country as one of the most talented hairstylists in Italy, as asserted by the class and pedigree of his clients.
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Pescara was the very city the 360Kuts CEO settled in few years ago. It was there the world bowed to his exceptional hairstyling and bathing skills, after he won the contest with other professionals in the area, including those from Milan. As a way of rewarding the residents for embracing him as a migrant and playing a huge role in his success story, Jimmy Ofuoyan surprised strangers with free haircuts and shopping spree right at the city centre Pescara.
The 360CUTS’ boss has artistes, footballers, actors and other popular individuals on his clientele. He has amassed up to 3 million views and more than 200, 000 followers, who regularly views his video series as a celebrity barber. Social media remains the platform through which he became a viral sensation, attracting high class societal people in the Italian society to his professionalism.
However, the tale of Ofuoyan is one that reminds that there is nothing like a smooth mountain. He was born into a Nigerian family which struggled to put food on the table. He managed to attend primary school and unfortunately, the parents could not send him to high school. At the age of 12, he took up apprenticeship at his older brother’s salon and acquired training in braiding and fixing women’s hair.
While at it, the 360Kuts CEO self-taught through YouTube on men’s haircut, for which he is now globally renowned. After he satisfactorily acquiring knowledgeable as an apprentice, he was licensed to stand on his own. With the sort of ambition he had, he traveled to Libya with his cousin and friends, enroute Italy, at the age of 18 in 2016.
Jimmy Ofuoyan’s journey was temporarily made longer after arriving the war-torn North African nation. He was tossed into prison by human traffickers. While in captivity, he deviced a means to stay alive, by testing the knowledge he had acquired, assuming the role of the official barber of fellow inmates and his captors for a meal per cut. He escaped from captivity after 18 months and fled to Italy. And like they say, the rest is history.
“My life depended on it and me proving I’m worth keeping alive and had something to offer to my captures and others in the prison camp . I never had the chance to use a clipper based on the situation and place I found myself in those days , so I’d only use a Razor blade and a small comb as a guide to do a fade and blend the hair,” he said.
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