Newman joins Wheeler to form Barber Mafia in downtown Lovell

In a nod to the history of outlaws Machine Gun Kelley and Pretty Boy Floyd who frequented the barbershop in the 1930s, cozy neighborhood bar Kurt’s Cuts has undergone a bold rebranding as the Barber Mafia.

One of the reasons for the change was the addition of Jacob Newman to the business. During his high school years, Newman enjoyed getting his hair cut by Kurt Wheeler and watching YouTube videos about barbers. After graduating from Lovell High School in 2016, Newman went on a church mission to Barbados, where he says he really got into cutting hair.

When he returned, he attended business school in Laramie at the University of Wyoming. After talking to several barbers and graduating, Newman decided to try cosmetology school in Utah. Newman decided he wanted to continue his barbering career by opening a mobile barbershop to tour the Lovell area. Not wanting to get in anyone’s way, he contacted Wheeler to make sure it would be okay. Wheeler gave his full support and even invited Newman to work for him to build a clientele.

Shortly after Newman started working at Kurt’s Cuts, Wheeler asked him to stay on indefinitely.

“I was cutting so much hair and I was waist deep in work, which was great. I loved it. It was just a lot of hours away from my family,” Wheeler said.

Now that Wheeler and Newman are working together, they hope to expand their business.

“I really didn’t have the time or the ability to expand without Jake,” Wheeler said, noting that they hope to expand into surrounding cities like Basin and Powell to make themselves more accessible to the customers they already have.

“We just get enough people here from Greybull and Worland, so I think we can keep at least one person busy,” he added.

They also hope to reach more new customers.

“Basin has a good gateway to Worland and the markets there,” Wheeler said.

In addition to providing quality hair care through their expanded business, Newman and Wheeler also hope to hire apprentices for their new salons.

“Kurt and I want to find hairdressers that we can trust,” Newman said. “That’s the biggest ambition: just giving other people the chance to have a good career by expanding.

“We’re both proud barbers. We’re both proud of the history of barbering as a profession. I think that’s something we’re both passionate about.”

In addition to the best hairdressing services, Barber Mafia also offers quality products for hair and beard care.

“We do everything we can to keep the markups as low as possible so people can take care of themselves at a reasonable price,” Newman explains.

At The Barber Mafia you can get a healthier selection than at Walmart.

“We saw the need to bring in good quality products. There is nothing like it in the area,” Wheeler said.

“What could be more convenient than having a shampoo or a bar of soap on hand when you go to the hairdresser?” adds Newman.

All these services together show that Barber Mafia really cares about all their customers. They hope that everyone will join them and that all customers can feel, as their slogan says, “welcome to the family”.