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Hey Reader,

Something extraordinary is bound to happen when you gather growth minded barbers together. And GG is the perfect example of that type of gathering.

A couple months ago, I wrote about the first GG summit in newsletter No.112. If you missed that one, highly recommend checking it out for some more context.

For this week's newsletter, I'll briefly share about my experience attending the second GG summit and 3 things I'm taking away.

Overview of GG NYC

GG (aka Good Game) is a multi-day summit experience that gathers barbers from 12Pell, Paradox and Prax. The first GG was hosted by Paradox in San Jose. The second GG was hosted by 12Pell in Chinatown NYC.

Though there's only been two, each GG highlights the host and their local motion. Since social media limits our understanding of what really goes into running these brands, it's IRL experiences like GG that can peel the curtain back.

Over the course of 6 days, we got to witness the 12Pell ecosystem and the people, places and community that bring it to life. From their elevated client experience at 76 Mulberry, to their new pizza shop at Casa de Mulberry, to the tiny space where it all began at 12 Pell St.

Without getting into all the details, GG NYC was designed to highlight elements of the 12 Pell brand. Day 1 kicked off with sessions on media training that covered the foundations on marketing and content creation strategies. Day 2 featured an activation hosted in 12 Pell's courtyard with a live DJ and eating contest that brought out their local community. Day 3 featured a tag team barber competition where barbers selected from a lineup of pre-selected models and the final looks were shot by a photographer in the streets of Chinatown. Day 4 wrapped up with a 3v3 basketball tournament and ended with a real hands on content creation challenge.

The goal wasn't for attendees to leave and try to replicate what 12Pell has built. I think it was to spark inspiration and then to think about how you can apply some of those lessons to your context. Every city, every neighborhood and every block offers a unique ecosystem. As barbers, we live in the intersection of those ecosystems.

Here are a few lessons that I'm bringing back to my own.

Lesson 01: Collaborate

As we plan our grand opening party for Hair Skin Club, I'm thinking of how we can organically collaborate within our existing clientele. The Day 2 food activation got me thinking about one of my clients. He runs the most popular boba shop in town and has done many pop up collabs. Now I'm picturing a collab event where we offer drinks to the first 50 attendees or something along those lines.

In general, planned collaborative events should be a part of every barbershop's marketing strategy. It doesn't have to be big either. If you have a client who is a realtor, you could do a small class about buying your first home. If you have a client who is a photographer, you could do a professional head shot event. Think about your most loyal clients and consider natural ways to collaborate that can be a win-win for both brands.

Lesson 02: Consider the Final Look

The barber competition was judged on the final look, not just the haircut. The final look includes: the haircut, hair style and clothes. A haircut and hair style can transform from black and white into 4k color by the outfit. It might sound silly, but I've never really thought about it that way.

It's so true though. Often times, haircut transformation videos will do something subtle but very significant. The before shot will have the client pre-hair cut, pre-hair style and draped in a cape. The after shot will have the client post hair cut, with a hair style and no cape. That is the final look. It's revealing all 3 elements.

Lesson 03: IRL is winning

We all feel it. We're all fatigued from screens. We want real life. We want to be in person with people. And there's some extremely energizing when we're in a room full of people that we respect. We need to seek those rooms out.

And when we do, just keep in mind that the program isn't the full experience. It's the unscripted moments that happen throughout. There certainly can be memorable quotes from keynote speakers, but often times the most memorable are the conversations that happen outside the scheduled sessions. The game exchanged over meals or outside in the streets.

In a career where we are constantly serving others and pouring ourselves out to make sure our clients look good and feel good. It's critical and rejuvenating to be in spaces with people who understand what you're going through without having to explain ourselves.

There's so much more I can say about GG NYC and I probably will in a longer format, but for now, huge shout out to 12 Pell, Paradox and Prax and everyone who was in NYC for GG.

Alright, finished with No.117. See you next week!

Written by: Matthew Mendoza​​
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