Newman joins Wheeler to form Barber Mafia in downtown Lovell

As a nod to the history of outlaws Machine Gun Kelley and Pretty Boy Floyd visiting the barbershop in the 1930s, the friendly neighborhood Kurt’s Cuts has taken on an edgier rebrand to become 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 barbering. After graduating from Lovell High School in 2016, Newman went on a church mission to Barbados, where he said he really began cutting hair.

Once he returned, he went to business school in Laramie at the University of Wyoming. After talking to multiple barbers and graduating from school, Newman chose to try out a cosmetology school in Utah. Newman decided he wanted to continue his barbering career by opening a mobile barbershop to take around the Lovell area. Not wanting to step on any toes, he contacted Wheeler to make sure that would be OK. Wheeler gave his full support and even invited Newman to work for him to build clientele.

Soon after Newman started working for Kurt’s Cuts, Wheeler asked Newman to stay indefinitely.

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

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

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

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

They hope to reach more new customers, as well.

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

On top of providing quality barbershop care through their expanded business, Newman and Wheeler hope to also begin taking on apprentices to work at their new shops.

“Kurt and I want to be able to get barbers who we’re going to be able to trust,” Newman said. “That’s the biggest aspiration -- to just give other people the opportunity for a good career by expanding.

“We’re both proud barbers. We’re both proud of the history of barbering just as a trade. I think that’s something both of us are passionate about.”

Along with the top barber services, the Barber Mafia offers quality products for hair and beard care.

“We try really hard to minimize markups in order to maximize that ability for people to take care of themselves at a decent price,” Newman explained.

The Barber Mafia provides a healthier variety than one might see at a Walmart.

“We saw the need to bring in good quality products. There’s nothing like that in the area,” Wheeler shared.

“What’s more convenient than being able to grab a shampoo or a bar of soap when you’re getting your hair cut?” added Newman.

All of these services combine to show that Barber Mafia truly cares about all their customers. They hope anyone and everyone joins them, and that all customers can feel, as their tagline says, “welcome to the family.”