The world famous Obama cut
HYDE PARK | Barber created look before candidate hit big time
The name is Zariff -- just Zariff.
Like Oprah, Prince or Beyonce, only you could argue Barack Obama's Hyde Park barber is an even bigger media darling these days.
(John J. Kim/Sun-Times)
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Zariff gets credit for bringing a change to Obama's "look" -- from a short, curly afro to a shorter cropped cut with subtle, natural lines -- just before the nation got their first impression of the junior senator from Illinois at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
"He came in and said, 'I have a big speech tonight, can you make me look good?' " said Zariff, 45, of South Shore. "I decided to cut his hair down, change his look. He trusted my judgment."
Now the "Obama Cut" is an international hit. And Hyde Park Hair Salon at 53rd and Blackstone -- where Zariff mans the third chair on the right -- has become a bona fide Obama tourist attraction.
"Foreigners" pose for pictures outside the shop. They come in and want to sit in Zariff's black, swivel barber chair and get a cut with the same clippers and comb used on Obama. About 10 people a day ask for the Obama Cut -- a medium short length cropped with subtle, blended lines on the sides and back.
"This is a real hot chair. They want to touch it, take pictures in it. They ask what kind of guy Barack is. I tell them that he's such a natural guy, down to Earth," Zariff says.
Obama and Zariff met 14 years ago, back when the salon was in a dingy storefront on Harper a few blocks away. "Another guy was cutting Barack's hair, Wally, and he retired," Zariff said. "One day Barack came in and asked if I was busy. I cut his hair, and the rest is history."
Obama's trips to Zariff's chair for a $21 clip job and never-ending conversations about the White Sox are over. Now Zariff brings his clippers to the president-elect -- which costs Obama 45 bucks, plus a pretty nice tip.
When Mr. Obama goes to Washington, Zariff says he hopes he'll be making White House calls to tend to those presidential curls.
"If I have to move to Washington, fine," he says. "If I have to commute, great. I'll do whatever. It's an honor."