NORTH RIDGEVILLE, Ohio — Travis Hobbs goes by Trav to all who know him, his clients included. Over the years, the local barber has cut, styled, trimmed and shaved people from all backgrounds. Now, he's the barber to many of the guys you see on the field at Cleveland Browns Stadium on any given Sunday—and it all started with a $20 pair of clippers.
Hobbs bought his first pair of clippers at his local Walmart when he was 17. In high school, he decided to start cutting hair and began doing his first clients on his front porch. His specialty was designs, shaving art into hair and doing it well. Hobbs was given a chance at a small barbershop, and after getting his license, he got a job at Famous Hair Salon.
"I started cutting in Famous Hair, doing full-service women's perms, colors, long layers, not really wedding hair because I wasn't really good at the up-do part of this," Hobbs said.
Hobbs posted his work on social media as he worked on his craft. He began to gain a following and, from there, joined "barber battles" across the country. From Chicago to New York, Florida to Connecticut, Hobbs has earned more than 20 trophies and other awards for his styling and designs.
Back in Northeast Ohio, Hobbs shifted from cosmetology to barbering, taking a job at West Park Barber Shop. For 10 years, Hobbs fell in love with the profession, and as time went on, the $20 pair of clippers from Walmart became professional-grade tools.
He'd need something higher-end for the clientele he was about to gain.
One day a few years ago, Hobbs was cutting a client's hair when he saw a post on social media from former Browns cornerback Greedy Williams, who was looking for a Cleveland-area barber. Hobbs' client happened to have a similar hairstyle as Williams, so he sent a quick video of the style he was doing and offered to be available within the hour. He drove to him and cut Williams' and NFL cornerback Donnie Lewis' hair.
"After I cut [those] two, they shared me on social media and then [former Browns linebacker] Mack Wilson messaged me and said he saw me on Greedy's page," Hobbs said, talking with Browns defensive tackle Maurice Hurst II, who was getting his hair cut Thursday. "And then Mack pretty much said 'You're my new barber when I get there' and once Mack landed that's when my barbering career with the team kind of took off."
As Hobbs gave Hurst his usual request, a taper with some clean-up on the sides and a lineup, the two shared stories of Hobbs' past and of Hurst's excitement for the upcoming Browns season. Customers waiting for their turn in the chair argued why tuna melts are good sandwiches and asked hard-hitting questions—like "How many chicken nuggets do you think you could eat in a sitting?"
Hobbs runs a typical barber shop, but the customers who sit in his chair are anything but. From Nick Chubb and Deshaun Watson to MJ Emerson and Za'Darius Smith and almost every player in between, Hobbs has styled the Browns for years.
For Hurst, word of mouth made Hobbs one of his first stops in Cleveland.
"Anthony Walker has texted me early on so I hit him up and asked who he used for a barber and he said Trav so I ended up making an appointment," Hurst said. "There's not too many white barbers who cut Black men's hair so he wasn’t exactly what I expected when I got down there but he did everyone on the team and had a good reputation...did a great job."
But what has kept Hurst a client? Hobbs' skills with the clippers.
"You know, he keeps me crispy, keeps me fresh every game day," Hurst said as Hobbs continued the cut.
Hobbs' rise was one he dreamed of but that he couldn't imagine would become his reality.
"Some want to work with high-end celebrities or athletes or whoever it is. And at the beginning that was a dream or a goal," he said. "I didn't plan on that. That wasn't like a realistic thing. It was always like, that'll be cool."
Now, calling Cleveland athletes his clients while also continuing to give fresh cuts to everyday customers as well, Hobbs and his business partner Tom Starr have opened their own shop—Ridge Barbershop in North Ridgeville. While Hobbs cuts Browns players' hair, Starr styles up many of the players on the Cavaliers. As Hurst got his taper, Max Strus and Sam Merrill sat in the chair across from him.
There's a reason some of the most familiar faces go to the shop. The hard work Hobbs has put in over the year has resulted in this success. As he describes it, he has gone from "Famous Hair to famous hair."
Yet, despite his success, Hobbs is still striving for more accomplishments.
"I'm really thankful for where I've gotten with this, but I'm still only at the beginning. I'm 34. So I got roughly 40 years of my life left," Hobbs said. "So this can't be the end. This is still the beginning."
Ridge Barbershop is located at 34131 Center Ridge Rd. For more information about the shop, click here.
