Got class at noon and work at 1 p.m.? Don’t worry — this LSU student is giving free fades in Free Speech Alley that will have you looking your best to take on the rest of your day.
Sophomore accounting major Larry Smith, 19, has started a bi-monthly barber pop-up in collaboration with the Culture Lens Collective, a group at LSU designed to uplift Black students, in front of LSU’s Student Union, offering free haircuts to anyone who wants an impromptu cleanup.
The New Orleans native started this operation on Monday, Jan. 12, the first day of the spring semester at LSU.
Though many students try to avoid passing through central campus when it gets busy, Smith knew this area would be his best shot at reaching as many people as possible.
“Everybody’s nice, everybody’s friendly,” Smith said. “You go out there with people wanting to talk; there’s nothing really to be scared about.”
Going into the very first iteration of his journey, Smith didn’t market his pop-up at all. Where many students would have asked their friends to tag along to acclimate to the busy pace in front of the Student Union, Smith decided to take the plunge and cold approach passers by with his offer.
“It was just people passing by with me saying, ‘Free haircuts, follow the Instagram,’” Smith said. “They trusted me to not mess them up.”
When Smith set out to provide this service, he knew how helpful it could be in other students’ lives, which is why he decided to make his services as accessible as possible.
“I just wanted to reach out: get more clients, get my name out there and also just help out, give back,” Smith said. “It’s hard for [students] — I know a lot of people don’t have cars, can’t find a barber. It’s too expensive.”
Smith started cutting hair during his junior year of high school when he began noticing how pricey it was to regularly go to a barber.
“I just started practicing on myself,” Smith said. “And then one day, I got one of my friends to let me cut their hair. I messed him up bad, but he stuck with me. He trusted the process. So I’ve been getting better. Now he’s got free haircuts for life.”
Smith views this service side hustle as simply an opportunity to meet new students, express his creativity and, ultimately, network.
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“People come up to you, talk to you and then you connect,” Smith said. “That’s why I was able to cut with the Culture Lens [Collective]…There’s other people who want to help out with stuff like that. I would rather start off using this as a platform and branch out into other avenues from cutting hair.”
Though Smith’s ventures started as a solo project, his hobby quickly became part of something bigger. The Culture Lens Collective approached Smith to join the club and be in community with other student barbers.
“When I came out at the beginning of this semester, they reached out to me and we were able to work together on that,” Smith said.
Design studies major Bryce Fulton, 19, is also a member of the Culture Lens Collective, producing social media content for the group.
“It’s like a group of friends,” Fulton said. “It’s a collective and we’re all working towards something, obviously, but it’s also kind of like a family and a friendship at the same time. It’s very empowering.”
After seeing Smith’s posts about his pop-up, Fulton made sure to keep an eye out for the next time the barber set up shop.
“It’s an unconventional atmosphere, in a way,” Fulton said, “but it still gets the job done. It’s still a good cut, and it’s still a welcoming environment.”
Despite Smith already gaining traction by word of mouth and social media, he doesn’t currently plan on pursuing barbering professionally.
“I’ve always done a lot of things,” Smith said. “There’s a lot of things I like to do. I just learn how to do it and make money off of it: I cut hair, I detailed cars, I do things like that.”
Upon coming to LSU, Smith was initially a kinesiology major, planning on becoming a trainer. Accounting ultimately seemed like a better fit for his long-term financial goals.
“I feel like that aligns better with what I want to do,” Smith said. “I still have a love for sports, so I might try and find a way back into that.”
As Smith looks toward the short-term future, he has his eyes set on expanding his positive influence on campus by eventually starting a club to help students connect directly with entrepreneurs, especially as it relates to cutting hair.
For more information and updates, visit Smith’s Instagram or TikTok.
