Jose Perez Zamora knows the power of a good haircut, whether you’re sitting in the chair or holding the clippers. He discovered his talent as a barber when he gave his brother an impromptu fade as a teen. Soon, he was cutting hair for his school friends and the kids on his dad’s soccer team.
His career started in earnest when a friend “kind of tricked” Zamora into visiting a barbershop whose owner offered him an apprenticeship. Honing his craft steadied him when he had some scrapes with the law. “The barber chair has always been my gravity,” he says.
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Zamora started his own shop, Flashy Faded (2510 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.), after spending time working at Showtime Barbershop (owned by former UFC fighter Anthony Pettis). Soon after launching, he offered his services to newly drafted Packer Eric Stokes in 2021. Stokes accepted, the same day he threw the ceremonial first pitch at AmFam Field. Brewers players took notice.
“It was like a domino effect,” Zamora says. After a few years of cutting hair for much of the team, he signed as the Brewers’ “official” barber in 2023.
The gig entails giving cuts at the stadium during the season. Zamora has his own chair in the facility and his logo on the wall. His personality and attention to detail are why players seek him out, he says. “A lot of players come to me for my custom designs. … They love that I’m able to deliver something that is flashy but still classy in a sense.”
He’s grateful for the opportunity but takes pride in treating every client with respect, celebrity or not. “That’s how you are able to gain trust,” he says. As for his everyday clients, Zamora keeps his door open for anyone looking for a cut, making time for walk-ins even when his calendar is full.
Zamora’s an advocate for mental health, and his barbershop is a place for that. “We do haircuts for students, and we talk about mental health for them,” he says. In the past, Zamora has hosted groups for mental health awareness with Black and Latino men.
And he’s acutely aware that people get haircuts for important moments in their lives: dates, job interviews, etc. “It’s putting back good energy in the world and giving somebody the boost in confidence that they need to go confront a day,” he says.
His passion for mental health stems from his own journey of self-discovery – the same one that led him to the barber’s chair.
“I turn the clippers on, and I totally forget about what’s going on outside or anything in my head,” Zamora says. “Just seeing somebody else smile, that brings me a lot of joy.”
