In 2018, Mersadies Reber had no idea that she would own her own barber shop, let alone that in six short years, she would add eight more locations. Yet, here she is, serving up a unique style for the ‘Fella’s’ who walk into her door.

The Fellas Chop Shop offers cuts, beard shaves and trims, facials, scalp treatments and now has a product line, a YouTube channel offering grooming tips, and of course, a podcast called ‘Trimmed’ discussing all things men’s care. According to Reber, however, the growth of the business has always been attributed to those who serve within the community, and they do all they can to give back to that community.

“As we’ve grown, we’ve asked ourselves what our core values are, and we came up with: work hard, play hard, grow or die, help first, keep it real, and good vibes,” she said. “Everything we do is trying to keep with those core values, and making sure that every customer, client, investor – whoever it is – feels like it’s about them.”

From the very beginning, The Fellas Chop Shop has given back to the community, from giving free haircuts to Veterans, first responders and teachers during promotional times. Recently, Reber and her team have found ways to optimize their earnings for the sole purpose of giving in these capacities. A key way they have been able to do this is through their new product line.

Community over money

“We started our own product line for the Fellas, which has been really cool,” she said. “I never wanted to go into big box stores; I just wanted to create enough to be able to supply the shops that I currently own, and every store gets to choose their own charity that they want to donate proceeds to.

“For instance, everybody voted that for this quarter they want to give all of the teachers that they can possibly find, free services at Fellas. So we printed off 500 gift cards and divided them out between the nine shops, and they’re going to every single school district to pass them out.”

“Having this product line has had such a huge impact on what I’ve always wanted, which is being able to do more in my community,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to make it not about me, but about like the people. Is it the best product out on the market? No, it’s for sure not. Is it L’oreal or these big box brands? No, it’s not. But it’s a product that makes a difference and I love it. It works. It’s a great product and the money doesn’t go into a greedy rich person’s hands. It runs through my hands but right back to the distributor when I replenish the product, and out into the community to serve others. We’re a community over money culture. We always have been and that’s been cool to stay because it’s easy to start making money and start pocketing more, or I could actually just give more than I take.”

Another promotion that the Fellas have done in the past is “Operation Combat Boots,” where 200 veterans were able to have a yearlong gym membership. Reber said that this was something that they did to “promote mental health through physical health.” 

Promoting men’s mental health

Reber said that a large byproduct of what she offers at the Fellas is improved men’s mental health. She said that this is something that she has witnessed firsthand, and is keenly aware of – so much so, that she openly promotes it.

“In general, I think that barbering itself is a key to improving men’s mental health,” Reber said. “How many men do you know who actually go and do something for themselves? The Fellas is a place where you have an actual trained barber who gives you a pampering experience. You don’t just get a haircut; you get a hot towel on your face and they style it for you, blow dry it and they show you how to style it.

“How many men get complimented,” she continued. “You’re not going to just walk up to a guy and be like, ‘hey, you look really great today.’ Like, that’s awkward. But when you’re in the barber chair, you’re getting complimented all the time, and I think that’s just good for men’s mental health.”

Growing with the Fellas

Reber admits that over the years, barbers have come and gone, but one of the things she’s most proud of is how each barber who has been with the Fella’s has achieved amazing things within the profession. Reber spoke highly of the barbers who have grown within the business – many of whom have gone on to open their own shops both in and outside of the Fellas. 

“I love the fact that people can grow inside of my company,” she said. “Anybody  who’s ever left the Fellas has actually gone off and opened their own location, which I actually find to be pretty dope considering they’ve been able to leave me with the confidence of being able to do their own thing. It’s OK that not everybody wants to grow with me, but it’s so cool that they left and they grew.”

Those who haven’t opened their own locations, have gone on to open other Fellas locations throughout the state. Reber said that she never anticipated or wanted to have nine locations, but said that she loves seeing the business grow in a way that helps the barbers, their families and the communities that surround them.

“Honestly, one location wasn’t even a goal of mine, but once I got it, I loved it and I was super grateful. … I had a barber tell me that he wanted to open a Fellas …  and now I have nine locations and they’re all owned by barbers who started in the Fellas and grew through the company. I find it incredibly cool that I’ve been able to give barbers not only this awesome experience in my barbershop, but to become a partner with me and also own their own Fellas as well their own shop. It’s cool that I’ve been able to find so many people who love what the Fellas stand for and why it does what it does. I love the fact that regardless of the nine shops, we haven’t lost sight of who we really are.”

The Fellas Chop Shops are located in Springville, Spanish Fork, Payson, Lindon, Saratoga Springs, Midvale, Cedar City and Logan. To stay updated on what’s happening with the Fellas, go to thefellas.com.