Meet Paris Mahaffey! Paris is the owner of Iconic Barber Lounge in Flowery Branch. He is married to Rachel and the couple had two children. Paris graduated from East Hall High School, graduated from college and moved back to the area in 2017. He is a master barber and likes to stay involved in the community.

We want to thank Paris for spending time with us and telling us more about his life and love of Hall County.

Question: What do you love about working for yourself and being a barber?

Answer: “I would say the biggest one is being able to create a winning environment, an environment where people can come in and be who they are, embracing who they are. Also, being able to really get back to the roots of what a barber is. I do feel a lot of the barber industry has lost community aspects of who they are.”

Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about Hall County?

A: “One of my favorite things I would have to say would probably be the progressiveness of the minority communities.”

Q: Please tell us about your current career. Did you have a mentor? 

A: “I did. I started cutting hair in eighth grade when I first started cutting my own hair. The mentor that I pointed was Adrian Thompson. He actually owned Platinum Cuts near the hospital; and at the Boys and Girls Club Jamie Brown was a mentor.
“I think I was a sophomore in high school, I was getting a haircut and he (Thompson) looked at me and he said, ‘Hey dude, have you ever thought about giving being a barber a try?’ He saw my artistic ability in me while everybody else just saw the athletic ability. He brought that out in me and then my senior year in high school, he actually got shot in Gainesville. I told myself I’ve got to do something and I wanted to carry on his legacy.”

Q: What are a couple of your favorite restaurants in Hall County? And what do you love there?

A: “Big Burritos or Wild Wing Cafe. At Wild Wing Café, obviously the wings and the environment itself, so that’s what I love about like going there. My favorite wing is the red dragon, I really like anything spicy. Then at Big Burritos, I like their Chicken bowl.”

Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in Hall County?

A: “Neal Curry, he is probably one of the biggest community activists in Gainesville without looking for anything in return. He was always a father figure in my life. I remember being a kid and we won the Hall County Championship twice in a row. He tells us that what changed his life, was him being able to work with kids. And so that’s where a lot of my inspiration has come from.”

Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be and why?

A: “I want to backpack in the Amazon.”

Q: What advice would you give to people?

A: “Don’t get caught up in the mundane, make sure that you always focus on you because the true happiness is going to come from who you are.”

Q: What is something on your bucket list?

A: “I want to buy Lakeshore Mall and turn it into a private school with a service, or to help the minority youth in our community.”

Q: Where do you see yourself in five to 10 years?

A: “Five years, I definitely see myself with three kids at that time. Personally, I see myself in a position within my city council and partially retired from barbering. Starting that career path, maybe the political route as a councilman or school board member. In 10 years, I’m completely retired being a barber while still mentoring kids and having a barber school.”

Q: What’s some of your favorite music you like to listen to?

A: “I like a lot of hip hop from the 2000s…and I also listen to a lot of gospel or Christian music.”

Q: What three words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word home?

A: “My kids or my wife, laughter and love.”