Where Skill Meets the SPOTLIGHT

4 mins

Where Skill Meets the SPOTLIGHT

In an exclusive and first-ever interaction, the Modern Barber Challenge 2025, Mumbai winner, Lalmama Chhakchhuak, gets candid with Priyanka Parshurami about his journey that’s shaped by faith, experimentation, and relentless self-learning.

Winning on a national platform is often described as a milestone, but for Lalmama Chhakchhuak, it is both a moment of fulfilment and a beginning. Crowned winner in two demanding categories, Fade Cut and Hair Tattoo, at the Modern Barber Challenge Mumbai 2025, presented by Nishman with Gamma+ as Tool Partner, Chhakchhuak’s victory marks a significant moment for Indian barber culture.

“I am full of happiness and joy,” he says. “But I also know this is not my full potential. I trust what Christ says in Philippians 4:13, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’ This belief keeps me grounded and motivated.”

His gratitude extends to Professional Beauty India, which he credits for creating a stage that celebrates and rewards Indian barbering talent. “Even today, I am still happy with the platform. It is not easy to get recognition in barbering, and winning here means a lot,” he shares.

Winning in both Fade Cut and Hair Tattoo categories was particularly meaningful. While fade cuts are more common in his hometown, hair tattoos demand a higher level of precision and creativity. “Many barbers cannot do hair tattoos, but this is not about pride but about skill,” he explains. “For me, both categories hold equal value. Fade and tattoos are 50/50. I like to show creativity in both.”

Chhakchhuak’s journey began early and humbly. At the age of 13, he cut his friends’ hair using his mother’s tailoring scissors, purely for enjoyment. With savings scraped together over time, he bought a cheap corded clipper and continued cutting hair for friends, neighbours, and family, without any formal training or vision of barbering as a profession.

A turning point came in 2017, when he stumbled upon fade haircut videos on YouTube. What started as curiosity soon turned into daily practice. He experimented on friends, replicated styles from social media, and refined his hand skills, still unaware that barbering would one day define his career.

“I practiced EVERY DAY , RESEARCHED new techniques, FOLLOWED TRENDS , and SLOWLY DEVELOPED my own version and vision.”

As a college student, financial challenges shaped his thinking. With expensive public transport and long travel hours, he initially planned to save money for a motorcycle by breeding pigs. However, exposure to entrepreneurial success stories during a college event shifted his mindset. He sold his pets, invested the money, and opened a small, low-cost barbershop.

Alongside running his shop, he joined a network marketing platform, where he learned valuable lessons about business patterns, planning, and long-term vision. “That phase taught me discipline,” he says. “I practiced every day, researched new techniques, followed trends, and slowly developed my own version and vision.”

Chhakchhuak is entirely self-taught. “No one taught me barbering in the beginning,” he reflects. Social media became his classroom, and international barbers were his inspiration. He closely observed how countries like the US and other Asian nations celebrate barbering through large-scale competitions and awards. “I never saw India participating at that level. I kept dreaming that one day we would,” he says.

That dream found direction when he discovered Gamma+ on social media, and eventually registered for the Modern Barber Challenge. For the competition, he consciously chose a model who would allow him to showcase creativity and try something he had never done before. “Doing something new motivates me and makes me enjoy my work,” he explains. The most challenging aspect, however, was finding the right models in Mumbai, a city where he had no local connections. Luck and support came through when one of his clients, studying in Mumbai, agreed to be his model. His brother, Zualtea, also stood by him as a hair tattoo model.

Quoting Proverbs 22:1, he says, “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches. I chose a good name, and this win is my first step towards representing our nation.”

To younger barbers, Chhakchhuak offers a grounded message. “Men’s haircuts are our makeup,” he says. “When you give your best, you bring happiness to others. With vision, planning, faith, and hard work, this profession can take you far.” His win is not just personal; it is symbolic of the growing Indian barber movement that is ready to be seen, celebrated, and taken seriously on a global stage.

OF FOUNDATION AND FORM

“In Honour of Shape was inspired by a return to the foundations of barbering. The collection focuses on form, balance and silhouette with clean lines and purposeful negative space allowing shape to take the lead. Each look is controlled with structure and weight placement guiding the outcome rather than trends. It’s about respecting the craft, trusting the process and letting strong shape speak for itself.”