H. White Men’s Room is not your typical barbershop; and that’s because owner Houston White is not your typical barber.
For White, haircuts bring people in the door at 1500 44th Ave. N. in Minneapolis, but once he’s got people in the door he wants to expose his clientele to something greater. That something greater comes in the form of a coffee shop and café inside the location and a comfortable, contemporary lounging area outside, lined with meticulously maintained cypress bushes. That something greater has also manifested into a clothing line that has sparked a movement. That movement is Black Excellence.
To understand how White arrived to the point of (Black) excellence, one must first journey back to when the enterprising barber was a teenager. With an entrepreneurial mind, but misguided course, White did what others have done (and continue to do) – he sold drugs. And like most, he got caught.
“I got pinched,” bluntly stated White. “I was in court and I was facing some years and the judge said to me, ‘If I see you again in my court you’ll do time, but if you stay out of trouble your record will be expunged.’ From that moment on I never touched drugs again.”
Instead, at 18, White picked up clippers, shears, razors and hot towels. He linked up with David Johnson and together they rehabbed a building on Plymouth Avenue North and opened Mass Appeal. Quickly the shop became the go-to spot for cuts and conversation with an elite clientele that included former Minnesota Vikings Randy Moss and Cris Carter, former Timberwolves star Terrell Brandon and others.
“We were wildly successful,” said White. “My first year barbering – at 19 – I made $60,000.”
Most would have been satisfied – beyond satisfied – at that, but White is not most people.
“I wanted to take it up a notch,” recalled White, who said his partner had differing ideas for growth. “That meeting didn’t go well. There was a natural resistance to change.”
Having transformed Mass Appeal from a five-chair business to a 10-chair establishment, and doing most of the work themselves, White was accustomed to working in building rehab. This led to his next career; buying distressed homes, fixing them up and selling them. Today the practice is more commonly known as “flipping.”
“I figured I flipped Mass Appeal, I can flip a home,” said White. “I kept buying houses and my wife and I would live in them, get the equity out and flip them and move into another. My wife is wonderful because we must have moved about 10, 11 … 12 times. I was barbering by day and doing construction at night. I was working like 17 hours a day. God bless my wife.”
Eventually, the entrepreneur grew beyond flipping one house at a time and had moved up to major – from the ground-up – construction.
“I remember my first major project. I bought land in Brooklyn Park and built my first custom home. It was a $470,000 home.”
As a home builder and remodeler White said he built 20 new homes and remodeled another 30. Everything was going wonderfully, then, almost in an instant, it all fell apart.
“I was building a custom home in Golden Valley and the market crashed,” remembered White. “We were already a million dollars in and I had to finish the house on my own dime. Banks weren’t lending and then I couldn’t sell it. We were stuck.”
No longer flying high, White shed all his luxuries and started over. It was starting over that brought White back to barbering and towards Black Excellence.
“There were lawsuits and there was bankruptcy. I had to get rid of my Mercedes, my Tahoe, my Audi A8. We had to start all over,” said White. “I told my wife we’re going to buy this building (that is now H. White Men’s Room) and we’re going to live upstairs. We lived upstairs in the apartment above the shop for four years.”
With H. White Men’s Room, the concept White talked about years earlier was finally realized.
“I opened with the vision of creating a high-end, upscale barbershop. I wanted it to be more of a gentlemen’s club,” said the visionary, White. “I created a system. At most barbershops each station is its own business – there’s no continuity. I wanted everything crisp. This has to be about the overall brand.”
In addition to branding his shop, White is doing another sort of branding; this one with broader implications and reach.
About a year ago, people were around town sporting t-shirts and hats with two simple, yet powerful words – Black Excellence. The apparel was a concept of White’s that gained traction with the help of his friend – now employee, Anthony Jennings, Sr. In the Twin Cities the brand has taken off to the point that it is as common to see someone in Black Excellence as it is to see someone sporting major, international brands. And with social media and the internet, people outside of the area are donning the brand. Just this past week a Minneapolis resident in Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Summer Olympics and was photographed wearing Black Excellence gear.
“For me, Black Excellence is more than a transactional relationship. It’s bigger than a shirt,” said White. “I want people to feel regal when they’re wearing it.”
As a part of the Black Excellence movement, White and Jennings have come up with Black Excellence Day. Aug. 20 they are hosting a community celebration at the shop and they are asking people – even those who do not attend – to wear their Black Excellence gear.
Jennings said White is someone we can all learn from.
“We’re the same age and I’m not ashamed to say that this man is my mentor,” said Jennings.
