Meet the TikTok-famous barber using a shovel and an iron to cut hair

Safari Martins has gone viral for his zany methods

Safari Martins, a barber whose creative techniques have gained him an online following, shaves Ian Njenga in Kiambu, Kenya (AP)

In a sparse roadside shack on the outskirts of Nairobi, Ian Njenga settles in for a haircut that defies convention.

Despite the agricultural tools adorning the wooden walls – a shovel, shears, and a wrench – Mr Njenga isn't there for hardware. He's there for the unique artistry of Safari Martins, a barber who has garnered a million followers on both Instagram and TikTok under the moniker Chief Safro.

Mr Martins explains his method by saying: “I just use unconventional tools.” Moments later, a razor-sharp shovel edge glides across Mr Njenga’s scalp, expertly removing hair in a series of precise movements that result in a remarkably clean finish.

This distinctive approach, captured by a helper on a smartphone for his vast online audience, has made Mr Martins one of Kenya’s most recognisable figures in the grooming industry.

The rise of 'influencer barbers' like Mr Martins is a burgeoning trend across Kenya, fuelled by the nation's explosive growth in social media engagement.

Platforms such as TikTok are increasingly serving not only as sources of entertainment but also as lucrative avenues for entrepreneurial side hustles, transforming traditional trades into digital spectacles.

Safari Martins demonstrates how he uses an iron box to cut hair (AP)

Born in Rwanda and now based in Nairobi, Mr Martins got his start barbering in high school in 2018. Using borrowed clippers, he began offering trims outside classrooms and in cramped dormitories.

Five years later, he added a camera and dropped a conventional trimmer, and never turned back.

Mr Martins went viral for zany barbering methods, but he has increasingly incorporated traditional African folk tales into voiceovers on his videos.

“I’m motivated by African culture, by African stories,” he says, adding that one of his tools, a sharpened iron box, was blessed by village elders.

The barber’s staying power has come from the haircuts themselves, which his customers say they love, along with the chance to be featured on one of Kenya’s most magnetic social media accounts.

“If I compare him with other barbers his talent is next level,” says Mr Njenga, who first visited Mr Martins last year.

“When I get shaved here I get very comfortable … while walking in the streets I get very confident.”

The haircut is captured on a smartphone (AP)

The draw of a unique barbering experience and five minutes of social media fame is enough for customers to push past the price. Mr Martins charges up to 1,500 Kenyan shillings, or about £8.60, for one of his cuts.

That is a hefty premium in Nairobi, where men may pay a tenth of that for a trim.

The popularity of Mr Martins and other content creator barbers has come amid the breakneck growth of social media in Kenya.

In January 2023, there were just 10.6 million social media users in the country, according to DataReportal, a market research group. By January 2025, that number had increased almost 50 per cent, to 15.1 million.

With monetisation of social media content often benchmarked to Western digital advertising rates, finding success online can also bring a relative windfall to Kenyans.

Around 15 per cent of Kenyans engaged in online content creation rely on it as their primary source of income, the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis, a think tank, said in a June 2025 brief.

Nevertheless, Mr Martins complains that barbers do not not reap the same rewards as other content creators, and he is right.

Some of the highest-paid creators are those who make gaming, education, or lifestyle content, according to Fundmates, a company that finances influencers, because of the wide applicability of brand deals in these niches.

“Barbers get viral on social media but I feel like they are not respected,” says Mr Martins.

“You are not paid as a content creator, even though you have the views, even if you have the engagement.”