ZARIFF

Zariff, a Chicago native, is a barber at Hyde Park Hair Salon. With a dream of being a hairstylist, Zariff graduated from cosmetology school and applied to an open position, not realizing Hyde Park Hair Salon was actually a barbershop. Still, he was hired and has maintained his job at the shop ever since. Barack Obama got his haircut at Hyde Park Hair Salon in the late 1980s while working as a community organizer, and has been a loyal customer ever since. Zariff took over as Obama’s barber in 1998, and even when Obama became president, Zariff would make frequent trips to the White House in order to cut his hair. While Zariff has been the barber of many important figures, including Muhammad Ali, Steve McQueen, and Spike Lee, he is most recognized as being Obama’s barber and for creating the style known as “the Obama cut.”