Hairdresser Patrick Phipps has come a long way since he opened the doors of the barber studio Cut Above the Rest at 339 Barking Road 30 years ago.

Patrick – better known to many as ‘Uncle Pat’ – said: “I was just 21 when I got the keys to the shop, and I’ll never forget how much resilience it took to make this happen. At one point I thought it almost wouldn’t.” He was expelled from school at the age of 14, diagnosed with dyslexia and told by his teachers that he ‘wouldn’t amount to much.’ He didn’t agree. “This didn’t sit right with me,” he said, “so I picked up a hairdressing course at City and East London College in Stratford. I was the only one to pass and since then I dreamed of having my own business.”

“The community is what spurred me on. I’ll never forget being upon a ladder trying to paint my shop sign. I was nowhere near ready to open, but already there were three people downstairs calling up to me for a haircut. I knew then everything I had gone through was worth it. I put my brush down, and with just a few milk crates I sat people down and started cutting hair in between renovating the place.”

Over the years he has cut the hair of children who became fathers and then grandfathers “Now I cut their sons, sons’ hair! That’s four genera- tions!” he says. And he has been an inspiration to others. “I’ve seen many barbers come and go,” he said. “Some I’ve trained and proud to see they have gone on to start their own shops now. The best part is witnessing the growth of clients like the music artists Kano and Ghetts who went on to really make something of themselves. It’s experiences like this that make it very hard for me to be just a barber.”

Now his barber shop is a centrepiece of the community. He has published four books, been a qualified teacher at Newham college and in 2018 won the Community Hero award from Newham based non-profit organisation Troan. He also has more plans – to launch a barbering academy where he will teach 16–19-year-olds. “I just want to make a difference and this way I can.”

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