Beyond the Blade: How Skyway’s "Cutting Edge" Program is Reclaiming Community Wealth and Mentoring the Next Generation
By Omari Salisbury
With summer right around the corner, an extraordinary, transformative energy fills the air inside Personal Touch Barbershop in Renton, Washington. For the past six weeks, a groundbreaking experiment in grassroots democracy and youth empowerment has been quietly unfolding inside these walls. It is the final week of the inaugural "Cutting Edge" Barber Mentorship Program, an initiative funded directly by King County’s Participatory Budgeting (PB) program that elegantly bridges trade education, economic self-reliance, and community mental health support.
The Genesis: How Grassroots Democracy Sparked a Movement
The roots of the Cutting Edge program reflect the enduring power of family legacy and neighborhood trust. Eddie Edwards, the owner of Personal Touch Barbershop located at 355 Rainier Avenue North, revived his business name as a contemporary homage to the original shop his father ran decades ago. Following his father’s passing in 2015, Edwards established this Renton location, cultivating a vibrant, multicultural space where old and young, all nationalities, and different walks of life gather under a unified "community vibe".
This deep neighborhood trust turned the shop into the perfect birthplace for civic innovation. When King County launched its Participatory Budgeting initiative—a framework centered on racial equity that allows residents to directly vote on how public funds are spent—Personal Touch opened its doors to host an informational community forum.
During that meeting, King County staff member Gloria Briggs actively engaged with attending community members, asking for fresh ideas that could uplift local youth and businesses. Edwards put forth a bold idea: a localized barber training and mentorship pipeline. With hands-on guidance from King County staff, a formal proposal was assembled, put to a community vote, and overwhelmingly approved by the neighborhood to launch the Cutting Edge Barber Mentorship Program.
A Powerhouse Alliance: The Cornerstones of the Neighborhood
Lamont Styles, owner of Life’s Styles Barber Academy instructing students at Personal Touch Barbershop. (Photo: Erik Kalligraphy)
What makes the Cutting Edge program uniquely impactful is its strategic alliance of prominent local organizations. The initiative operates as a collaborative ecosystem, combining the community reach of Personal Touch Barbershop and the accredited educational framework of Life's Styles Barber Academy (led by master barber and owner Lamont Styles).
For Lamont Styles, a serial entrepreneur and instructor, backing this program means reclaiming the historic role of the barbershop as an anchor of social infrastructure.
"It's the cornerstone, man, next to the church," Styles shared. "Everybody comes through the barbershop, and so we feel like if we can unite the barbershop in the Black community, we could really, really push a lot of different programs and resources through that."
Styles views the modern barber chair not just as a place for a fresh fade, but as a crucial regional frontline for mental health advocacy, resource routing, and economic empowerment, carrying onward a legacy reminiscent of early Black business pioneers like Madam C.J. Walker.
Six Weeks of Grit, Grind, and Growth
Launched on March 27, 2026, the intensive six-week curriculum left no room for shortcuts. Operating four days a week for six hours a day, the schedule demanded absolute discipline from its students. Mondays and Tuesdays were strictly dedicated to hands-on technical learning inside the shop, while Thursdays and Fridays shifted to the classroom for bookwork, sanitation theory, and business principles.
The Participatory Budgeting funding proved vital, arriving precisely as local stylists and barbers were navigating a traditionally slow economic season. The grant money was directly injected back into the neighborhood to:
Purchase comprehensive professional tools and supplies for the students.
Fund fair compensation for the specialized instructors and mentors.
Distribute financial stipends directly to the participating youth.
Assist with the shop's building lease and operational rentals.
While nearly 30 students initially walked through the doors on day one, a core group of 19 dedicated individuals consistently showed up every single day, demonstrating an unyielding desire to master the craft and escape the distractions of the streets.
Voices from the Chairs: Empowering the Next Generation
The real magic of the Cutting Edge program shines through the diverse students who filled the shop, bringing together a vast array of unique personalities, styles, and ethnic backgrounds.
Makalya Woods: Leveling Up the 'One-Stop Shop'
Student Makalya Woods practices on a mannequin. She said the Cutting Edge Barber Mentorship Program is a life changing opportunity. (Photo: Erik Kalligraphy)
Makalya Woods, an established local hairstylist, spotted “Mr. Eddie's” advertisement for the program on Instagram and immediately recognized it as a life-changing opportunity to expand her entrepreneurial footprint. Gaining direct insights from master barbers allowed her to expand her craft.
"I currently do hair... and I wanted to further extend my knowledge in it," Woods explained. "I have a lot of brothers and friends who like getting their hair cut, and one thing I wanted to offer to them was to be able to give them a one-stop shop service. Instead of them coming in my chair, getting their hair done, and going to the barbershop, I wanted to be able to offer that service to them."
Beyond learning technical skills, Woods credits the program with teaching her deep patience, helping her reconnect with old childhood friends, and giving at-risk youth a profound new outlook on life. Inspired by her mother’s legacy in cosmetology school, Woods is already planning a summer initiative to give free haircuts to local senior communities.
Francisco Loveheart: Mastering the Art of Connection
Student Francisco Loveheart said that one of the most important things he has learned is communication. (Photo: Erik Kalligraphy)
For student Francisco Loveheart, barbering is a family legacy—his father has been a Master Barber for 30 years. While Loveheart entered the program eager to master the shears, guards, and parting sections for afros, his biggest takeaway went far beyond technical precision. He learned that running a sustainable business requires absolute mastery over cleanliness, presentation, infection control, and customer service.
Above all, he discovered that open communication is the ultimate lifeline of a professional barber. "A lot of times they're not coming to you for your skill in cutting hair," Loveheart noted. "They're coming to you for your skill in communication, how you communicate with them, because a lot of times they just like the customer service aspect of it."
Loveheart intends to jumpstart his career by giving free community haircuts to build his clientele, with the long-term goal of opening his own barbershop to create stable, supportive jobs for future trade school graduates.
The Economic Math and a Blueprint for the Future
As the inaugural cohort wraps up, the mood inside Personal Touch is deeply bittersweet. While the instructors see bright futures for all 19 remaining students, the initial funding caps their ability to award full-ride scholarships to just five exceptional individuals. These five hard-earned scholarships will completely cover the costs for the recipients to attend an official barber school and earn their professional state licenses.
However, the economic blueprint left behind by this trial run proves that scaling this model is an incredibly smart investment for public funds. The success of the Cutting Edge program proves that when government frameworks like King County Participatory Budgeting trust neighborhood cornerstones like Personal Touch Barbershop, the return on investment isn't just measured in dollars—it's measured in lives changed, safety restored, and a community fully empowered to build its own future. Edwards, Styles, and their students are already looking toward the horizon, hoping for expanded future funding to scale this brilliant model even wider.
