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Safari Martins leads his client Ian Njenga into a sparse hut on the roadside in rural Kiambu on the edge of the metropolis. Nairobi. Shovels, iron, farm scissors and wrenches hang on the wooden walls of the shed, but Njanga doesn’t buy equipment there. He’s here for a haircut.
“I just use unconventional tools,” Martins says with a smile, before sliding the sharp edge of the spade over Njanga’s head, slicing off a strand of hair in the first step of a series of moves that results in a surprisingly clean cut.
Unconventional tools are a trademark of Martins, one of Kenya’s best-known barbers, who each has about 1 million followers Instagram and Tik Tok In the account, he is referred to as Chief Safro.
As he cut Njanga’s head with precision, an assistant stood by, using a smartphone camera to capture every moment from different angles.
Influencer barbers are a new trend in Kenya, where social media usage has exploded in recent years, with platforms like TikTok being used both for entertainment and as a lucrative side hustle.
Martins, who was born in Rwanda and now lives in Nairobi, started cutting hair in high school in 2018. He began offering haircuts outside classrooms and in cramped dormitories using borrowed scissors. Five years later, he added a camera and ditched the traditional trimmer — and never looked back.
Martins became popular for his comical haircuts, but he’s increasingly incorporating traditional haircuts into the mix African Adding voiceovers of folktales to his videos.
“African culture and African stories inspire me,” he said, adding that one of his tools is a sharp iron box blessed by village elders.
The barber’s staying power comes from the haircuts themselves, which his customers say they enjoy, and the opportunity to be featured on one of Kenya’s most engaging social media accounts.
“If I compare him to other barbers, his talent is on another level,” said Njenga, who visited Martins for the first time last year. “When I shave here, I feel very comfortable…I feel very confident when I walk down the street.”
The unique haircut experience and five minutes of social media fame are enough to get customers beyond the price. Martins charge up to 1500 Kenya One of his trims costs shillings, or nearly $12, a hefty premium in Nairobi, where men may pay a tenth of that.
As social media explodes in Kenya, Martins and other content creators Barber are becoming increasingly popular. According to data from market research firm DataReportal, in January 2023, there were only 10.6 million social media users in the country. By January 2025, this number had increased by nearly 50% to 15.1 million.
Since monetizing social media content is often benchmarked against Western digital advertising rates, success online can also provide Kenyans with a relative windfall. Think tank Kenya Institute of Public Policy Research and Analysis said in a June 2025 briefing that about 15% of Kenyans involved in online content creation use it as their main source of income.
Still, Martins is right to complain that barbers don’t get the same rewards as other content creators. According to Fundmates, a company that provides funding for influencers, some of the highest-paid creators are those making gaming, educational or lifestyle content, as brand deals have broad applicability in these areas.
“Barbers are going viral on social media, but I feel like they’re not being respected,” Martins said. “Even if you have a view, even if you have engagement, you don’t get paid as a content creator.”