21-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Cork man Cian's mobile horsebox barbershop going down a storm with his growing custom base
Cian Leahy opened his business 'Giddy Up Cutz' nine months ago after working for various barbershops in Cork for a decade.
Mr Leahy was inspired while he visited a coffee trailer and observed that a barber chair could fit into the area.
'I ended up going to a coffee trailer and I was watching the baristas walk around inside it and I thought to myself that a barber chair could fit into one of those.
'Then the next day I went to view one and when I was there, I said to myself 'yes, a chair will fit in there' and I went with it,' he said.
The barbershop is the first of its kind in Ireland and is kitted out with a authentic barber chair, a TV, music and a mirror.
Mr Leahy said after working for other business owners for a decade, it was time for him to 'do his own thing.'
'I built a strong enough customer base for them to follow me and it worked out.
'Mostly children love it because they love the idea that they are going to a horse box, like from the outside it is a horse box but from the inside it's a barber shop.
'I want people to feel comfortable inside there as well,' he said.
He said that he loves chatting to customers, especially the elderly.
'I love talking to the older generation because they will have stories about the villages you're in, and they would know the history behind this and that.'
'Also, I love meeting new people and clients can become friends quicker than anyone else.
'Like, say you have a problem with a car, I could have 15 different clients who could recommend 15 different mechanics.
'Everyone will help you, which is a great thing,' he added.
Mr Leahy prides himself in offering an Autism friendly atmosphere, with quiet machines, the ability to put cartoons or sensory videos on for Autistic people, as well as offering a quiet service.
People have travelled from the likes of Fermoy for his Autism friendly service.
'People would come from all over to the honest. I would get Instagram messages saying people are coming from Fermoy, and I'm like 'oh, fair enough'.'
'Parents might show their kids a video of the horse box and they might think it's cool and they want to go.
'They will already feel more comfortable, and I'd throw on whatever cartoon they want on the TV or even turn everything off, if they would prefer that,' he said.
Mr Leahy said acquiring a licence was 'hard' due to the uniqueness of the business.
'It was very hard to get a licence at the very start because you're trying to tell an insurance company that it is a barbershop, but it has wheels and is in a horse box, and they were like 'what now?',' he laughed.
'It is the very first made one in Ireland, so they (the insurance company) hadn't a clue, but I got one in the end after going through about eight different people,' he concluded.
Giddy Up Cutz offers its services at the Boathouse in Dripsey from 10am to 6pm on Thursdays, Bweeng (beside Morey's Chipper) on Friday (12pm-7pm) and Saturday (11am-6pm) and Blarney (behind the Church) on Sunday from 9:30am-4:30pm).
Follow @giddy_up_cutz on Instagram.
