Latest news with #RobbieFerrante
7NEWS
20-05-2025
- Business
- 7NEWS
Adelaide barber defends ‘male only' shop, amid complaints from Tik-Tok user
An Adelaide barber has come under fire from a Tik-Tok user who complained about him being a 'male only' hairdresser who won't let women into his shop. Robbie's Chop Shop, which is operated by Robbie Ferrante, labels itself as the 'last male sanctuary' where guys of all ages can 'get away and chill' in the South Australian capital. However, Adelaide-based influencer Elena Téa saying she 'didn't know how the place was allowed to exist' in a scathing video, which took aim at the barber's business concept and social media. 'It's honestly so bad that it's just laughable,' Téa said. The barber bills itself as a men's haven where you can get a coffee, read a magazine, play video games while you wait for your short back and sides or just talk about men's stuff. Ferrante told Sunrise on Tuesday that he has already been subject to a discrimination complaint a couple of years ago, which has already been upheld in his favour. Speaking to Ferrante said: 'The main thing, these days, there's a lot around men's mental health. Male suicide and all that, it's been pushed to the side and it's hard for guys to deal with it. 'Haircuts are a part of life .... It's a good place (and time) to unravel a few of life's problems.' Ferrante said he gets a lot of repeat clients, who often praise the shop. 'We hear a lot from guys who open up to us ... They appreciate it more than words can say,' he said. He also pointed to the huge number of female-only gyms around. 'You have a multitude of female businesses. There's nothing wrong with it. But, you have to allow it on the other side, too. Anyone, who is making a complaint about us, usually has had nothing to do with our shop. 'We get nothing but rave reviews.' A number of women have taken issue, with it, saying they should be allowed in and made to wait outside while their sons, brothers or husband is getting a cut. On the barber's Facebook page, a number of people praised the idea. 'Great idea can't see a problem with a male only barber ... well done. (I'm) sick of the 'woke' crowd telling the rest of us what to do,' one person wrote. 'I think it's fantastic to see a place where men can go and have a chat and open up to other men. In this day and age, with all the mental health issues out there, I think this would be a positive for them. 'If there can be a ladies' only gym, why can he have a men's only barber?'
Daily Mail
19-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Why a men's barbershop has sparked fury from Aussie women over a controversial policy - as owner fires back: 'Let guys just be guys'
A barbershop owner has defended his male-only policy despite mothers complaining they have been forced to wait outside while their sons get a haircut. Robbie Ferrante operates Robbie's Chop Shop in Adelaide and labels it the 'last male sanctuary' where guys of all ages can 'get away and chill'. His business has struck a chord with some women such as Elena Téa who shared a scathing TikTok video questioning how the place was able 'to continue'. Local women complained they had been forced to sit outside while their sons or brothers received a haircut. Mr Ferrante told Daily Mail Australia on Monday his shop aimed to fill a gap for young men who are searching for a place of community. 'What I saw over time was a lot of boys didn't have good role models, (who) needed a little bit of a helping hand or someone that could just sort of guide them,' he said. 'So I'd always had this vision of a place where guys could just be guys and relax and not have to worry about conforming to society or what they say or things that they do. 'Not in a bad way, but just having the freedom to express what they're feeling.' He said there was an added benefit to the business' policy as it encouraged children to be independent while their mums waited outside. Mr Ferrante said it aims to give children 'something where it's not just your mum or dad talking you through this whole experience'. 'It might be something small, but this is something that you're gonna have to do for the rest of your life: interact with people, talk to people,' he added. 'It doesn't feel the same when the mum is in the shop.' Mr Ferrante said often fathers would have their hair cut at the same time as their sons. But scathing critic Ms Téa claimed the business' social media page was a 'cesspool of hate'. The company's Instagram often shares messages about 'It's ok not to be ok' and 'Check in with your friends', encouraging mental health discussions for their clients. It also regularly posts images of fast cars, photos of the shop and memes including Christian Bale's misogynist anti-hero Patrick Bateman in the film American Psycho. Mr Ferrante said mothers are asked to wait outside so their sons can have an independent 'experience' where their parent is not speaking for them 'Anybody can masturbate under a sheet, but it takes skill to do it without the barber noticing,' one post reads. Ms Téa said in her TikTok: 'I don't know how this place is allowed to continue. 'It's honestly so bad that it's just laughable.' Several women on the post complained about not being allowed onto the premises. 'The way that mums bring their kids there for a haircut and are made to SIT OUTSIDE ON A BENCH while they wait!' one wrote. Another said: 'My mum and I once went in with my young brother to get his first haircut and they all just stared at us. '(They) told my mum and I to go outside to say what we wanted to be done to his hair, and leave him.' Ms Téa also shared screenshots of what she claimed was part of the business' website. 'We keep the manliness up and the chit-chat down,' it read. Mr Ferrante said neither he, nor the team who run the website, recognised the writing Téa shared. When asked about the shop's references to American Psycho and memes that could be construed as toxic, Mr Ferrante defended the posts. 'If you can't see the funny side in a lot of things in life, then you're probably not gonna have a very funny life,' he said. 'I have a daughter, I have a wife, I have a sister, I have a mum. There's a lot of things that I will not stand for as far as toxic masculinity.' But Mr Ferrante added that if something 'really does not hurt anyone', then there is nothing wrong with that. American Psycho, a novel which was previously banned in Queensland, tells the story of an investment banker who kills women. 'Someone going around and murdering women, I think that's disgusting, obviously. I'm not idolizing anything like that, I just think it's a well done movie,' he said. 'But I think the other context of the movie is the guys with their business cards talking s*** about business cards. That is a very guy thing to do.' The shop has previously applied for an exemption to the Equal Opportunity Act in 2023 which would protect them from claims they are not treating people fairly. Their application has yet to be reviewed.
