Sixty years ago, Ken Gouveia received a call from his father that would change the course of his career. “Hey, come on down here, I’ve got a client for you,” his father said. That moment marked the beginning of Mike Travers’ longstanding relationship with Gouveia’s barber chair, located at the Hair Center on 741 Dartmouth Street.
For the next six decades, Gouveia meticulously crafted Travers’ hair every four weeks, a tradition established during Gouveia’s early professional years. Travers takes pride in being Gouveia’s inaugural haircut as a professional barber.
Travers poignantly reflects on their enduring bond, stating, “As your hair grows, your relationship grows.”
Throughout the years, Gouveia honed his craft, not only in delivering precise haircuts but also in nurturing profound connections with his clients.
“What I like to see is every time my client goes out the door — and I say ‘client’ because they’re not customers, they’re clients and friends — they always leave with a smile,” Gouveia remarks.
For Gouveia, being a barber is more than a profession; it’s a familial legacy. His father and grandfather were barbers, and he married his high school sweetheart, who worked in the styling salon at the Hair Center until her passing in 2020.
Clients like Travers have unwavering trust in Gouveia’s skill and commitment. Travers attests to the reliability of Gouveia’s haircuts, saying, “You know you’re going to get there, you’re going to get a good product, your hair is going to get cut the way you like it, and you’re going to look good. You can come to this place and just relax.”
The quality of Gouveia’s work extends beyond personal opinions. In a memorable achievement, on July 4, 1976, Gouveia and Travers clinched the title of “best-shaped and colored beard” at a bicentennial event hosted by the DYAA.
Travers initially grew his beard for that event and has retained it ever since. He recalls shaving it once after the birth of his second son, only to find that his son didn’t recognize him and burst into tears. “He cried and didn’t know who I was,” Travers fondly recounts. “My wife, Barbara, was holding him, and he looked at me, and his eyes got big, and he started crying. He didn’t want anything to do with me, I had to grow it back.”
As time passed, Travers’ son became a father himself and was determined to take his grandson to Gouveia for his inaugural haircut, continuing the legacy.
Gouveia acknowledges that fostering multigenerational loyalty involves more than just providing a great haircut. He avoids discussions of politics and religion, as he once lost a customer due to political differences. “So that we don’t discuss… they have their feelings, and I have mine,” Gouveia explains.
Nevertheless, even without delving into those topics, Gouveia manages to engage in meaningful conversations with the men in his chair. He listens to their tales of joy and sorrow while skillfully tending to their hair.
Reflecting on his lifelong journey as a barber, Gouveia shares, “I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. If I wanted to quit today, I could, but these are all my friends. They’re not clients or customers; they’re my friends.”
