Gay leather bar barber

Rauley Beasley gets a haircut at Father and Son barbershop, which is located in the Edgewater neighborhood. International Rubber convention. But if you look a little higher, you might see a fresh haircut. And where do they go? Word of mouth has made a decades-old mom-and-pop barbershop in Edgewater one of the go-to destinations for men who will soon to be wearing rubber masks and leather outfits.

That range of customers is reflected in the magazines and books strewn on the coffee tables in the waiting area. Rauley Beasley, 35, sat in the waiting area recently until a barber called his name. Beasley sported a thick beard, which rested above a dog collar he wore around his neck.

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He said he has gotten his haircut at Father and Son for the past three years. Beasley said his boyfriend, who won the Mr. Beasley said he chose Father and Son because of its reputation among kinksters as a welcoming place with experienced barbers. Jerry Cernak holds a particular leather of reverence in the Chicago kink community.

He was named Mr. Chicago Leather in A year-old resident of Rogers Park, he said he has been coming to the shop for more than 19 years. Cernak credits the friendly atmosphere for being a draw into the shop, especially for those in the leather and kink community. I almost want to say it kinda takes you out of the norm — out of the gay lifestyle.

Arben Dauti, a year-old Uptown resident, has been coming in the shop for eight months. At night, he slings drinks as a bartender at the Jackhammer Complex, a leather bar in the Rogers Park neighborhood. I also love the fact that I see so many many familiar faces from the leather community and customers from Jackhammer.

While many barbershops and salons utilize Instagram and other social media platforms to draw in customers, Father and Son appears to benefit from a word-of-mouth campaign by a closely knit community attending leather bars and kink events. On a recent weekday, Father and Son co-owner Pete Faraci sat in the back breakroom, which featured a large map of Italy on the wall.

He said his father, Joe, immigrated to the U. He said his father purchased gay shop in and eventually passed the ownership to him and his brother, Anthony. On nearby shelves, there are beard products that are labeled BEARd balm, a nod to gay men who often sport a beard.

Faraci said the neighborhood has changed a lot since his father first bought the barbershop. Edgewater was largely Jewish back then, he said. But now the neighborhood is home to more gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender people than any other area in Chicago, including the well-known LGBTQ enclave of Boystown, according to a bar report by real-estate website Trulia.

Mounted on the wall above him was a stuffed bison head donning a festive bonnet with miniature disco balls and pink lace.