Triad Barber School honors it’s first graduate, Larry Allred, with a special graduation celebration on June 26.
Liz O’Connell | Anson Record
Owner Garrett Snuggs presents the first graduate of Triad Barber School, Larry Allred, with his certification of completion on June 26.
Liz O’Connell | Anson Record
Triad Barber School provides free hair cuts to the community.
Contributed Photo
Larry Allred, Triad Barber School graduate, speaks to the crowd after receiving his certificate.
Liz O’Connell | Anson Record
WADESBORO — Garrett Snuggs had a vision to open a school for opportunity and success.
His 20-plus years of experience as a barber lead him to follow his vision as he founded Triad Barber School in January of 2020.
The barber field is a $5 billion industry with countless job opportunities, exactly what Snuggs wanted to give to the people of Anson County and surrounding areas. The school prides itself on providing success to every student through education and training.
Triad Barber School opened it’s doors in September 2020 and there has already been 21 students enrolled. Ten months after opening, the first graduate of the school completed their journey on June 26.
Graduate Larry Allred lives in Rockingham and has been balancing a full-time job on top of attending classes at Triad Barber School in Wadesboro. But becoming a barber is something he has wanted to do for a while.
Allred didn’t know he was the first to graduate, but he said it feels great. He enjoyed the laid back but professional atmosphere of the school. He is now thinking about going on to become a barber instructor.
“I don’t mind spreading the knowledge of what I have from cosmetology and venturing out to the barber side,” Allred said.
When asked about seeing his first student graduate, Snuggs said it brought tears to his eyes. Allred was the first person to sign up for the school from outside of the county.
“He took a chance on me,” Snuggs said. “He did real well the whole time, very professional man, very honorable man. He paid attention when he needed to. Lowest score he made was an 84 on a test. He never had to retest. We’re proud to have him.”
Triad Barber School has students like Allred travel from other counties. Students come from Anson, Union, Richmond, Montgomery and even Chesterfield counties. Snuggs was expecting to pull students from all over, but he never thought it would happen this quickly.
“We got four or five people on waiting lists at this point,” Snuggs said. “…Especially during a pandemic that was one of the things I feared the most: that people wouldn’t be willing to come together, congregate together in such close quarters.”
Besides the pandemic, Snuggs was nervous there wouldn’t be enough clientele to keep the students practicing. But Anson residents have not disappointed.
“Anson County has been so good to me,” Snuggs said. “They welcomed me in like a son, brother, uncle…they’ve been real good to me for a long time and continue to be good to me.”
Triad Barber School does about 50 hair services a week, or 200 a month, according to Snuggs. This gives his students plenty of repetition and practice.
Because Anson has provided Snuggs with opportunities, he wanted to give back. He started providing free hair cuts to the community with the theory “if a person looks good, they feel good and might do good.”
Triad Barber School recently provided free hair cuts for the Help’n Hand Foundation. Children received haircuts, giving them refreshed feeling and ready to take on the day.
Opening Triad Barber School has been a transition for Snuggs. He is not cutting hair as often as before, but he is enjoying the journey.
“It’s been a good journey,” Snuggs said. “It went fast. It’s been a lot of learning on my part. I never tried to teach nobody anything so I’ve been learning as I’m going myself. I’ve had a lot of good people to work with.”
Snuggs expects more graduates to follow Allred in the next couple months.
