'Grumpy barber' keeps up Italian family tradition

“People know me as the grumpy old barber,” Pino Faugno, the owner of Mario’s Men’s Hair Stylists, says.

“I used to like being a barber, the atmosphere in here, a slower pace of life, no rushing, but maybe because I’m getting older, I’m getting grumpier.

“I’ve been here for 30-odd years and I’ve seen a big change from what Geraldton was to what it has become.

“There used to be a time when the corner of Durlacher Street and Marine Terrace was so busy and we had lots of different stores. Not now though, I’ve never seen this area so quiet before.”

He snips at an older gentleman’s hair and continues to reminisce about the “good old days”.

“My dad started this business and he was known for his technique, the authentic European technique of cutting and styling hair and that’s why so many people still come here today, ” he says.

“I never thought I’d be a barber; I tried other trades and it never worked so dad sent me to Italy for two years to learn how to cut hair and see if I liked it . . . and I did back then.

“There was something very special about cutting hair and the style they teach in Italy and this was something my dad started here and I am continuing his work.

“People know I am grumpy and some customers joke with me about it while I scoff about things, and we have this sort of dialogue where they give me slack for it. Maybe they like the grumpy man and that’s why they keep coming back.”

The family business started from humble beginnings in 1968 by Mr Faugno’s father, Mario, and was then titled Bill and Mario’s Hairdressers and Lotterywest agent.

Mr Faugno started in 1984, bought the business from his father, Mario, in 1993 and manned the store by himself when his father passed away in 2002.

The barber has been an iconic salon for many local families not only in Geraldton, but in rural towns, Mr Faugno says.

“A sort of tradition started many years ago, and people would come out from these country towns on a Friday and Saturday for their haircuts, ” he says. “Even if they were nine-deep or one-deep in the queue they would sit in here and chat with each other and it was a very social thing.”