ABOVE GROUND SALON

by Padideh Aghanoury

On the corner of 26th and Welton resides not just a hair salon, but a cultural institution, a temple for all that is queer, weird, and fantastic. Not below, or at—but above the ground that is paved by bricks of gender conformity, of heterosexual and Puritan norms—exists a place safe for you to be you as you are. Disco and house music bump all day; the stylists wear their hair in a new color every week (it seems like), and queer and trans folk can step in knowing that, in this salon, they can ask for exactly what they want and know that they’ll be heard— without judgment. That they’ll be transformed into the person they want to be. Above Ground is the name of the salon, and they have risen up into the ether as a haven for all.

The original Above Ground opened its doors in Ann Arbor, Michigan 20 years ago, when hairstylist Dulce "Cookie" Gomez realized there was a massive gulf in the market for hairstylists who could cut curly hair well. Cookie took in a young, curious, and queer hairstylist, Ashe Bowen, under her wing. “Cookie taught me everything,” Bowen says. It was at the original Above Ground that Bowen finally felt like they could bethemself. Bowen grew up during the explosion of Chicago house and Detroit techno, coming of age in 90s warehouse raves at a time when often, the only place queer people could exist as themselves was at 3 a.m. on a dance floor somewhere in Michigan. For Bowen, Above Ground changed all of that. “The original Above Ground was a safe space before safe spaces were even a thing,” Bowen says. Bowen found themselves in hair and house music, and Cookie was the light that guided them through the dark. After Cookie passed away in 2016, Bowen resolved to pay tribute to her in some way. After finding their way to the Queen City of the West, Bowen figured that what Denver was missing was a safe space that did some “damn good hair” in Bowen’s words, so they opened the salon on Cookie’s honor. In January of 2018, Bowen got the keys to the Welton building, and by March of that year, Above Ground flung open its doors. “At Above Ground, everyone is welcome; everyone can be themselves, and everyone will find hair services they are looking for,” Bowen says with conviction, and both the clientele and the staff reflect that, along with the services offered. Stylists at Above Ground are capable of it all: naturally curly cuts, dry cutting, styling, fades, all color services including vivid colors, precision cutting, wedding styling, and textured hair treatments.

And there have been some big shake-ups for the salon recently, too. On October 1, the second location of Above Ground opened up on 17th and Blake, right in the heart of the city. With ample space, an easily accessible location, and a gorgeous interior, opening this new location during the COVID pandemic could not have come at a better time.

Additionally, Bowen recently announced that a free clothing rack is available at the 17th and Blake location for any queer and trans youth and anyone else in need. Bowen also offers free, gender-affirming haircuts to trans youth age 21 and under. Providing these much-needed resources for trans youth, especially during an economic recession and global pandemic that has put many trans folks out of work, is immeasurably valuable. Bowen is accepting clothing donations, as well as cash donations to help cover the cost of these important and necessary genderaffirming haircuts. And, as if that weren’t enough, Bowen has all sorts of exciting ideas brewing in their hyper-speed mind. They don’t want to give much away, but suffice it to say, Above Ground is about to take Denver by storm.