Rockit

He started his apprenticeship at 17 and today Evan Rolton has been in the industry 26 years. Evan began Barbering at the age of 22 when he moved to Australia from New Zealand and has come a long way from the young boy, who at 14 started cutting his mates hair with his grandfather’s clippers.

His Barber Shop ROCKIT, is in the heart on Melbourne’s CBD and is now 16 years strong.

EVAN, PLEASE SHARE WITH US THE STORY OF ROCKIT BARBER SHOP.

The doors opened in September 2005, grand final eve, before it was a public holiday in Melbourne. We did 8 services that day. We are still in the same shop now, we’ve gone through a couple of slight changes, with additional chairs coming in. We based the shop on a classic 1950’ 60’s era barbershop, Rockabilly hair & lifestyles and the moon race, formed the inspiration behind the name. That’s how we came up with Rockit.

Inside the shop we have a very large glass Wunderkammer of vintage coke bottles, old razors, and oiled artifacts of Bakelite and stainless steel, and who is allowed to have a toy room at home?

So, the shop became the display room for all childhood toys, from the 80-90’s and memorabilia of all barbering over the years. Culture wise, we have thrived on a very laid-back atmosphere, 90% of our customers work in office jobs, and they like to come in a switch off from reality, have a laugh, talk the talk, and enjoy the sport on tv. Basically, we make it feel like a local hang out, where a CEO can sit down beside a bricklayer and enjoy a beer, chat, and the experience.

TELL US ABOUT THE SUCCESS YOU HAVE ENJOYED OVER THE LAST 16 YEARS.

I believe the success we have enjoyed over the last 16 years is listening to what our customers want and delivering that. Ultimately this is why we are here. You can walk in, sit in the chair have a laugh, join in the banter. 95% of our customers are return visits. We are often complimented that that it is almost like time stands still. Even as the years go by, our product remains consistent. We’ve had guys who haven’t been in the country for 10 years come back and there like, “it’s great to come back to something familiar.”

We have supported some local charities by doing events where we donate all the takings to charity for the day, we also get into the local cycling community and have sponsored a cycling team in some local community club events, and really, to just be a safe environment for anybody to come in. Some of the charities we have supported are Movember, ovarian cancer, cerebral palsy.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR TEAM

In the 16 years of trading, we have had over 50 staff work for us, 15 have gone on to open their own shops all over Australia and even in the UK. We started with 2 chairs and have progressed to now have 5. And at the peak we had 7 barbers working over the 5 chairs, Monday to Friday.

Most people who have started with us, have come from a hairdressing background. With those it’s teaching the finer points of barbering, hot towels and straight razor shave’s, all aspects of fading, from a 1 fade to skin fades, and the reasons why in barbering we doit this way, as it’s what we do, and what we are known for, as you can get any specific barber on a day and know you’re going to walk out happy and satisfied.

WHAT PRODUCTS DO YOU USE LOVE AND WHY…WHERE DO YOU DRAW YOUR CREATIVE INSPIRATION FROM?

We use uppercut deluxe and the bearded chap. These products are what I see as top of the range and are Australian owned and operated. And we love to support local and small business, plus they are great products, and have such a great variety, and one for every purpose. Creative inspirations come from classic looks, cars, clothes, American sports.

WHAT IS YOUR UNIQUE SERVICE SPECIALTY?

For the shop overall, definitely a classic side part, (executive contour) either from a skin fade, to a classic taper one. But most staff have their own specific style and can easily adapt. From flat Tops, Quiff’s(pompadours), Afro hair. We have a unique blend of everything. Not one specific cut defines us, but we are known for our hot towel straight razor shaves. As we were one of the few to do these back in the day. Refreshments wise, we started giving a beer away 15 years ago with a bar that was located beside us, over time we have adapted this and have now partnered with a few local breweries offering a beer or cider within the shop.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR ROCKIT BARBER SHOP?

Our focus is to rebuild the business and get ready for people to come back to the CBD, we have lost a couple of the staff during the pandemic, as well, they have decided to pursue a different career direction. For now, we are looking forward to getting back to the business of looking after our clients, delivering great haircuts, and overall experience. We have recently implemented a booking system which has been a significant change 15 years as a walk-in shop, to now running by appointments. That seems to have been taken well by all our clients so far. The booking system is seamless and very simple to use on both ends. So hopefully we continue for another 16 years and grow old with our clients.

ROCKIT is located at McPherson Building 546 Collins Street, Melbourne CBD