Barbercon, a global festival of the barbering community, takes place June 10 and 11 at the Knockdown Center in Maspeth, NY.  Launched in 2016 by Lee Resnick as the live networking event for Barbershopconnect, the first social site exclusively for barbers, Barbercon brings together thousands of barbers, cosmetologists, and brands from around the world. 2018 will see Barbercon expanding to two days and growing to include three stages for live hair tutorials and product demonstrations, an even larger indoor/outdoor Barbercon Marketplace, two full days of intimate education classes and workshops, an outdoor festival area, the Barbercon Awards, and so much more.

"I found out years ago, that men’s grooming was not valued as highly as it has become and as it is now,” explains  Resnick.  “At that time, when you went to the major beauty industry trade shows, it felt like the traditional stylists and their stages were being presented like they were in a Broadway show while the barber areas looked like a flea market.”  

As an answer to this, he launched Barbercon, an event that attracted barbers who wanted to be inspired and to improve their skills and stylists who wanted to learn more about men’s grooming and what it takes to attract a male clientele. Barbercon sold out the first year, doubled in size the second year, and doubled, again, the third year.  

“Barbercon is a celebration of men’s grooming," he says. "It’s what you might see on the stage of a hair show but in the smaller confines and more intimate venue of an ‘experience’ show. This year, Barbercon is modeled after a music festival, with three stages, and with each day offering a different line-up and different experiences.   I have been to barber events where they put 400 people in a room but we don’t think people learn as well that way so we keep it to just 40 in a class."

At Barbercon, media sponsor MODERN SALON will be presenting a Best Men’s Grooming Award. “This barber is someone who knows how to present themselves on a different level, someone who can go into any world—the salon world, the barbering world—and knows how to educate," Resnick explains. 

 “My main goal is to give people a fun experience and to open their eyes to all that is happening in men’s grooming. The gratification I get is that people who didn’t know ‘the barber world’ existed leave feeling really happy to be a barber.”

STAY TUNED for the announcement of THE WINNER OF THE MODERN SALON BEST MEN’S GROOMING AWARD