All it took was one bad haircut for senior Sunjay Bista to decide it was time to pick up a pair of scissors. In November 2022, Bista decided it was time to take matters into his own hands when it came to getting his hair cut. It started with tons of YouTube and TikTok tutorials which he used as resources to practice on himself, which turned into asking his friends for a chance to give them a haircut for free.

“I let Sunjay practice on me because I wanted to give my good friend an opportunity to prosper,” junior Matewos Tuge said.

Following a soccer training session, Bista asked Tuge if he could cut his hair. Tuge assumed Bista was joking until he pulled out his clippers. The two set up near the portables and began; Bista worked hard to make sure the complete look was flawless. Tuge described the final result as an “incomparable satisfaction” due to the haircut lasting over an hour and a half.

“Looking back on it, the haircut was nothing com

pared to some of the haircuts Sunjay does today, but I feel it was his most memorable because of the bond it created between the two of us,” Tuge said.

This was the start of Bista’s haircutting journey. Tuge is now featured on Bista’s Instagram and regularly gets haircuts from him.

“My favorite part of cutting hair is being able to meet all different kinds of people and talking to them about what’s going on in their life,” Bista said.

Bista’s clientele is not limited to those at WJ. His reputation has given him the ability to give haircuts to students all over the area.

“In the beginning, I didn’t believe in [Bista]. I thought he was joking. I gave him a chance and was happy with the result. You go to his house and he has all the professional equipment. I’ve been going to him for a year and do not plan to stop until he goes away,” senior Sidney Scale said.

Bista described Scale as one of his favorite clients due to his humor and tips that he leaves. Scale always asks for a taper fade, which happens to also be Bista’s favorite to give due to the simplicity and “freshness” of the cut.

The business has now grown to him giving around 30 haircuts a month. He grew the business by constantly reaching out to different people asking them for chances. Referrals from clients have also been a crucial part of Bista’s rise. Recently, he started an Instagram account, @sunnysnips, where he posts a before and after video of the haircuts, and has grown to almost 100 followers in 10 weeks.

Bista intends on taking his tools to college and cutting hair while he’s there; however, he doesn’t plan on pursuing further unless it shows to be a stable safe job, therefore he may try to begin his own barbershop in the future.