BERLIN — Zach Bays owns Bays, Beards and Cuts in Berlin. As a military veteran himself, he uses his business to create a community of support and give back to veteran organizations.
Bays, Beards and Cuts offers a traditional barber shop experience, reserved for men and kids and operated solely by Bays.
"I wanted the old-school barber shop feel because there really isn't a spot for men to go to anymore," Bays says. "I get a lot of repeat clients on the experience alone, not just a good haircut."
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Bays went to barber school in 2020, but cutting hair wasn't always his plan.
Bays served as a military biomedical electronic technician for nine years.
"I enlisted when I was 17," he says. "I worked on anything at the hospitals that the doctors and nurses can break, so anything from suction apparatuses, defibrillators, x-rays, basically anything that's in there I was able to fix."
During his service, he deployed twice, once to Afghanistan, and then later to Iraq.
"I was deployed to Camp Al Asad with the 23rd Combat Support Hospital," Bays says. "I saw the aftermath of war."
He was sent home from Iraq in 2011.
"A lot of guys don't like talking about it, but I was actually sent home for suicidal ideations," Bays says.
Now, Bays is an advocate for veteran mental health and suicide awareness.
“That’s another thing why I have the place built like it is, so these guys can come in here if they need to, and get the stuff off their chest, and if I'm able to help them, absolutely I will," he says.
Bays says he's able to offer a safe space for men to talk.
“As a barber, you’re not just cutting hair– you're a social worker, you're a psychiatrist, you're everything at that point," he says. "You might be the only person that that person is willing to talk to or able to talk to. and it goes vice versa with me.”
More than a space to talk, Bays focuses on providing support to fellow veterans.
He offers year round discounts for military veterans, first responders and DOC officers.
"Trying to show my love for those guys," he says. "Just that little bit of respect could go a long way."
On the day before Veterans Day, Bays offers free haircuts to all veterans.
"I'm trying to help the guys get ready for any of the ceremonies that they're trying to do," he says.
Bays says by opening his door to veterans, he's able to help them connect with each other.
"That's the whole point of it, is that sense of connection, letting them know that hey, there are people out there who you can talk to," he says.
Last fall, Bays held a clothing drive for the Military Veterans Motorcycle Association, raising more than 2300 pounds of clothes.
You can nominate a veteran for Veteran Voices with NBC26 here.
