Part 11 recap:
In the previous part, Jimmy’s first celebrity haircut for a Serie B footballer became his golden ticket. From locker rooms to nightclubs, his name spread like wildfire, and 360Kuts was born. With raw hustle and no sponsors, he built a brand from scratch, cutting hair by day and creating viral street content by night. His sharp fades made him unforgettable, and soon, the world started paying attention.
Catch up here: Part 11: How a Nigerian teen trafficked through Libya became a celebrity barber in Europe
In 2023, the viral moment hit.
Jimmy got a DM from a well-known influencer in Milan, a guy with a serious following on Instagram and TikTok. The message was short: “Yo bro, I’ve seen your cuts. Come cut me. Let’s make something.”
Jimmy didn’t think twice. He jumped on a train, clippers in his bag, heart racing.
He cut the influencer’s hair, they made a slick video, posted it, and boom. The content exploded. Views, likes, shares, tags. His name spread like wildfire. His DMs lit up. His bookings doubled. His confidence surged.
But even bigger than the virality was who saw the video.
One of the people who came across that clip was a high-fashion model—not just any model, but the face of Louis Vuitton, a man who had walked for Dior, Amiri, Rhude, and a half-dozen other elite brands. He didn’t book an appointment right away, but he followed Jimmy. He watched the stories, liked the posts, and replied with compliments.
“He would tell me, ‘I love your stories. I love your job. I love your work. I love how you do your things.'”
Jimmy hadn’t even cut his hair yet, but the support was constant, and it meant everything. Because now, it wasn’t just clients or random strangers—it was people at the top of the fashion world who were seeing him, who were connecting not just with his skill, but with his story.
Then came 2024. That same model finally sent the message that changed everything.
He said, “Bro, I’ve got a runway show with Rhude in Lake Como. I need you to cut me. I need to look fresh.”
Rhude wasn’t just any brand. It was worn by legends like Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Pharrell, LeBron James. It was high fashion, high culture, high stakes.
Jimmy was stunned. But there was a problem. He was working in a local Italian barbershop. He didn’t have flexibility. He couldn’t leave town yet. He had to say no.
That hurt.
“I’ve worked this hard, come this far, and now that the door’s open, I can’t walk through it?” he thought.
The Call That Changed Everything
By 2023, Jimmy wasn’t just cutting hair in people’s kitchens anymore. He had levelled up. He was now partnered with investors who had the kind of money he didn’t. They brought capital; he brought identity.
Together, they opened something different. It wasn’t your average neighbourhood barbershop with plastic chairs and cracked mirrors. It was clean, modern, upscale. But the partnership came with weight, responsibility, and pressure. Being the only trained hand behind the chair, he couldn’t just disappear. So when a message came in from a model he knew from Instagram, someone who had walked for Rhude, someone with serious connections, Jimmy hesitated.
The model said the Rhude team needed someone. Badly. They had a big show coming up. They needed a sharp, clean, stylish hand on deck.
Jimmy turned it down.
“I just started this partnership. I can’t leave them hanging.” That was what he told himself. The sacrifice made sense. Until two days later, the night of the show, the phone rang again.
The model’s voice was urgent this time, panicked even. The barber Rhude had hired had butchered everyone’s hair. The models, the guests, even the founder’s little brother. It was a disaster.
“Bro,” the model said, “I’m serious. Rhude needs you. Right now.”
Jimmy thought it was a joke. Some kind of exaggeration. Then the model handed over the phone.
Rhuigi Villaseñor, founder and creative director of Rhude, the luxury streetwear brand worn by Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, LeBron James, was on the other end.
“Yo, what’s good?” Rhuigi said. “I saw your page. I love your work. How fast can you get to Lake Como?”
Jimmy couldn’t speak.
He stuttered, trying to form words, trying to process the fact that this man—the man behind one of the most culture-defining fashion brands in the world—was talking to him because he needed his skills that night!
What?? Jimmy couldn’t believe it.
Rhuigi offered to send a pickup. A flight. Whatever it took.
Then he turned the call into video. Suddenly, Jimmy was looking at the face behind Rhude on his screen, standing in a sea of people, backstage chaos unfolding in real time. He turned the camera and showed the room: models pacing, stylists buzzing around, and in the middle of it all, his younger brother, hair half-shaved, panic on his face.
“Look,” Rhuigi said, “this is urgent. I’ll pay whatever it takes. I need your hands tonight.”
Jimmy didn’t even hear the rest.
He was taking screenshots, dozens of them. Rhuigi’s face. The models. The call itself. The proof. The moment. Because this was it. This was the kind of thing you didn’t just tell people—you showed them.
As soon as the call ended, Jimmy screamed.
What happens next? Find out in part 13 of Jimmy’s story next Friday, only on Pulse.ng
