A Bradford barber has sent an inspiring message to the next generation as he marks his 10th year in business. 

Ilyas Mohammed, who comes from a family of hairdressers, always wanted to follow his roots and become a barber. He worked at barbershops across West Yorkshire before deciding to open his own business, The Kutting Room, in Shipley. Now, a decade later, the seats in his barbershop are regularly filled by loyal customers.

“It’s a tradition, it runs through the family,” Ilyas, who trained at Christopher Paul in Little Germany, said.

“My parents spoke to me, what do you want to do? I just went a few times to my uncle’s place and stood behind him, watched what he was doing. I was still at school. I just started going after school a few times a week. I’ve always wanted to do it, I just started doing my mate’s hair at school and going to their houses on an evening.”

He has since used his talents to train up his cousins in Eccleshill and Heaton. Among his favourite cuts to give are complete restyles – where he can get creative and take someone with long or unstyled hair into the next chapter of their life.

Speaking about his passion for barbering, Ilyas said: “It makes you feel good. You’re giving back to the community, meeting new people every day, talking to them.

“You learn a lot of things through faces you get to know every day. You talk about all sorts. What happens in barbershops stays in barbershops. They come in and talk to you. They want to let their hair down a bit. It’s very therapeutic.”

Sharing advice to the younger generation in Bradford, he said: “Young people, put your head down, graft hard, it doesn’t come easy, just get on with it. Life is what you make it.”

Ilyas thanked the people who had supported his business over the years.

He said: “To the loyal customers, thank you very much for everything, their support and just being there. It’s like a little family. It’s mad like they’ve got kids and their kids are growing up. It makes you feel old.”

Ilyas marked his milestone moment in business with a day of 50 per cent discounts off haircuts.

Speaking about its impact, he said: “It felt amazing. It was nice to give back to the community.

“You feel good.”