Imagine going on a quick bathroom break in math class. You walk into the bathroom, hoping to see a few friends and maybe a few other things – but you’d probably never expect a full barbershop going on. 

Mohammed Ramadan, a 16-year-old junior who goes by Moe, has been giving haircuts in the school bathrooms. From anything from a quick trim to a full makeover, Moe is open for business. 

“In quarantine, I had to figure out how to cut hair, so I started cutting my little brother’s. There was nowhere to go so we had to do something,’’ he said. 

Ramadan had an interesting start, as he simply taught himself through YouTube videos, having a lot of free time in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. He quickly found a love for cutting hair and made it into a small business for himself, having clients on a daily basis. 

Although he has had success, being a young entrepreneur can be difficult, and you must find interesting ways to advertise. Ramadan thought the best way to advertise what he was doing was to bring it all to the place where he spends the most time, Stephen Decatur High School.  

“I did it for advertisement, and it worked. People know about me now,” he said.

Although the advertising worked, school administrators were not so pleased with the in-school barber shop among these bathrooms. 

“It’s an inappropriate place to do it. The school bathroom is nowhere to cut hair, along with being super unsanitary,” said Assistant Principal Leland Green.

Not only being unsanitary, especially in a time of the worldwide pandemic, it also comes down to the aspect of cleaning it all up.  

“I mean, who’s going to clean it up?” Green added. “You walk into the bathroom and there’s hair on the floor everywhere. You don’t know who has lice or other problems – it’s just not practical.”

With the school bathroom being his place of business, he was quickly told he could no longer work there. As a result, Ramadan created a workspace in his Ocean City home to cut hair, where he charges $30 a haircut.

“On a good day, I make about $500,” he said. “Tips and a lot of clients makes good money.’’  

Not only does this provide income for Ramadan, but he also does something that he is passionate about. He hopes to make this a future and wants to continue this business for as long as he can. Although he was shut down, he continued to work hard and hone his skills. 

“He has a sweet little barbershop. He was so nice and everything about it is very professional. It was a good haircut experience,’’ said senior Calvin Lorance, who recently got his hair cut by Ramadan. 

Freshman Trybe Wise, another client of Ramadan’s, said he was in desperate need for a haircut. “So I met Moe in the bathroom, and he gave me a cut. I’ve been going to him ever since.”

To say this form of advertisement worked would be an understatement. Ramadan might have gotten shut down, but after the bathroom barber shop his hobby quickly became a small business. He gained a lot of traction from friends, fellow classmates, and even people he had never known.  

“I’m glad everything worked out. It’s made me pretty successful,” said Ramadan.