LAFAYETTE PARISH — When customers walk into Networkz Barbershop in Lafayette, Joseph Richard doesn’t miss a beat—or a lineup. Clippers in hand and wisdom ready, he meets each client with the same steady focus he’s honed over decades.
“It’s more than just cutting hair, it’s like 20% cutting hair and 80% customer service,” Richard said.
Originally from Maryland, Richard began cutting hair in the late 1990s. His path has taken him coast to coast, building community along the way with every cut. Even as a young man, he felt drawn to barbering—not just as a job, but as a way of life.
“I wanted to find a way of living where, I didn’t wanna feel as though I was working too hard and was something that felt as though—if there's something that you’re doing and you wouldn’t mind doing it for free, that’s the right job,” he said.
Despite his passion, not everyone supported his choice early on.
“My mother never really wanted me to do it, coming up she wanted me to go to college, go to college,” he said.
Richard did go to college. But he never stopped cutting hair. Eventually, the respect he earned from clients helped shift his mother’s perspective.
“People were speaking highly of me from everywhere and it touched her from that point and then she kinda respected it more,” he said.
Richard now considers his clients part of his extended family.
“I’m with these guys more than I’m with my own family, so that says a lot,” he said.
But a recent arthritis diagnosis has challenged his pace and forced him to adapt.
“Did it make you wonder if you’d be able to keep pushing forward, what was that experience like? It’s still an ongoing thing, I still deal with it, I’m still trying to provide and be there but don’t let your limitations dictate your life,” Richard said.
Despite the physical toll, he continues to give back—one haircut at a time.
“From the first day of school to graduation to through the years,” he said.
“You know, I enjoy making people look good. You never know what that person in your chair is going through and trying to be something positive to them because it does matter.”
