A Shoals local barber is getting back into the business after regaining his ability to walk.
Brian McCafferty, the owner of Classic Cutz Barber Shop, lost all feeling in the lower half of his body in late 2023. He’s recently opened his own private studio after over a year of recovery.
“The way I grew up, you’ve got to fight to live,” said McCafferty, discussing how his upbringing taught him how to overcome adversity. “My mama has been fighting all my life. I just grew up around a lot of strong people.”
McCafferty’s barber practice came to a halt in October of 2023 when a Vitamin B12 deficiency took his ability to walk.
“I woke up and, when I went to stand up, I fell on my face,” said McCafferty.
Though he tried to push through his physical struggles, McCafferty said that the condition began to weaken him to the point it affected his barbering skills.
“I kept trying to cut hair,” said McCafferty. “I’ve been a good business for the last six years. I’m still [rated] five stars.”
McCafferty said that he closed his Pine Street shop to preserve his reputation as a skilled barber.
He would only come to find out the reason for his physical struggles after visiting with several medical specialists. Until then, he didn’t know what had gone wrong.
The deficiency is rare in people around McCafferty’s age of 41. According to the Cleveland Clinic, at least 4% of people aged 40-59 are affected by the condition.
McCafferty said he struggled with depression for months following him losing his ability to walk. With his barbering career stopped so suddenly, he says his options for work were limited.
“The only thing I’ve ever done was cut hair and do construction work,” said McCafferty. “Without being able to walk, I can do none of that.”
After months of addressing his B12 deficiency, McCafferty’s ability to walk slowly returned to him–and with it, his hair cutting skills. As he began to walk more, he was able to get some of his long-term clients to return to him. Even still, he was having trouble gaining the trust of new clients.
“New customers, they would walk in and see me in the walker and say, ‘No, I don’t need a haircut man,’” McCafferty said.
After going through his own struggle with a disability, he said that the scenario humbled him a lot. McCafferty said that even though he treated the disabled with respect before his own struggles, he’s had his eyes opened to the world of disability in a whole new way.
“You don’t appreciate the simple things in life until you lose them, said McCafferty. “It definitely made me relax.”
Over a year and a half since losing his ability to walk, McCafferty is now walking and cutting hair once again–this time, in his own private barber shop in St. Florian. He is currently in the process of changing his brand from Classic Cutz Barber Shop to McCafferty’s Barber Shop and Mini Farm. He said he wants to have a more relaxed and wholesome atmosphere for his clientele at his studio.
“It’s different,” said McCafferty about his idea of combining the mini farm and barbershop aesthetic. “They say if you do what you love, you’ll be successful. I love animals, and I love to cut hair.”
