What Men’s Health Left Out

Recently, Men’s Health magazine listed the “12 Smart Things Every Father Should Teach His Son.” These included everything from such no-brainers as which way to twist a jar top to get it off (we usually just slam the jar top against the kitchen counter like a bar fighter cracking off the neck of a beer bottle) to what to do if you’re stopped by a cop (apparently, Dad thinks Junior’s life ambition is to knock over a liquor store).

We at Kennedy’s All-American Barber Club™ believe this list is far from comprehensive and omits some very crucial advice. With this in mind, we’d like to go ahead and add to the list. Not only that, we’re going to provide 14 Smart Things Every Father Should Teach His Son – because we believe in over-achievement in everything we do.
Please feel free to paste this article up on your boy’s bedroom wall, or write the list backwards on his forehead while he’s asleep so he’ll see it in the bathroom mirror in the morning.

Now, without further ado, 14 Smart Things Every Father Should Teach His Son:

1) Don’t leave your girlfriend alone with Charlie Sheen. She may get a reality show out of it, but there’s not much in it for you.

2) Learn Spanish.

3) When you’re having a hectic day, make time for a relaxing Kennedy’s All-American Barber Club™ Signature Haircut and Straight Razor Shave, instead of heading to a Starbucks like everybody else. Caffeine makes you jittery – haircuts make you feel warm and loved.

4) Acne is God’s way of telling you you’re way too good-looking.

5) If you’re looking for a successful franchise investment opportunity, consider Kennedy’s All-American Barber Club™. Our innovative membership pricing model means value for your customer and recurring income for you as owner. That’s why it’s one of the hottest new franchises out there today, son.

6) Don’t shave in the dark.

7) Seriously. Kennedy’s. Think about it, boy.

8 ) Lacrosse, soccer, football and rugby are all basically the same thing – a bunch of guys running from the one end of the field to the other. Basketball is different. It has a floor.

9) A dog is man’s best friend. Don’t tell your future wife.

10) Kennedy’s All-American Barber Club™ is releasing its own private-label grooming products. Buy them all, kiddo.

11) Prepare mentally for the day when there will be no more hair on your head, but plenty on your ears.

12) Even though your cable system now carries 400 channels, there is still nothing on.

13) When you’re on the first date with a girl you really like, avoid using the term “boogers.”

14) Remember, having a regular weekly appointment at Kennedy’s All-American Barber Club™ may extend life expectancy of men by up to five years. This statement has not been evaluated by the FDA.

Of course, this list is still not complete – we haven’t even dealt with golf, barbequing or why it’s inappropriate to wear a polo shirt to your sister’s wedding – but we think it will suffice for now.

Please remember to stop by www.kennedysbarberclub.com for more regular words of wisdom. Well, at least some words at the very least.

The Style Update You Might Not Know You Need

You brush and floss. You use antiperspirant. You make sure you’re wearing a clean shirt, and chances are it maybe actually matches your pants. You shave every day and visit the barbershop when your hair starts to resemble a small, furry animal. Maybe you even work out. But beyond those very basic basics, you probably don’t give all that much thought to your appearance. And why should you? You’ve got bigger things to worry about. Like your job. And golf.

We understand your predicament. You’re a guy. We’re guys too.

But that’s the whole problem. Because you’re a guy – because you probably don’t obsess over every little detail of your appearance at each and every moment of the day — your look might be stuck in a rut.

Seriously. You could be in one right now and not even know it.

So how do you find out? Well, for starters, take a good look in the mirror. And ask yourself these Very Important Questions.

#1. Are you sporting the same ‘do that worked wonders with the ladies back in high school? Even if you graduated in 1988?

#2. Are you wearing the exact same style of shirt you’ve favored for the past…say…15 years? And we hate to have to ask, but does it go beyond being the same style? Have you actually been wearing the same shirt for 15 years???

#3. Do you resemble, in any way, shape or form, Kenny Powers from “Eastbound and Down?”

If you answered “yes” – or even “maybe” – to any of those questions, we have some sobering news for you, friend.

You need a makeover.

Now before you lock yourself in the TV room with the Steelers and a case of beer, hear us out. A makeover doesn’t have to be some frou frou Tyra Banks thing with mud masks and eyebrow shaping. A guy’s makeover can be very…well…manly. Provided you go about the makeover process in the right way.

First, and this is very important – DO NOT ask any of the women in your life to make you over. You want to look like you, only updated. Not someone who was just visited by the team from “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.”

Second – consult some reputable men’s style magazines for a few ideas, or just check out websites like www.menshealth.com/style or www.gq.com/. Remember, the idea is not to completely duplicate the looks you see, but to get an idea of what might work for you. A style of jacket, or a new t-shirt cut. Nothing drastic. Just more modern, stylish versions of the kind of stuff you like anyway.

Lastly and most importantly, talk to a barber – we, of course, recommend a Kennedy’s All-American Barber Club™ pro – and let him or her know you want to update your look. An experienced barber will know what will and will not work with your face shape, with your hair texture and with your general look. He (or she) will know how to keep you looking like you. Only in this decade. Not the one where Guns ‘n Roses was popular.

For the ultimate male makeover, drop by your local Kennedy’s All-American Barber Club™ – where they guarantee “The Best Haircut and Straight Razor Shave You’ve Ever Had or It’s Free”™. Visit their website at http://www.kennedysbarberclub.com to find the nearest Kennedy’s location near you – and if you’re in a moneymaking frame of mind, check out the great franchise opportunities available.

Oh, and if you’re not an “Eastbound and Down” viewer…this is Kenny Powers…

It’s only one day, gentlemen – that is the primary thought to keep in your head.
After the wedding day, of course, you can feel free to spend as many hours as you wish sporting a two day stubble and your hair resembling a flattened squirrel. Well, we should say, as many hours as your new wife will tolerate – and don’t expect miracles in that department.

For your actual wedding day, however, the groom has just got to be properly groomed – or, for the rest of your married life, your spouse will be pointing emphatically at the large framed wedding picture of you two on the shelf and explaining in great detail just how horrible you look and why. She may do that anyway, but why aid the effort?
Instead, all of us at Kennedy’s All-American Barber Club® want to give you a few general tips on how to look like a star as you walk down the aisle – and, when we say “star,” we’re talking Brad Pitt, not Seth Rogan.

It all really happens at the barbershop – preferably a Kennedy’s location, of course, where our barbers and staff are trained to make you “look like a gentleman – and feel like a man.”

Make a barber appointment well in advance of the morning of your nuptials – so you make sure to get in with your favorite barber at the time you wish to be attended to. And this is not the time for a Supercuts special or a quickie at the mall. Go to a quality barbershop that offers a lot of extras. We can think of one particular one that starts with a “K” but we hate to belabor the point.

Your face will end up being constantly photographed – much to your horror. So get a mini-facial, if it’s available, as well as having what we call “The Gent’s Wax” – which involves getting your ears, nose and eyebrows attended to so you don’t resemble the Wolfman. That would confuse many people, especially if it’s not even a full moon.

Then, you must – we repeat, must – have a professional straight razor shave. We don’t want to say your face will end up smooth as a baby’s bottom – we really don’t like the imagery – but a skilled barber (such as one that works at a barber franchise whose name rhymes with “Fennedy’s”) will leave you with a soft and silky magnificence. Whereas if you attempt to shave yourself, your nerves causing your hands to shake like Britney Spears in her latest music video, you just might wind up walking up the aisle with little pieces of toilet paper stuck to your various facial cuts. Not a good look.

Finally, let’s talk hair. Obviously, this isn’t the time to experiment with a Mohawk or the Bruce Willis’ chrome cranium look. Work with what the Lord gave you and what your barber knows he or she can do with it. You may want to get the haircut a couple days before the wedding, if you tend to want to spend the hours immediately following a trim hiding under your desk at work. You know your hair. You know what works. Go with that – and when in doubt, let your barber be your guide.

Make yourself look good – maybe even spring for the above treatments for your groomsmen – but, whatever you do, don’t make yourself look too amazing (if that’s an option – with many of us, we don’t have to worry about that ever being a possibility). It’s your bride’s day to shine – you merely have to appear to not have anything wrong with you. It’s harder than it sounds – but we’re sure you can pull it off, with the help of a quality barbershop that specializes in serving fine gentleman. Have we mentioned Kennedy’s All-American Barber Club® , for example?

Find out more about how we can serve you and your groomsmen at http://www.kennedysbarberclub.com/news/barbershop-franchise-kennedys-all-american-barber-club-now-offering-the-ultimate-grooms-experience.php. You might as well look your best before you spend the rest of your married life in old sweat pants and that ripped Nike t-shirt watching ESPN. Take it from us – your future wife will love you for it. The wedding day part, we mean, not the old sweat pants part.

A Sultan, a Big Payday, and One Lucky Barber

At Kennedy’s All-American Barber Club®, we pride ourselves at placing our customers in the lap of luxury at a very affordable price – and yes, our barbershop franchise has been booming. Still, maybe we’re using the wrong business model.

Apparently, the real barbershop business to be in involves cutting Sultans’ hair.

But let’s back up a moment – and begin with the former record-holder for most expensive haircut: that honor used to belong to high-class hair cutter (excuse us – hair stylist) Stuart Phillips, who is the superstar of hair salons in London. He cracked the Guinness Book of World Records in 2007 – by getting paid a bit over 13 grand to give a Brit a proper trim (and for that kind of money, we expect it should be incredibly “proper!”).

Stuart Phillips’ Salon lobby – we assume those are real diamonds in the light fixtures…

Stuart’s business is still thriving today, despite the recession. Of course, he does offer his clients bodyguards, dog walkers, a private chef, and interpreters – even special scents piped through the ventilation system. So if you want to leave his salon smelling like a rose, you can be assured this man can make it happen.

Our new contender for Stuart’s crown, however, has almost doubled the most expensive haircut record – by getting compensated over $25,000 for one haircut. And yes, this is real money, not the kind you use when you play Monopoly.

The lucky barber in question? Well, it’s yet another London-based barber by the name of Ken Modestou. Apparently only the English know how to get away with overcharging to this degree, a talent we can only dream of possessing.

The Sultan of some place named Brunei (wasn’t that the name of the last Sacha Baron Cohen comedy?) apparently wanted Ken to cut his hair – and no one else. So he booked a private suite on a Singapore Airlines flight for Mr. Modestou (the Sultan supposedly wanted him isolated from the other passengers so he wouldn’t contract the swine flu – and no, we are not making this up) and flew him the 7,000 miles to Brunei (which we just found in Wikipedia – good golly, it IS a country!).

Between the flight, the accommodations in Brunei and the actual payment for the haircut, the bill skyrocketed to over $25,000.

The Sultan: Care for a $30,000 straight razor shave with that haircut?

By the way, don’t worry yourself sick over the Sultan’s overspending getting him into financial trouble. Turns out he’s worth about 20 billion. Give or take a hundred million.

And one final note on The Case of the Outrageously Overpriced Haircut. Modestou’s normal charge for a haircut at his London barbershop?

50 bucks.

This does prove, however, that there is real money to be made in the barbershop business. So you just might want to look over the magnificent franchise opportunities at Kennedy’s All-American Barber Club® at http://www.kennedysbarberclub.com.

And you might also want to begin searching for Sultans on Facebook and Twitter as well. Book a couple of them with Kennedy’s memberships and you’re set for life.

Our Ongoing Picks of the Gents Who Best Exemplify the Kennedy’s All-American Spirit

At Kennedy’s All-American Barber Club®, we respect – and make every attempt to emulate – those who turn business into an art; CEO’s who, through their originality and audaciousness have made themselves bigger than any company they’ve begun and at least as big as any entertainment superstar who’s made the front cover of “Entertainment Weekly” or “The National Enquirer.” They are truly their own brand – and as worthy of our respect just for becoming successes by sheer force of their unique genius and personality.

That’s the reasoning behind this round of Ideal Kennedy’s Man picks. All three of these living legends can, on occasions, be controversial, outspoken and criticized – but none of the three can ever be ignored (but at least one of them might consider a trip to a nearby Kennedy’s All-American Barber Club® for a new hairstyle – you can decide which one we’re talking about…).

So, without further ado, meet three super CEO’s who went beyond their balance sheets to join the Ideal Kennedy’s Men Hall of Fame!

RICHARD BRANSON

Who: The man who made Virgin an international brand attached to everything from airlines to soft drinks.

Why: Because he successfully promoted a brash, adventurous image while very carefully and cautiously building a business empire. Because when you think of Richard Branson, you think of a combination of James Bond and Donald Trump. Because he still holds the record for crossing the English Channel in the quickest time and he was knighted by the queen for his achievements in entrepreneurship. And because he has made cameo appearances in a James Bond and a Superman movie, and got into a water fight with Stephen Colbert on “The Colbert Report.” And mostly because he makes running an international empire look like fun.

Fun Fact: Branson titled his 1998 autobiography, “Losing My Virginity.”

Extra Fun Fact: Kennedy’s co-founder, Nick Nanton, scored a quick and memorable interview with Branson this past October 28th – check out the video (and see Nick and Sir Richard’s photo together) on Nick’s Facebook account at http://www.facebook.com/Nicknanton. And let us know if you can figure out what Sir Richard is actually saying!

DONALD TRUMP

Who: “The Donald.”

Why: Because Trump has made himself the international symbol of success. Like all super-successful businessmen, he’s had his share of ups and downs when it comes to his vast real estate and casino holdings – but he’s made an indelible impression on the entrepreneur landscape through his best-selling books and his top-rated reality show, “The Apprentice.” And most of all, because he had the cajones to take on Rosie O’Donnell – who has about a hundred pounds on him. You don’t like him? “You’re Fired!”

Fun Fact: Trump has hosted two WrestleMania events at Trump Plaza. Neither involved a match with Rosie O’Donnell.

STEVE JOBS

Who: The CEO of Apple, who works for the huge annual salary of…$1.00.

Why: Because he not only revolutionized the computer business when he formed Apple in 1976, but he also revolutionized the entire music industry with the iPod and iTunes. Because he insisted that the traditional boring beige boxes that housed computers needed more pizzazz – and so did the computer itself. Because his Macintosh operation system begat Windows and the modern computer interface as we know it, and his iPhone is now the hottest cell phone on the market. Because his amazing innovative marketing and product development has made Apple one of the most known brands around the world – a brand that almost crashed and burned when the company he began actually fired him in the 1980’s and sunk into a traditional corporate rut without him. In 1997, Jobs returned and made the company bigger than ever, despite some major health problems that plague him to this day.

Fun Fact: In the 70’s, Jobs dropped out of college, dropped acid, shaved his head and backpacked across India.

We’ll be back next month with three more of our Ideal Kennedy’s Men. In the meantime, please, feel free to email your own nominations through our website at http://www.kennedysbarberclub.com – where you can also check out Kennedy’s All-American Barber Club® locations and franchise opportunities. And, as always, feel free to stop in at any of our Barber Clubs – where we can help transform you into an Ideal Kennedy’s Man by providing “The Best Haircut and Straight-Razor Shave You’ve Ever Had, or it’s Free™!”

How Four-Part Barbershop Harmony Lives On

At Kennedy’s All-American Barber Club®, we haven’t yet formed our own Barbershop Quartet (except for a cameo by one on our new radio spot, which you can listen to here). But we do have a fondness for the tradition – after all, we base our Kennedy’s barbershop franchises on the classic barbershop vibe that spawned the sensational singing tradition that continues today.

So this month we want to salute the fine folks at SPEBSQSA – the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America – who keep the harmonic magic alive.

The primary market for straw hat dealers

We’ll begin by informing you that, even though that’s the group’s legal name, they go these days by the less-challenging name of The Barbershop Harmony Society. They apparently only named themselves that original mouthful of words back in 1938 to make fun of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s alphabet soup approach to naming new government agencies. Today, we suppose, they would be “The Barbershop Czars” or something to that effect.

The Barbershop Harmony Society currently maintains the second-largest collection of sheet music, overpowered only by the Library of Congress. That collection boasts 100,000 different songs, 98,000 of which contain the words “Adeline,” “Silvery Moon” and “Gal.” Okay, we were kidding about that last part.

Actually, the amount of modern song arrangements in their library is impressive. For those of you who think Barbershop Quartets probably don’t sing any songs written after World War II, you’ll be surprised (or maybe horrified?) to find an ABBA medley in their library. Yes, somewhere, four men are actually singing “Dancing Queen” a capella.

Every July, the Society holds their own Barbershop Quarter Superbowl of sorts, an international competition to find the best of the best. The competition has its own webcast, just to prove it does know the internet exists, and you can check out the 2009 champions doing “76 Trombones” at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmDGntpZC3I (yes, we realize that is not a quartet onstage. It’s more like 4000 gentlemen singing instead of 4. Apparently, they’ve loosened the rules somewhat).

As over 30,000 Americans are affiliated with this group, it’s clear that Barbershop Quartet singing is alive and here to stay. Kennedy’s All-American Barber Club® is proud to honor this tuneful tradition – and we hope one day to have our own official Kennedy’s roving band of music makers.

The plan right now is to have them only perform Metallica tunes.

Or: Just Because You Can Doesn’t Mean You Should

At Kennedy’s All-American Barber Club®, we are quite proud to offer our signature straight-razor shave to all our members. Our pleased patrons frequently inform our barbers that the extraordinary experience makes them feel like a million dollars. Which, fortunately, is a great deal less than we charge. Of course, if we did charge that amount, we would only have to close the deal on one shave per month. Hmmm.

In any event, while shaving is a vital part of our business plan, we must insist that we have absolutely nothing against facial hair. Beards and moustaches might threaten some barber shop businesses – not us. We’re proud to service whatever you might wish to grow on your face. That would be your right as an American – as it is to show up at town hall meetings with an air horn wearing a Viking helmet.

But, as we all know, rights can be abused. The man who pilots his Pontiac on a sidewalk abuses his right to drive. The gent who uses the mailbox across the street for target practice abuses his right to bear arms.

And the fellow who actually ventures out into everyday society with this circulating around the lower third of his face….?

A man and his centerpiece.

…well, we hate to advocate forced shaving, being fans of civil liberties and all, but, at some point, a barber has to intervene. Seriously, this is a person who clearly spends far too much time training his whiskers to perform unnatural acts.

Yes, beard abuse is on the rise, and to date, the struggle to contain it receives absolutely no government funding. Are we overreacting? You be the judge and review Exhibit B….

Half-beard: half-wit?

Now, we suppose this semi-shaggy individual has an advantage at bars – by showing only his left profile, he can attract women who are into mountain men. By showing only his right profile, he can attract Noel Gallagher groupies. And head-on, he can attract those who are into multiple personalities.

The only chin with its own ninja weapon.

Then we have the World’s Most Dangerous Facial Hair (patent pending) above. Rumor has it this distinguished gentleman is on his fourth wife – the first three met violent deaths when he attempted to kiss them.

But all is not dark in the beard world. There is one bright Hollywood star that has brought in some welcome daylight…

The perfect beard for the perfect lunatic.

Yes, Zach However-You-Spell-His-Last-Name, star of this past summer’s blockbuster hit, “The Hangover.” He brought forth the most laughs in a film filled with fun. And frankly, we give a lot of credit to the beard. Go ahead – imagine him without it. Still funny? We don’t think so. That chin fur was an essential element (along with Ed Helm’s glasses – but that’s for another article…).

But Zach WhoseeWhatsis is the exception. Weird beards are generally only funny when spotted in a recorded image. But when you encounter one of them in real life, it just makes you just want to buy the wacky whisker proprietor a Kennedy’s All-American Barber Club® membership and send them on their way. And frankly, that’s just what you should do.

As a matter of fact, you should buy everyone you know a membership to Kennedy’s All-American Barber Club®. After all, it is where you’re guaranteed “The Best Haircut and Straight-Razor Shave You’ve Ever Had, or it’s Free™!” Find out more about the Gentlemen’s Membership Club for Unlimited Haircuts and Unlimited Shaves at our website at http://www.kennedysbarberclub.com.

Oh, and in the interest of completeness, Zach’s last name is Galifianikis – spelled G-A-L-I-F-I-A-N-A-K-I-S. We looked it up – because we care.

Our Ongoing Picks of the Gents Who Best Exemplify the Kennedy’s All-American Spirit

At Kennedy’s All-American Barber Club®, we strive to serve a higher class of man. And if, by chance, a lower class of man patronizes our establishment, we can’t help but feel we’ve lifted their status several dozen notches by providing him with pampering fit for a king (not to mention a dazzling haircut and relaxing straight razor shave!).

And because we strongly believe in providing role models for all of us to emulate on our journey to the next upper deck of gent-tasticness, below are our next three entries in the Ideal Kennedy’s Men Hall of Fame. This time around, let’s focus on three Good Sports.

BABE RUTH

Who: American baseball legend

Why: No, the Babe wasn’t exactly a top hat and white tie guy, but he had class where it counted – on the inside. A sick kid asked him to hit a home run and the Babe pointed to where the ball was going to go. It went there. He also held the single-season home run record for 39 years – doing it with fewer games and no steroid shakes – and his “Curse of the Bambino” was powerful enough to haunt the Red Sox for 86 years, because the Fenway crew dared to trade him to the Yanks. Not only that, he could take care of a plateful of hot dogs and a keg of beer like nobody’s business – to the point where it sent him to the hospital with the World’s Most Famous Bellyache before a game!

Fun Fact: Japanese troops during World War II would insult American soldiers by yelling, “To hell with Babe Ruth!”

JOE NAMATH

Who: “Broadway Joe,” first true football media star and one of the coolest guys ever to walk the planet.

Why: Because, when he was the New York Jets Quarterback, he loudly guaranteed a heckling fan he would win Super Bowl III even though no one gave his team a chance in hell – and the Jets went on to pull off one of the most amazing upsets in sports history. Because he was allowed to front up movies and TV shows when it was apparent to anyone who wasn’t deaf, dumb and blind that acting was NOT in Joe Willie’s wheelhouse. And most of all, because he wore women’s panty hose in a commercial – and was man enough to get away with it!

Fun Fact: Made President Nixon’s infamous enemies list – even though Namath had voted for Nixon twice.

MICHAEL JORDAN

Who: The Greatest Basketball Player Ever. Ever. It says so on his NBA official bio.

Why: Because he’s the Greatest Basketball Player. Ever. Because he had such an endearing sense of style that we, a barber club, would give this award to a man who shaves his head. Because he played b-ball with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck and because putting his name on a pair of Nike sneakers made them the most long-running popular athletic shoe ever. Ever. Because he was so damn good we can forgive him for the Wizards and for actually interrupting an amazing career to try and play…baseball.

Fun Fact: During his brief minor league baseball career, Jordan batted .202 and committed 11 errors.

We’ll be back next month with three more of our Ideal Kennedy Men. In the meantime, please, feel free to email your own nominations through our website at http://www.kennedysbarberclub.com – where you can also check out Kennedy’s All-American Barber Club® locations and franchise opportunities. And, as always, feel free to stop in at any of our Barber Clubs – where we can help transform you into an Ideal Kennedy Man by providing “The Best Haircut and Straight-Razor Shave You’ve Ever Had, or it’s Free™!”

Our Picks for the Gents Who Best Exemplify the Kennedy’s All-American Spirit

At Kennedy’s All-American Barber Club®, we pride ourselves on the rarified strata of clientele that we attract. Or, in plainer English, we think our customers are all cool guys.

That got us to thinking – who would comprise the Kennedy’s Hall of Fame? Which men of the past century or so, possess the brains, the style and the looks (yes, ladies, we can be vain too) that, should they actually walk into a Kennedy’s Barber Club location, their mere presence would absolutely compel us to fall to the floor, lower our heads and whisper, “We are not worthy,” as we swept up their hair clippings to sell them on EBay?

Here then are our first three entries in the Ideal Kennedy’s Men roll call.

CARY GRANT

Who: Great American movie star

Why: He epitomized style, charm and grace for four decades. You don’t think he was a real man? He didn’t even wrinkle his suit while being chased by a murderous crop-duster in “North By Northwest,” he put Katherine Hepburn on the floor for breaking his golf clubs in “The Philadelphia Story,” he had a real-life affair with beautiful bombshell Sophia Loren, and sued Chevy Chase for saying “Cary Grant – what a gal!” on a talk show. Hey, you’ve got to be a real man to take your heterosexuality to court!

Fun Fact: Cary Grant was one of the first users of a new experimental drug in the 60’s – LSD! Imagine a really elegant freak-out…

JAMES BOND

Who: Amazingly cool, handsome British superspy and noted expert on hand-to-hand combat, wine, women, martinis, and evil megalomaniacs bent on world domination.

Why: Okay, okay, we know he’s not a real person and that guy in the picture is apparently some actor named Sean Connery. But review the facts – he’s saved the world from nuclear holocaust, romanced Ursula Andress, Jill St. John, Halle Berry and Denise Richards, has the most awesome gadgets in the world and survived the greatest threat of all – being portrayed by George Lazenby in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.” He so needs to be a real guy that movie studios never stop looking for new actors to play him. Who else can you say that about? Sherlock Holmes? Oh c’mon. How many chicks did he nail?

Fun Fact: Almost had his groin melted by a laser beam.

PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY

Who: The President of the United States! Duh!

Why: An amazing-looking guy who was the most powerful person in the free world – and his last name was Kennedy. Again – Duh! You want more specifics? Okay, JFK could handle the Cuban Missile Crisis and party with Sinatra’s Rat Pack without breaking a sweat. Marilyn Monroe sang the sexiest version of “Happy Birthday” ever in the history of the world – to him. He was so formidable that it took Lee Harvey Oswald, the Mafia, the CIA, Lyndon Johnson and the entire military-industrial complex to kill him (at least, that’s what Oliver Stone says…). Bonus points for being the first American President that didn’t look like an old banker with indigestion.

Fun Fact: He and his father both dated Marlene Dietrich.

We’ll be back next month with three more of our Ideal Kennedy Men. In the meantime, please, feel free to email your own nominations through our website at http://www.kennedysbarberclub.com – where you can also check out Kennedy’s All-American Barber Club® locations and franchise opportunities. And, as always, feel free to stop in at any of our Barber Clubs – where we can help transform you into an Ideal Kennedy Man by providing “The Best Haircut and Straight-Razor Shave You’ve Ever Had, or it’s Free™!”

Try the Kennedy’s Transformation!

A lot of you probably remember the great action flick, “The Untouchables,” starring Kevin Costner from the late ‘80’s. But how many of you remember how that film began?

Let’s think about what the filmmakers wanted to establish – that Al Capone, the notorious gangster, ran Chicago and he was the king of the Windy City’s castle. So how did director Brian DePalma decide to visually achieve that in the opening shot of the film?

By showing Robert DeNiro as Al Capone in an upscale barbershop, getting the full treatment – manicure, warm towel, straight razor shave, etc. – being interviewed by newspaper reporters. With the barber chair serving as his throne.

DeNiro as Capone in “The Untouchables”

That’s how most men feel in the barber chair, to be honest. They’re being attended to in a place designed for guys. Where guys can feel comfortable, talk about guy stuff and leave looking and feeling their best. In these politically correct times, where the unisex salon franchise is all the rage, it means a lot to bring back that totally male experience. And it means a lot to have that kind of sanctuary and time to breathe in the middle of the day.

Let’s be honest, there are plenty of men out there who have grown up never setting foot in a barbershop. Now that’s a tragedy, plain and simple.

That’s why at the Kennedy’s All-American Barber Club® franchise, we’re here to bring back that feeling and make guys feel like kings again just like in the old days. And we’re not alone – we’re part of a movement. Just take a look at this picture from Mike Huckabee’s Presidential campaign last year…

A close shave for Mike Huckabee

Look familiar? It’s the king once again on his throne – the barber chair!

Cool guys always look like they just came from the barbershop. You ever see James Bond with much of stubble (well, pre-Daniel Craig, that is)? Maybe after Dr. No locked up Bond overnight with Ursula Andress, but that situation is worth a little hair on your face.

Okay, maybe Clint Eastwood in a Western makes you think of stubble – and he’s close to being the coolest guy in the world. Well, surprise, surprise, even Clint took time out for a haircut and shave in “High Plains Drifter,” when he patronized a barbershop in an old Western town.

Of course, since it is a Clint Western, three gunslingers come in to ambush him – and out from under his barber cape, Clint brings up his six-gun and quickly puts them down on the floor next to his hair clippings.

Yes, we men like to be pampered. But we also like to feel in charge too. You know, like we could take out any three guys coming after us in about three seconds. The barbershop satisfies all those basic male requirements. And Kennedy’s All-American Barber Club® is designed to give you the primo classic barbershop experience, with the additional bonus of modern amenities and grooming products. Find out more about our services and franchise opportunities at http://www.kennedysbarberclub.com .

But Eastwood fans, please note – we do discourage the firing of guns in our locations