Paradise Found: MATC Alum Operates Nation’s Only Tiki-Themed Barber Shop

I want to transport customers to Tahiti, to Polynesia, to a place that doesn’t have snow and cold, to any place where they would want to relax.

The distance between the kingdom of Tonga and the city of Milwaukee? 7,258 miles.

Tahiti? 5,724 miles.

Waikiki Beach in Honolulu? A mere 4,236 miles.

Zach Marsh doesn’t have to go nearly that far. He has carved out his own balmy tropical paradise on East Layton Avenue in St. Francis that he visits almost every day.

Nestled inside Serendipity Hair Salon, which is owned by his sister, Whitney Snow, is a different world: An enchanting sanctuary of bamboo, carved tiki statues and fanciful bac bac mattings; where painted skulls dangle from the ceiling and wooden arrows puncture the walls; where tiki mugs and exotic swizzle sticks are proudly displayed; where surf music and brandy-scented aftershave fill the air.

Aloha and welcome to Southpaw Barbershop, believed to be the only tiki-themed barbershop in the United States.

And it’s here that Marsh reigns as the big kahuna. 

Marsh, a 2016 graduate of Milwaukee Area Technical College’s Barber program, has owned the shop since 2018 and went with the tiki theme in 2022.

“It’s about the vibe,” said Marsh, a 47-year-old with a coiffed head of dark hair and a neatly-trimmed beard. He sports Clark Kent eyeglasses and a brash Hawaiian shirt. Sometimes he wears a hep cat fedora. Tattoos cover both arms. “I want to transport customers to Tahiti, to Polynesia, to a place that doesn’t have snow and cold, to any place where they would want to relax.”

And relaxing is certainly what his growing list of clients do when they visit Southpaw. Marsh takes his time: a normal haircut lasts 45 minutes. During that time, Marsh engages with his customer, chatting, cracking jokes, asking questions and connecting on a personal level.

“I never wanted to do 15- or 20-minute haircuts,” he said. “I love the precision of barbering. I want to give customers a longer experience, a better experience.”

So far, it’s working. Marsh is booked for weeks at a time. He was recently featured in an article on the website On Milwaukee. In a recent issue of Exotica Moderne magazine, he got a two-page spread. He has become a fixture at tiki culture events around the country. While he’s not big into social media, his few Instagram posts have attracted customers from Vienna, Austria, the United Kingdom, New York City and Los Angeles. 

“I have customers from all walks of life,” he said. “Everyone is welcome. All I ask is that you are positive and happy.”

A youth adrift

It took a while for Marsh to become the positive, happy barber he is today.

He grew up in South Milwaukee. His father was a guidance counselor and his mother, Rae Lynn Marsh, worked as a psychology instructor at MATC for 25 years. He graduated from South Milwaukee High School in 1997 without the slightest idea of what he wanted to do with his life. 

After high school, he headed to MATC for the first of three stints at the college. But he was more interested in skateboarding than studying. “I was a lost young man,” he said. “The last thing I wanted to do was work hard.”

He tried his hand at various careers. He returned to MATC for a second time and enrolled in the Emergency Medical Technician program. At 23, he married Jennifer, an MATC Registered Nursing graduate, whom he met while working at Home Depot. A year later they had a son, then a second son in 2005.

With a family to support, Marsh took a job at an auto dealership repairing cars and working as a service advisor. On that job he learned the fine points of customer service: the importance of earning, building and maintaining customer trust.

“Everybody wants to be treated well,” he said. “Greeting people. Using first names. Smiling. Being knowledgeable about what you’re doing. That’s all huge and I think it’s lacking these days.”

After 11 years on the job, though, he was ready for a change. He craved an outlet for his interest in style, fashion and creativity. He landed on barbering.

“I always had great haircuts when I was a kid,” he said. “I was the guy in sixth grade who had frosted tips.”

In January 2016, he enrolled in MATC’s Barber technical diploma program along with 17 other students. In October 2016, eight of those 17, including Marsh, completed the program.

“I took to it pretty well,” he said. “I was testing out what I was learning with my family and friends in my basement. I discovered I had a passion for barbering.” 

His MATC instructors emphasized the power of personal connection, Marsh said. He was taught to always greet people by name, smile, look them in the eye and remember their stories.

Marsh learned his lessons well, said Victor Zarate, one of Marsh’s instructors and now lead faculty of the MATC Barber program.

“Zach is passionate about the profession and demonstrates this through his creativity. He pays close attention to detail and that is an important attribute to be successful in maintaining a successful business,” Zarate said. “Imparting high-quality customer service and a welcoming environment speak to what Zach is all about.” 

After working in a South Milwaukee salon for two years, he went on his own in 2018, securing his spot in St. Francis.

He survived the COVID-19 pandemic, which shuttered nearly half of the nation’s barber shops and beauty salons, according to the Small Business Administration, and his style of taking his time and being personable bore fruit. His regular client list grew. 

So did his love of all things tiki. He started to frequent Foundation, a bar in Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood. In his youth, Foundation was a punk hangout. But now it was serving tropical drinks and festooned with Polynesian carvings, artifacts, decor and lighting.

He visited tiki bars all across the country and began collecting mugs, postcards, matchbooks, ashtrays, artwork, vintage masks and woodcrafts. 

In 2022, he merged his two loves into a tiki-themed shop, a place where clients would be immersed in the sights and sounds of the tropics and get personalized service.

He did some research and couldn’t find any tiki barbershops in the state, the Midwest or even the nation.  

“I was nervous when I first opened. By this time, I had another son and I didn’t know how this would go over,” Marsh said. “This is an extremely competitive business. But I thought I had something unique to offer.”

Zarate, his former instructor, agreed. “The unique theme to Zach’s barber shop fills a need that makes his business a true destination and experience,” he said. 

An island of tranquility

Marsh’s customer Brett certainly thinks so. He’s been coming to Southpaw practically since it opened. On a sunny, frosty February morning, he arrived for an appointment. He was standing up in his brother’s wedding the following Saturday and needed his hair cut and his long, thick beard trimmed. 

While chatting with Brett, Marsh worked slowly, expertly clipping and razoring away hair. He lathered up soap in a ceramic tiki cup, dabbed it on Brett’s neck and sharpened a bright silver straight razor.

“Zach is such a cool guy and this is such a cool place,” Brett said. “He’s a great guy to talk to. I’ve always left here happy.”

Brett took one last look in the mirror and smiled. Every hair was neatly in place. His neck was shaved smooth; his beard snipped to the perfect length. A few splashes of brandy-scented aftershave were the perfect finishing touch to his relaxing 45-minute session.

“Bingo,” Brett said. “You got it.”

“That’s the goal,” said Marsh, as he whisked away hair from the 100-year-old chair that clients use. “I want people to leave with exactly what they asked for.”

Learn about MATC’s Barber program