Occidental’s Bernie Thy Barber invites customers inside for a fresh cut, good conversation

Jul 09, 2023

Bernie Jungle leased his Occidental space in 2020. The customer base is an even split between locals to the western part of Sonoma County and visitors to Occidental, Sebastopol and the Russian River Valley.

Location: 3605 Main St., Occidental

Price: Haircuts $45, head shaves $50, all scissors haircuts and skin fades $50, straight-razor face shaves $60, beard trims $15 with a haircut. Large beards are $20 and up depending on beard.

Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Wednesday-Saturday

More information: 510-406-8761, berniethybarber.com

If thou want thine hair cut in west county, it would be wise to consider Bernie Thy Barber.

No, the longtime west county resident doesn’t pretend to be from Elizabethan times, but Bernie Jungle is an artist with the shears.

For Jungle, 62, barbering is a third, or fourth, career that enables him to use his hands and special tools to create something unique every time. He said he likes the job because of this artistry, and because it enables him to have genuine and heartfelt connections with a vast range of people, multiple times every day.

“All my life I’ve created something, and with haircuts I’m still creating something,” said Jungle, who also did custom woodworking for 34 years. “Between that and talking to people, this is a great job for me.”

Jungle has spent most of his professional and personal life working with his hands.

After growing up in Pennsylvania, one of his first work gigs was as an ironworker, building bridges and skyscrapers in downtown Pittsburgh. From there, Jungle became a welder, fabricator, and woodworker, spending years using power tools to create various objects big and small.

Over the same period, Jungle played music — guitar mostly, but also drums. He was a part of numerous rock bands, including one that opened for Meat Loaf at one point. He still plays occasionally with a few.

He moved to Occidental in 2008, following stints in Oakland and San Francisco.

In 2016, Jungle started thinking it was time for a change. He’d always loved the experience of getting his hair cut, and thought barbering seemed fun. He discussed this epiphany with his partner, and decided he would give barber school a try. The following year, the couple moved to Minneapolis, and Jungle followed his dream of barber school. He was the oldest person in the class, by nearly 30 years.

“I can now say I’m the only licensed barber in California and Minnesota without a tattoo,” he quipped.

Originally the plan was for Jungle and his partner to stay in Minnesota. After two winters, however, they returned to Occidental. Jungle signed a lease on his current space in early 2020 — just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic. He spent that initial shutdown fixing up the space.

He also chose a formal name for his business, settling on “Bernie Thy Barber” mostly because the website for “Bernie The Barber” was already taken.

As pandemic restrictions eased, he began offering haircuts on the sidewalk outside, building his business by word of mouth. By the summer of 2021, he was able to move his operation back inside, and began to cultivate the vibe that exists today.

Walking into Jungle’s barber shop is like stepping into a dimension where time slows to a crawl.

The space is about the size of a large walk-in closet — no more than 200 square feet. Everything inside is antique — a metal barber chair that formerly belonged to a barber in San Jose, a giant mirror, a wooden hutch for shelving, an old couch stuffed with wood fibers and horsehair. There’s even a circa-1956 rotating barber pole, affixed to the inside of the window.

Notably, there’s no television, which means that everyone in the chair gets to engage in old-fashioned entertainment by engaging with Jungle himself. This is exactly how he likes it.

“I like people, I like having conversations, I consider myself an unlicensed therapist,” he said. “After spending all those years behind a table saw, I think I realized that what really gets me motivated and excited is just talking to people, connecting with them, getting to know all about what’s important to them.”

Haircuts themselves play out the way they do just about anywhere — Jungle greets guests by asking them how they usually wear their hair, how they’d like their hair this time, and whether they have any additional requests. He works methodically, snipping and buzzing and trimming with precision.

Jungle also offers eyebrow services and straight-razor shaves. His Latherizer, which makes shaving cream, also is an antique.

Many of Jungle’s customers are regulars at this point, and most, though not all, of them are men. The customer base is an even split between locals to the western part of Sonoma County and visitors to Occidental, Sebastopol and the Russian River Valley.

He said he doesn’t advertise much, and noted that word of mouth is still what brings in the bulk of his business. This, in turn, affords him the opportunity to be picky about his schedule, and only work when he wants. Jungle said he tries to keep regular hours in the barbershop four days a week, and often will log as many as eight to 10 haircuts in a day.

In addition to the winning local barber awards, Jungle continues to garner plaudits from those who know him best: Occidental residents and loyal customers.

Mahea Campbell, owner of Neon Raspberry Art House, a gallery in the same building from which Jungle rents space for his barbershop, said Jungle is a clear communicator and a team player when it comes to management of the building.

“He is a deeply thoughtful, kind, community-minded person and this shows up in both his relationship to his clientele and our relationship as building mates,” Campbell said. “He loves talking to people and his way of listening makes people at ease.”

Campbell added that Jungle has “many times” pitched in his carpenter skills with fixes to the facility.

Jack Richards, a customer since 2021, said he has become a regular because he likes Jungle’s attention to detail, and the way Jungle understands what looks good. Richards said his regular service includes a haircut, an eyebrow trim and a straight-razor shave. He added that he appreciates getting Jungle’s undivided attention for the time they spend together.

“I like that his is a one-chair shop, which means he and I can share stories (without) blaring TV or next customers waiting,” said Richards, who lives in Sebastopol. “It’s a treat to have an hour to just sit in the chair and be groomed, listen to, and entertained.”

After surviving shutdowns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, Jungle said he has enjoyed about a year and a half of stable business.

He added he has no plans to make drastic changes to his approach any time soon.

At the same time, he said “at some point” he could see making a play for a larger space — a space with two or three additional chairs he could rent out to other barbers to offer more services and greater availability.

Jungle also admitted it would be an honor to cut the hair of perhaps Occidental’s most famous resident: Tom Waits. Jungle said he sees the singer/songwriter walking around town all the time, and even has interacted with him on occasion. The first time they spoke, Waits had the same reaction that many people have: surprise.

“He said, ‘I never even knew there was a barber shop here,’” Jungle remembered, noting that Waits promised to come in eventually. “As busy as I am, a lot of people have no clue there’s a barber in Occidental, and they’re shocked to find out I’m here. That’s how I know I’ve still got work to do.”

Bernie Jungle leased his Occidental space in 2020. The customer base is an even split between locals to the western part of Sonoma County and visitors to Occidental, Sebastopol and the Russian River Valley.

Location: 3605 Main St., Occidental

Price: Haircuts $45, head shaves $50, all scissors haircuts and skin fades $50, straight-razor face shaves $60, beard trims $15 with a haircut. Large beards are $20 and up depending on beard.

Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Wednesday-Saturday

More information: 510-406-8761, berniethybarber.com