More than a decade after establishing his chain of Twin Cutz barbershops across Southwest Florida, Sean Casey began looking into the next step in his professional journey.

This week, Casey launched Barber Academy, a state-licensed school for barbers.

Students attend classes from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays for 22 or 33 weeks. They have a choice of two programs, with tuition costing $8,000 for the restricted program or $12,000 for the full program.

“I just find a passion of working with students,” Casey said. “I love the a-ha moment. I know what it did for me. And I know how barbering changed my life. Because I wasn’t the best student, but I knew I was an artist. I just look at hair as a canvass. It allowed me to create stability with myself.

“That fulfills me. I’m continuously working on my business. But I love this part where I can mentor.”

The first three students began class Sept. 16. Mikhale Romero, 21, Antonio Gonzales, 16, and Daniela Cobas, 23, are pioneering Casey’s curriculum, which includes his new, self-published book, The Barber’s Journey: From Student Shears to Shop Owner.

“I’ve been really passionate about it since I was really young,” said Gonzales, who began cutting his grandfather’s hair when the COVID-19 pandemic began and barbershops were shut down.

“I want to be a big-time influencer,” said Cobas, who hopes to make her way as a rare female working in a barbershop catered more to men as opposed to a hair salon for women.

Casey said graduating from his school comes with a 100% employment guarantee, given he owns six barbershops and has relationships with the region’s hair-cutting community.

Twin Cutz has six locations in Naples, Estero and Fort Myers.

Barber Academy is a separate business and is located in Metropolis Plaza shopping center, 12951 Metro Parkway, Unit 7, in south Fort Myers.

Establishing the academy took years.

“I’ve been educating and traveling for over a decade,” Casey said. “I’ve been sacrificing many weekends, jumping on a plan and teaching at a salon or a barbershop or working at a trade show.

“The [Florida] Board of Education licensing is a seven-to-eight-month process. I signed my lease last October. So, I sat on my lease.

“I wanted to create a very creative atmosphere. I believe most people who get into the hair industry are creators.”

The curriculum goes beyond just cutting hair.

“The concept is going through lesson plans that are required by the state,” Casey said. “It goes from orientation to life skills to business development to advanced haircuts, shaving. You have to learn science. The biology. The skeletal system. There are some chapters that have things to do with barbering.

“We work with sharp objects. So, we keep the students safe and keep the clients safe.

“They have a lot of different lesson plans on each day. They do activities. They do quizzes.

“If we take someone with long hair, you learn how to section the hair. Comb the hair. Wet the hair. Style the hair. You go all the way to shaving it bald. They’re learning a system while working with different hair shapes and hair styles.”

Students also will learn other aspects of running a business.

“We’re going to have classes in public speaking,” Casey said. “A lot of sales are done through social media now. We’ll have Instagram, Tik Tok, creating a portfolio using [artificial intelligence] technology.

“We’re going to do a whole full circle of trying to create an individual business for each person. And creating it at every level from the ground up.”

Having established Twin Cutz in 2010, Casey said lessons that will be taught to his new students will include the tough ones he learned along the way. He said the curriculum will balance the business aspects with the artistry of barbering.

“Knowing that and being an artist myself and being creative myself, it was important to create an atmosphere that will keep them inspired through the entire journey,” he said.