Though it opened only a little over a year ago, Fade to Win Barber Shop feels like an old-time westside fixture. Located in a grubby strip center just an onion ring’s throw from the legendary Mug n Bun Drive-In Restaurant, its back wall features a mural of Speedway-area landmarks, including the Long’s Bakery sign.
There’s a bench right under the mural where locals can sit around and shoot the breeze. That’s because Adrian Bannon sees his establishment not just as a grooming center, but as a man-friendly, brick-and-mortar adjunct to social media. “Guys just want someplace to go hang out and joke and bullshit,” Bannon says. “The barbershop has always been a great way to network.”
The store’s three-person staff pulls in about 200 clients weekly. Kid cuts cost $15. Grownups pay $20, but that includes both a cut and a shave.
Much of the multiracial, multicultural clientele favors fades and hard parts, but there’s also demand for shaving designs into the close-shorn scalps of men and boys—everything from elaborate tribal patterns to sports-team symbols. “When kids and other people want designs put in their hair, they come to my shop specifically,” Bannon says. 925 N. Lynhurst Dr., 222-4003
This article is part of Indianapolis Monthly’s May 2016 Shear Genius barbershops package. For more slick advice, a crop of local grooming products, and buzzworthy barbershops, click here.
