ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Master Barber Anna Chavez put the finishing touches on a "blowout taper" haircut that featured spiked hair blowing out like a bomb on Elijah Chavez's crown.
"He calls me his secret weapon," the statuesque stylist at 3D Kutz Barbershop said, explaining that the 9-year-old client doesn't want anyone to know where he gets his cool cuts.
The offbeat barbershop in the Northeast Heights will be joining dozens of other barbers and stylists in the city Sunday to provide free professional haircuts to underprivileged children.
The Albuquerque Police Department's "Kutz for Kidz" program, which also provides school supplies, takes place at the APD Police Academy, while 3D Kutz is presenting a similar program at its own shop.
"It gives kids pride and self-esteem, a good way to start school," said 3D Kutz owner Damian Montoya.
While a cool haircut and new school supplies are a confidence booster, Kutz for Kidz also gives children the chance to have a positive experience with cops, said Luis Hernandez Jr. of Dream Big, a nonprofit working with APD on the event, which this year includes about 100 barbers from 25 shops in the city.
For the three D's — Damian, Derrick and Dominic Montoya — it's a way to give back to the community.
Tucked in a strip mall at 1331 Juan Tabo, near Interstate 40, 3D Kutz isn't your conventional barbershop and salon, but a delightfully offbeat business that has as its most loyal customers mixed martial arts fighters.
The fighters like the cuts and the shop's friendly, informal and often unpredictable atmosphere, said Ricky Kottenstette, general manager of Jackson's Martial Arts and Fitness Academy, who added that fighters from all over the world get their haircuts there.
But it's also popular with families and kids, he said.
"It's got a great family atmosphere with good people who do great haircuts," Kottenstette said. "It's a good place to hang out because the people are genuine and it's always a good time."
You never know what you're going to see or hear at 3D Kutz, like on a recent day when Damian, Dominic and Derrick - who are closer than grooves on a vinyl record — break unexpectedly into an a cappella version of a hip-hop song they composed, with a message that the barber always gets the girl.
At the song's end, the brothers quickly say it no longer describes their lifestyles, since now they're settled down, all three happily married with children. They are also infused with an infectious spirituality, even offering Bible study on a weeknight at the shop.
Growing up in Taos, Derrick said, the brothers cut each other's hair. A little more than 10 years ago, they were employed as plumbers when Damian said he got tired of working in the muck and the cold, so he went to barber college, where Chavez was his instructor. She eventually taught all the brothers, and later joined the shop as part of the staff. Damian opened the shop in 2001 and within three years brought the other brothers on board.
Chavez is one of the featured barbers. She derives her "master barber" monicker from having taught not only the triplets, but many of the barbers in town. With skilled hands, Chavez is adept at hair cutting and shaving with a straight razor, as clients sit in her own 1940s vintage dentist chair.
She extols the experience.
"A shave with a straight razor gives a man what most women want, a face that's smooth and clean with no stubble," she said, as she applies a steaming towel to a client's face, softening the beard.
Another barber, Tyrel "Mr. Fresh" Fann, is the favorite of younger clients who like cool designs cut into their cuts.
The shop and its cast of characters has attracted some attention from a New York City reality TV production company that is "in discussions" with the Montoya brothers about producing a reality TV series, said Yousef Fassed, a friend, lawyer and adviser to the trio.
"There's a unique dynamic between the brothers and their families, their clients and the fighters that can make a reality TV show work," Fassed said.
Meanwhile, there's a noticeable buzz at the shop's front door as Diego "The Dream" Sanchez, a Top 10 fighter with the Ultimate Fighting Championship series, steps inside. He's part of a regular stream of Mixed Martial Arts and UFC fighters who get their hair cut at the shop, he says.
"It's like a party every time I come here," Sanchez said. "It's fun, its real, and there's always something going on."
John Padilla Jr., Chavez's 15-year-old son, said a TV gig makes sense.
"People already come here for the show," he said with a smile.
Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com