Hood Heroes — episode 3: Fedler Exilus, the inspiring barber of Montreal North
On Léger Boulevard, in the Montréal-Nord neighborhood, is the Chamaz Barbershop. It is a hair salon that is quite frequented by residents of Montréal-Nord, but also of Rivière-des-Prairies. Its popularity can be attributed to one man: Fedler Exilus. Fedler is the owner of Chamaz, but above all a proud resident of the neighborhood. La Converse met him while he was cutting the hair of a customer. It is therefore in the middle of adolescents, children accompanied by their big sister and older people that Fedler finishes styling his client's hair. In the back room of Chamaz, the young owner then tells us about the solid link between his living room and his neighborhood.
An unexpected path
Originally from Rivière-des-Prairies and having done a large part of his schooling in Montréal-Nord, Fedler Exilus, the 27-year-old Haitian barber, sticks to his positions, at least geographical. With his hair salon opened where he grew up, Fedler now assumes this desire to succeed with his family and his community. “My father wanted me to be an engineer or a doctor and he did not really believe in my hair salon project. Then, seeing myself wake up every morning to go to work and see that I was not hanging out in the streets, he ended up accepting it,” explains the barber, using the example of his father as motivation. A motivation, because the latter never wanted to believe in his son's project, hoping for another way for him.
A reason that prompted Fedler to go above and beyond to prove to his father that he was wrong and that he could succeed in a field that he finally loves. If his father was a source of motivation for him, he is also the reason why Fedler turned, unwillingly, to this professional path: “I have five brothers, and when I was little, my father, for financial reasons, could not take us to the hairdresser regularly, for financial reasons. So he was the one who cut our hair and, honestly, the result was not very, very pretty,” he says with a smile. “So, one evening, I took the clipper and started cutting my own hair, and it wasn't that bad! So much so that my brothers encouraged me by trusting me with their head and, believe me, you don't trust your head to someone if you don't trust them.”
Beyond this motivation and his determination to make his father proud of him, Fedler does not forget what he inspires him: “Since we were little, our father has been telling my brothers and me to work to get what we want, and until today, he is right.”
For almost two years, the young apprentice trained on his brothers and then on his neighborhood friends: “I started charging $2 or $3 for my cups. In high school, I found another clientele with my friends and those on my basketball team. Then, at CEGEP, where I was doing a mechanical engineering technique, it was not going well, but I still ended up in a hair salon. By dint of cutting the hair of my brothers and my friends, I got a taste for it and developed my passion,” says Fedler, proud of his career.
His professional conversion gave rise to unwavering motivation and ambition in him: “You can start from nothing and still succeed. When I opened my living room, I had nothing, almost no savings, and yet, with my motivation, I always got up in the morning to come to work. I am no smarter than anyone else,” Fedler assures, explaining what shaped his character. “Even going through complicated times, I always told myself that there was an emergency door, a tunnel to take where you end up seeing the light; you just have to really want it. There is nothing wrong with working harder than others to get what you want.” A destiny and circumstances that he is very grateful for today and that he wants to share and transmit: “The fact of doing what I love at a young age, which is to cut my hair, has always prevented me from hanging out and doing stupid things. I bet everything on this show and put all my soul into it.”
A hairdressing salon in the image of its neighborhood
Fedler's living room was also thanks to the encouragement of his family and friends in his neighborhood. “In the neighborhood, when one of us has a project, everyone tries to push it so that it can stay in the neighborhood as a way of giving back to the community. That's why I decided to keep this lounge in Montréal-Nord,” says the young man.
L'Enfant la Rivière-des-Prairies highlights the contribution of his brothers and the natural link between neighborhoods. A link that Fedler wants to transpose into his professional environment: “My brothers have always been there, even for the renovations of my living room or to support my project, and this is very important for me. Whether in my family or with my friends, we have always been united and happy despite everything, and that's what I want to bring to my work and to this neighborhood.”
With the Chamaz Barbershop, Fedler wants to break stereotypes, even if he does not deny certain realities of working-class neighborhoods. “Whether in Rivière-des-Prairies or Montreal North, we live in disadvantaged neighborhoods where there is still violence, but with my living room, I am trying to show that there is more than this side of our home”, he says before talking about the great strength of his living room: “I cut, because I like it and I like the ambiance it creates. An atmosphere that you have always known after all, that of cutting the hair of young people or even families in your neighborhood. My living room really brings everyone together. People from all communities, neighborhoods and ages — and it's this mix that creates the atmosphere of Chamaz and brings life and color back in a way to the residents of Montreal North.”
Fedler and young people, a father-son relationship
“Young people here say that I am like a dad to them and that I have a lot of children,” Fedler reports. Over the years, someone who becomes a father figure has seen a lot of young people pass by his salon and has done a lot of his hair. “When you cut a client's hair, whether young or not, you share a moment with him. Some people share their nonsense with me proudly, so I always try to talk to them and advise them, to make them seize all the possibilities that are available to them. I have some people practice hairstyling and, if it is not for them, they will still have tried and will keep the experience.”
In agreement with some secondary schools, the owner of Chamaz often receives interns. He teaches them how to be hairdressers, but in a fun way, while having fun. He notes that some people are taking a liking to it, to the point of starting hairstyling. In fact, Fedler has recruited two who are now working with him. “I am proud of that, because it is as if I am leaving a part of me and my passion to them so that they can benefit and succeed. Finding a passion and devoting yourself to it fully, finding a reason to wake up in the morning, finding something to keep busy and not hang out and do stupid things” — that's what this “dad” from Montreal North recommends.
When asked if money is often the cause of nonsense, Fedler answers emphatically: “You can do anything other than sell drugs or whatever, you can make money legally and enjoy it, and not only in medicine or engineering either. You can open your own Business and love it, whether it's in hair, nails or whatever.”
Throughout his career, thanks to his determination, Fedler Exilus, supported by those around him, succeeded without ever taking root. Beyond his success, he remains involved in the community in his neighborhood through his living room, which he puts at the service of everyone. Her story could only end with her own words: “You can come from a poor neighborhood, start from scratch, have no one who believes in you and still end up standing out from the crowd and getting where you want to be. Of course it will inspire everyone, the whole community, young and old alike.”