Phoenix barbershop gives back amid COVID-19 pandemic

PHOENIX - Made Men Barbershop in Phoenix was forced to close from the pandemic, but now they're giving back in a big way.

"We opened a year ago and it's been a great year, a lot of struggles, a lot of hurdles - but we got through them," said owner Jess Uvaydov.

The biggest struggle for the owner of Made Men came in the spring, right after the pandemic hit.

"In the beginning of March we were affected," the owner explained. "We saw maybe a 60% cut in business, business dropped, I kept all my guys on, I paid out of pocket to keep everybody to be able to feed their families."

Uvaydov shut down a week before the governor's first executive order to do so to keep his clients and employees safe.

Now that the second-generation barber has reopened, he has a renewed passion to help.

For the entire month of August, Made Men is donating money from every haircut to the Phoenix Children's Hospital.

"I have a niece...she was born with a heart condition, and as soon as she was born, she was rushed to Phoenix Children's hospital," Uvaydov said. "They took amazing care of her."

Jess believes small businesses are the backbone of America, and this it is his job to help.

"I feel like we can help a lot, and it's going to inspire other small businesses to also give back to the community," Uvaydov said. "It starts with one and it will continue growing."

He said he plans to pick a new charity every month to donate to, and he is open for suggestions.

Visit Made Men's website: https://mademeninc.com/