For more than a decade, Joshua Wampler has owned and operated Wampler’s Barber Company
in Colonial Heights. The hometown barbershop is a three-chair shop that specializes in and
caters to men.

Wampler, who hails from Kingsport, said when he opened the shop his desire was to bring back
the old school feel of barbershops to the community.

“I feel like we’re losing that in society today,” Wampler explained. “There’s not a lot of room
where guys can come into a place and just be guys.”

Working with hair is a family affair for the Wampler family, dating back several generations.
Wampler’s father, Bill Jr., and grandfather Bill Sr., were hairdressers and owned multiple
cosmetology schools and salons in our region. At one point, Bill Sr., owned more than 30 salons.
Joshua got his start in the family business at the age of 16 at the Wampler Beauty School in the
Highland community. At the time, he wasn’t sure he wanted to do hair for a living, though his
family insisted he learn the trade as a backup plan.

However, a few years later Joshua met his wife Kelley and realized his current job would not
sustain a family. He ultimately enrolled at the Legacy School in Weber City and earned his
cosmetology license.

“I told my family I wanted to be a barber and that was before barbering was cool,” Joshua said.
“When I finished (barber) school, I started working at the Old South Barber Shop in Colonial
Heights.”

After working there for about five years, Joshua and Kelley decided to break out on their own
and open Wampler’s Barber Company. Coincidentally, this happened around the time of the
barber boom when a lot of young guys were taking an interest in barbering.

New styles came onto the scene, such as hard parts and bald fading, and many salons were not
equipped with handling these type of requests from customers. Nobody knew how to fade hair
except the old school barbers, Joshua said.

“My dad worked with me for the first five or six years, and we had two other barbers who
moved over with me, so we’ve tried to staff four barbers at all times,” Joshua said. “I work
behind the chair, so for me to see these guys make a living for their families without taking a lot
out of their pocket, is a good feeling.”

Wampler’s Barber Company is open Tuesday through Friday and half day on Saturday and will
mark its 11 th anniversary in November. Tons of hard work went into the establishment of the
shop and Joshua credits his wife Kelley for being the backbone of the company.

“We have four kids 12 and under and Kelley manages them and the barbershop. Behind the
scenes, she keeps the place running for the most part,” Joshua said. “The biggest support here
has been my wife. She keeps us out of hot water.”

Wampler’s Barber Company has a large fanbase of loyal customers, Joshua said, especially
during COVID-19. To survive the long months of the pandemic, Joshua cut hair at the shop
when he could, in his house and some folks even wanted to donate to the barbershop just to
keep the family in business.

“Our community has been phenomenal, especially during the pandemic, which was a really
good indication of where we were in the community,” Joshua said. “We stay busy all the time.
It’s a blessing and a curse, and we have no interest in leaving Colonial Heights or Kingsport.”
For more information about Wampler’s Barber Company follow them on Facebook.