For 58 Years, Cheyenne’s Eli Trujillo Is A Barber’s Barber — And Still Cutting Hair

CHEYENNE — Strand by strand and snip by snip, Eli Trujillo has truly made his mark on the world cutting hair for the past 58 years. Hairstyles have come and gone over the decades, as have faces and names — and generations of customers — but the one constant behind the barber chair has been Trujillo.

“It feels good to know that you’re doing something good for the community,” the 86-year-old told Cowboy State Daily. “You have something that they need and you can provide that service. The main thing is keeping people happy.”

Trujillo is one of the oldest — if not the oldest — barber still professionally cutting hair in Wyoming. The Wyoming Board of Barber Examiners couldn’t officially confirm he’s the oldest, but is unaware of any older Trujillo still actively cutting people’s hair.

A softspoken man with a gentle, but confident, air about him, Trujillo makes his own hours at Trujillo’s Barber Shop at 412 Randall Ave. just a stone’s throw from the Wyoming Capitol, but is still a regular fixture in his barbershop.

Trujillo still comes to work five days a week, not because he has to, but because he still has that itch and passion to practice his profession. He said it’s a lot like going to school, but without the homework — you get to see all your friends while learning a thing or two.

“If you don’t like your job you’ve got a problem,” he said, adding that cutting hair “isn’t a job for me.”

Generations Of Trujillos

It’s a family affair at Trujillo’s Barber Shop. Most of the barbers are related, and they’re all close.

Although the others are all much younger than Trujillo, Glen Chavez swears his great uncle is still in the best shape.

“It doesn’t matter the weather, he’s like a postman,” Chavez said of Trujillo. “It doesn’t matter the weather, he’ll be here.”

After losing his wife seven years ago, Trujillo decided it would be a lot healthier to continue going to work rather than staying home and watching TV, which is what he does when not cutting hair. It’s in the shop he finds his family and generations of clients he’s served over the years.

‘I Don’t Want To Be A Barber’

Trujillo moved to Wyoming in 1952 from New Mexico, where he was raised.

His original trade was iron working, but once he started raising a family, Trujillo was encouraged by his brothers to pursue a more stable lifestyle cutting hair at the F.E. Warren Air Force Base in 1966.

He was skeptical about the opportunity at first.

“I said, ‘I don’t want to be a barber,’” he recalls.

But he took a leap of faith and 58 years later says it was about the best decision he ever made.

“It feels good, especially coming from someone who didn’t want to become a barber to begin with,” he said.

Although the haircuts he gave at the base were extremely consistent, Trujillo said cutting hair there was no walk in the park.

Troops would line up by the dozens to get their hair cut. Although trimming each head usually only took about 5 minutes, Trujillo would sometimes cut more than 100 in a day.

Seeking more freedom in the way they did their business, Trujillo and his brother Paul opened up their own barbershop in 1988.

“It was like a pressure, like being in the service when you’re not in the service, but you get none of the benefits,” Trujillo explained about being a barber for the military.

Once setting up their own shop, the instantly went from flat tops to mullets, fades and bowl cuts.

Welcome To Trujillo’s

After developing 22 years’ worth of clients on the base, Trujillo said they felt no pressure about whether their business would succeed. And still today, there’s a steady stream of military uniforms coming through their door.

Trujillo’s Barbershop is about as classic a barbershop as one will find, and the oldest running in Wyoming’s capital city.

A red, white and blue barber’s pole outside beckons untamed hair like a lighthouse to a lost boat on a stormy night. Upon entering through the well-worn wooden front door, your ears are filled with the sound of a hive of buzzing electric razors, ceaseless banter and the simple fragrance of fresh, hot shaving cream.

Trujillo still uses hand clippers, and they all finish out their cuts with a razor blade.

All five of the barbers that work at Trujillo’s hold a Master Barber’s license, a recognition by the American Barber Association for working seven years or more as a barber, something Chavez said no other shop in the city can boast. Combined, they have 150 years of experience.

Over the years, the shop has become a community melting pot, serving generations of families who now bring their kids and grandkids to the same place they had their hair cut as children.

No Religion Or Politics Talk Allowed

Inside, it’s teeming with typical barbershop banter — the weather, sports, news, neighborhood gossip. The only topics off limits for Eli are religion and politics.

“You’re going to get people mad or you’re going to lose customers,” he explained.

Eli also said barbers must always be careful about who they criticize. One time, one of his nephews made the mistake of saying weathermen never predict the weather right while unbeknownst to him, was cutting the hair of a local TV meteorologist.

He must have given a good cut, Eli said, because the weatherman still came back.

Trujillo’s Barbershop is located only a few blocks away from the Capitol and downtown Cheyenne. Some fairly big names have sat in their chairs, including former governors like Matt Mead, as well as military generals and colonels.

“And obviously the current governor doesn’t go to Trujillo’s Barbershop,” Chavez quipped, not wanting credit for Gov. Mark Gordon’s do.

But Eli said he grooms them all with the same attention to detail as any other customer, knowing his reputation as a barber is always on the line.

Eli’s Legacy

Rich Trujillo, another of the haircutting clan, believes it’s Eli’s ceaseless patience and dedication to his craft that makes him so special. Chavez joked that Eli is the “toddler whisperer” for his ability to calm down young children while cutting their hair.

Throughout the years, Eli has developed a loyal following of customers who refuse to get their hair cut by anyone but him. If he’s on vacation, they’ll wait weeks for him to return, Chavez said.

“They come back 10 days later looking scruffy as hell,” Chavez said. “The loyalty is amazing. You don’t see that anymore.”

He’s seen some of his customer’s lives pass before his eyes, with many dying out, and even more gradually losing their hair through the years. His longest running customer is 45 years.

And Trujillo shows that same loyalty back. He’s made house visits before and has even cut that customer’s hair from a hospital bed.

“He takes care of the ones who have taken care of him,” Chavez said.

Recently, a photo was taken with five generations of family who’ve had their hair cut at Trujillo’s.

“These kids know about him because their grandparents told them about him,” nephew and barber Rich Trujillo said of his uncle. “He’s just so easygoing.”

Passing The Blade

Chavez said Eli simply doesn’t make mistakes when cutting hair and he’s learned countless techniques from the man. Eli’s other nephew, Paul Trujillo Jr., said he learned to cut hair by watching his uncle.

“He has the steadiest hand of anybody I still know,” Chavez said.

Even steadier is his patience.

“If everyone could be as patient and as compassionate as him the world would be a better place,” Chavez said. “I’ve never seen him angry.”

Although Eli won’t claim that the customer is always right, he believes it’s important to try and please people as much as possible, sometimes interrogating them like Sherlock Holmes sleuthing a case to solve the grand mystery of what kind of cut they would like.

A classic phrase many barbers like Eli recite is that you can always go shorter, but it’s impossible to put hair back after it’s been cut.

Trujillo said learning how to properly cut hair is a lot like learning how to drive a car. If you don’t pay attention, you might start speeding.

“You can’t go fast right away. Take your time,” he explained with his soothing voice.

Cutting hair is a craft that runs in the family, with many extended family members being either barbers, hair stylists or working in cosmetology. Trujillo’s three brothers all entered the field before he did.

“We all get together and talk crap about our customers, not cutting,” Chavez joked when asked about family reunions.

Doing It For The Family

Trujillo said another one of his inspirations to keep working is to spend time traveling with his family. He recently took his family on a Mediterranean cruise to Italy and Greece for his granddaughter’s 16th birthday.

“They’re lucky to have a grandpa that works,” he said with a chuckle.

Next summer, he plans to go with his daughter to Peru.

After 58 years and at age 86, nobody has any idea when Eli will hang up his clippers for good.

“It could be tomorrow, it could be the end of the year,” Chavez said. “As long as he still feels he can give a good haircut he’s going to do it.”

When he leaves, Chavez said it’s doubtful anyone will readily take up Eli’s barber chair in the back corner of the shop.

“You’re not going to catch me coming over,” he said. “It would feel wrong.”

Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.