Gents Academy x ARA Academy

Date: 13th September 2026

Time: 10am - 5pm

Location : Ara Institute of Canterbury

Gents Academy Co. invites you to an exclusive Look & Learn experience designed to elevate your craft, sharpen your business acumen, and ignite your career in modern barbering. 

This full-day intensive course combines expert-led live demonstrations, giving you direct insight into precision cutting techniques, consultation mastery, and the art of working with various hair types. Beyond the chair, you'll gain real-world knowledge in branding, pricing strategies, and social media marketing to grow your clientele and boost income. 

Whether you're an emerging barber or an experienced stylist looking to refine your edge, this session will help you map out a personalized career pathway—be it on the shop floor, as an independent contractor, educator, or entrepreneur. Attendees will leave with practical skills, strategic direction, and a certificate of participation, along with exclusive access to future Gents Academy opportunities. This is more than a class—it’s a launchpad for the next level of your career.

Look & Learn + Hands-On Workshop

Creative Modern Contemporary Styles. 

Tickets Options :

1x Ticket - $500pp 

2x Tickets - $400pp

3+ Tickets - 300pp

Apprentice OR Junior (first two years on floor) 50% OFF - $250pp

This full-day intensive option includes the Look & Learn demonstration followed by guided hands-on practical education.

After observing the technical demonstration, attendees will apply the same structured principles through practical work with direct support from the Gents Academy team.

The hands-on workshop is designed to help you:

• Build a more structured cutting process

• Improve shape control

• Strengthen sectioning and planning

• Understand where techniques begin and finish

• Make better technical decisions

• Improve precision and consistency

• Correct habits that may be limiting your results

• Apply the Blueprint across different modern styles

The goal is not to memorise one haircut.

It is to develop a framework that helps you approach a wider range of clients, hair types and styles with greater clarity and control.

The Gents Academy Blueprint

The Gents Academy Blueprint is the structured thinking process behind the haircut.

It begins with the fundamentals: assessing the individual, their natural features, head shape, hair density, growth patterns and existing shape.

From there, the barber identifies the shape required, selects the techniques needed to create it and applies the correct mechanics to execute the result with purpose.

This approach helps barbers move away from guesswork and towards a more consistent, adaptable method of cutting.

What You’ll Learn

Understanding Shape

Learn how the shape of a haircut affects its balance, weight, movement and overall silhouette.

You will explore how a barber can create stronger, softer, heavier or more fluid results through deliberate technical choices.

Structured Sectioning

Understand how mapping the head into clear sections creates the foundation for a more controlled haircut.

Correct sectioning helps define where one technique finishes and another begins, allowing the barber to work with greater accuracy and efficiency.

Shape Control

Develop a clearer understanding of how cutting decisions affect both the horizontal and vertical shape of the haircut.

This gives you greater control over how weight, length and movement are distributed.

Technique Selection

Learn why techniques should be selected according to the desired result rather than used automatically.

The course will explore how different techniques influence weight, structure, softness and movement.

Cutting Mechanics

Gain insight into the mechanics that support precision cutting, including:

• Elevation

• Over-direction

• Tension

• Body position

• Cutting lines

• Length selection

• Cross-checking

These elements are what turn a technical idea into a consistent finished result.

Modern Barbering Application

See how traditional cutting fundamentals can be applied to relevant modern barbering styles.

The focus is on understanding why the haircut works so the process can be adapted rather than copied.

Who This Event Is For

• Apprentices developing their technical foundations

• Barbers wanting more structure in their cutting

• Experienced barbers refining precision and consistency

• Hairdressers moving further into modern barbering

• Shop owners and educators seeking a clearer technical framework

• Anyone wanting to understand the reason behind a haircut rather than simply following steps

What Hands-On Attendees Should Bring

Hands-on attendees should bring a complete cutting kit, including:

• Clippers

• Trimmers

• Scissors

• Combs

• Sectioning clips

• Hairdryer

• Styling tools

• Any additional tools normally used during a technical haircut

Please note: Mannequin stands and Mannequins will be provided at no additional cost. 

Join Gents Academy Co. for a one-day immersive Look & Learn experience tailored for barbers who want to refine their craft and build a deeper understanding of modern precision cutting. This day features live demos from our lead educators, business mentorship, and career planning insights.

What’s Included:

• Live precision cutting demonstrations with real-time walkthroughs
• Key theory on consultation, sectioning, cutting shapes & finishing
• Gents Academy blueprint and hair theory workbook
• Career guidance and next-step planning
• Certificate of Participation
• $75 credit to any future Gents Academy courses
• Mannequin stand and head
• 14 day post course support

Perfect for:
Barbers and hairdressers seeking a fresh perspective, wanting to elevate their technical skill set or gain clarity in their professional journey.