Barber retires from Duckworth Lane salon after 30 years

Mohammed Raje, 49, who owned The Studio on Duckworth Lane, Girlington, celebrated his retirement on Monday after taking on the shop when he was just 20 years old.

Now he will start a new venture giving barbering lessons part-time at Bradford College.

He said: “I will really miss the people and the community in Bradford. My customers are more like friends, and I’ve had customers coming to me from when they’re tiny little kids, to fully gown married men, but I’ve told them we’ll stay in touch.”

Mohammed has had many of his customers pay tribute to his career, including Bradford West NP Naz Shah who wrote a heartfelt Facebook post.

She said: "There’s a tinge of sadness today as I take my children for their last haircut at The Studio on Duckworth Lane.

"I wish Yunus, Anas and the studio team all the best for the next chapter in the journey of life and thank them for not just the haircuts, the banter, the friendships, the inspiration, but all they’ve done locally as businesses play a huge part in our local economy.”

Another wrote: "We will miss you dearly. We’ve been with you so long. You are like family.”

Whilst another added: “One of the best barbershops for sure, it where my barbering career started from loads of good memories It's a shame to see you go.”

Mohammed took on the shop in 1993 when he was on shore leave whilst training on a cruise ship.

He said: “I started here when I was just 20 all on my own, and I built an amazing team from scratch. I was one of the first salons in BD9. Over the years I’ve developed a really good team of people working for me and developed a reputation.”

His wife said that people travelled from across the country, as far as London and Manchester to have their haircut by Mohammed, and he’s even worked on celebrities including Tom Zanetti, Rod Stewart and Bradford Bulls players in the past.

Although Mohammed is originally from Batley, he says he’s seen highs and lows in Bradford, including the Bradford riots and a stabbing outside his shop but he’s also seen a lot of beautiful things so will "hugely miss it all".