EXCLUSIVE Why a men's barbershop has sparked fury from Aussie women over a controversial policy - as owner fires back: 'Let guys just be guys'
Robbie Ferrante operates Robbie's Chop Shop in Adelaide and labels it the 'last male sanctuary' where guys of all ages can 'get away and chill'.
His business has struck a chord with some women such as Elena Téa who shared a scathing TikTok video questioning how the place was able 'to continue'.
Local women complained they had been forced to sit outside while their sons or brothers received a haircut.
Mr Ferrante told Daily Mail Australia on Monday his shop aimed to fill a gap for young men who are searching for a place of community.
'What I saw over time was a lot of boys didn't have good role models, (who) needed a little bit of a helping hand or someone that could just sort of guide them,' he said.
'So I'd always had this vision of a place where guys could just be guys and relax and not have to worry about conforming to society or what they say or things that they do.
'Not in a bad way, but just having the freedom to express what they're feeling.'
He said there was an added benefit to the business' policy as it encouraged children to be independent while their mums waited outside.
Mr Ferrante said it aims to give children 'something where it's not just your mum or dad talking you through this whole experience'.
'It might be something small, but this is something that you're gonna have to do for the rest of your life: interact with people, talk to people,' he added.
'It doesn't feel the same when the mum is in the shop.'
Mr Ferrante said often fathers would have their hair cut at the same time as their sons.
But scathing critic Ms Téa claimed the business' social media page was a 'cesspool of hate'.
The company's Instagram often shares messages about 'It's ok not to be ok' and 'Check in with your friends', encouraging mental health discussions for their clients.
It also regularly posts images of fast cars, photos of the shop and memes including Christian Bale's misogynist anti-hero Patrick Bateman in the film American Psycho.
Mr Ferrante said mothers are asked to wait outside so their sons can have an independent 'experience' where their parent is not speaking for them
'Anybody can masturbate under a sheet, but it takes skill to do it without the barber noticing,' one post reads.
Ms Téa said in her TikTok: 'I don't know how this place is allowed to continue.
'It's honestly so bad that it's just laughable.'
Several women on the post complained about not being allowed onto the premises.
'The way that mums bring their kids there for a haircut and are made to SIT OUTSIDE ON A BENCH while they wait!' one wrote.
Another said: 'My mum and I once went in with my young brother to get his first haircut and they all just stared at us.
'(They) told my mum and I to go outside to say what we wanted to be done to his hair, and leave him.'
Ms Téa also shared screenshots of what she claimed was part of the business' website.
'We keep the manliness up and the chit-chat down,' it read.
Mr Ferrante said neither he, nor the team who run the website, recognised the writing Téa shared.
When asked about the shop's references to American Psycho and memes that could be construed as toxic, Mr Ferrante defended the posts.
'If you can't see the funny side in a lot of things in life, then you're probably not gonna have a very funny life,' he said.
'I have a daughter, I have a wife, I have a sister, I have a mum. There's a lot of things that I will not stand for as far as toxic masculinity.'
But Mr Ferrante added that if something 'really does not hurt anyone', then there is nothing wrong with that.
American Psycho, a novel which was previously banned in Queensland, tells the story of an investment banker who kills women.
'Someone going around and murdering women, I think that's disgusting, obviously. I'm not idolizing anything like that, I just think it's a well done movie,' he said.
'But I think the other context of the movie is the guys with their business cards talking s*** about business cards. That is a very guy thing to do.'
The shop has previously applied for an exemption to the Equal Opportunity Act in 2023 which would protect them from claims they are not treating people fairly.
Their application has yet to be reviewed.
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