Penang barber Singgara Vello overcomes early hardships to receive Asia's outstanding award

GEORGE TOWN: Sheer hard work has its rewards as 50-year-old barber S. Singgara Vello can attest to.

Earlier this month, he was awarded the Asia's Outstanding Barber Award at the Asia Awards ceremony held in Trichy in Tamil Nadu, India.

Not only that, Singgara Vello, who runs Verlarz Classic Barber in Lebuh Ah Quee here, also received the recognition of Asia's Most Sustainable Saloon for his efforts and contribution in the field of hairdressing especially to the less fortunate.

The recognition (Outstanding Barber Award) is his second at the Asia Awards ceremony after being bestowed Asia's Outstanding Saloon Award 2020/2021 two years ago.

Relating his life story, Singgara Vello, a father of one, said what he has achieved is the culmination of his perseverance to battle the hard knocks in life and having to drop out of school in Standard Five due to the family's financial constraints.

Due to this, he was forced to start working at the age of 15, and he was a lorry driver before becoming a barber in 2003.

"My late father-in-law, M Nadeson, was a part-time barber and that was how I became interested in being one. With his encouragement, I went on to learn the trade and attended related courses.

"After completing the courses, I managed to open my first barber shop, Mas Mithra Hair Studio, in March 2003 and, in 2015, I opened another Verlarz Classic Barber Shop here (Lebuh Ah Quee)," he told Bernama.

There has been no looking back for Singgara Vello, who is from Bukit Mertajam, and he decided to help the less fortunate, especially young people who drop out of school as he wants them to succeed in life too.

Since 2017, he said he has been training nearly 25 teenagers in the trade and some of them are now working in his barber shop.

Singgara Vello is now aiming to open a hairdressing academy so that more youths, school dropouts or those facing problems or from poor families can have career opportunities after their training.

"All training is provided free of charge. I aim to open the academy next year and am now in the process of finding funds to set it up as well as finding a suitable location," he said.

In addition to his work, Singgara Vello is also active in charitable works through a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that he founded. He is also active in bodybuilding and was once crowned as Mr Penang in 2014.

"I hope my life story will inspire and motivate youths out there. If you fail once, it does not mean you will always fail.

"If you to achieve something, learn all about it because knowledge is important, and effort is important too," he added.

--BERNAMA