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Corbin’s history

Corbin, 26, reckons “I’ve had hair since I was a young boy.” In his dual role as Queens neighborhood tuff and self-proclaimed “grifter,” personal presentation can be very important. We couldn’t send him back to his nabe looking like something out of an American Apparel advertisement; alternately, he didn’t want to look like he had an encounter with a lawn mower. So we sent him to Albert Babaev at Dr. Mike and Son (130 Church St between Murray and Warren Sts, 212-766-8121). Albert’s job was to fix Corbin up with a super-affordable ($13!) cut that wouldn’t result in his untimely demise—easy enough, since Albert is known to routinely turn out corporate types with clean, straightforward ’dos.

Corbin’s cut

Corbin—understandably nervous—sat down in the barber’s chair looking like a man at the gallows. He needn’t have worried; Albert was obligingly gun-shy with the shears and busied himself cleaning his too-long locks up. Afterward, Corbin was treated to an old-fashioned shave with a hot towel and a straight razor. While there was no major makeover, that was sort of the point. Looking into a mirror, Corbin declares, “My only regret is that I have only one head of hair to give. Remember the Alamo!”