Are you gonna start lifting weights too?

Yeah, I have a bench in my basement, man.

Yeah, because you definitely need to get a little stronger, man.

(laughs) Your left side, you know, I'll give it to you.

You're strong on your left side, but your right side is kind of weak, man.

[Mike] Conversations cover a lot of ground when KB has Lawrence in the chair.

I read a book recently that I wanted to tell you about, which is pretty cool.

[KB] You watch the news a lot.

I mean, they say that the 300 hurdles is one of the most difficult races in high school, -you know?

-Right.

Sweets are my weakness.

I can tell.

(KB laughs) [Mike] KB and Lawrence met in this barbershop.

Instant friends?

Always just loud and obnoxious and I just absolutely did not like him at all.

And I knew I liked this guy.

I was like, yeah, and I thought he could take it.

I thought, you know, his skin was alligator skin.

So I'm like, I know you could take this.

You know?

[Mike] They bonded over music, DJing, and MCing weddings.

They started brainstorming about helping kids.

Started a nonprofit called Visionary Youth.

Then the barber and the counselor had an idea.

♪ Your life started ♪ ♪ Had a whole lot of problems ♪ ♪ You were searching for an answer ♪ ♪ A solution just to solve them ♪ ♪ You could never get a break ♪ ♪ But the world was still revolving ♪ ♪ You were making big mistakes ♪ He's like, well what about bringing the mentoring and barbering and also counseling into this mobile component and taking that around and being able to serve people where they are.

And I was like, now that's a really, really cool idea, because there are no mobile counseling spots.

[Mike] So yeah, a barbershop in a bus.

Here's how it works.

Hey Darius, how you doing?

[Mike] Nine to 13-year-old boys who for different reasons need a little extra help or support in their lives.

They come from the Malone Community Center, a program partner, to the bus for 90 minutes once a week for 10 weeks.

The barbers come from Oasis Barbershops owned by KB, but volunteer for this program, paired with the same kid each week.

Ask them about what they would like to accomplish in the next session.

We prep our barbers before they go in to work with the young people and they know what subject they'll be talking about that day.

And then they're using the curriculum that we created to ask questions and guide them along this journey of development as they go through the 10 week process.

Asking them just normal questions that you would ask in a barbershop, but in a formal type of way.

Are you better playing on a team or by yourself?

Or does it depend on something?

So what is one of those things in school that you have to be confident about?

Like reading in front of the class.

Reading in front of the class.

How that make you feel?

It make you feel weird?

Like anxious, kind of.

-Anxious.

-Yeah.

You like to be on defense or offense?

You don't know?

You just like to kick the ball, huh?

Getting the grades looking good too?

That's good, that's good.

We gotta keep 'em up.

I know!

When you guys are in the bus what are you talking to the kids about?

Just about life and how they doing in school and how can we help 'em on a better day to make 'em happier.

Hobbies, activities, things they like to do.

Also about any goals that they have, helping them open their mind to see different perspectives, and to take on new challenges for themselves.

I'm gonna have y'all go talk to Lawrence.

[Mike] Barbers leave, the counselor steps in.

Like what do you do with that feeling?

You know, 'cause it's so easy for us to talk about sad feelings or depressing feelings.

We don't talk about exciting feelings a lot.

Tell me about your role in this thing.

I provide the mental health element to the mentorship, where I just provide the psychoeducation and makes sure it goes in a direction where kids are developing different social skills, coping skills, communication skills.

So, I get to see if memory issues, recall issues.

It helps me identify some things that the kids might need to work on just by watching their relationships with the barber.

A lot happening in a short period of time in a small space, and turning an old party bus into a barbershop with a bathroom, lights, towel warmer, the barber pole.

Nice touch.

All in compliance with state regulations for barbershops.

Not easy.

But how creative did you have to get to figure out a way to put four barber chairs and everything else in this bus, which is decent size, but it's not huge.

No, just a 36-foot.

We have to get real creative on trying to get the nooks and the crannies right and just the measurements from barber chair to the stations and how many barbers we can get in here.

So everything that a barber shop would normally have we got in here and then we got great barbers and great conversations.

[Videographer] Have we ever tried to give a haircut while the bus is in motion?

No, that's a lot.

That's real dangerous right there.

(laughs) (engine revs) (upbeat music) [Mike] Youth mentoring programs aren't unusual.

Same with mobile barbershops.

But this?

I have not seen mobile barbershops where mentoring is also provided and counseling in the same space.

That's the uniqueness, I think, of this project.

So what really makes this stand out is that, you know, the space where it happens is a very therapeutic, intentional intervention space.

When I can get them to look good and just open up on how they want their hair cut, then that just opens up everything else.

Especially when you come in looking rough or feeling rough, and that person can actually utilize their hands and mold you like clay, so to speak, and make you feel better and look better.

We're natural therapists.

Sometimes we're their first contact after school after work, after a tough time, and they just need somebody to talk to them.

Counseling in a space that doesn't look like it's counseling That's the key.

(hip hop music) ♪ Shout out to my hustlers out there ♪ ♪ Making those moves when the rest are unaware ♪ ♪ You deserve a standing ovation ♪ ♪ With the way you innovate and make it work ♪ ♪ Pulling money out the air ♪ ♪ I feel you in my heart ♪ [Mike] It's kind of an experiment.

Mind Mobile launched just a couple months before we shot this story.

They're collecting before and after info to evaluate.

For now, success is based on assumptions, that it's a good 90 minutes a week most young people never get, especially often underserved young males of color.

Support, mentorship, positive relationships, counseling, all with other youth in the same place at the same time.

There's so many challenges that these young people face that we don't know anything about, and what we wanted to do is just create a space for them to feel better.

And when we see those kids come out of the Malone Center and run to the bus, that's enough for me.

The big picture is that we could create a curriculum, we create a project that can be duplicated across the United States.

[Mike] Big ideas born from two friends talking trash in a barber chair.

Get ya.

What kind of spray is that?

Smells like mosquito spray.

You trying to put mosquito spray -on me or something?

-(KB laughs) Man, that's a distinguished mustache.

That looks good.