Barber to the Packers uses platform to help uplift community

Lori Kaye Lodes

Contributor

March 23, 2026

GREEN BAY – Hansel Canady of HanCan Barbershop said he knows firsthand that hair is about more than just style – it can represent heritage, confidence and identity.

For students who can’t always afford a haircut, Canady said a fresh fade can mean more than just a new look – it can change how they show up, both at school and in the community.

With that in mind, the Green Bay-based barber said he is doing what he can to make a difference – one taper, taper fade, texture fringe or other cut at a time.

Making the time

Establishing himself as a premier barber in the area, Canady said he has earned the opportunity to provide barbering services to the Green Bay Packers.

And though his appointment book – especially during the NFL season – is most definitely full, he said he yearned to give something back to the community he has called home since his mom moved the family to the area in 2001.

Canady said his commitment to giving back led to HanCan Cares.

The idea, he said, began when a Green Bay officer asked him to visit a local alternative school and offer haircuts.

Canady said though most of the students didn’t know the barber called “HanCan,” the promise of free cuts spoke for itself.

“It was about being good for the whole week – to stay out of trouble – and then getting in with me,” he said. “A lot of kids stayed out of trouble for the whole week to get in with me.”

Word spread, Canady said, and the Oconto Unified School District reached out about him providing haircuts to low-income students at the school regularly.

He said he jumped at the chance to serve the community where he had bought his first home.
“I’ve been going back there every quarter for the past three years now,” he said. “I [added some] help so we can get a decent amount of [haircuts] in. The typical cut takes anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the intricacy.”

Canady said that help comes in the form of Travis Hurning – his protege at his downtown HanCan location.

A former client, Canady said Hurning had been working a variety of odd jobs before asking him if he would mentor him in learning the craft and becoming a barber.

“I told him what it would take, and he said he wanted to learn everything I learned,” he said. “So, we took the next steps.”
Now, Canady said Hurning often accompanies him to provide school-based haircuts.

Canady said a morning in Oconto usually allows time for about six haircuts.

“They’re very appreciative of it,” he said. “The biggest thing for me is seeing how happy they are when they get out of the chair. I carry a mirror with me so they can see the after results, and some students want to cry, but they’re at school, so they hold it in.”

Canady said for him, the craft of barbering is both an art and a science.

Staying current with online trends and connected to middle school and high schoolers, he said, helps him keep pace with what’s popular.

“They come in with these crazy pictures and ask, ‘Can you do that?’” he said. “And I say, ‘Yeah, I can do that’ and get [the cut down], because there will likely be another 100 kids who want it, too.”

Canady said he understands both the boost a fresh haircut can give and the struggle of going without when funds are tight.

He said he believes confidence begins in the barber’s chair.

When a person looks good, Canady said they often move differently, speak differently and carry themselves differently.

“[These cuts] are for kids like me, coming from poverty,” he said. “I remember what it was like not having those services growing up – what it was like if you didn’t have the freshest clothes and haircut.”

Canady said he credits cutting hair to helping put – and keep – him on the right path.

Starting to cut hair at age 10, he said it wasn’t long before he knew he wanted to formally enter the profession.

“I do it to keep busy and occupied,” he said. “Barbering is one of those things that can get me out of my head.”

Expanding commitment

Canady said he’s working to expand his giving beyond Oconto.

In addition to quarterly visits there, he said he is in talks with the Ashwaubenon and Green Bay school districts to provide haircuts.

Canady said he recently served low-income students at Dr. Rosa Minoka-Hill School and the Wrightstown Community School District.

Canady said he’s open to providing more haircuts for low-income students on school campuses during the NFL offseason.

“When I am done [with the football season and] until the coaches and players come back, this is the stuff I want to do,” he said. 

Looking ahead, Canady said he envisions bringing additional hairstylists and barbers into the effort by organizing a larger community event.

“When I first started doing this, I didn’t have a plan for the long-term,” he said. “When I do things, I just do it because I want to do it. But the more people who ask for this, the more I think about doing an annual bash to get as many hairstylists and barbers together to help the kids.”

Canady said he’ll be sure to share those details with The Business News readers as plans take shape.