When NFL commissioner Roger Goodell takes to the podium in Green Bay to start the 2025 NFL draft, the spotlight will quickly shift to the 32 men about to become first-round picks. Everything about them will be assessed and judged, from their athletic measurables and college tape to their character and appearance.
Don’t underestimate the importance of how they look. There are entire teams who put in hours helping them get it right, and this year, Vince Garcia and American Crew are in on the game. Garcia, who goes by Vince the Barber in his IG, is a stylist who counts the likes of LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Lewis Hamilton among his clients, along with rappers like Drake and Ludacris.
This year, he’s partnered up with American Crew to help Malaki Starks, Tyler Shough, and Green Bay tight end Luke Musgrave get the right look on this pivotal night, so we decided to get some insights about how he does it.
The hairstyling process starts with relationships
Before we get into all that, though, let’s backtrack a little. Garcia didn’t just jump into the world of celebrity athletes. As is the case in almost every business, the process starts with building relationships.
“That’s [how it works],” the barber explains. “One cut turned into two, and two turned into ten. Word of mouth in the athlete world is powerful. These guys trust each other, and then one of them gets a clean cut that stands out, they start asking, ‘Who’s your barber?’ I built trust by being consistent, on time, and professional — it’s not just about the cut, it’s about the experience.”
As glamorous as this sounds, there’s also a lot of work involved. Athletes live in a world of their own that comes with its own trends and styles, and Vince the Barber has to know about all of it.
“I study the game,” he said. “Fashion, hair, culture, all of it. I watch how trends move, but I don’t follow them blindly.”
That knowledge is essential to giving guys like LeBron and KD their look, and now he’s doing it for Starks, Shough, and Musgrave. All three players come from completely different backgrounds, and Garcia has to know their preferences inside and out as well to give them what they want.
“I help guys express who they are through their look,” Garcia says. “An athlete’s haircut is now part of their signature style. Some want that simple, clean look; others might want a cut that makes them stand out. My job is to find that balance and, honestly, push the culture forward a little. I’m not just cutting hair, I’m building confidence with every cut.”
How the new era of NIL affects that new look
The players Vince the Barber is working with for draft night aren’t nearly as naive as many of their predecessors were. In some cases, they’ve pocketed what most of us would consider a small fortune — or a large one, for that matter — via NIL money, which is the new currency of major college sports.
Garcia has to be able to factor that in, too. “These guys are stepping into a new world fast with money, cameras, endorsements,” he explains. “They’re still figuring it out.
“So I try to give them not just a fresh cut, but guidance. I tell them, ‘How you present yourself is part of your brand now.’ NIL money has just raised the stakes. The look matters even more because they’re being watched by brands, scouts, fans — basically, everyone.”
The American Crew partnership
As accomplished as he is, though, Garcia can’t do his job alone. He knows he’s part of a team, and this year that team backing him up is American Crew.
So what do they bring to the table?
“American Crew has been huge,” he states. “ They’re not just bringing the products, they’re making moves with this ‘Style Like a Pro’ campaign. It’s all about merging grooming with the sports world and meeting guys where they are — in the game.
“We’re creating content together and elevating grooming in the sports world. They handle the logistics, make sure we’re set up in the right spaces, whether it’s a hotel suite or a tricked-out Airbnb, and [they] provide me with top-tier styling products to help me get these athletes looking fresh for the big day.”
Custom styles for the best athletes in college football
When it comes to finding the right look, it’s all about the individual. Malaki Starks is an accomplished champion, a two-time All-American safety who won a title with Georgia in 2022. He’s a bruiser and a ball hawk in the back end, and as one of the best safeties in the draft, he’s expected to go somewhere near the end of the first round. For his part, Tyler Shough is considered a wild card in this year’s draft. The Louisville QB is a sudden riser, and no one knows quite where he’ll be taken.
What that means for Garcia is that he’s got two very different tasks to perform. Building a look is as individual as it gets, so he has to read the player, not to mention the draft room, then hone in on what the player wants as well.
“Every player’s different,” he says. “Tyler’s got a clean, composed energy, so I’d keep his look sharp but not overly flashy. Some guys want a fresh bald fade; some want texture with a little movement.
“It’s all about their personality and what fits them best. Deion [Sanders] said it best: ‘If you look good, you feel good. If you feel good, you play good.’”
The draft process plays a pivotal role
These guys won’t be playing football in Green Bay on Thursday night, however. They’ll be playing a different game, which means figuring out the eddies and currents of the draft rumor mill, not to mention having their look both fit and go beyond the expectations.
That look has to go with whatever suits they’ve chosen, not to mention those potentially awkward new team hats, which can ruin a great cut in a matter of seconds. Their families and entourages often play an important role in how this all plays out, so there’s a lot for Vince the Barber to navigate.
“I don’t get into the speculation, but I do pay attention to how these guys are feeling,” Garcia says about the process as a whole. “If someone’s under pressure, I make sure their look gives them confidence – clean, composed, polished.
“If someone’s trending upward, we might take a few more risks,” he adds. “But the goal is always to have them looking like they belong on that stage, no matter what people are saying.”
The hoopla and hype of draft night play an important role as well. If a suit or a cut goes sideways, the memes that flash on social media could follow players like Starks, Shough, and Musgrave throughout their careers. That presents a different kind of pressure for stylists like Vince the Barber, but he knows full well that this is part of what he signed on for when he entered this world.
“It’s all part of the presentation,” Garcia sums up. “I ask what they’re wearing, what their hat game is like, even what their family’s wearing.
“Everything’s a moment on draft night. So I tailor the cut to complement the fit, like a clean cut, sharp lineup if the suit’s modern, texture if it’s classic. It all has to work together because those photos are forever.”
Getting it right can produce a memorable moment for Garcia, too. He won’t share the name of the specific athlete who helped induce it, but he did share a quick story about one of those times when getting it right meant the most to him.
“Yeah, I had a moment with a player a few years back who was about to get drafted,” he remembers. “He was quiet the whole time, but when I finished his cut, he looked in the mirror and said, ‘Man, I actually feel like I made it now.’ That hit different. I realized it’s more than just hair — it’s confidence, it’s identity. That moment reminded me why I do this.”
