From Premier League to travelling barber

Richard "Richcut" Gooden and students of Epsom Primary whom he gave haircuts before their graduation photos were taken. ROSEND, St Mary - Former forward for Molynes United Football Club, Richard "Richcut" Gooden no longer aims for the back of the net but he still has his sights firmly fixed on a goal.

He wants to give 1,000 free haircuts to young boys, a gift as they enter a new stage of their academic journey. Each graduation season he travels to various primary schools across St Mary, giving haircuts before graduation photos are taken.

The 27-year-old estimates that he has given more than 150 free haircuts to students since he reinvented himself as the travelling barber in June of 2025. His efforts have not gone unnoticed.

Wide smiles fill the faces of many youngsters in his hometown of Rosend when they see Gooden coming, his bag filled with the tools of his trade casually slung over his shoulder. And he has an impressive stack of certificates of appreciation from schools whose students have benefitted from his skilful hands and good heart.

"I know what it feels like for poor parents to struggle to find $1,500 for a haircut before the picture," Gooden told the Jamaica Observer. He doesn't ask for payment but he is richly rewarded.

"My first free haircut for students who were going to take their graduation pictures was done at the primary school that I had attended, New Orange Hill Primary. It felt so good when the boys smiled and told me thank you; some even hugged me.

That feeling inside me made me feel 10 times taller as a man," Gooden explained. A barber is exactly who he wants to be, but he is not the run-of-the-mill man who cuts hair.

He has no shop with a big sign designed to lure clients; he meets his paying customers wherever they are: on a verandah, under a mango tree, in a yard - wherever a client wants him to be, Gooden will be there. "My clients would call me and I would go to them, it does not matter where they are.

Barbering was always in my blood," he said with a smile of contentment. He traded a Premier League career to answer what he believes was God's call.