A HILARIOUSLY heartwarming video shows a barber with Tourette syndrome cutting the hair of a six-year-old customer – whilst inadvertently swearing at him.
Josh Hughes welcomed regular Harry to the chair at his barbershop H&Co in Goffs Oak, Hertfordshire opting to film the appointment due to the particularly bad tics he was experiencing that day.
The 28-year-old has been a barber for seven years, and has begun filming his work as he believes it demonstrates the ability to still perform tasks despite bad cases of Tourette’s tics.
The hilarious video begins with Harry walking into Josh’s shop last month as Josh says: “Come on paedo, come take a seat.”
The on-screen text reads: “Disclaimer: His dad was there and happy for me to film! I know the family and they don’t mind my swearing.”
Josh continues “Come on boy, what you got a Maoam? P***k. Because you’re a thief, you’re a no-good thief, you’ll be nicking our butter out of the fridge.”
The little boy laughs with Josh before the barber apologetically says: “Shut up. You know I can’t always help it, thank you. Tonight Matthew, I’m going to be a real boy.
“You didn’t ask me to talk? I didn’t ask you to talk back,” he replies to Harry jokingly.
“Oh you look very sweet, I think we should do a little side part in, keep it all swept over now.”
Harry looks disgusted saying a defiant “No” at his suggestion to which Josh replies: “Just the usual, yeah. Shall we do mushrooms?
“So you like when it kind of goes, like when it’s shaved up and kind of goes around?”, as he asks him about his prefered hairstyle.
“Okay, good to know, maybe I’ll just leave the fringe a little bit longer then yeah? Scooty ass, scooter, motherf***ing cheese toast.”
Harry, whilst grinning, says: “Did you just say a swear?”
Josh jokingly replies: “I did not just say a swear, there’s not even any camera evidence.”
“How come there’s one there?” says Harry as he cheekily points to the camera placed above him.
Josh jokes: “That’s just the holder, that’s my phonecase.”
Harry then hilariously responds: “I’m not a dimwit.”
Josh pretends to be shocked whilst his colleagues behind him can be heard laughing as they overhear the conversation.
“Did you just say a swear?”, Josh asks.
Harry replies: “Dimwit’s not a swear and I’m not stupid, because I can see the part where you can take a picture.” as Harry points to the camera lens of Josh’s phone.
Josh then has a tic, which he quickly apologises for, saying: “Right calm, say less. Who put a penny in you mate? You f****r, sorry.”
Harry, offended, says: “Oi.”
Josh explains: “I know, I can’t help it Harry, that’s actually what I’m trying to tell you, you just can’t tell your mum you little p***k,” before laughing with Harry about his bizarre outbursts.
“I ain’t got time for messing about, Harry, do you know what I mean? I love cutting your hair Harry, it’s always good fun.”
Josh then proceeds to sing: “Come on Eileen, come all over Eileen, oh yeah.”
The video then shows several exchanges of the two playing about with Josh blowing the hairdryer into Harry’s face.
“Sweetheart?” says Harry as Josh replies: “Sweetheart, Albuquerque.” in an American accent.
“Do you know who that is? A motherf***ing cheese toast,” Josh continues.
Harry shouts: “You just said it again.”
“Can you please stop shouting,” whispers Josh. “There’s lots of other people here, you know I’ve got this thing where I can’t – I swear sometimes.”
Harry responds: “If you swear, I still hear it.”
Josh then reels off an explanation duly interrupted by tics midway: “Unfortunately you have got ear holes. It’s not professional though is it? F**k off, think of it like this, I’m allowed because I’m in my shop.
“Snickers, get some nuts. Shut it, yeah, some other bad words.”
He then whistles before going on a hilarious spiel saying: “Paedo, what are you having for dinner? What about ham, egg and chips for one?
“Knuckle sandwiches, bitch slap, I’m really doing my nut in. Pepperoni. Do you like broccoli? Dildos? Kind of like carrots, peados.”
Harry then cheekily replies: “Plums and balls.”
“Plums and balls? Yeah, I know you’ve got some balls, kid,” before they both laugh together.
Josh continues: “Wow, I support Spurs, up the cocks. Pot crawl not a rooster, p***k, Nikon killed your thighs.”
Josh then signs off his haircut by saying: “Oh that’s it, ta-ta bonito, ta-ta, cheerio, ciao bella, p***k, Pepsi Cola.
“Harry, you look gorgeous my sweetheart.”
He then shows Harry the trim with the mirror and says “Go on, f**k off, sorry.”
“Oi,” Harry says again.
Josh then apologises one final time, saying: “I know Harry, I’m sorry mate.”
The video was uploaded to TikTok on Friday with the caption: “Another realistic video of me cutting hair with Tourette’s.”
The hilarious footage has received over 600,000 likes and more than 4,500 comments from users who were quick to express their support for Josh’s efforts in normalising his tics.
One Tiktok user wrote: “My son is autistic and has echolalia combined, a haircut with my son and you would be comedy gold. I love this.”
Another wrote: “That is mint. He’s going to be so understanding in the future, and have a good sense of humour to it.”
A third said: “Fair play to this boy’s parents for teaching him there are different people in this world and allowing him to come to you – you’re amazing.”
Another replied: “I didn’t realise you had Tourette’s at first and it was so much funnier.”
A fifth commented: “‘Shall we do mushrooms’ I think we kinda glossed over that one.”
Another said: “Sometimes I feel bad for laughing at Tourette’s but honestly this is pure wholesome stuff. You’re a legend bro.”
Speaking today Josh said: “I have Tourette’s syndrome which I’ve had since I was 14.
“Recently I’ve decided to start filming my haircuts when my Tourette’s is bad to show that it’s possible to do a physical job such as barbering with severe tics.
“I’ve had my struggles with this, but after years of perseverance and hard work I’ve found a place I’m comfortable in.
“Tourette’s is different for every individual – I’m lucky that I do not suffer with tics 24/7.
“It’s hard to explain and measure the severity of it, however my tics are often set off by stress, anxiety and being overwhelmed amongst other things. Additionally, it can also just come about randomly.
“My content focuses on a day in the life of a barber with severe tics. The video shows me cutting a six- year-old lad’s hair whilst ticking and swearing a lot, however still being able to cut hair to a high quality.
“I have been cutting the young boy’s hair for many years, and their family are more than happy for me to do this whilst my Tourette’s is bad.
“It’s great to see such a young boy be so laid back and accepting of my Tourette’s, I’m very lucky to have a lot of clients that are always comfortable for me to cut their hair.
“My aim is to raise awareness of Tourette’s not only in barbering but in all workplaces. Going forward I will continue to create content showcasing my Tourette’s and answer as many questions as I can.
“I’d say the response to my content is 99% positive.
“I’ve been blown away by the lovely and kind comments, especially the comments when they say that they can see Harry and I have a great bond without my Tourette’s.
“This has taken a lot for me to post as I’ve had this condition since 14 and never recorded myself until a year ago roughly.
“There has been comments about if people think it’s not appropriate for me to be around young kids with the language I use.
“I personally haven’t experienced this in person but of course I understand the view point.”
