How cool is that, for some kids from pretty tough homes to have Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony invite them to his barbershop in LoDo for free haircuts?
A ragtag group of teens from the Denver Children’s Home poured into the very hip establishment Monday, gawking at the row of black leather barber chairs with 10-foot mirrors behind each one.
Anthony wasn’t there because he had just left for games in Philadelphia and Chicago.
But Lewis Griffin — Anthony’s business partner and manager of Studio 15, named after Anthony’s jersey number — said they bring in 15 disadvantaged kids on the 15th of each month for free haircuts.
Since the 15th this month fell on a Sunday, they did it Monday.
Anthony’s absence didn’t bother 14-year-old Brett, who came in with a thick head of hair and ended up looking sharp in the hands of stylist Greg Romero.
“It’s pretty cool stuff what I’m doing now, playing basketball with my friends, getting A’s and B’s in my classes,” he said.
Emily, 14, has been working hard on her anger management, but she doesn’t like being away from her family.
Emily said her father, who lives in Brighton, picks her up each weekend on his way home from work.
“I love the music therapy; I plan to be a singer,” she said.
She said she hopes to go with her parents and brother this summer to a bluegrass music festival in San Francisco. “My dad’s a bluegrass freak,” she said.
She also wants to get a passport so she can go to Mexico.
One by one Monday, the kids climbed into the big leather chairs, dreaming of better days and looking better and better, with a new cut thanks to the Carmelo Anthony Foundation.
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Mike McPhee: 303-954-1409 or mmcphee@denverpost.com
