COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — Colorado Rapids defender Keegan Rosenberry isn’t just talented with a ball at his feet, but also with a razor and a pair of scissors in his hands.
Rosenberry is the unofficial "official" Rapids team barber. He started clipping and trimming 10 years ago, as a freshman at Georgetown University.
"They [the haircuts] weren’t good," Rosenberry said. "They got better and better, but like I said they weren’t great at the beginning. Yeah, I actually do enjoy it which is cool because I do it at the facility, still talking with the guys being in the locker room doing it. It’s still quite fun."
So how do people react when Rosenberry tells them he’s the team barber?
"When I say that they’re like 'Oh yeah, you probably do a couple haircuts here and there.' I don’t think they actually realize that I’m like weekly almost booked," Rosenberry said. "If you don’t come to me that week I’m usually already pretty busy."
So what does a 'Keegan cut' cost these days?
"I usually tell guys, especially when it’s their first time, like I don’t want you paying for something that you don’t actually like so once I’m done and you actually like it you can pay me whatever you want," he explained. "That probably ends up averaging out to $20 a haircut."
Rosenberry gives about 12 haircuts a month. Rapids captain Jack Price is a frequent customer.
"You sort of feel bad sometimes when you ask 'Can you cut my hair in the morning?'" Price said. "Because you know the schedule we have can be tough, you can get tired. But he never turns around and says no. It’s just perfect for us. It saves a couple hours a day, doesn’t it, going out and finding a barber to cut your hair. For us it’s just the conversations we can have."
It’s clear Rosenberry’s passion is as strong as Prices' beard is thick.
"A lot of times right when they're done it’s not exactly what you had in mind. I absolutely want them to tell me that and I feel like they’re way more comfortable obviously being teammates, because you don’t need to walk out of there unsatisfied," Rosenberry said. "Seeing the transformation of what I think is obviously them looking better by the time they’re done, it’s cool.”
Rosenberry isn’t stopping any time soon. He says he loves that he keeps getting better every time he gives a new cut.
"There’s a lot of ways to mess up a haircut," he said. "It’s a fun challenge for me to try to get them perfect."
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