Najim Nagy is a Kenyan barber based in Leicester, the United Kingdom.
Najim who is originally from Makadara, Mombasa County, moved to the UK over two decades ago in search of greener pastures.
He currently runs a barber shop in Leicester, and he had shaved among others N’Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez who previously lived in the city.
Here is Najim’s story as told by WoK.
Najim moved to the United Kingdom in the early 2000s and settled in Leicester, the 10th largest city in the UK with a population of about 450,000 people.
Here, he set up a barber shop to offer different grooming services to locals.
However, Najim made a name for himself when footballers N’Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez visited his barber shop.
At the time, the two players were playing for Leicester City FC which was competing in the English Premier League (EPL) at the time.
Kante played for Leicester City for one season, from August 2015 to July 2016, playing a key role in the team’s surprise victory in the Premier League that year.
On the other hand, Mahrez played for Leicester City from January 2014 to July 2018.
He joined them in the middle of the 2013-2014 season and helped them win promotion to the Premier League that year.
Mahrez then played a key role in their surprise Premier League title win in the 2015-2016 season.
In an interview, Najim added that apart from the two, other footballers who have visited his barbershop include Jeffrey Schlupp, Youri Tielemans and Nathan Dyer.
He added that he was much closer to Mahrez who was impressed with his services and as such they grew closer over time.
Najim also talked about his interaction with Kante, speaking of his humility and respect unlike other players who prefer booking appointments.
Although he did not disclose how much he makes from shaving the footballing world elites, Najim mentioning that he does not have a fixed price.
“He [Mahrez] doesn’t give me money every time I shave him. I can shave him twice in a row without him giving me money, and it’s not that he doesn’t have money; it’s probably because he doesn’t walk around with money every time; the third time I shave him, he’ll come and give me money that will cover for the previous cuts. It’s always big money,” he said.
