Slick & Lyle’s Barbershop: Honoring Family Ties

by Kerri Cooke

Burn Rourk is owner and barber at Slick & Lyle’s Barbershop in Sulphur, Louisiana. Originally a graphic designer, Rourk made a career change after decades in a high demand field. He’s found great success in his barbering career, but what many may not know is the interesting backstory behind Slick & Lyle’s. Enjoy this Q&A session with Rourk about his journey to becoming one of the area’s premier barbers.

You had a very different career before becoming a barber. How did you transition from graphic design to hair care?
I’ve been cutting my own hair since high school, as well as friends’ hair for fun. After college I went into advertising/graphic design and made a good living for over 30 years. I worked in every facet of the industry, including newspapers, magazines, catalogs, websites, signage and more. Graphic design is a highly competitive field with demanding hours and tight deadlines. In my forties, I realized I needed to make a change that would allow me to be my own boss with a regular 9 to 5 schedule.

Barber shops experienced a severe decline in popularity through the ’70s and ’80s, but with the return of the popularity of the beard in the 2000s, men’s grooming became culturally relevant again. As the “barbershop renaissance” was growing, I realized I had a big opportunity to create something special. I enrolled at Future Barber College, located on Ryan Street, owned and operated by Michael Ned. It was a one-year program, and I encountered every style of haircut imaginable, as well as a diverse range of textures and lengths. When I finished school, I took my state exam in Baton Rouge and became a licensed barber.

After COVID-19 restrictions lifted, I rented a booth from Salon Works, owned by Nicole Sellers. It was a couple of weeks before Hurricane Laura hit. The building was damaged in the storm but eventually repaired. 2020 was the worst possible year to start a business, but I managed to make it work. Two years after I rented the booth, Nicole decided to retire, and I turned the salon into a barber shop and rebranded it as Slick & Lyle’s.

I am often asked how I made the transition from graphic designer to barber. It seems like a big leap to most people, but it really wasn’t to me. It requires the same eye for detail and symmetry.

Who are Slick and Lyle?
Darryl “Slick” Henderson was my grandfather, and Lyle Hungerford was my wife’s grandfather. Eleanor and I had been dating for a year before we found out our grandfathers had been life-long best friends and were in a band together called the Mel-o-Tones. Slick played the trumpet and Lyle played the drums.
Slick was a salesman for Motorola and Lyle was a beekeeper who was well-known for his local honey. “Slick and Lyle’s Grandkids are Getting Married” was the theme of our wedding, and while I was in barber school, I started developing it into branding for my shop.

What’s your favorite part of being a barber? 
The transformation I provide. When I ask new clients how they want their hair cut, all too often the response is something like, “It doesn’t matter. Just do whatever.” I love to give someone a new view of themselves, boosting their self-esteem and lifting their spirits.

How did you begin producing your own specialty products?
Developing a line of merchandise was always a big part of my plan. Eleanor is very crafty, and I asked her to find some recipes for pomade and beard oil. She mixed and matched ingredients until she developed our signature recipes. She creates the products at home in our kitchen, while I design and create the packaging. We have standard-hold pomade and beard oil in a variety of scents, all made with natural ingredients. She recently developed a beard oil that is formulated to stimulate dormant hair follicles and fill in patchy beards.