When Geoffrey Ndirangu graduated in 2013, he was undecided on his career path — now he is quickly becoming the preferred barber of many Sacramento State student athletes.

Ndirangu graduated from Sac State in winter of 2013 with a degree in organizational communications and said he had no idea what his future held.

“When I got out of college I still didn’t really know what I wanted to do, and I was cutting hair on the side,” he said. “I was getting fed up with my job and I asked myself, what is something that I would like to do. So I went and got my license then opened a shop.”

Ndirangu opened his own shop at 6818 Fruitridge Road, about 10 minutes away from Sac State, in June 2016.

When developing a brand for his shop, he wanted to create something that was different from other shops in the area.

Gallery • 3 Photos

Shaun Holkko - The State Hornet

Geoffrey Ndirangu graduated from Sacramento State in 2013 with a degree in organizational communications. He has been a licensed barber with his own shop since 2016.

“I definitely wanted a unique name,” he said. “Something that you can’t type into Google and find another ‘6818 Barbershop’ anywhere in the land, and I also want that to be the experience when you come here.”

Ndirangu first started cutting hair in 2011 as a student. He said that he got his start by going to the dorms at Sac State.

“Sac State was already my target clientele base, because I was at Sac State a majority of the time,” he said. “I always found myself as the Sac State barber.”

Ndirangu also began to give haircuts to his younger brother, Gathungu Ndirangu, while he was still at Rosemont High School. Gathungu is now a senior at Sac State and is on the track team.

“I’ve sent a lot of people from my track team there, and they all feel comfortable and come back for the experience,” Gathungu said. “The one thing that sets him apart is that he’s really good at communicating with his customers.”

Many Sac State athletes started going to Geoffrey with his younger brother’s recommendation — and not only track athletes, but also those from other sports, including basketball.

Senior basketball player Justin Strings has been going to 6818 for over a year and a half. He was originally introduced to Geoffrey by his former teammate, Trevis Jackson.

    RELATED: Strings makes program history as men’s basketball falls to Wildcats

Strings said guys like himself, Gathungu, Trevis and track star Austin Tinsley send their teammates to Ndirangu.

“Word gets around that there are a lot of athletes going over there,” Strings said. “We trust him, so you know more and more guys are going in that direction to go and get a haircut.”

Ndirangu said he has a special relationship with his clients, especially the student athletes.

“I think it’s more than just a barber-client relationship,” Geoffrey Ndirangu said. “It’s more of a mutual support type of thing. In the way that they come support me by coming to get a haircut, frequenting my shop and sharing it with their friends, I try to show the same support back to them as well.”

Ndirangu said the thing he likes most about his profession is the flexibility it offers him.

“The freedom that I have is what I appreciate about it the most,” he said. “It allows me to not value the price tag and not to put all the emphasis on how much money I make. I get to enjoy things like (spending time with) my son.”

Seven years ago Geoffrey Ndirangu learned to cut hair in the dorms at Sac State. Now, student-athletes at Sac State come to him to look their best on game day.

“I consider 6818 to be the barbershop destination of Sac State student-athletes,” Ndirangu said.