At 24, local Filipino Danielle Estanislao – known to most as Dan or Danny – has gone from picking up his first pair of clippers as a teenager to becoming the owner of “Chico Barbershop”, reputedly making him Macau’s youngest barbershop owner.
After spending seven years building his career and clientele, Dan said opening his own shop was both “nerve-wracking and deeply rewarding.” When Dan first unlocked the door of Chico as its owner, the significance of the moment quickly sank in. “I’ll be honest, it was very nerve-wracking,” he told the Post on Saturday, adding that “we’re finally here after seven long years.”
The opening marked a major step from his beginnings as a 17-year-old learning to cut hair to running a business of his own. Dan said he was also excited to finally see a dream that began with his first pair of clippers become reality.
The decision to open Chico came as his growing client base began to outgrow his personal schedule. “There were times when I needed to give other barbers my clients because I couldn’t fit them in my schedule,” he said. Rather than wait several more years, Dan decided to make use of the momentum he had built. “I was thinking about the momentum, and I felt like it was time for me to use this momentum to have my own shop,” he said, noting, “Why open at a later time when you can do it now?”
The transition from barber to owner, however, has brought a new set of responsibilities. While previously he could simply arrive at work, cut hair, and leave, running Chico means dealing with everything from setting up the shop and checking the numbers to paperwork and administrative duties. “I need to think about a lot of ‘admin’ stuff that I’m not used to,” Dan noted.
The name “Chico” also reflects Dan’s own journey. He and his girlfriend came up with the name while casually brainstorming ideas, even before opening a shop had become a concrete plan. “The term ‘Chico’ made the most sense because it means ‘young man’ in Spanish,” he said.
Dan began barbering at 17, when he was still young and uncertain whether the craft would become his career. Seven years later, the name has taken on a more personal meaning. For him, Chico is about how customers feel after leaving the chair. “I want people to come out fresh, like a ‘young man,’” he noted, elaborating that “right after the cut, I want them to walk out of here with confidence, with a smile on their faces – like that’s what being in Chico means to me.”
Although Dan is reputed to be Macau’s youngest barbershop owner at 24, he said that the title itself is not what matters most to him. “When I was younger, it meant a lot, because I was the youngest barber at that time at 17,” he said. Today, he would rather Chico be judged by the experience it provides. “The most important thing is they come because they like the haircut, they like the vibes, they like the community,” he said, adding: “That’s what I want Chico to be.”
The difference between the 17-year-old who first picked up clippers and the 24-year-old now running a shop is not only professional experience, but also a change in his outlook. Dan said he used to overthink every step of his career and try to force things to happen. Now, he is more willing to trust the process. “If it happens, it happens, as long as I did my best, then it’s all good,” Dan said.
That same philosophy shapes the advice he would give his younger self. “Don’t overthink,” Dan noted, reflecting that “sometimes, all you have to do is take the leap of faith, and just do it.” The advice echoes what Dan told the Post* last year, when he was still working towards his dream of owning a shop. At the time, he said young people should not be afraid to pursue what they want.
Now that the dream has been achieved, Dan’s ambitions have shifted from opening a shop to growing it. Chico currently has two of its three chairs occupied (by him and an employee), and Dan’s next goal is to fill the remaining chair while helping the barbers working alongside him succeed. “My next dream is to fill the other chair, and then to make whoever is working at Chico a successful barber as well,” he said.
He hopes Chico can become more than a place for haircuts – a community where customers feel comfortable returning again and again. “I want people to be able to come in here, and think that, ‘oh, this is my second home,’” Dan told the Post.
For the 24-year-old who first picked up his clippers at 17, becoming Macau’s youngest barbershop owner may be a headline achievement, but for Dan, it appears to be only the beginning.
The barbershop is located at 30D on Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida. It is open Monday to Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
*From first clippers to career dream: Macau-Filipino Dan’s journey in barbering - https://www.macaupostdaily.com/news/25669 (August 12, 2025)
Undated photos provided by Dan Estanislao
Dan Estanislao (second from right) and his employee Patric Bicarme (second from left) cut the hair of their clients at Chico Barbershop on Saturday. – Photo: Khalel Vallo
These handout photos provided by Dan show him posing with the US National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Devin Booker from the Phoenix Suns and working on his beard last October.
