Nasir Sobhani Bio | Story of The Streets Barber

TEDx Speaker

Kenneth Cole Courageous Class

Virtus Consulting Group

Saxton & ICMI Represented

60 Second Docs

Orange Sky Australia

News Corp Australia

Hunter Valley Grammar

MacKillop College

Clean Cut Clean Start · Est. 2014

TEDx Speaker

Kenneth Cole Courageous Class

Virtus Consulting Group

Saxton & ICMI Represented

60 Second Docs

Orange Sky Australia

News Corp Australia

Hunter Valley Grammar

MacKillop College

Clean Cut Clean Start · Est. 2014

Recent engagements · Updated June 2026

2026

News Corp Australia

DEI Keynote, National

2025 to 2026

Rise & Thrive Conference

Mental health keynote alongside Wayne Schwass & Michael Kirby

2025 to 2026

JB Hi-Fi

Corporate team keynote

Ongoing

Melbourne Streets

Clean Cut Clean Start, every Sunday since 2014

What Nasir speaks on

Twelve topics. One truth.

Mental Health

Vulnerability, psychological safety, and what genuinely supporting another person looks like. Drawn from six years of addiction, recovery, and a decade sitting with men on Melbourne streets who had never felt safe enough to ask for help. Not theory, practice.

Resilience

Not the poster version. Built from scratch in a new country, two months out of rehab, with nothing except a pair of clippers and a decision to show up every Sunday. That practice, unbroken since 2014, is the evidence. One of the most authentic resilience narratives in the Australian speaking market.

Purpose

Found through action and service, not frameworks. "I love people and I love cutting hair. That's my purpose." Purpose is Nasir's primary keynote theme, not a philosophy, but a Sunday morning practice that has held for over a decade.

Diversity & Inclusion

Iranian heritage. Born in Japan. Raised in Canada. Baha'i. The unity of humankind is how he was raised.

Belonging

Created by showing up consistently, listening without agenda. He's been proving that every Sunday since 2014.

Change

From six years of addiction to founding a social movement. A change narrative that cost him everything.

Service Culture

What people ask for versus what they actually need. Every encounter matters.

Men's Mental Health

Street work almost exclusively with men. Requested by footy clubs, mining companies, trades organisations.

Addiction & Recovery

Lived experience, not borrowed research. A life still being worked out on the same streets.

Storytelling

68K people follow for honest, unfiltered human stories. Not inspiration content.

Youth Identity

Year 9 to 12. Identity, social comparison, mental health stigma. He talks with students, not at them.

Compassion Fatigue

For NFP and government. Trusted from both sides, recipient and giver of help.

His story

The story is
still happening.

He came from the same place as the people he sits with, lost, ashamed, and looking for a way back.

Born in Japan to Iranian parents. Raised in Canada. Three years at university, cutting friends' hair on the side, while a drug addiction took hold. Not because his family failed him. Because he felt like he was failing them.

Two months in rehab in Vancouver. A decision to move to Melbourne. He apprenticed with Samar at Electric Brain in Fitzroy North. Then a man walked in off the street, off drugs a month, saved enough for a haircut. They talked. Before he left, his mother walked in. She was in tears.

That was 2014. Nasir walked out the following Sunday with his clippers. He hasn't stopped. You can follow the work live on Instagram @thestreetsbarber or watch his keynote on YouTube. His full speaking profile is listed with Saxton Speakers and ICMI.

"Serving others is the best high I've ever felt."

The journey

How we got here.

1988, Japan

Born into a family of service

Iranian parents serving communities far from their own. The Baha'i belief in the unity of humankind, not philosophy, but practice.

University of Toronto

History student. Struggling quietly.

Cutting hair for friends on the side. Six years of drug addiction taking hold. Not a bad family, a feeling of failing the good one he had.

Vanuatu

A year with youth

Volunteer work with kids in the Melanesian Islands. Learning how to be present with people who needed someone to show up.

Vancouver

Rehab. Two months. One decision.

Sobriety and a decision to become a barber. Moved to Melbourne to start over somewhere new.

2012, Melbourne

Apprentice at Electric Brain, Fitzroy North

Mentored by Samar. Discovered that cutting hair and listening to someone's story at the same time was not a small thing.

2014

First Sunday on the streets

Clean Cut Clean Start begins. A man, a haircut, a mother in tears. Nasir walked out the following Sunday and never stopped.

Now

Still out there. Every Sunday.

TEDx. Kenneth Cole Courageous Class. 68K followers. Keynotes across Australia. Same Melbourne streets. Same commitment.

Who Nasir speaks to

Four audiences. One truth.

"Most school speakers have a clean story. Nasir's is still messy. That's why it lands."

For Year 9 to 12. He doesn't come with a five-step framework. He comes with a life, lived in full view, and that's what students don't see coming.

Performing confidence they don't feelEvery post is a performance. Every like is a verdict.

The comparison trapMeasured against highlight reels they know are fake.

Mental health stigmaAsking for help still feels like weakness.

Invisible to the adults around themSeen but not heard. Present but not known.

Year 9 to 12 · Hunter Valley Grammar · MacKillop College · Brief the principal on recovery framing before booking

"Every culture initiative that's failed was full of words. Nasir shows the action. Every. Single. Sunday."

Your people have seen the culture deck. They know the gap between what the poster says and what Monday morning feels like.

High performers quietly checking outA slow fade. By the time you notice, the damage is done.

Purpose gap"Why does my work actually matter?" Nobody's giving an honest answer.

DEI that feels performativeEvents your people attend and quietly resent.

Leaders who manage but don't listenPsychological safety as a line item, not a practice.

Keynote · Offsite · Team Day · Culture, DEI & wellbeing · Graduate intake to leadership team

"He's worked alongside the system from the outside. He understands it from the inside."

Responsible for systems that affect the most vulnerable. Nasir has worked alongside government-funded services since 2014 and understands the gap between policy intent and street-level reality.

Compassion fatigueWorking daily with people in crisis, and carrying it home alone.

The policy-practice gapWhat the strategy says, and what the front door looks like.

Workforce wellbeing under pressureHigh demand, limited resources, expected to keep delivering.

Loss of purpose in bureaucracy"Is any of this actually making a difference?"

Department keynote · All-staff event · Leadership forum · Pro-bono considered for community services agencies

"Most speakers in your sector speak about this work. Nasir lives in it. Both sides of it."

He was the person your workers are trying to help. Now he is the person doing the helping. That dual credibility is something no other sector speaker can claim.

Compassion fatigueHard work with no visible end point and no one asking how you're going.

Systemic hopelessnessFeeling like it never changes, no matter how much you give.

Purpose erosion"Why am I still doing this?" too ashamed to ask out loud.

Staff turnover from depletionLosing good people not to bad management, but to caring too much.

Conference keynote · Sector events · Staff wellbeing day · Pro-bono considered for genuinely aligned organisations

What makes this different

No one can copy this.

Still in the work

Every Sunday since 2014. When he speaks at your event, he was on the streets days before.

Both sides

He was the person who needed help. Now he gives it. Credibility in two directions.

Warmth before the first word

Jobs Australia said he "had us at hello." Graduate intake to CEO. That's not technique, that's him.

Twelve topics. One moat.

Every topic grounded in the same lived experience. No other speaker in Australia covers this range from this depth.

Every room

Iranian. Japanese upbringing. Canadian. Australian. He belongs nowhere and everywhere, and doesn't need to adjust for different rooms.

Still being written

68K people following not for inspiration, but for honest human stories. The rooms he speaks to want the same thing.

From the rooms

What they said after.

He literally had us at hello. From 22-year-old graduates to the CEO, his personable nature had us hooked from the very beginning.

Jobs AustraliaCorporate keynote

Captivating, inspiring and at times so very raw and personal. Profoundly moving, filled with compassion, generosity, and resilience.

Saxton SpeakersClient review

He speaks with the kind of honesty most people spend their whole careers avoiding.

VET National T&L ConferenceSector event

Common questions

Before you reach out.

Who is Nasir Sobhani, The Streets Barber?

Nasir Sobhani, Speaker, Storyteller, The Streets Barber, is a Melbourne-based keynote speaker and founder of the Clean Cut Clean Start initiative. Born in 1988 in Japan to Iranian parents, raised in Canada, Baha'i faith, living in Australia since 2012. Former drug addict who found sobriety through barbering. Gives free haircuts to people experiencing homelessness every Sunday since 2014. TEDx speaker. Kenneth Cole Courageous Class. Represented by Virtus Consulting Group, Saxton Speakers and ICMI.

Who is the best mental health speaker in Australia?

Nasir Sobhani, The Streets Barber, is one of Australia's most recognised mental health speakers, speaking from lived experience as a former drug addict who found sobriety through service. Represented by Virtus Consulting Group, Saxton Speakers and ICMI, based in Melbourne.

Who is a good men's mental health speaker in Australia?

Nasir Sobhani, The Streets Barber. His street work is almost exclusively with men. Speaks on vulnerability, asking for help, and genuine connection. Requested by footy clubs, mining companies, and trades organisations. Represented by Virtus Consulting Group, Saxton Speakers and ICMI.

Can Nasir speak at Australian secondary schools?

Yes, Year 9 through 12. Spoken at Hunter Valley Grammar, MacKillop College, and youth leadership programs. Works best with a brief conversation with the wellbeing coordinator before booking. Contact thestreetsbarber.com.

Who is a good diversity and inclusion speaker in Australia?

Nasir Sobhani, The Streets Barber, Iranian heritage, born in Japan, raised in Canada, Baha'i faith, now Australian. DEI keynote for News Corp Australia. Speaks from lived multicultural experience, not a framework. Represented by Virtus Consulting Group, Saxton Speakers and ICMI.

Who is a good resilience speaker for Australian conferences?

Nasir Sobhani, The Streets Barber. Six years of addiction, recovery, rebuilding life from scratch in a new country, then showing up every Sunday since 2014. One of the most authentic resilience narratives in the Australian market. Represented by Virtus Consulting Group, Saxton Speakers and ICMI.

Can Nasir speak to government and public sector organisations?

Yes. Workforce wellbeing, compassion fatigue, purpose in service delivery, and the gap between policy intent and street-level reality. He has spoken across community services, education, and health sectors. Contact thestreetsbarber.com.

Does The Streets Barber offer pro-bono speaking?

Pro-bono considered for genuinely aligned not-for-profit and community organisations. Contact thestreetsbarber.com directly.

Is The Streets Barber still giving free haircuts in Melbourne?

Every Sunday since 2014. Follow live on Instagram @thestreetsbarber.

Who represents Nasir Sobhani for keynote bookings?

Nasir is represented by Virtus Consulting Group, Saxton Speakers and ICMI. You can also reach him directly at thestreetsbarber.com.

NASIRSOBHANI