Shop Talk: Feeling Your Best with Medo Redzic

Built in the 1890s, the Monadnock Building is one of Chicago’s most historic structures. “It's like one of Chicago’s Seven Wonders with architecture, for sure,” says Medo Redzic, owner of Relentless Barbershop. “I'm very blessed to have a barbershop in this building.”

Medo opened Relentless just last November, but has seen success and community flourish in the heart of downtown Chicago. 

Relentless Barbershop is as classic as the building’s design, with the barbers all in a shirt and tie — Medo almost always in a vest — with a modern edge. “I feel like when you feel your best, you do your best.”

He welcomed us into his shop — where you can get all sorts of hair care, candles, nail kits and a fresh haircut — to discuss barbershop culture and his own personal approach to style.

The Tie Bar: How long have you been a barber? 

Medo Redzic: I've been a barber for about eight years, I started in 2018. I've always been passionate about hair and the hair industry, and I was always in the barbershop, getting a haircut every single week, and I wanted to just see how it is. So I picked up a pair of clippers and I started doing haircuts in my garage. 

TTB: Why would you go to the barbershop every week? Is that something you feel is important to do? 

MR: I was really into my image and the way I presented myself. I always liked to dress up. I like that business casual attire — where you wear a vest, a tie, dress pants, dress shoes — and I really liked presenting that image. I feel like a barbershop is where it starts. You know, you get a haircut, you look good, you feel good, and you do your best in all your aspects of life.

It changes the way that you look at yourself, and I feel like when you feel your best, you do your best. I mean, I have clients that come in once a week to get a haircut or once every two weeks.

TTB: How would you describe your own personal style? 

MR: I definitely like to dress up. I like that professional look, you know, but I like having kind of an edge to it. Like, I have one of my arms fully tatted out. The other one's pretty much finished, but I feel like a nice, ideal image for me would be a dress shirt, a tie, dress pants, and then like roll up my sleeves so my tattoos could show. I feel like that's kind of like my go-to type of look. 

TTB: Do you feel barbershops create a sense of community?

MR: For sure. I think that the barbershop definitely helps with building relationships, having people interact with one another. A lot of people actually — I've seen like three people get jobs at this barbershop just because, you know, they meet the right person when they're here and then they start interacting and then they end up getting their contact information. 

But barbershops definitely play a huge impact in the community, and they bring people together, you know what I mean? 

I mean, as a barber, there's a lot of times where you would be having somebody in the chair that you would never really talk to outside of, you know, the regular world. So I feel like a barbershop does a great job of bringing people together. Some people, you would never really encounter on a day-to-day basis. 


TTB: What is it like working in a historic place like the Monadnock Building? 

MR: Man, the Monadnock has this amazing energy to it. I remember the first time I went into the Monadnock, I walked down right here to the Van Buren entrance, and I was going to go get coffee from Intelligentsia. And I saw the barbershop and that was the first time I really saw how the building is. It's like a mini mall that was built in the 1890s. 

It was very creative in the sense that they had everything in here — like a hat shop, a shoe store, a barbershop, a coffee shop, women's clothing, a jewelry store, two restaurants. I feel like they were very ahead of their time. 

But another thing that really sticks out is the marble walls. It's very classy. And on top of that when you walk in, there's a really contagious, good energy that follows it, you know, and it makes you want to stay here. There's no other buildings like it. I'm very blessed to have a barbershop in this building.

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