In the two years he’s had his own barber shop in Oak Harbor, Lampton Lawrence has created quite the following.

On a recent weekday Lawrence had five men sitting in his small Midway Boulevard barber shop waiting for one of his legendary haircuts.

“He’s the only person I come to get my hair cut,” said Santhes Anderson, an Oak Harbor military spouse.

Lawrence specializes in men’s haircuts and is known best for his high top fade, a hair style made popular among black men in the 1980s that has made a resurgence over the last decade in a more conservative incarnation.

If you talk to his customers, there’s no one in town who does it better.

“He gives the best fade in town,” said long-time customer and friend Gerry Oliver. “I like coming to Lampton’s. It’s well-priced, efficient. Most people pick up a mirror right after they get their haircut. I don’t do that, so there’s a trust there.”

It’s doesn’t hurt that Lawrence is known as being simply “a really nice guy.”

When people have schedule conflicts, Lawrence has been known to work with people as needed.

“He always goes the extra mile to help people out,” Oliver said.

After attending Evergreen Beauty and Barber in Everett for his license, Lawrence said he picked up a job at a chain hair salon in town, making minimum wage plus tips.

With a wife and a child, it wasn’t the greatest situation, Lawrence said.

However, Lawrence was able to build up a good clientele for himself.

So when his father suggested he talk to the owners of George’s Barber Shop on Midway, who were looking to retire, he was in a position to take over the business.

“It was a big step,” Lawrence said. “It took a little bit of a leap of faith.”

The change has allowed Lawrence the latitude to better cater to the specific needs of his clientele.

Today, Lawrence cuts 90-100 heads of hair a week, mainly men and boys.

“I like a challenge,” Lawrence said. “It’s definitely a speciality.”