THE JOURNAL
MEET PETER
003
“Happiness for me is exactly where I am in life right now.”
Today, Pete's priorities look very different. After losing the Cutthroat Pete brand, he's been finding his feet again, embracing the discipline of competitive bodybuilding and exploring a new chapter in men's grooming.
He's also learned that success doesn't have to mean chasing the next big opportunity. Having stepped away from plans to open another barbershop, Pete is putting what matters most first: his son River, his wife Christy and building a life on his own terms.
After years of pressure, reinvention and trying to live up to a reputation, he's finally comfortable being Pete.
And behind the tattoos, there's a softer side to Pete that people might not expect. The same man who once wanted to look tough now openly admits to crying at The Repair Shop. These days, he's far more comfortable showing who he really is, without feeling the need to live up to the Cutthroat Pete persona.
Behind the success, Pete was struggling. Anxiety, agoraphobia and the pressure of maintaining his public persona began taking their toll.
Through therapy, he started confronting the past and rediscovering the man behind the reputation.
“I had everything I ever wanted at that point. But I just didn't know how to handle it.”
Still cutting hair. Still covered in ink. Just a lot more comfortable in his own skin.
Meet Pete. The person behind the ink. Watch The Journal — Episode 003.
The threat triggered severe panic attacks, eventually forcing Pete to leave the shop.
But his career was only getting started.
From cutting Wayne Rooney's hair to travelling with England footballers, Pete built Cutthroat Pete's into a recognised name. By thirty, he had the clients, the business and the lifestyle he'd always dreamed of.
“I'm sat outside with a gun ... I'm going to shoot you.”
Pete had other plans.
But his early years in Liverpool's barbering scene took an unexpected turn. One afternoon, a stranger called the shop, accusing Pete of something he insists he hadn't done and demanding his entire weekly wage.
The caller claimed to be waiting outside with a gun, threatening to shoot him if he left. Pete had no idea who was on the other end of the phone, or whether the threat was real.
“You're just a waste of space. You're going to do nothing with your life.”
At sixteen, Liverpool-born Pete Cranfield had the Olympic rings tattooed on his arm. A promising Great Britain shot-putter, he had his sights set on the Games.
By seventeen, he'd started a barbering apprenticeship in Liverpool, earning £35 a week while continuing to train. Eventually, the demands of working full-time meant making a choice. Pete chose barbering.
His teachers had written him off.
Olympic hopeful. Celebrity barber. Tattoo obsessive. the reality behind the Cutthroat Pete persona.
“I feel like now I've actually got a purpose in life.”
