VAILS GATE, N.Y. -- Anthony Mancinelli came to work Wednesday expecting just another day on the job. Instead, he walked into a surprise birthday party.
“This is unusual; I’ve never seen anything like this,” Mancinelli said.
At 105 years old, Mancinelli is the world's oldest barber, with a document from the Guinness Book of World Records to prove it.
"I kept going and I haven’t stopped yet. I’m still going,” Mancinelli said.
He started cutting hair at the age of 12 as a way to help his father pay bills. Mancinelli's first customer: his dad. He gave the old man a quick haircut and shave. A few minutes later, Mancinelli had his first satisifed customer.
Today, he works at Fantastic Cuts in Vails Gate.
“There’s none like him on Earth," said Fantastic Cuts Owner Jane Dinezza. "His work is phenomenal. He’s inspiring to the whole beauty industry.”
At 105 years old, Mancinelli still drives himself to work, works 40 hours five days a week, and is never short on customers.
“They all like him," said Robert Mancinelli, Anthony's son. "His customers keep coming back.”
“He cares a lot. He’s that old-style barber,” said Christopher Eachus, an Orange County legislator.
Eachus has been a customer for 25 years. He says Mancinelli's passion shows through in every cut. Plus, Mancinelli always has a good story or two to share.
“He doesn’t stop. He does your entire haircut without taking a break or stopping or anything," Eachus said. "I’m not sure, at my young age, I could hold my hands up for that long.”
“You have to like what you’re doing, otherwise you’ll never be good,” Mancinelli said.
Mancinelli has been on the job for nearly a century. He says cutting hair doesn't feel like work, which is why he never thinks of retiring.