Sonder.
/ˈsonder./
The realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own — populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness.
Arrive at yourself.
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WE DON'T JUST CUT.We consult.
Every Sonder haircut begins with a five step analysis. We study your face, your hair, your life. Then we cut.
We map your facial structure to determine where to add or remove weight.
Proportion mapping for balance.
Controls product and technique.
Thin, texturise, or build volume.
Matched to your real routine.
The most trained teamin Australia.
A weekly training session that started with three people in a room has become the backbone of our brand and our consistency. It has grown into three sessions a week, run by three different educators across three different locations.
Sonder was born out of one frustration — most barbershops have one good barber. We didn't want that. That's why it's not called Sam and Ji's Barbershop. It's a brand. Bigger than us. Every barber in every chair in every location has to deliver the same standard. Education is how we guarantee that.
Sonder invests over $100,000 a year into its team and tallies up over 600 hours a year of dedicated time on education. Our sessions have been hosted by the world's best haircutters. We are by far the most education-focused barbershop in the country — if not the world.
“This is not training. This is obsession.”
First be. Then be seen.
A style born in the sixties and worn by The Beatles. The fringe frames the face and runs down to the sideburns, with length carried over the ears. Heavy layering and a deliberate mess up top, everything sits forward, toward the face.
Mod
Structured chaos with a point of view.
A versatile classic. The traditional quiff is sleek and polished. The modern quiff is messier, styled forward from the crown, then lifted to build volume through the fringe and lengthen the face.
Quiff
Volume with direction.
Also known as a brush back. Mid length and timeless, the hair moves back off the face in a classic shape.
Flow
The cut that rewards patience.
The short, textured, spiky cut Brad Pitt made famous in Fight Club. A nineties look, messy and effortless, almost like you haven't had it cut at all. Built with volume powder for lift and edge.
Warrior
A cut that demands attention.
A cut that has evolved across the sixties, seventies, eighties and nineties. Longer length sitting to the shoulders or past, with shorter internal layers and framing around the face. Think of it as a long Mod.
Shag
Effortless but intentional.
Messy and styled forward, a modern take on the Caesar cut. Especially good for higher hairlines.
Textured Crop
Messy on purpose.
The cut that built an industry.
A nineties revival. Longer through the front, parted to frame the face. Works particularly well with straight hair, but suits curly and longer hair too.
Curtains
Centre stage.
Think Jon Snow. Length that sits around the shoulders, broken up with layers and movement so it never falls flat, texture instead of weight.
Long Layers
Long hair is not the absence of a haircut.
A mid to long, heavily textured style with a hint of mullet through the back. Layered so it never sits flat, all movement, no weight. Like a longer Modern Mullet.
Wolf Cut
The shag's wilder cousin.
Classic and short. A number two, three or four on top, faded shorter on the sides. The lowest maintenance cut we do.
Buzz Cut
Nothing to hide behind.
Also known as a short back and sides. Anything from a skin fade to a four on the sides, with up to three inches on top. Simple. Clean.
Crew Cut
Sharp, clean, done.
Eight addresses.
One standard.
The vision from 2019.Now carried by over 30.
Ji Ratnagopal
Director & Co-Founder
Co-founder of Sonder. Started cutting hair with Sam in a garage at 17. Opened Sonder at 22. Now 30, leading the most education-focused barbershop group in Australia. Relentless in the pursuit of a standard the industry didn't have.
“Life gives to givers and takes from takers.”
VIEW PROFILE →
Cutting hair since fifteen.
Sam and Ji both picked up clippers at 15. Sam in his bathroom giving mates mullets, Ji cutting his brother's hair. By 17 they were working side by side at a walk-in barbershop, cutting hair together at Warringah Mall and Warriewood Square. They cut tens of thousands of heads over five years. They learned fast. But the model was volume. Get them in, get them out. Same cut, same approach, every chair. It wasn't how they wanted to do it. They wanted to spend longer with each client. Analyse the face, the hair, the lifestyle, and deliver something personal, not templated. At 22 and 23, they decided to build something that didn't exist yet. Sonder was born.
“We wanted to build something bigger than our own names.”
The vision at seventeen. Brought to life.
What Sam and Ji imagined in a garage at 17 is now carried by a team of over 30 people across eight locations. No investors, no franchises. Just organic growth built on craft, word of mouth and a refusal to compromise. The brand they dreamed of building bigger than themselves now lives in every barber, every chair, every location.
“We're not done.
We're not even close.”
Stay in the room.
The latest from Sonder — new courses, team stories, product releases and run club updates.