In the perfect crossover between baseball and pop culture, White Sox reliever Liam Hendriks and barber-turned-internet personality Vic Blends came together for a conversation -- over a haircut.
Vic, a barber-gone-viral, has burst onto the social media scene for, essentially, exchanging free haircuts for meaningful conversations. With over 14 million followers on TikTok and 2.5 million on Instagram, the internet sensation has had conversations and haircuts with people from all walks of life, whether it’s professional athletes or random strangers on the street.
In his latest video, Vic met up with the lovable reliever from the White Sox.
“Excuse me, my name is Vic,” the young barber said as he introduced himself to Hendriks at Guaranteed Rate Field. “Do you think I could bless you with a free haircut?”
What follows is a genuine conversation that provides the ideal look into both of their worlds. For Hendriks, that involves diving into the incredible journey that the Australian-born pitcher has gone through over the course of his baseball career and life.
After developing into one of the best closers in baseball, the 34-year-old Hendriks was diagnosed with Stage IV non-Hodgkin's lymphoma last December. Miraculously, after a five-month battle with cancer, Hendriks was back on a Major League mound, against the Angels in Chicago on May 29.
After briefly providing background on his upbringing, Hendriks talked to Vic about the physical and emotional aspects of battling cancer. Vic then asked Hendriks about advice he’d provide for people in this kind of situation.
“For me, it’s just to remain positive and also talk about it,” Hendriks said. “We need to remove the stigma of the word cancer. Talking about it, it lifts that burden off your shoulders. Not only will it help you, but it will hopefully change the mindset of a lot of people.”
While Hendriks will be out of action for the foreseeable future -- he underwent Tommy John surgery last month that will keep him out for 12-14 months -- he still believes he has a role to play.
“This is an opportunity while I’m still playing -- while I’ve got the platform of an active MLB player -- to really raise awareness and to help out that next person who may be going through a cancer diagnosis,” Hendriks said.
For Vic -- whose TikTok bio includes the phrase “making people smile” -- his idea of creating meaningful conversation via haircuts and social media was certainly a success with Hendriks. While we won’t see Hendriks back on an MLB mound in the near future, his words are a good reminder for those struggling with similar issues.
You can follow Vic Blends on TikTok and Instagram at @vicblends