Encore: Barber Charles Lomu and the meaning of love

March 25, 2026·53 min·4 clips

The death of his grandfather changed everything - including his feelings about the sport that was supposed to be his future.

Charles Lomu starts in a garage. The conversation meets him as a Sydney barber and youth worker, teaching young guys to cut hair in Blacktown. He had another plan first. The host eases back into the life that made him, including his early years with his grandparents in Tonga. His grandmother read the Bible with him. His grandfather showed him what family duty could look like, and Charles promised he would become their driver. That promise still has a tug. When his grandfather was getting ready to go back to Tonga, Charles remembered hearing that he would only return there to rest. Quiet line, heavy after the news came that his grandfather had died. Then there is Robin. Charles remembers her watching another team's game and still catching enough to pull him up for bad language. He took it because he respected her. In his version, correction did not feel like shame. Robin had always been like a mother to him, and her care came with a firm edge. The host sticks to small, practical questions, which gives the bigger stuff room to appear. A garage haircut turns into a life story. Sport, family, faith, grief, and mentorship sit close in the details Charles keeps. The pace stays patient. Love sounds like presence, promise, discipline, and attention that knows when someone needs guiding.

As heard by us

A Sydney barber on the people who bother -- and why that willingness turns out to be the care.

Charles Lomu runs a garage barbershop in Blacktown, western Sydney, teaching young men to cut hair. This anniversary encore from the Conversations archive does not treat that as a feel-good destination -- it earns it.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

What happens when a man finally understands that being corrected is just what love looks like.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Conversations (ABC)