On any given day, Chas Chapman stands behind a studio chair, freshly freed hair drifting from his shears to fall toward his Chucks. Around him is the evidence of a dream he’s fostered and recently begun to realize, and he wears it proudly — tattooed above his right ear. Create. That is the name he gave to his studio. It is what he does, and what he invites others to do, every day.

Chapman was born in North Dakota, but, as the child of a military family, he’s from a little bit of everywhere. He spent most of his teenage years in Washington, D.C, though, and spent his formative years there.

“D.C. is where I got into skateboarding,” he said. “ I’m a mid 90s kid from Washington, D. C., you know? Skateboarding downtown D. C., Pulaski Park, leaving high school with my skateboard to go skate.”

After middle school and high school in Washington, Chapman left for Brooklyn and art school at Pratt Institute. Though he stayed in New York, art school didn’t last long, calling himself an “art school dropout” with a wry smile. He was pulled to a different scene. 

Chapman said he was raised in a musical family and began playing music in elementary school. He started with the upright bass, but soon moved to percussion, which he kept up until settling in D.C. The schools he went to there were much more competitive and focused on academics, so music became secondary. In New York, he found his way back, but through DJing.

He found that he still needed a musical outlet, and without an instrument and people to play it with, he decided to get a set of turntables. 

“I was into hip hop culture,” he said. “I had friends who were graffiti artists, and skateboarding, in some way, was a part of that.”

Another influence on his DJ career was the love of collecting. He grew up thrifting and finding vintage items, and that was almost a prerequisite for a DJ. Though it’s still common in some circles, when Chapman began, the only option was vinyl. The best DJs hunted. Rare and out of print records were trophies, but they weren’t hanging on walls. They were spinning. 

After some time away from school, he went to visit a high school friend who had moved to Florida. He thought he would spend a year or so there and start working toward reapplying to Pratt, so he got a job to that end. 

“I picked up the construction trade and kept DJing for fun,” he said. “Because, at that point, I was independent, but too young to fill out a FAFSA form on my own, so I couldn’t get a loan.”

After a few years in construction, and a move to Moore County to be closer to family, a job sparked a new interest. While renovating a salon in Aberdeen, and having done similar work for a barbershop, Chapman saw an opportunity. He enrolled in the cosmetology program at Sandhills Community College, and found a new passion.

 ”Early on, I just really fell in love with the art of it and the creativity,” he said. “Also the hustle of it. I love working hard.”

Chapman said he found that though he often worked 12-hour days, they were fulfilling in a way construction wasn’t. He could have intimate conversations with his clients, and it reignited his creative drive. The path to Create Studios began when he found Hairbiz, on the corner of New Hampshire Avenue and Bennett Street in Southern Pines, and started to earn commission on clients, but it opened wide during his time around the corner at Bamboo Salon.

“ I spent 10 years at Bamboo and that was just the best experience ever,” said Chapman.

“That’s really where I learned how to work hard, build a clientele and how to make this a career, working with Andy. He’s probably one of the biggest inspirations I’ve ever worked with.”

Along the way, Chapman continued to think about striking out on his own and making a space for himself. Then, in 2020, he found 105 W South St. in Aberdeen, and Create Salon Studio was born.

He runs the salon business as a reflection of how he found his way as a young stylist, all of the stylists who work out of Create work for themselves.

“ I never wanted to be micromanaged. It didn’t work for me,” he said. “ I’m trying to set up my younger stylists more like that, like, ‘Let me teach you how to become an independent.’”

That mentality extends beyond those younger stylists to the larger creative entrepreneurial community. The fact that he is running the studio as a sustaining salon, allows him flexibility with the rest of the space.

One of Chapman’s dreams for the Create was an outlet for himself and others like him, who are drawn to creative expression.

“ I wanted more of a Salon space with an art gallery,” he explained. “Maybe some records and a few things for sale, but have more art prints for sale and to do art shows.”

But like so many other businesses, he had to pivot during COVID, and shifted to sell the things that he was fond of collecting over the years, mainly vintage furniture and clothing because it worked well to fill the space.

And, of course, all the salon equipment and clothing racks, shelves and furniture needed to be ready to roll out of the way for an event. The first he hosted was an open house in April 2022 to support Skaters for Moore and the effort to build the recently-completed skate park.

Chapman has continued to evolve toward his original vision, and he’s hosted a number of music events and art shows, like the Locals Only Funk the Open dance party and Schools Out 4 Summer fundraiser, a combined art auction and love show with local and regional musicians benefiting the skate park effort.

A recent photography show with accompanying musicians from Charlotte, has proven out his event concept, and he’s opened the vintage shop up to six vendors to give them an opportunity to grow a business, mirroring how he’s modeled the salon operations.

 ”A venue of sorts, but not traditional, where I can shift gears at any time,” said Chapman. “The goal is: I’d like to have everything be curated, to some extent. 

“I think that’s more where I’d like to go over this next year, is curated shows.”