WETHERSFIELD - Lil Wayne’s auto tuned vocals thunder through the speakers over a pulsating beat as the crowded front section waits for the festivities to start.


       There’s legendary boxing announcer David Diamante, taking the stage to kick things off-his signature voice ringing the hype to a fever pitch with the introduction of the afternoon’s competitors.


       But this isn’t a hip hop concert. It isn’t a sporting event.


       This is the Connecticut Barber Expo. Yes, a haircut competition. With his thick mane of braided dreadlocks-hanging way south of his shoulders-perhaps Diamante came to the right place.


       â€�"This is like the Super Bowl of barber competitions,” says Merhan Cecunjanin, or, â€�"MC Barber”-as he’s known to a network of hair maestros that have grown to both fear and respect him. â€�"People come from all over the U.S. We even had barbers from Alaska.”


       We’re standing over a laptop opened up on one of the countertops in MC’s Wethersfield shop. Here, MC rolls the footage-taken from the event by a group of Yale University students shooting a documentary.


       And there he is, a gel-shined haircut over a thick beard-a vest over a white buttoned down and bow tie topping off an Amish look. He’s hard at work, spiffing up a tall â€�"model” that could pass for his twin brother.


       â€�"I wanted to win,” MC says of his attire. â€�"If you care, you go all the way.”


       In a barber competition, presentation matters, but it isn’t everything. A franchise-worthy trophy collection provides some insight on what other facets make a champion hairstylist.


       MC’s triumphs in the best 15 minute fade, and the fastest Mohawk-among others-sit on display in the front window of the Silas Deane Highway shop. He has won-a lot.


       Twenty-five trophies, total. Twelve were for first place finishes. Nine for second.


       â€�"It’s a great feeling,” MC says. â€�"You’re competing among the best barbers in the country. This is where you see the latest techniques. Learn. Compete.”


       His apparent dominance in every category indicates technical prowess, but Team USA Coach Andrea Turisi likes to stress the intangibles.


       â€�"There was a drive I liked,” Turisi said over the phone. â€�"He’s got this hunger for learning more.”


       Nowadays that’s rare, by Turisi’s account. But back in his day-the Turisi-described â€�"Golden Age” of barber competitions-hair professionals were voracious students of the game.