April 10, 2025 • 51 mins
What happens when an artist takes up the straight razor? Meet Ian Gerald, owner of Palm Desert Barbershop and two-time winner of Barbershop of the Year in the Coachella Valley. His unexpected journey from professional BMX rider to master barber began with a devastating diagnosis of multiple sclerosis at age 18, forcing him to reimagine his future.
In this candid conversation, Ian reveals how discovering the traditional barbershop culture sparked a new passion. Unlike many in his field, he learned his craft through apprenticeship rather than conventional schooling, immersing himself in the time-honored traditions of hot towel shaves and precise cuts. When fate offered him the chance to purchase a shop after working there just one month, he transformed it into a haven of craftsmanship and connection.
The magic of Palm Desert Barbershop lies in its unique atmosphere—thirteen vintage guitars line the walls, an old jukebox plays in the corner, and complimentary beer awaits clients. But beneath these distinctive touches lies Ian's core philosophy: "Outcome Over Income." This mantra guides his approach to business, prioritizing quality over quantity and genuine relationships over rapid turnover. As he explains, "We sit down, we'll talk to you and keep the conversation going and really be interested in what you have to say."
Beyond barbering, Ian pursues diverse artistic endeavors from leather crafting to preserved butterfly art, even trading Pokémon cards for guitars. His home reflects this creative spirit with coffin bookshelves and black-and-white striped walls. For aspiring barbers and entrepreneurs, his advice remains steadfast—do it for passion, not profit, and create something you're genuinely proud to share with your community.
Visit Palm Desert Barbershop at the corner of Gerald Ford and Cook Street in Palm Desert, or follow Ian's creative journey on Instagram at @thebarbershoppd and @dybs_art.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
What is going on?
Everyone, I'm Robert Mraz andI'm Fina Mraz, and this is CV
Hustle, the podcast dedicated toinspiring entrepreneurship here
in the Coachella Valley, andnothing but illustrious guests
today.
But today we have a specialguest for all.
You guys maybe in barber schoolor thinking about the personal
service industry We've got theguy that's built one of the best
(00:21):
shops here in the CoachellaValley, award-winning shop at
that.
Our guest today is Mr IanGerald of Palm Desert Barbershop
.
How are you doing, man?
I'm doing great.
Thank you for having me here.
Thanks, man.
Thanks for coming in.
We always want to talk to thebest and brightest in the
industry and we definitely fitthem all.
So thank you for coming in.
Oh, thank you very much.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
So you and I got a little chance to talk and
everything.
But I want to know yourbackstory.
Did you grow up here in theCoachella Valley or not?
I did not.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
No, I grew up in Corona Riverside.
Okay, In the Empire is where Ispent a lot of my I guess, most
of my life, your young days, myyounger days, and then so did
you go to?
Speaker 3 (01:01):
you went to high school, I'm assuming, and then
college, or how did that?
What happened there?
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Let's see, when I was younger I always thought I was
going to be a professional BMXrider.
So a lot of my life I was doingthat.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
You're an ex-athlete then huh yeah, I was a BMX dirt
jumper and I competedprofessionally.
Oh, wow, okay.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
So doing backflips, oh my God.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
That's awesome man.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
That's scary.
It was fun.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Adrenaline rush.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Yeah, not broken bones.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
How long did you pursue that career?
I mean so, I guess that wasyour first career then, huh.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
I wasn't getting paid , so I don't even think it was
like a career.
It was just a passion.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Okay, yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
But I did that until I was diagnosed at 18 with
multiple sclerosis.
Oh, wow, okay.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
How did you know that something was wrong?
I mean, I know that soundsstupid, but I was just asking
him like, give me the definitionof multiple sclerosis?
And he said it's like yournerves attacking the coding, and
so you like go on.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
It's just basically the nerves.
The disease is attacking youryou like.
It's just you have.
Basically the nerves.
The disease is attacking your,your own body your nervous
system.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Okay, so you got diagnosed at a pretty young age,
then huh.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Yeah, it was pretty rare 18 years old.
I mean, that's your prime ofyour life.
Right, it should be the top ofyour athletic game right, yeah,
it was athletic game, right,yeah it was.
It was going that way, man itwas.
It was tough, it was reallyhard to accept.
I mean, how I knew is I wasstaying over at my best friend's
house and I had woken up and Iwas just tingly numb from like
(02:35):
the waist down and you know, notknowing anything about the
disease or anything like that, Ijust I slept wrong, something's
pinched and you know it'll workitself out right and then I
think maybe a week passed andthen I started getting tunnel
vision in my left eye.
so I just thought something wasin it, so I didn't know what to
(02:57):
do.
And then it just got worse andworse and then I finally told my
mom I need to go to doctor.
Like my vision's getting reallybad in my eye, yeah, so we went
to the eye doctor and then thedoctor said we don't see
anything wrong.
Like you need to take him tothe hospital.
Oh wow, so that was a wholedifferent thing.
(03:19):
Tests, all that.
Then I got laid up in thehospital for a week.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Spinal tap, tap more tests and they were like you,
have multiple sclerosis wow, anddid that run in your family at
that point?
Did you know what, even whatthat was at that point?
Speaker 2 (03:34):
I think I might have heard about it because of montel
williams I.
You know he had it.
But then I might have knownabout it because I had it.
But when I first was diagnosedthey were saying no, it's not
hereditary or anything like that.
And a couple months ago justfound out my little brother has
(03:56):
it.
Oh wow.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
How old is he?
He's 36, I believe.
Wow, mid-30s.
Wow, that's crazy man yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
And there's nothing that they can do for it right,
there's no cure.
There's no cure.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
So it's just about managing symptoms at that point.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Wow, yeah, basically just keeping you under control.
Right now I get infusions onceevery six months, so I'm sitting
in the hospital for most of theday just getting stuff, my
medication, you know, injectedinto me.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Wow, I mean, you've been doing that since you were
18 years old, basically.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
This treatment, honestly, is just something
brand new and I've only reallystarted taking care of myself
because you know my wife nowshe's, you know, always have my
back, my best, my best friend.
She's like you need to be herefor a while oh yeah, get your
shit together.
We got a long life to live yeah, before all that, it was just
(04:55):
living how I wanted to live.
You know, I'm like thinkingthere's there's no point,
there's no cure, there's nopoint party 24 7 yeah, just
going hard, yep is
Speaker 1 (05:06):
that your initial reaction when you're 18 and
finally like accepted the factthat's what you have, were you
just like, okay, we're justgonna live until the wheels fall
off?
Speaker 2 (05:14):
basically, yeah, it was just kind of.
You know, I didn't really takeany precautions, I wasn't gonna
change my life in I mean, it'snot like I was out there, you
know, doing drugs or doinganything bad or anything like
that.
So I'm just still going to ridemy bike, I'm going to do my
arts, I'm going to keep goinglike any other day.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Wow, I mean, that's a great way to approach it,
obviously, but also you got totake care of the medical side.
Exactly, I mean at some pointbody's gonna start breaking down
on you, right?
Because of the disease, right?
Speaker 2 (05:47):
yeah, for sure.
I mean I get super tired, right, like because I know, I know
I'm due for my injections, likenow oh so your body's like,
hello like I'm so tired, likeespecially standing, like 10
hours a day yeah, I mean you'reon your feet 20 for a long time,
yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
So I can tell, but just looking at you, that you're
an artsy guy, right?
Speaker 1 (06:11):
I like the shirt, by the way.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Oh, thank you.
Shout out to Black Flag.
Yeah, I like that.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
So like what came before, you know, like the
chicken or the egg.
So is it the artist or thehairstylist?
Speaker 1 (06:26):
egg.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
So is it the artist or the the hairstylist, because
hairstyling is is also a form ofart, yeah right.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
So, like how you've always been artsy, I'm assuming,
yeah right yeah, I was alwaysjust an artist drawing around
doing uh, graffiti and prettymuch just drawing yeah, did
anybody in your family have that?
My mom's's very artistic, ohreally.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
I remember when my dad he started his building
materials company, she was doingdesigning the shirts and stuff
like that.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
Oh nice.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Yeah, so I know that's where it came from,
totally.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
And I'm sure somebody in her lineage had it somewhere
down the road and everythingright, it really is Art carries
on in people's genes.
I think so does music right.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
I think it says music too, it's part of your DNA.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Either you got it or you don't.
I think yeah, so some peopledon't got it.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
So you had to have been pretty confident to go from
I'm drawing on paper tograffiti art right Because
that's a pretty bold statement.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
I'm sensing skater, punk, hip hop, graffiti guy back
in the day.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, but see, honestly, back in the day
I wasn't like doing on the wallsor anything like that.
That we're doing now becausenowadays we have much more
controlled environment.
You know, like out in PalmSprings they have the graffiti
yard where you can do that.
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
And not worry about anything.
That's awesome, man.
That's awesome because goingout there we're not getting
arrested bombing the freeway orsomething like that.
Yeah, exactly Right.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
I don't have that kind of stones, I guess.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
I don't have the balls.
Yeah, those guys man, back inthe day they were crazy man.
Yeah, some crazy stuff.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
Okay, but then how does that work?
So they just give you like howdoes everybody just keep getting
this blank canvas?
Speaker 2 (08:08):
You bring a paint bucket with you and you just
roll your spot.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Oh, but you have to primer, you have to do all that
first right.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Just add a little bit of water to a paint so it
spreads out pretty quickly andjust go over it.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
But then does somebody take over your spot
after you've done yours.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
That's the shitty thing about that.
Yeah, they're going to cross itout and do their own thing,
right, just like graffiti backin the day.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
You see those crossed out.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Yeah yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
The other gang member puts their yeah, it's my tag
now right, yeah, I think overthere it's a little more.
You understand it.
You don't go up there to throwyour name.
You go to there like topractice, knowing that you could
turn around and someone'spainting over it.
Yeah, yeah, like when I went, meand my son went down there and
we did a a big like mural forfuego, for the firebirds yeah,
(08:56):
so we did that and I contactedone of the guys from the
community director for theFirebirds, and then the graphic
designer for the Firebirds aswell, and I sent it to them and
they're like oh, that's so cool.
Can we go Like they wanted tobring Fuego down there and take
some pictures, and how long isit going to be there?
I have no idea.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
He better come.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
It can be there for five days or five minutes.
Yeah, like get your pictures inand move on.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Get your pictures in and move on.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
That's it, man Don't get butthurt when someone else
is painting, because that's whatit's for.
That's awesome though, man.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Tell them what I'm happy to do on your walls right
now.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
We can set up a movie .
Speaker 1 (09:32):
For a small fee right , a small fee, I can get you a
big mural over there.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Oh man, the Firebirds are so good to us, especially
over here at the shop.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Really.
So you guys kind of have arelationship with the Firebirds
already.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Yeah, yeah, that's awesome, man.
We're two minutes from them.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Yeah, I mean yeah, think about your location.
You're right there.
You probably have some playerscome in there and get some cuts,
huh.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Yeah, man, this season it's different.
We've got a lot of young kidson the team, so it's different.
Ian, my Ian McKinnon, he comesin quite a bit.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Awesome.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
He's like you're my guy, that's awesome man.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
Okay, before I want to know how.
Where did Barbershop come along?
Where did?
Because I know you were talkingabout.
I got to hear about the what doyou call them, not the fling
tips.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
The wing.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
tips the wing tips, the wing tip shoes.
I'm old, excuse me.
Oh, that is an old thing.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Yeah.
So how did you go from?
So BMX, kind of Destiny's kindof said this is not going to be
your profession, right, you knowit's your passion.
You're an artist, you're kindof an artsy guy.
How does this progress into?
You know kind of where you aretoday with being a professional
barber and having a real greatshop and stuff like that?
Speaker 2 (10:44):
well that we, after the whole bmx thing was done, I
did a bunch of like all kinds ofstuff.
I was like accounts, payableand receivable, and it's just.
I'm not that doing a nine tofive kind of yeah forklift
operator, it's like, okay, Icould be that guy, but do I want
to?
no, not really.
Yeah, and then, uh, I mean Ihad long hair down to here
(11:07):
freaking.
It was just like all teased andjust straight up molly crew and
it was.
It was a fun time anyways.
Um, I was told by one of myfriends that his friend works at
this barber shop, so I wentdown to this barbershop wilson's
classic barbershop in downtownredlands okay and got all my
(11:30):
hair cut off, got a nice littlepompadour.
I loved it.
Like I sat there and I was likeI don't want to go about it, I
don't need to leave.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
You're like, I like just the camaraderie and the.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
You know, when the clients come in and it's like,
hey, you want a beer, all right,okay, cool, yeah, I mean people
would come by, just to comeknow when the clients come in.
And it's like hey, you want abeer?
All right, cool.
Yeah, I mean people would comeby just to come by.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Hey mind if I grab a beer, it's kind of a town square
now right, like it's the onlyplace where you're really
physically talking to somebodyfor an hour.
You know.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
You know, because of these phones, everybody's online
.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
It seems like the community centers are now like
kind of the bar, for, at leastfor us males, it's barber shops.
You know, yeah, barbershop talkstill goes on there.
You know, it's kind of nice.
You know, no, it's, it's um,it's a good place.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
They, we say we're unlicensed therapists, you know,
yeah, that's true, but okay, sowould you have.
So then you were like I likethis, this is cool because it
like, but then so you had to goto like barbershop, right, or
you had to.
I mean, you had a school right,or you had to.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
I mean you had a school.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
That's what I meant.
Yeah, how did, where did?
Speaker 2 (12:26):
you do that.
That was.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
I'm self-taught.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
I've never done it Really.
I think I did a Mohawk on mybrother once, yeah, and I don't
remember how straight that was,but I wanted to do it and I
wanted checked into school andstuff and.
But I wanted to do it and Iwanted to check into school and
stuff and I was like I can't dothat, I can't do that.
So I found an apprenticeprogram which San Bernardino
(12:52):
adult school was doing and itwas only 400 bucks.
So if I do that, I do that nineweeks of schooling over there
and then I can get legally astate license as an apprentice
to cut hair, while I'm going toschool once a week for two years
(13:14):
.
Okay, so that's the thing isyou got to do the apprenticeship
for two years, yeah, and youthink that's a long time, but
during that time you're working.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
And so it just goes by.
You're making money already,right yeah?
Speaker 2 (13:24):
You're not missing out on anything.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Oh, that's a no-brainer.
Smart yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
It's a no-brainer School's, not that few hours
maybe.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
So what year is this Around about years, I don't want
to say our date or anything.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
I'd say about 2012.
Yeah, that's when I say Ireally started cutting hair.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Okay so you're still yeah that was what 15 years,
almost 12, 15 years ago.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Yeah, I've been cutting hair 13 years.
It'll be July 13 years.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
That's awesome.
So you're an apprentice, soobviously you're getting into
that.
Did you go to the shop that youoriginally went to and get a
job there?
Is that how it worked?
Speaker 2 (13:59):
Yeah, because I told them I want to be here and
Because I told him I want to behere.
And I guess we vibed and theowner was like, yeah, we'll take
you on.
So you have to have a shop anda barber license, establishment
license, all that, to be able todo the apprentice program.
So you have to have a sponsor.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
So at that time I got a sponsor and it was good.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
So I just started cutting hair there, and that's
it.
It just is what it is it'ssnowballed.
I guess I was just good at it.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
Where did you?
Well then, you went to thewingtip people, right.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
No, no, no, that that was the place.
Yeah, that was the place.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
Tell me about the attire.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
She's blown away about that one, I know.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Yeah, you, it was.
You didn't have to wear a suitor anything, but I was like, if
I'm wearing all this shit, I'mgoing to wear a suit.
So your slacks, your wingtipshoes, your nice dress shoes,
you had to wear a bow tie or atie.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
Most of the time I would wear a vest.
I can see you wearing a vest.
Yeah, I'm more of a vest guy.
Or suspenders.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
I would wear suspenders.
But yeah, if you weren'twearing a bow tie or a tie, just
go home.
Wow, like we have standardshere and that's what it is.
And you know, sure as shit itworked.
You'd be walking down downtownRedlands and you work at that
barbershop, don't you?
Yes, I do.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
Nice.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
I mean that's ultimate branding right?
Oh for sure, everybody knew whoyou guys were, yeah you knew
Right, you got the tattooed guysyou know in three-piece suits
With the bow ties, those guyswork at Wilson's.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
Damn.
I mean that's a pretty good.
I mean it's pretty geniushonestly, it was pretty cool.
The old time.
It was like an old timebarbershop feel in there.
Yes, very traditional, Verytraditional Hot towel, straight
razor shaves Very traditional.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
We weren't.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
You know all the good stuff you like?
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
That's the best way to do it right.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
That's the first free beer thing.
That's where I first.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Yeah, so I saw that on your website.
So is that where the whole?
Because you guys got like a taptap house or you know, you guys
got, you got beer in the shopfor oh, it's just I just.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
We stocked the fridge with beer wow.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
So that's like kind of like a perca.
So that's how, where you learnthat is is at this place, at
that other shop?
Speaker 2 (16:21):
yeah, because they told me I was like you know, it
sounds illegal but it's not.
It's not there's yeah, exactlyit's free, there's nothing wrong
with one friend giving anotherfriend?
Speaker 3 (16:31):
that beer?
I have beer in my showroom andwine and all that.
If I sold it, that's adifferent story Then it would be
a big right.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Oh man, that's awesome and don't over-serve
your people.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
That's true, you just want to get them loose enough
to open the wallets a littlemore.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
Nice tip.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
That's right Trick of the trade right there.
Okay, so you.
So how did you end up coming tothe Valley?
Cause I know, obviouslyRedlands is not that far from us
, but how did you end up makingyour way down here?
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Well, there was uh difficulties in the relationship
area.
So I ended up moving back overto my mom's house in Desert Hot
Springs, yeah.
So she was uh kind of goingthrough some health issues
issues.
So I kind of want to also bethere to help out.
So I just made the drive fromdhs to redlands every day, every
day.
It wasn't bad, it was only anhour, but I mean on the 10 going
with traffic.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
Just enjoy the scenery yeah, absolutely, it's
not too bad.
So what years are this whereyou start coming?
Speaker 3 (17:34):
So you weren't originally from here.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
Mom just moved out here.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
So you kind of migrated with her when she moved
out here.
Yeah, exactly, so what yearsare we talking then?
Speaker 2 (17:42):
God, I was at Wilson's for seven years, so I
don't know, maybe 2017.
17, okay.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
And then when you came out here, finally like who
did you?
Did you go work for somebody orhow did that?
How did all that?
How did you get to the Valleyand work in the Valley in a
barbershop?
Speaker 2 (18:04):
So my wife's dad, my father-in-law now he told me
about this place that he getshis hair cut at and they were
looking for some help.
And I was like, okay, cool, soI'll go and check it out.
So I started working there onjust Wednesdays and then the
middle of the day he was like doyou want to come in on
Saturdays too?
(18:24):
And then by the end of the dayit was do you want to work here?
And I was like, okay, yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Was that the first day you were there, want to work
here?
And I was like, okay, yeah, wasthat the first day you?
Speaker 3 (18:36):
were there.
Yeah, really, yeah, that good.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Huh, he was like okay , I guess it just kind of kind
of fit, okay, we, we vibe prettywell all right, well, shoot.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
So that's about 2017.
So now you're working down herefull-time.
Huh, yeah, are you living downhere full-time?
Are you still commuting?
Speaker 2 (18:51):
No, I was God.
It wasn't that long until Imoved in with my wife.
It was, we moved pretty fast.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
OK, it was love at first sight.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
It really was.
Speaker 3 (19:04):
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
It was something else .
That's awesome.
She's my best friend.
That's awesome.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
My biggest support.
So, working for, for this,working for this new place down
here in the desert, did you seekind of the difference in the
clientele did you?
Did your wheels kind of spinlike, hey, we could probably do
this, we could probably do thatlike you already, kind of had
like a like, a knowledge, like aknowledge of the game already
what could work and what didn'twork yeah kind of come about
where you finally started takingit over and that becoming your
(19:32):
shop.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
It was.
You know you build clientele asyou do, but it just seemed to
come pretty easy with me and Iwas looking.
I didn't know that he wanted tosell the shop at all.
Until about a month workingthere and I'm already looking
around I was like this doesn'tflow.
Like you have a line of chairsright in the middle in between
(19:58):
the barber's chairs Granted,yeah, you're facing, you know,
towards each other so theclients can talk back and forth.
But you got this one and thechairs are only facing one side.
So it's like five feet fromsomebody standing right getting
their haircut Right.
It's kind of uncomfortable.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
So I was just thinking about how you could
change the shop that way.
But anyways, fast forward.
A month goes by and he was likeI'm going to sell the shop.
And I was like, oh, okay, well.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
I mean.
So within one month of youworking there, he's already
offering you to.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
He wants, yeah, he wants to.
Wow, he wanted to go back hometo Philly.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:37):
Philly bitch.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Yeah, wow.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
Okay.
So I mean dang primeopportunity, I mean good timing
on your part huh man, that'swhat I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
Because, like the universe works, God, there's
somebody that actually canpossibly take this over and do
its thing, Because, you know, ifyou always think about selling
your business, you're likewhat's going to happen to it.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Right and is it in?
Speaker 3 (21:02):
safe hands, that kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Yeah, I don't think he really cared too much.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
Oh, really, yeah, he was just like you want to buy
this.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
I'm going to get the fuck out of here.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
You think you want to go back to the snow?
I wouldn't.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
Yeah, he said it always.
I love my California sunshineyou ain't going to get none of
that over there.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
I don't like the California sunshine in
summertime.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
It was a little too much in the summer.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
It was a little too much in the summer.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
But anyway.
So that's pretty good timing.
One month you're kind ofalready like whoa hit with hey,
buy this place.
So how did that process kind ofgo about?
How did the takeover go, anddid it go smoothly?
I mean, usually when you buy abusiness there can always be
some hiccups where it's likesomething can go wrong pretty
massively.
How did that whole thing go.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
It was really smooth Just went, took over the lease
and that was that.
Then I started dusting off thewalls and painting Did you start
painting it.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
Hell yeah, what did you do?
Speaker 2 (21:59):
I had to, I had to, I did like this crimson red and
it's all in there.
I showed one of my clients andhe said oh god damn it.
Now it looks like a brothel.
It looks like a Hollywoodbrothel.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
Did you say what's wrong with that?
Speaker 2 (22:14):
No, no, it's like come on, you just got to see it.
So he comes in.
He's like no, this looks reallygood.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
You got to see it when it's done, right, yeah
exactly.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
So now we have 13 guitars on the wall, old jukebox
in there, tvs, there tvs, andthen just a bunch of stuff that
I find cool at the thrift store.
Wow, yeah, just filling up likethere's like no space on the
walls it's made of your own.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
Yeah, made of your own.
That's what you really have todo with your business.
You got to make it.
You got to put your ownpersonal touch to it.
This is your art background.
I'm sure you had to.
Yeah, you had to.
You had to trick that thing out, right, maybe?
Speaker 2 (22:51):
you have to, you got to make I thing out right.
You have to, you got to make it.
I mean, realistically, I thinkyou spend more time there than
you do at home.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
Oh, for sure yeah.
And it becomes your second homeaway from home.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
So tell Bobby how you heard of us.
I thought that was prettyinteresting.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
Oh, we got a story.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
Okay, oh, it was a well.
First of all, just on instagram, I was going through and oh,
really yeah and then.
But I saw dale's.
Oh, shout out to dale, I'll beseeing you soon dale yes, sir,
that's my guy.
I spent all my money at dale's.
Yes, he does all my records.
I have a problem he's such,he's such a cool dude like.
(23:30):
He's really, really awesome.
I like what he does in thecommunity and stuff like the
skate day they just had.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Yeah, he's trying to give back.
He's a good dude man.
He's doing good things for thecommunity.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
That's what it was.
So I checked into it and I waslike oh, I wonder if I could do
something like this.
Then I saw the applications forthe new season.
I was like let's do it.
Speaker 3 (23:54):
So then I said to him and then, did you know that his
wife has that peach whiskers?
What the hell is it called?
Speaker 2 (24:01):
Oh, yeah, the peach whiskers.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Yeah, vintage shop.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
That's Dale's wife, right, yeah, yeah yeah.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
So then he started telling me that he goes to
thrift shops and buys furnitureand redoes the whole furniture,
and so he was showing me somepretty cool stuff and I was like
, oh my God, he's reallytalented and just makes his own
art and loves skulls, loves thedark side, right.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
My wife can appreciate that.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
I can, I love it.
You get some scorpions in there.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
Oh shoot, Got to mess with the scorpions.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Fellow artist here.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
man I got to watch you guys, I'm going to mess with
the scorpions Fellow artisthere.
Man, I got to watch you guys,I'm not like that, but he's, you
know, so that's awesome, but Imean you almost like.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
That's probably why you're pretty good at your
profession is because a goodbarber is like an artist.
He can kind of he has to like.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
It is an art.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
Yeah, it is an art form, not, that's not it.
And then you come and see meafterwards exactly right,
because you got to fix it right.
So I mean, there's definitely.
I think you're kind of beingtrue to yourself in that
profession, so take me.
So this is what 2018, 2017, wekind of took over the shop, so
take me to okay.
So 2023, you guys winbarbershop of the year here in
the Coachella Valley.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
Congratulations on that, thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
But obviously when you take it over it ain't a
money-making, referral-makingmachine.
How do you get in just likewhat five years?
How do you get it from justtaking it over trying to just
figure out how to survive toBarbershop of the Year?
What are some of the processesand what kind of went into that?
What would you attribute allthat to?
Speaker 2 (25:31):
I'm just producing a good product, Really Like.
Yeah, I mean it's all aboutcommunication and community and,
you know, being good to people.
Speaker 3 (25:42):
And referrals.
Right, you've got to have thosereferrals too.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Advertisement too, advertising marketing.
I don't do any of that shit.
Speaker 3 (25:51):
Word of mouth, though right and obviously good work.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
Yeah, people walking out of the door are your
billboards, that's true, where'dyou get your haircut?
No, the barbershop.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
Yeah, so do you still do the shaves and you do all
that?
Speaker 2 (26:03):
Yep Hot towel, straight razor shaves oh my gosh
.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Did you have to make any changes to the business when
you came in?
Like that you can rememberwhere you were?
Like this is messed up.
We got to change.
Or did you just bang out?
Speaker 2 (26:17):
the price For sure.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
Yeah, Because the old owner, like he, was retired
military and everything he hadwas like paid off.
So it was like he was.
Just I don't even know why.
Speaker 3 (26:30):
Yeah, whatever, but he was really good at it.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
Like holy hell.
Like he could knock out afreaking haircut in no time.
Because that's the game, as theowner I would be like.
Is that the game, though?
In?
Speaker 1 (26:41):
that profession.
Is it the amount of haircutsyou can do in a certain amount
of time, or is it like from likea profit perspective, or is it
a better haircut for more money?
Is that where you can make?
You know what's the kind of the?
There's got to be a balancethere, right?
Speaker 2 (26:57):
You got to have a balance of yeah, definitely a
balance, but I don't, I don'treally know because I don't look
at the money.
Speaker 3 (27:05):
It's about the art right.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
You are a true artist , then Well, like this brand
that I want to start, outcomeOver Income Nice, where you
focus on the outcome and theincome will follow.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
That's true.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
That's what I mean.
That's true.
I like that.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
That's a pretty good saying Outcome Over Income.
So you're just allproduct-based, then right, it's
just a good, great product.
Right, that's your main goal.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
Yeah, you have to, you have to, you have to.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
So it doesn't matter if it takes an hour to do the
haircut or 15 minutes.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
It's got to be a good yeah you don't want to take too
long, because who wants to sitin the chair for that?
That's true too, you know,unless they're really enjoying
themselves talking, and but weare appointment only oh really
yeah, we will take walk-ins ifwe have the time available, but
most of the time we don't.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
Wow, appointment only .
That's pretty good yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
I mean, everyone's got a schedule, so let's stay on
track.
Speaker 3 (27:57):
Did you move those chairs yeah?
Speaker 2 (27:59):
Yeah, that was the first thing I did.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
So it was just better flow now, right yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
It's all wide open, looks much bigger and people
aren't uncomfortable.
Speaker 3 (28:08):
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
That's awesome.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
That's awesome.
We have couches on the, wherethe waiting room should be.
Make it more comfortable, alittle bit more homey feeling
there, right?
Yeah, absolutely Kind of chillout.
Yeah, put the game on or putthe music on.
Yeah, because the barbershop,like I said to me, it's still
like the town square for a lotof people, like they don't
interact with people outside ofthe barbershop sometimes anymore
.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
Right, yeah, it's like you're just it kind of
depends, Cause it's like I mean,I'm not talking down on any
other shops, but it's more moneyfocused Like they turn and burn
right.
It's just a dollar sign, that'snot your face is just a dollar
sign, like just a dollar sign.
(28:54):
That's not your face, is just adollar sign, like that's it.
Come in, sit down, get out,okay.
The next one come on, it's amachine, it keeps pumping.
It's a, you know, it's aassembly line and it's now.
We sit down.
We'll talk to you and keep theconversation going and really be
interested in, like, what youhave to say when we ask you oh
hey, how's it going, how's yourday going?
Well, you, really, you don'tcare I have a question.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
So like I go get my hair done right and you're
sitting there and you're talkingto, and right, like you said,
an unpaid therapist, so I'm sureyou get the same thing right
give me 15 minutes.
20 minutes, you got some deepsecrets going on, right?
Speaker 2 (29:32):
Yeah, no, I really haven't gotten any of that.
I mean, of course there'severyday life.
Yeah, bitching about your wifeand stuff like that.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
I don't blame them.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
That's not everybody, but sometimes it's just these
stories that are just like, ohmy God, like the other day I
asked you know how's it going,how's your wife doing?
Because I know that she had had, uh, dementia and he was like
oh, she passed away lastsaturday and I'm just like and
you're out here functioning likedude.
(30:06):
If I lost my fuck?
Speaker 3 (30:07):
no way all right, no way there's no way, dude, be in
the loony bin for a couple weeks.
I kept his mind off things too,like you got to, you know.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
That's what I thought about.
Speaker 3 (30:16):
You got to keep going , so it's like, definitely, you
know.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
stay engaged with him and keep his mind off of that.
Yeah, Because you know you lostyour loved one.
That's got to be hard.
It's really tough.
Speaker 3 (30:29):
So you mentioned the guitars on the wall.
So what is that about?
Do you play the guitar?
Speaker 2 (30:34):
No, I've tried many times, it's just not my thing.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
Dude, there's this thing on Shark Tank.
They just put it on a guitarand you just follow it.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
I need to do that because I want to feel like a
rock star.
That's my time playing a guitarhero, yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:51):
That's what that was.
That's a close.
That's why you put the guitarsout.
Speaker 2 (30:53):
Yeah, no my son plays guitar.
Yeah, it was, it was.
They look good on the walls.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
They do?
Speaker 3 (31:01):
They do look cool.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
There's no room at the house for it.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
But you know what too ?
The guitars are in itself right, because they're all different
colors.
You can add things to them, allright.
So I think it's just the artistin you that loves it too, right
.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
And then a lot of it's, finding it at thrift
stores and online.
And this guitar I really wantedwas when we had a pawn shop
next door and, uh, I just wantedthis guitar.
But one day I was at angel viewat the thrift store and I was
dropping some stuff off and Ifound a whole bag of pokemon
(31:36):
cards and I was just like, allright, cool, so let's see if I
can take this to the pawn shopand I was like here's this.
I found all these and he'sgoing through and it's like dude
, this card right here is worth600 bucks really yeah, pokemon
cards.
I'll tell you a story next and Iwas like dude, that's crazy.
(31:57):
But you know, I know they'reworth some money, but I just
want that guitar.
And he's like but this card isworth like twice as much, as I
don't care.
Yeah, I literally found it on a, I just want that guitar.
And he was like but this cardis worth twice as much.
I was like I don't care, Iliterally found it on a loading
dock, I want that guitar, justlet me get it.
And he was like all right, cool.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
So a Pokemon card for a guitar?
Yeah, yeah, I think you came upwith that one.
I think.
So I mean I don't get the wholePokemon thing.
Speaker 3 (32:19):
It is one of my favorite guitars.
That's awesome man.
Well, you know how much moneywe've spent on Pokemon cards for
our boys.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
Well, I know, but I don't.
Oh, my God, I'm like what arewe doing?
We paid $600 for one.
Though that's crazy, Crazy.
Somebody with a sick mind?
Speaker 3 (32:31):
No, I'm just kidding, yeah, all right.
So let me ask you this got sometattoos, so do you?
You must have to find somebodythat you feel like.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
Their art is on point right, because my friend, I was
out in redlands and I actuallybuilt a motorcycle and traded
him for a whole year of tattoosno way so you're all about the
bartering man, right you get aguitar.
It just works out that way Adeal for a deal.
(33:05):
A deal for a deal, man.
It just works out that way, manno cash needed here, man.
I love it, that's awesome,that's awesome.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
So you got your guy out there in Redlands.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
Does he still owe you work?
Speaker 1 (33:16):
No, it was a cutoff it was a yeah, it was just for a
year, I think.
I just slowed down when Irealized I just kept getting
dumb shit, just because you hadfree tattoos.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Yeah, like, what do I want?
It looks cool.
Let's go ahead and get that one.
It's just like oh, man, it'slike oh.
So what does that mean?
Speaker 3 (33:39):
There's a deep meaning behind it.
It was cool, I like the way itlooks which is the dumbest one
you got probably the flamesright here that was my first, my
first tattoo the flames.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
Yeah, the flames.
The first one's always gotta bethe dumbest, though, right does
it yeah?
Speaker 1 (33:56):
cause you're a dumb kid.
You don't know what you'redoing.
Speaker 3 (33:58):
I just want I just want something cool.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
I just want something cool.
I don't give a shit.
I don't look hard, I don't looklike I could fight, so I want
to get this right here.
It looks a little harder,nobody's going to mess with me.
Yeah, that's the real goal.
But anyway, going back to theshop, so right now, how many
barbers you have in the shop?
Because I know this is a partof the barbershop game, right?
Speaker 2 (34:24):
You've got to order to have the all-encompassing
business especially to keep areputation.
Speaker 1 (34:26):
Yeah, you got to have guys that are just as skilled
as you, you know.
So how's, how's that going?
How many, how many barbers youcurrently have?
Speaker 2 (34:32):
and because it is tough to find barbers.
I have just myself and anotherbarber there's two barbers, huh
wow, okay, retired marine.
He was in the military, uh, for21 years and he was started
cutting hair, you know, on base,and then he was just like yeah,
I'm gonna retire and I can dothis.
(34:53):
And before he got his licensehe was like I want to work at
your shop.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
So he kept coming around for like a year before he
was even licensed he was yeah,wow, okay, so, and I was like
you got your license and he waslike no, not yet, and it's like
a year Before he was evenlicensed.
Speaker 2 (35:03):
he was saying that Wow, okay.
So then I was like you got yourlicense?
And he was like no, not yet.
And it was like a year and ahalf.
We just keep coming by.
Can you give me it now?
I need your license, man.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
Wow.
That was meant to be too, thenhuh, yeah.
I mean it seems like all thestars kind of aligned.
Speaker 2 (35:20):
Me and him.
We can handle it.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
Yeah, but with all the building that's going on.
Yeah, you guys are in a higharea man, there's like 2,000
spots within a mile of us.
Speaker 1 (35:33):
All the new construction, yeah, off of Cook
Street.
It's crazy.
Speaker 2 (35:36):
If we can get a small percentage of that, we should
be good.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
Right, you might have to find somebody else.
We need barbers.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
I just let one go, because I couldn't stay sober.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
Oh well, yeah, you can't take that liability man?
Speaker 2 (35:49):
No, I used to do that .
I used to be that guy.
Speaker 1 (35:53):
Oh really, yeah, Wow.
And you can't do that for yourbusiness?
Yeah, no, but you can recognizethe signs then too, right?
Speaker 2 (36:00):
That's exactly what I saw.
I recognize the signs in tooright.
That's exactly what I saw.
I was like that's what I wasdoing, and then I go in the
bathroom checking the trash canunderneath the tough paper
towels, of course you alreadyknew the hiding spot.
Speaker 1 (36:13):
You got oh yeah, been there.
Speaker 2 (36:16):
I got two handfuls of those little shooter bottles in
there and I'm just like damndude you can't have that and
then one star reviews likewithin a month oh, no, we don't
roll that way.
Speaker 3 (36:28):
No, yeah so then, how did you, how did that get
turned around to being one ofthe best barbershops in the
valley like, how did that?
How come about?
Speaker 2 (36:37):
I don't know, I think just honestly, I don't know,
just just wasn't itself-promoting or anything like
that.
Speaker 1 (36:44):
It was just like it's something that just kind of
happened, right yeah, you'rejust telling my clients your
work spoke for itself.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
Basically, yeah, I mean, that's pretty kind of
bummed out that I couldn't getit every year that I started,
since I started right but it'slike I didn't know what it was
right so the two years that Itried, we got it so they came in
like since somebody reached outto where is it from?
Speaker 3 (37:07):
what's it about?
What is that?
The desert.
Speaker 1 (37:10):
They got to get nominated, though they can't
nominate themselves.
It's like somebody nominatesyour business and then yeah, and
then people vote and get clientlike feedback and all that fun
stuff.
So it's a good, like a lot ofbusinesses, but they do other
businesses too.
Speaker 3 (37:23):
But he's his business , has won two years in a row,
right yeah.
Speaker 1 (37:26):
Yeah.
So I mean it's pretty.
That speaks volumes, man.
I mean the kind of work you'redoing, you know that's not
everybody.
There's a lot of barbershops,you know.
Speaker 2 (37:33):
Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
That's a lot, that's a lot.
Shop category which made nosense.
They have their own category,so I'm competing with salons as
well.
Speaker 3 (37:44):
Because you're not dying people's hair, are you?
Speaker 2 (37:46):
necessarily.
No, not at all.
Speaker 3 (37:48):
Huh, that is interesting, that should.
That seems like it should betwo different categories, for
sure.
Speaker 1 (37:53):
Yeah, wow, we'll have to send an email to the desert
sauna.
I've been trying.
Speaker 2 (37:58):
It's like I got nominated for top five best
hairdressers or hairstylists thepast two years.
Speaker 1 (38:05):
Really.
Speaker 2 (38:05):
And it's like where's the barber?
Best barber category.
Speaker 1 (38:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (38:09):
I'm not a hairstylist .
Speaker 1 (38:10):
Two different things?
Wow, two different things, thatis interesting.
Speaker 3 (38:14):
So you were talking to me a little bit about you
make hats.
You're doing this, you're doingwhat?
What other things do you haveyour fingers at?
Speaker 2 (38:22):
Whatever interests me .
I'm starting to make someleather wallets and some chains
Really interesting, likeintricate Byzantine chains to go
with the wallets.
Speaker 3 (38:37):
I want to launch the brand.
Speaker 1 (38:38):
Outcome Over Income, so you can make hats, yeah, yeah
, tell me a little bit aboutthat, because I like the name on
that, so is that going to be aclothing?
Speaker 2 (38:44):
brand, a hat brand.
What are you thinking on that?
Yeah, kind of doing like aclothing brand.
Speaker 1 (38:47):
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (38:48):
Promote, not really promote, but it's for the
passion for the love of thecraft.
That's what it is.
Help them over income for thelove of the craft.
So that's the philosophy rightthere yeah, by, like you know
electricians, plumbers, you knowblue collar workers.
Speaker 1 (39:05):
And getting back to the old school standards that
they used to have right.
Yeah, because I think a lot oftimes.
The standards are the thingsthat kind of fall off when
you're just chasing money, right?
Speaker 2 (39:13):
No, yeah, absolutely.
I mean, you definitely lose thepassion and I'm not saying that
I've never lost it.
I've had to, you know, resetfrom time to time.
Ever lost it?
I've had to, you know, resetfrom time to time.
And you know, finally, even ifit's just watching a video or
someone's story and it's justlike spark something, so it's
like some sort of art oranything that you're passionate
(39:35):
about, that's what.
Speaker 3 (39:36):
Do it for, the passion so he was telling me
that he's it was doing an artshow, right?
Speaker 2 (39:42):
so tell me a little bit more about that and how that
all came about oh, I did an artshow at uh flat black over by
the at the mall there oh yeah, Iheard about that.
Yeah, graffiti arts play yeah,that's the homie pete.
They put on good art shows.
Sometimes they'll have, like,uh, some bands will perform
there and uh, yeah, I did an artshow with my buddy, joe, and it
(40:07):
was kind of uh, what was itcalled?
damn, I forgot the name of theshow it was a darker touch, okay
, so it was kind of like theskulls and tarantula yeah, my
tarantula butterflies dead, deadstuff a little darker I like
the butterflies at the track.
(40:28):
You should put them together Ihave one that's uh, it's, it's
pretty, it's a long like frame,that's like this and the
butterflies are coming up andthen there's got lights in the
back.
But I do want to make one.
I have one in my garage that Ihave the tarantula in it and
then I'm going to have like oneof the butterflies up at the top
, kind of like.
Speaker 3 (40:49):
You want to know what my mind went to.
What's that?
A tarantula like kind of on itsback, and then his hands like
this, and each thing had abutterfly on it.
Speaker 1 (40:57):
Let's see artists.
Look at these artists righthere.
Speaker 3 (41:00):
See, I don't know nothing about this.
The good with the bad.
Speaker 1 (41:03):
I'm the numbers guy.
I'm over here just listening totwo artists.
Speaker 3 (41:06):
Whatever, You're very artsy too.
Speaker 1 (41:08):
That's cool.
I mean, Ian, you're really likea jack of all trades when it
comes to the art.
Huh, If.
Speaker 2 (41:12):
I find interest in it .
I want to find out how to do it.
Speaker 1 (41:24):
I don't want to be creating it.
Basically, yeah, yeah, that'sthat's.
I think that's the differencebetween the artists and, like
the, the businessman they want.
A businessman wants to buyeverything and make the money,
and then the artist wants sitsback and says, hey, I think I
can just make that and it's likemore like the reward is for the
artist is just the actualcreate, the journey of the
creation right, yeah and it'snot not a monetary goal, you
know yeah, it's like even justbeing, you know, dad or husband
(41:48):
at home and something needs toget fixed.
You take care of it yeah, andyou're like I fixed that shit
even if I didn't know how to doit and go on youtube and figure
it out, right?
Speaker 2 (41:59):
dude that thing is.
That's amazing.
I do like the youtube.
Speaker 1 (42:02):
I can't tell you how many times I've had to fix stuff
off of YouTube.
I mean, I don't know if it didit very well, but at least you
know we solved the problem.
Speaker 3 (42:08):
At least the house didn't burn down.
Yeah, at least we solved theproblem without you know
flooding the whole?
Speaker 1 (42:24):
what advice would you give to, like a kid, maybe in
barber school or you know, maybethinking about opening up a
shop or, you know, even gettinginto art, like?
What advice would you give?
Knowing now that you're kind of, you know, at the top of the
game and seeing, you know you'reseeing it from the other side
um, somebody, young maybe, comesto you and says, hey, I want to
do this.
What would you say?
Speaker 2 (42:39):
don't do it for the money, do it for the love.
Speaker 1 (42:44):
That's it so you got to be passionate.
Speaker 2 (42:45):
You have to be passionate about anything that
you do or something like that,especially something that's
going to carry on and possiblyeven be passed down from
generations to your children.
You know it's it's you want itto be like, for example, the
barbershop, a staple in yourcommunity.
You want to give to yourcommunity in you, you know, some
way shape or form.
(43:06):
So I mean it's a lot of prideand passion.
Speaker 1 (43:11):
Yeah, so it's all passion-based, right?
Yeah, I mean money.
Speaker 2 (43:16):
A lot of cats do it because they're like damn, that
makes some good money.
Yeah, it's like yeah, butthey're also good Right.
Speaker 1 (43:25):
You, yeah, it's like yeah, but they're also good,
right?
You know they're not doing itfor the money.
Well, don't you think the moneywill come if you're put out of
your passion about and you putout a good product?
I mean, the money will come, Ithink yeah right, I'll come over
income.
Speaker 2 (43:32):
Yeah, you worry on, you know, building it and then
they will come absolutely man,so it's like it.
It will.
You put out a good product andthen they'll return.
Speaker 1 (43:43):
Yeah, and in terms of the business side, I mean you
just figure it out right.
You figure out how to stayafloat.
I mean if you're putting out agood product, like we say, the
money should come.
And then you got to just learnthe business side, how to
operate from day to day.
Speaker 2 (43:59):
You got to learn how to attract people too.
I mean, nobody wants to walkinto a place and they're hearing
hearing, like you know,offensive music or offensive
language or you know, if that'syour spot, then cool, you know,
rock with it, but it's gotta becomfortable for everybody.
And they say, oh, this is, thisplace is really cool.
(44:19):
I mean, every time someonecomes in they're like man, I
didn't see that before.
Like, was that Bob Hope signthere?
And I was like dude, it's beenthere for like three years, what
about that fridge?
Speaker 1 (44:29):
and I was like you grabbed a beer out of it, like
you know, two weeks ago it'salmost sensory overload in there
yeah, there's like I alwaysfind something new in here
that's awesome, though it's likerecreating the whole thing over
and over again, probably.
Probably why you got yourreputation is what it is right.
I mean, people are coming inthere and coming away kind of
mind blown, you know.
Speaker 2 (44:48):
Yeah, it's a cool place to look at things.
And then also you have to treatpeople how they want to be
treated.
You know how you want to betreated.
You know.
Just all respect, Right.
Speaker 3 (45:01):
What about like our son?
He's 13.
What about like our son, he's13.
And oh my God, he's soparticular about his hair.
Do you get little brats inthere like that?
Like ours, you know?
Speaker 2 (45:11):
Divas yeah.
Speaker 1 (45:13):
Call him a diva.
Speaker 2 (45:15):
Yeah, it's Especially no offense guys, the teenage
kids.
Sure, that's the one thatreally is tough.
Speaker 3 (45:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (45:25):
I mean the little little kids.
I mean we don't even have akid's price, a haircut's a
haircut.
Yeah, and honestly, I should becharging you more if your
child's not going to hold stillRight.
Or is interrupting this guy'snice time here because he's
crying and screaming.
Speaker 3 (45:39):
Maybe you should give the kid a beer.
I Screaming.
Maybe you should give the kid abeer.
I'm going to put him to bed.
Speaker 1 (45:44):
Just a tiny sip.
Just a tiny sip.
They let you in Europe.
It's fine, is that?
Speaker 3 (45:49):
right, they do.
Speaker 2 (45:50):
They do yeah.
Speaker 3 (45:53):
Oh well, that's great .
I will have to go see my son.
He's just like every time, butfinally he seems like he's
gotten it down and he's finewith it.
Like every time, but finally heseems like he's gotten it down
and he's fine with it, like hewouldn't he'd be like.
You have to go take me to getmy haircut on Friday, so then I
have till Monday, till my hairgrows out and I'm like, oh my
gosh, he's too much man, he'stoo much you know, there's some
(46:13):
things, some things.
Speaker 2 (46:15):
Sometimes guys can be like that yeah, you know very
particular, yeah, particular.
And sometimes it's like overhere, you know, sometimes you'll
just make the noise, you'll belike Check it out, is that good?
Speaker 1 (46:28):
Oh, now it's better, perfect Little tricks of the
trade.
Speaker 3 (46:33):
right there, man, tricks of the trade.
Speaker 1 (46:35):
I love it.
So what's next for Ian?
I mean, you're obviouslykilling the barbershop game.
I mean, what's next for you?
And then, what do you see foryourself in the future?
I mean, it seems like you'vegot a lot of passions and a lot
of projects you're working on.
What do you see in the futurefor yourself?
Speaker 2 (46:51):
Hopefully slow down, All right yeah my mind is just
constantly going.
I'd love to be able to justslow down but hopefully build
this brand up to where I can dothat.
Speaker 1 (47:01):
Yeah, that's awesome, man.
Well, I think the brand isreally cool.
I love the idea behind it.
I mean being us being in youknow, multiple businesses.
Sometimes it's hard to like sitback and actually remember why
you're doing this.
Speaker 2 (47:14):
You know, it's like why am I?
Doing this again.
You know, it's like you havethose days.
And it's okay to have thosedays, you know, you just go home
, go to the wife and you know ithelps get you through it.
And then you wake up and thenremember why you're doing it all
over, right?
Speaker 3 (47:32):
Let me ask you this Do you?
Speaker 2 (47:35):
feel like you have ADHD, dude.
I kind of wanted to look intoit, but it's like I've got
enough shit on my plate.
I need to know that there'ssomething else wrong with me.
Speaker 3 (47:44):
No, no, no, I don't think it's that, I think I have
and I'm.
I think it's just great because, like you, you're a little,
you're doing a little bit ofeverything and that's what I'm
doing, like right now I'm intosourdough making.
Yeah, you know what I mean.
Like I have okay, yeahdehydrator that's out in my
garage because I want to makeyou know, would that be adhd?
Speaker 1 (48:00):
yeah, she does yeah, I love it, it's great and we're
all very creative, yeah, so sheuses as her superpower.
Speaker 2 (48:10):
That's her, I just gotta rein it in and finish
something before I move on tothe next one.
Yeah, because the garage hasgot a bunch of projects totally,
totally I want to design a.
Speaker 3 (48:24):
I want to design a desert x project but I'm still,
I'm still a nobody, so I don'tknow that they'll let me, but I
already have like cool ideas.
Speaker 1 (48:30):
So we're trying to try to get get the word out
there.
Yeah, you can have like big oldscissors with the skull head in
the middle, like oh my god, ohmy gosh.
See, you guys are two of thelike over here.
These, these two artists overhere.
He likes skulls.
Speaker 3 (48:45):
right, yeah, and I was thinking about like we have
a neighbor and he has like that100-foot tall skeleton that they
sell.
Yeah, for Halloween and it'shilarious because every time we
walk by his house, likeValentine's Day, he has a dog.
That's a skeleton too.
And so the leash is leash islike red and there's a little
(49:05):
heart next to it.
It's hilarious and I wasthinking I wonder if your house
is pretty cool at halloween timeevery day is halloween.
Speaker 2 (49:13):
I have a real casket underneath my tv.
Yeah, oh my god, it's a realone see it's meant to be.
Speaker 1 (49:21):
I was just telling, telling Bobby, we need to have a
funeral director in here, wow.
Speaker 2 (49:26):
The next car will be a hearse yeah.
Speaker 1 (49:28):
No way Dark like that .
You're not worried about thekarma on that huh.
Speaker 2 (49:35):
Hopefully they've moved on.
Speaker 3 (49:37):
You know what?
Okay, get the hearse and thenhave a skeleton on the back like
this Help me.
Speaker 2 (49:44):
It'll have another casket in it, probably with some
speakers in it.
Speaker 1 (49:48):
Wow, totally Wire wheel Awesome.
I love it we got some big ideason this show, man.
Speaker 3 (49:54):
I can't wait to see Take it to the car shows.
Speaker 1 (49:56):
Oh for sure I can't wait to see what's coming next.
You know it's like, wow, you'regoing gonna be two little
artists over here creating so wehave one wall.
Speaker 2 (50:05):
It's just got all dead butterflies on it.
I built a shelf it's a coffinshelf for my wife.
It's got all her movies andlike cds and stuff in there and
one whole living room is justpainted black and white stripes
yeah it's pretty interesting, uh, in the study, a bunch of
plants and how come you don'tmake me a coffin bookcase?
Speaker 1 (50:26):
sorry dude, I'm gonna call Ian.
Ian, I need, I need one of them.
Made man, how much, how much?
Oh my gosh.
Well, ian, thanks for coming in.
We're kind of running upagainst time, man, but you know
it was a pleasure, thank you somuch for having me.
Speaker 3 (50:41):
It's been great to meet you.
Speaker 1 (50:43):
You got a great story and a great mind.
I mean I can't wait to see whatyou're going to do next man.
Speaker 2 (50:47):
Who knows, because it's all over the place.
Speaker 3 (50:49):
I'll let you know when I know.
Stay tuned, Stay tuned people.
Speaker 1 (50:52):
Stay tuned.
Well, thanks for coming in man.
We appreciate it.
We're going to ask them whereyour shop.
How can people reach out to youthat are looking to this?
Speaker 2 (51:01):
shop is located in uh palm desert.
It's on the corner of uh geraldford and cook street, right
next to that starbucks and theenergy in there, and uh the
instagram is the barbershop pd.
And then my art is dibs d-y-b-s, underscore a-r-t.
Speaker 1 (51:18):
Wow, all right, man, I'm actually gonna check that
out tonight, man.
A-r-t.
Wow, nice.
All right, man, I'm actuallygoing to check that out tonight.
Man, that coffin thing got me alittle shook, though, so I got
to Thank you.
Yeah, ian, once again, thanksfor coming in man.
Speaker 2 (51:30):
Thank you very much.
It was a pleasure, Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (51:32):
And if you guys, you know the routine.
If you found some value intoday's conversation, go ahead
and
What is going on?
Everyone, I'm Robert Mraz andI'm Fina Mraz, and this is CV
Hustle, the podcast dedicated toinspiring entrepreneurship here
in the Coachella Valley, andnothing but illustrious guests
today.
But today we have a specialguest for all.
You guys maybe in barber schoolor thinking about the personal
service industry We've got theguy that's built one of the best
(00:21):
shops here in the CoachellaValley, award-winning shop at
that.
Our guest today is Mr IanGerald of Palm Desert Barbershop
.
How are you doing, man?
I'm doing great.
Thank you for having me here.
Thanks, man.
Thanks for coming in.
We always want to talk to thebest and brightest in the
industry and we definitely fitthem all.
So thank you for coming in.
Oh, thank you very much.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
So you and I got a little chance to talk and
everything.
But I want to know yourbackstory.
Did you grow up here in theCoachella Valley or not?
I did not.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
No, I grew up in Corona Riverside.
Okay, In the Empire is where Ispent a lot of my I guess, most
of my life, your young days, myyounger days, and then so did
you go to?
Speaker 3 (01:01):
you went to high school, I'm assuming, and then
college, or how did that?
What happened there?
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Let's see, when I was younger I always thought I was
going to be a professional BMXrider.
So a lot of my life I was doingthat.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
You're an ex-athlete then huh yeah, I was a BMX dirt
jumper and I competedprofessionally.
Oh, wow, okay.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
So doing backflips, oh my God.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
That's awesome man.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
That's scary.
It was fun.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Adrenaline rush.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Yeah, not broken bones.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
How long did you pursue that career?
I mean so, I guess that wasyour first career then, huh.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
I wasn't getting paid , so I don't even think it was
like a career.
It was just a passion.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Okay, yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
But I did that until I was diagnosed at 18 with
multiple sclerosis.
Oh, wow, okay.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
How did you know that something was wrong?
I mean, I know that soundsstupid, but I was just asking
him like, give me the definitionof multiple sclerosis?
And he said it's like yournerves attacking the coding, and
so you like go on.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
It's just basically the nerves.
The disease is attacking youryou like.
It's just you have.
Basically the nerves.
The disease is attacking your,your own body your nervous
system.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Okay, so you got diagnosed at a pretty young age,
then huh.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Yeah, it was pretty rare 18 years old.
I mean, that's your prime ofyour life.
Right, it should be the top ofyour athletic game right, yeah,
it was athletic game, right,yeah it was.
It was going that way, man itwas.
It was tough, it was reallyhard to accept.
I mean, how I knew is I wasstaying over at my best friend's
house and I had woken up and Iwas just tingly numb from like
(02:35):
the waist down and you know, notknowing anything about the
disease or anything like that, Ijust I slept wrong, something's
pinched and you know it'll workitself out right and then I
think maybe a week passed andthen I started getting tunnel
vision in my left eye.
so I just thought something wasin it, so I didn't know what to
(02:57):
do.
And then it just got worse andworse and then I finally told my
mom I need to go to doctor.
Like my vision's getting reallybad in my eye, yeah, so we went
to the eye doctor and then thedoctor said we don't see
anything wrong.
Like you need to take him tothe hospital.
Oh wow, so that was a wholedifferent thing.
(03:19):
Tests, all that.
Then I got laid up in thehospital for a week.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Spinal tap, tap more tests and they were like you,
have multiple sclerosis wow, anddid that run in your family at
that point?
Did you know what, even whatthat was at that point?
Speaker 2 (03:34):
I think I might have heard about it because of montel
williams I.
You know he had it.
But then I might have knownabout it because I had it.
But when I first was diagnosedthey were saying no, it's not
hereditary or anything like that.
And a couple months ago justfound out my little brother has
(03:56):
it.
Oh wow.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
How old is he?
He's 36, I believe.
Wow, mid-30s.
Wow, that's crazy man yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
And there's nothing that they can do for it right,
there's no cure.
There's no cure.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
So it's just about managing symptoms at that point.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Wow, yeah, basically just keeping you under control.
Right now I get infusions onceevery six months, so I'm sitting
in the hospital for most of theday just getting stuff, my
medication, you know, injectedinto me.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Wow, I mean, you've been doing that since you were
18 years old, basically.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
This treatment, honestly, is just something
brand new and I've only reallystarted taking care of myself
because you know my wife nowshe's, you know, always have my
back, my best, my best friend.
She's like you need to be herefor a while oh yeah, get your
shit together.
We got a long life to live yeah, before all that, it was just
(04:55):
living how I wanted to live.
You know, I'm like thinkingthere's there's no point,
there's no cure, there's nopoint party 24 7 yeah, just
going hard, yep is
Speaker 1 (05:06):
that your initial reaction when you're 18 and
finally like accepted the factthat's what you have, were you
just like, okay, we're justgonna live until the wheels fall
off?
Speaker 2 (05:14):
basically, yeah, it was just kind of.
You know, I didn't really takeany precautions, I wasn't gonna
change my life in I mean, it'snot like I was out there, you
know, doing drugs or doinganything bad or anything like
that.
So I'm just still going to ridemy bike, I'm going to do my
arts, I'm going to keep goinglike any other day.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Wow, I mean, that's a great way to approach it,
obviously, but also you got totake care of the medical side.
Exactly, I mean at some pointbody's gonna start breaking down
on you, right?
Because of the disease, right?
Speaker 2 (05:47):
yeah, for sure.
I mean I get super tired, right, like because I know, I know
I'm due for my injections, likenow oh so your body's like,
hello like I'm so tired, likeespecially standing, like 10
hours a day yeah, I mean you'reon your feet 20 for a long time,
yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
So I can tell, but just looking at you, that you're
an artsy guy, right?
Speaker 1 (06:11):
I like the shirt, by the way.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Oh, thank you.
Shout out to Black Flag.
Yeah, I like that.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
So like what came before, you know, like the
chicken or the egg.
So is it the artist or thehairstylist?
Speaker 1 (06:26):
egg.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
So is it the artist or the the hairstylist, because
hairstyling is is also a form ofart, yeah right.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
So, like how you've always been artsy, I'm assuming,
yeah right yeah, I was alwaysjust an artist drawing around
doing uh, graffiti and prettymuch just drawing yeah, did
anybody in your family have that?
My mom's's very artistic, ohreally.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
I remember when my dad he started his building
materials company, she was doingdesigning the shirts and stuff
like that.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
Oh nice.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Yeah, so I know that's where it came from,
totally.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
And I'm sure somebody in her lineage had it somewhere
down the road and everythingright, it really is Art carries
on in people's genes.
I think so does music right.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
I think it says music too, it's part of your DNA.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Either you got it or you don't.
I think yeah, so some peopledon't got it.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
So you had to have been pretty confident to go from
I'm drawing on paper tograffiti art right Because
that's a pretty bold statement.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
I'm sensing skater, punk, hip hop, graffiti guy back
in the day.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, but see, honestly, back in the day
I wasn't like doing on the wallsor anything like that.
That we're doing now becausenowadays we have much more
controlled environment.
You know, like out in PalmSprings they have the graffiti
yard where you can do that.
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
And not worry about anything.
That's awesome, man.
That's awesome because goingout there we're not getting
arrested bombing the freeway orsomething like that.
Yeah, exactly Right.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
I don't have that kind of stones, I guess.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
I don't have the balls.
Yeah, those guys man, back inthe day they were crazy man.
Yeah, some crazy stuff.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
Okay, but then how does that work?
So they just give you like howdoes everybody just keep getting
this blank canvas?
Speaker 2 (08:08):
You bring a paint bucket with you and you just
roll your spot.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Oh, but you have to primer, you have to do all that
first right.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Just add a little bit of water to a paint so it
spreads out pretty quickly andjust go over it.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
But then does somebody take over your spot
after you've done yours.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
That's the shitty thing about that.
Yeah, they're going to cross itout and do their own thing,
right, just like graffiti backin the day.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
You see those crossed out.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Yeah yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
The other gang member puts their yeah, it's my tag
now right, yeah, I think overthere it's a little more.
You understand it.
You don't go up there to throwyour name.
You go to there like topractice, knowing that you could
turn around and someone'spainting over it.
Yeah, yeah, like when I went, meand my son went down there and
we did a a big like mural forfuego, for the firebirds yeah,
(08:56):
so we did that and I contactedone of the guys from the
community director for theFirebirds, and then the graphic
designer for the Firebirds aswell, and I sent it to them and
they're like oh, that's so cool.
Can we go Like they wanted tobring Fuego down there and take
some pictures, and how long isit going to be there?
I have no idea.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
He better come.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
It can be there for five days or five minutes.
Yeah, like get your pictures inand move on.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Get your pictures in and move on.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
That's it, man Don't get butthurt when someone else
is painting, because that's whatit's for.
That's awesome though, man.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Tell them what I'm happy to do on your walls right
now.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
We can set up a movie .
Speaker 1 (09:32):
For a small fee right , a small fee, I can get you a
big mural over there.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Oh man, the Firebirds are so good to us, especially
over here at the shop.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Really.
So you guys kind of have arelationship with the Firebirds
already.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Yeah, yeah, that's awesome, man.
We're two minutes from them.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Yeah, I mean yeah, think about your location.
You're right there.
You probably have some playerscome in there and get some cuts,
huh.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Yeah, man, this season it's different.
We've got a lot of young kidson the team, so it's different.
Ian, my Ian McKinnon, he comesin quite a bit.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Awesome.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
He's like you're my guy, that's awesome man.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
Okay, before I want to know how.
Where did Barbershop come along?
Where did?
Because I know you were talkingabout.
I got to hear about the what doyou call them, not the fling
tips.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
The wing.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
tips the wing tips, the wing tip shoes.
I'm old, excuse me.
Oh, that is an old thing.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Yeah.
So how did you go from?
So BMX, kind of Destiny's kindof said this is not going to be
your profession, right, you knowit's your passion.
You're an artist, you're kindof an artsy guy.
How does this progress into?
You know kind of where you aretoday with being a professional
barber and having a real greatshop and stuff like that?
Speaker 2 (10:44):
well that we, after the whole bmx thing was done, I
did a bunch of like all kinds ofstuff.
I was like accounts, payableand receivable, and it's just.
I'm not that doing a nine tofive kind of yeah forklift
operator, it's like, okay, Icould be that guy, but do I want
to?
no, not really.
Yeah, and then, uh, I mean Ihad long hair down to here
(11:07):
freaking.
It was just like all teased andjust straight up molly crew and
it was.
It was a fun time anyways.
Um, I was told by one of myfriends that his friend works at
this barber shop, so I wentdown to this barbershop wilson's
classic barbershop in downtownredlands okay and got all my
(11:30):
hair cut off, got a nice littlepompadour.
I loved it.
Like I sat there and I was likeI don't want to go about it, I
don't need to leave.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
You're like, I like just the camaraderie and the.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
You know, when the clients come in and it's like,
hey, you want a beer, all right,okay, cool, yeah, I mean people
would come by, just to comeknow when the clients come in.
And it's like hey, you want abeer?
All right, cool.
Yeah, I mean people would comeby just to come by.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Hey mind if I grab a beer, it's kind of a town square
now right, like it's the onlyplace where you're really
physically talking to somebodyfor an hour.
You know.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
You know, because of these phones, everybody's online
.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
It seems like the community centers are now like
kind of the bar, for, at leastfor us males, it's barber shops.
You know, yeah, barbershop talkstill goes on there.
You know, it's kind of nice.
You know, no, it's, it's um,it's a good place.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
They, we say we're unlicensed therapists, you know,
yeah, that's true, but okay, sowould you have.
So then you were like I likethis, this is cool because it
like, but then so you had to goto like barbershop, right, or
you had to.
I mean, you had a school right,or you had to.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
I mean you had a school.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
That's what I meant.
Yeah, how did, where did?
Speaker 2 (12:26):
you do that.
That was.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
I'm self-taught.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
I've never done it Really.
I think I did a Mohawk on mybrother once, yeah, and I don't
remember how straight that was,but I wanted to do it and I
wanted checked into school andstuff and.
But I wanted to do it and Iwanted to check into school and
stuff and I was like I can't dothat, I can't do that.
So I found an apprenticeprogram which San Bernardino
(12:52):
adult school was doing and itwas only 400 bucks.
So if I do that, I do that nineweeks of schooling over there
and then I can get legally astate license as an apprentice
to cut hair, while I'm going toschool once a week for two years
(13:14):
.
Okay, so that's the thing isyou got to do the apprenticeship
for two years, yeah, and youthink that's a long time, but
during that time you're working.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
And so it just goes by.
You're making money already,right yeah?
Speaker 2 (13:24):
You're not missing out on anything.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Oh, that's a no-brainer.
Smart yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
It's a no-brainer School's, not that few hours
maybe.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
So what year is this Around about years, I don't want
to say our date or anything.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
I'd say about 2012.
Yeah, that's when I say Ireally started cutting hair.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Okay so you're still yeah that was what 15 years,
almost 12, 15 years ago.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Yeah, I've been cutting hair 13 years.
It'll be July 13 years.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
That's awesome.
So you're an apprentice, soobviously you're getting into
that.
Did you go to the shop that youoriginally went to and get a
job there?
Is that how it worked?
Speaker 2 (13:59):
Yeah, because I told them I want to be here and
Because I told him I want to behere.
And I guess we vibed and theowner was like, yeah, we'll take
you on.
So you have to have a shop anda barber license, establishment
license, all that, to be able todo the apprentice program.
So you have to have a sponsor.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
So at that time I got a sponsor and it was good.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
So I just started cutting hair there, and that's
it.
It just is what it is it'ssnowballed.
I guess I was just good at it.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
Where did you?
Well then, you went to thewingtip people, right.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
No, no, no, that that was the place.
Yeah, that was the place.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
Tell me about the attire.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
She's blown away about that one, I know.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Yeah, you, it was.
You didn't have to wear a suitor anything, but I was like, if
I'm wearing all this shit, I'mgoing to wear a suit.
So your slacks, your wingtipshoes, your nice dress shoes,
you had to wear a bow tie or atie.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
Most of the time I would wear a vest.
I can see you wearing a vest.
Yeah, I'm more of a vest guy.
Or suspenders.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
I would wear suspenders.
But yeah, if you weren'twearing a bow tie or a tie, just
go home.
Wow, like we have standardshere and that's what it is.
And you know, sure as shit itworked.
You'd be walking down downtownRedlands and you work at that
barbershop, don't you?
Yes, I do.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
Nice.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
I mean that's ultimate branding right?
Oh for sure, everybody knew whoyou guys were, yeah you knew
Right, you got the tattooed guysyou know in three-piece suits
With the bow ties, those guyswork at Wilson's.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
Damn.
I mean that's a pretty good.
I mean it's pretty geniushonestly, it was pretty cool.
The old time.
It was like an old timebarbershop feel in there.
Yes, very traditional, Verytraditional Hot towel, straight
razor shaves Very traditional.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
We weren't.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
You know all the good stuff you like?
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
That's the best way to do it right.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
That's the first free beer thing.
That's where I first.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Yeah, so I saw that on your website.
So is that where the whole?
Because you guys got like a taptap house or you know, you guys
got, you got beer in the shopfor oh, it's just I just.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
We stocked the fridge with beer wow.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
So that's like kind of like a perca.
So that's how, where you learnthat is is at this place, at
that other shop?
Speaker 2 (16:21):
yeah, because they told me I was like you know, it
sounds illegal but it's not.
It's not there's yeah, exactlyit's free, there's nothing wrong
with one friend giving anotherfriend?
Speaker 3 (16:31):
that beer?
I have beer in my showroom andwine and all that.
If I sold it, that's adifferent story Then it would be
a big right.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Oh man, that's awesome and don't over-serve
your people.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
That's true, you just want to get them loose enough
to open the wallets a littlemore.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
Nice tip.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
That's right Trick of the trade right there.
Okay, so you.
So how did you end up coming tothe Valley?
Cause I know, obviouslyRedlands is not that far from us
, but how did you end up makingyour way down here?
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Well, there was uh difficulties in the relationship
area.
So I ended up moving back overto my mom's house in Desert Hot
Springs, yeah.
So she was uh kind of goingthrough some health issues
issues.
So I kind of want to also bethere to help out.
So I just made the drive fromdhs to redlands every day, every
day.
It wasn't bad, it was only anhour, but I mean on the 10 going
with traffic.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
Just enjoy the scenery yeah, absolutely, it's
not too bad.
So what years are this whereyou start coming?
Speaker 3 (17:34):
So you weren't originally from here.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
Mom just moved out here.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
So you kind of migrated with her when she moved
out here.
Yeah, exactly, so what yearsare we talking then?
Speaker 2 (17:42):
God, I was at Wilson's for seven years, so I
don't know, maybe 2017.
17, okay.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
And then when you came out here, finally like who
did you?
Did you go work for somebody orhow did that?
How did all that?
How did you get to the Valleyand work in the Valley in a
barbershop?
Speaker 2 (18:04):
So my wife's dad, my father-in-law now he told me
about this place that he getshis hair cut at and they were
looking for some help.
And I was like, okay, cool, soI'll go and check it out.
So I started working there onjust Wednesdays and then the
middle of the day he was like doyou want to come in on
Saturdays too?
(18:24):
And then by the end of the dayit was do you want to work here?
And I was like, okay, yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Was that the first day you were there, want to work
here?
And I was like, okay, yeah, wasthat the first day you?
Speaker 3 (18:36):
were there.
Yeah, really, yeah, that good.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Huh, he was like okay , I guess it just kind of kind
of fit, okay, we, we vibe prettywell all right, well, shoot.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
So that's about 2017.
So now you're working down herefull-time.
Huh, yeah, are you living downhere full-time?
Are you still commuting?
Speaker 2 (18:51):
No, I was God.
It wasn't that long until Imoved in with my wife.
It was, we moved pretty fast.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
OK, it was love at first sight.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
It really was.
Speaker 3 (19:04):
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
It was something else .
That's awesome.
She's my best friend.
That's awesome.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
My biggest support.
So, working for, for this,working for this new place down
here in the desert, did you seekind of the difference in the
clientele did you?
Did your wheels kind of spinlike, hey, we could probably do
this, we could probably do thatlike you already, kind of had
like a like, a knowledge, like aknowledge of the game already
what could work and what didn'twork yeah kind of come about
where you finally started takingit over and that becoming your
(19:32):
shop.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
It was.
You know you build clientele asyou do, but it just seemed to
come pretty easy with me and Iwas looking.
I didn't know that he wanted tosell the shop at all.
Until about a month workingthere and I'm already looking
around I was like this doesn'tflow.
Like you have a line of chairsright in the middle in between
(19:58):
the barber's chairs Granted,yeah, you're facing, you know,
towards each other so theclients can talk back and forth.
But you got this one and thechairs are only facing one side.
So it's like five feet fromsomebody standing right getting
their haircut Right.
It's kind of uncomfortable.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
So I was just thinking about how you could
change the shop that way.
But anyways, fast forward.
A month goes by and he was likeI'm going to sell the shop.
And I was like, oh, okay, well.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
I mean.
So within one month of youworking there, he's already
offering you to.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
He wants, yeah, he wants to.
Wow, he wanted to go back hometo Philly.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:37):
Philly bitch.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Yeah, wow.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
Okay.
So I mean dang primeopportunity, I mean good timing
on your part huh man, that'swhat I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
Because, like the universe works, God, there's
somebody that actually canpossibly take this over and do
its thing, Because, you know, ifyou always think about selling
your business, you're likewhat's going to happen to it.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Right and is it in?
Speaker 3 (21:02):
safe hands, that kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Yeah, I don't think he really cared too much.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
Oh, really, yeah, he was just like you want to buy
this.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
I'm going to get the fuck out of here.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
You think you want to go back to the snow?
I wouldn't.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
Yeah, he said it always.
I love my California sunshineyou ain't going to get none of
that over there.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
I don't like the California sunshine in
summertime.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
It was a little too much in the summer.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
It was a little too much in the summer.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
But anyway.
So that's pretty good timing.
One month you're kind ofalready like whoa hit with hey,
buy this place.
So how did that process kind ofgo about?
How did the takeover go, anddid it go smoothly?
I mean, usually when you buy abusiness there can always be
some hiccups where it's likesomething can go wrong pretty
massively.
How did that whole thing go.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
It was really smooth Just went, took over the lease
and that was that.
Then I started dusting off thewalls and painting Did you start
painting it.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
Hell yeah, what did you do?
Speaker 2 (21:59):
I had to, I had to, I did like this crimson red and
it's all in there.
I showed one of my clients andhe said oh god damn it.
Now it looks like a brothel.
It looks like a Hollywoodbrothel.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
Did you say what's wrong with that?
Speaker 2 (22:14):
No, no, it's like come on, you just got to see it.
So he comes in.
He's like no, this looks reallygood.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
You got to see it when it's done, right, yeah
exactly.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
So now we have 13 guitars on the wall, old jukebox
in there, tvs, there tvs, andthen just a bunch of stuff that
I find cool at the thrift store.
Wow, yeah, just filling up likethere's like no space on the
walls it's made of your own.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
Yeah, made of your own.
That's what you really have todo with your business.
You got to make it.
You got to put your ownpersonal touch to it.
This is your art background.
I'm sure you had to.
Yeah, you had to.
You had to trick that thing out, right, maybe?
Speaker 2 (22:51):
you have to, you got to make I thing out right.
You have to, you got to make it.
I mean, realistically, I thinkyou spend more time there than
you do at home.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
Oh, for sure yeah.
And it becomes your second homeaway from home.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
So tell Bobby how you heard of us.
I thought that was prettyinteresting.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
Oh, we got a story.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
Okay, oh, it was a well.
First of all, just on instagram, I was going through and oh,
really yeah and then.
But I saw dale's.
Oh, shout out to dale, I'll beseeing you soon dale yes, sir,
that's my guy.
I spent all my money at dale's.
Yes, he does all my records.
I have a problem he's such,he's such a cool dude like.
(23:30):
He's really, really awesome.
I like what he does in thecommunity and stuff like the
skate day they just had.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Yeah, he's trying to give back.
He's a good dude man.
He's doing good things for thecommunity.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
That's what it was.
So I checked into it and I waslike oh, I wonder if I could do
something like this.
Then I saw the applications forthe new season.
I was like let's do it.
Speaker 3 (23:54):
So then I said to him and then, did you know that his
wife has that peach whiskers?
What the hell is it called?
Speaker 2 (24:01):
Oh, yeah, the peach whiskers.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Yeah, vintage shop.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
That's Dale's wife, right, yeah, yeah yeah.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
So then he started telling me that he goes to
thrift shops and buys furnitureand redoes the whole furniture,
and so he was showing me somepretty cool stuff and I was like
, oh my God, he's reallytalented and just makes his own
art and loves skulls, loves thedark side, right.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
My wife can appreciate that.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
I can, I love it.
You get some scorpions in there.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
Oh shoot, Got to mess with the scorpions.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Fellow artist here.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
man I got to watch you guys, I'm going to mess with
the scorpions Fellow artisthere.
Man, I got to watch you guys,I'm not like that, but he's, you
know, so that's awesome, but Imean you almost like.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
That's probably why you're pretty good at your
profession is because a goodbarber is like an artist.
He can kind of he has to like.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
It is an art.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
Yeah, it is an art form, not, that's not it.
And then you come and see meafterwards exactly right,
because you got to fix it right.
So I mean, there's definitely.
I think you're kind of beingtrue to yourself in that
profession, so take me.
So this is what 2018, 2017, wekind of took over the shop, so
take me to okay.
So 2023, you guys winbarbershop of the year here in
the Coachella Valley.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
Congratulations on that, thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
But obviously when you take it over it ain't a
money-making, referral-makingmachine.
How do you get in just likewhat five years?
How do you get it from justtaking it over trying to just
figure out how to survive toBarbershop of the Year?
What are some of the processesand what kind of went into that?
What would you attribute allthat to?
Speaker 2 (25:31):
I'm just producing a good product, Really Like.
Yeah, I mean it's all aboutcommunication and community and,
you know, being good to people.
Speaker 3 (25:42):
And referrals.
Right, you've got to have thosereferrals too.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Advertisement too, advertising marketing.
I don't do any of that shit.
Speaker 3 (25:51):
Word of mouth, though right and obviously good work.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
Yeah, people walking out of the door are your
billboards, that's true, where'dyou get your haircut?
No, the barbershop.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
Yeah, so do you still do the shaves and you do all
that?
Speaker 2 (26:03):
Yep Hot towel, straight razor shaves oh my gosh
.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Did you have to make any changes to the business when
you came in?
Like that you can rememberwhere you were?
Like this is messed up.
We got to change.
Or did you just bang out?
Speaker 2 (26:17):
the price For sure.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
Yeah, Because the old owner, like he, was retired
military and everything he hadwas like paid off.
So it was like he was.
Just I don't even know why.
Speaker 3 (26:30):
Yeah, whatever, but he was really good at it.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
Like holy hell.
Like he could knock out afreaking haircut in no time.
Because that's the game, as theowner I would be like.
Is that the game, though?
In?
Speaker 1 (26:41):
that profession.
Is it the amount of haircutsyou can do in a certain amount
of time, or is it like from likea profit perspective, or is it
a better haircut for more money?
Is that where you can make?
You know what's the kind of the?
There's got to be a balancethere, right?
Speaker 2 (26:57):
You got to have a balance of yeah, definitely a
balance, but I don't, I don'treally know because I don't look
at the money.
Speaker 3 (27:05):
It's about the art right.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
You are a true artist , then Well, like this brand
that I want to start, outcomeOver Income Nice, where you
focus on the outcome and theincome will follow.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
That's true.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
That's what I mean.
That's true.
I like that.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
That's a pretty good saying Outcome Over Income.
So you're just allproduct-based, then right, it's
just a good, great product.
Right, that's your main goal.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
Yeah, you have to, you have to, you have to.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
So it doesn't matter if it takes an hour to do the
haircut or 15 minutes.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
It's got to be a good yeah you don't want to take too
long, because who wants to sitin the chair for that?
That's true too, you know,unless they're really enjoying
themselves talking, and but weare appointment only oh really
yeah, we will take walk-ins ifwe have the time available, but
most of the time we don't.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
Wow, appointment only .
That's pretty good yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
I mean, everyone's got a schedule, so let's stay on
track.
Speaker 3 (27:57):
Did you move those chairs yeah?
Speaker 2 (27:59):
Yeah, that was the first thing I did.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
So it was just better flow now, right yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
It's all wide open, looks much bigger and people
aren't uncomfortable.
Speaker 3 (28:08):
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
That's awesome.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
That's awesome.
We have couches on the, wherethe waiting room should be.
Make it more comfortable, alittle bit more homey feeling
there, right?
Yeah, absolutely Kind of chillout.
Yeah, put the game on or putthe music on.
Yeah, because the barbershop,like I said to me, it's still
like the town square for a lotof people, like they don't
interact with people outside ofthe barbershop sometimes anymore
.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
Right, yeah, it's like you're just it kind of
depends, Cause it's like I mean,I'm not talking down on any
other shops, but it's more moneyfocused Like they turn and burn
right.
It's just a dollar sign, that'snot your face is just a dollar
sign, like just a dollar sign.
(28:54):
That's not your face, is just adollar sign, like that's it.
Come in, sit down, get out,okay.
The next one come on, it's amachine, it keeps pumping.
It's a, you know, it's aassembly line and it's now.
We sit down.
We'll talk to you and keep theconversation going and really be
interested in, like, what youhave to say when we ask you oh
hey, how's it going, how's yourday going?
Well, you, really, you don'tcare I have a question.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
So like I go get my hair done right and you're
sitting there and you're talkingto, and right, like you said,
an unpaid therapist, so I'm sureyou get the same thing right
give me 15 minutes.
20 minutes, you got some deepsecrets going on, right?
Speaker 2 (29:32):
Yeah, no, I really haven't gotten any of that.
I mean, of course there'severyday life.
Yeah, bitching about your wifeand stuff like that.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
I don't blame them.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
That's not everybody, but sometimes it's just these
stories that are just like, ohmy God, like the other day I
asked you know how's it going,how's your wife doing?
Because I know that she had had, uh, dementia and he was like
oh, she passed away lastsaturday and I'm just like and
you're out here functioning likedude.
(30:06):
If I lost my fuck?
Speaker 3 (30:07):
no way all right, no way there's no way, dude, be in
the loony bin for a couple weeks.
I kept his mind off things too,like you got to, you know.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
That's what I thought about.
Speaker 3 (30:16):
You got to keep going , so it's like, definitely, you
know.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
stay engaged with him and keep his mind off of that.
Yeah, Because you know you lostyour loved one.
That's got to be hard.
It's really tough.
Speaker 3 (30:29):
So you mentioned the guitars on the wall.
So what is that about?
Do you play the guitar?
Speaker 2 (30:34):
No, I've tried many times, it's just not my thing.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
Dude, there's this thing on Shark Tank.
They just put it on a guitarand you just follow it.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
I need to do that because I want to feel like a
rock star.
That's my time playing a guitarhero, yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:51):
That's what that was.
That's a close.
That's why you put the guitarsout.
Speaker 2 (30:53):
Yeah, no my son plays guitar.
Yeah, it was, it was.
They look good on the walls.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
They do?
Speaker 3 (31:01):
They do look cool.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
There's no room at the house for it.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
But you know what too ?
The guitars are in itself right, because they're all different
colors.
You can add things to them, allright.
So I think it's just the artistin you that loves it too, right
.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
And then a lot of it's, finding it at thrift
stores and online.
And this guitar I really wantedwas when we had a pawn shop
next door and, uh, I just wantedthis guitar.
But one day I was at angel viewat the thrift store and I was
dropping some stuff off and Ifound a whole bag of pokemon
(31:36):
cards and I was just like, allright, cool, so let's see if I
can take this to the pawn shopand I was like here's this.
I found all these and he'sgoing through and it's like dude
, this card right here is worth600 bucks really yeah, pokemon
cards.
I'll tell you a story next and Iwas like dude, that's crazy.
(31:57):
But you know, I know they'reworth some money, but I just
want that guitar.
And he's like but this card isworth like twice as much, as I
don't care.
Yeah, I literally found it on a, I just want that guitar.
And he was like but this cardis worth twice as much.
I was like I don't care, Iliterally found it on a loading
dock, I want that guitar, justlet me get it.
And he was like all right, cool.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
So a Pokemon card for a guitar?
Yeah, yeah, I think you came upwith that one.
I think.
So I mean I don't get the wholePokemon thing.
Speaker 3 (32:19):
It is one of my favorite guitars.
That's awesome man.
Well, you know how much moneywe've spent on Pokemon cards for
our boys.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
Well, I know, but I don't.
Oh, my God, I'm like what arewe doing?
We paid $600 for one.
Though that's crazy, Crazy.
Somebody with a sick mind?
Speaker 3 (32:31):
No, I'm just kidding, yeah, all right.
So let me ask you this got sometattoos, so do you?
You must have to find somebodythat you feel like.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
Their art is on point right, because my friend, I was
out in redlands and I actuallybuilt a motorcycle and traded
him for a whole year of tattoosno way so you're all about the
bartering man, right you get aguitar.
It just works out that way Adeal for a deal.
(33:05):
A deal for a deal, man.
It just works out that way, manno cash needed here, man.
I love it, that's awesome,that's awesome.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
So you got your guy out there in Redlands.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
Does he still owe you work?
Speaker 1 (33:16):
No, it was a cutoff it was a yeah, it was just for a
year, I think.
I just slowed down when Irealized I just kept getting
dumb shit, just because you hadfree tattoos.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Yeah, like, what do I want?
It looks cool.
Let's go ahead and get that one.
It's just like oh, man, it'slike oh.
So what does that mean?
Speaker 3 (33:39):
There's a deep meaning behind it.
It was cool, I like the way itlooks which is the dumbest one
you got probably the flamesright here that was my first, my
first tattoo the flames.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
Yeah, the flames.
The first one's always gotta bethe dumbest, though, right does
it yeah?
Speaker 1 (33:56):
cause you're a dumb kid.
You don't know what you'redoing.
Speaker 3 (33:58):
I just want I just want something cool.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
I just want something cool.
I don't give a shit.
I don't look hard, I don't looklike I could fight, so I want
to get this right here.
It looks a little harder,nobody's going to mess with me.
Yeah, that's the real goal.
But anyway, going back to theshop, so right now, how many
barbers you have in the shop?
Because I know this is a partof the barbershop game, right?
Speaker 2 (34:24):
You've got to order to have the all-encompassing
business especially to keep areputation.
Speaker 1 (34:26):
Yeah, you got to have guys that are just as skilled
as you, you know.
So how's, how's that going?
How many, how many barbers youcurrently have?
Speaker 2 (34:32):
and because it is tough to find barbers.
I have just myself and anotherbarber there's two barbers, huh
wow, okay, retired marine.
He was in the military, uh, for21 years and he was started
cutting hair, you know, on base,and then he was just like yeah,
I'm gonna retire and I can dothis.
(34:53):
And before he got his licensehe was like I want to work at
your shop.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
So he kept coming around for like a year before he
was even licensed he was yeah,wow, okay, so, and I was like
you got your license and he waslike no, not yet, and it's like
a year Before he was evenlicensed.
Speaker 2 (35:03):
he was saying that Wow, okay.
So then I was like you got yourlicense?
And he was like no, not yet.
And it was like a year and ahalf.
We just keep coming by.
Can you give me it now?
I need your license, man.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
Wow.
That was meant to be too, thenhuh, yeah.
I mean it seems like all thestars kind of aligned.
Speaker 2 (35:20):
Me and him.
We can handle it.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
Yeah, but with all the building that's going on.
Yeah, you guys are in a higharea man, there's like 2,000
spots within a mile of us.
Speaker 1 (35:33):
All the new construction, yeah, off of Cook
Street.
It's crazy.
Speaker 2 (35:36):
If we can get a small percentage of that, we should
be good.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
Right, you might have to find somebody else.
We need barbers.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
I just let one go, because I couldn't stay sober.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
Oh well, yeah, you can't take that liability man?
Speaker 2 (35:49):
No, I used to do that .
I used to be that guy.
Speaker 1 (35:53):
Oh really, yeah, Wow.
And you can't do that for yourbusiness?
Yeah, no, but you can recognizethe signs then too, right?
Speaker 2 (36:00):
That's exactly what I saw.
I recognize the signs in tooright.
That's exactly what I saw.
I was like that's what I wasdoing, and then I go in the
bathroom checking the trash canunderneath the tough paper
towels, of course you alreadyknew the hiding spot.
Speaker 1 (36:13):
You got oh yeah, been there.
Speaker 2 (36:16):
I got two handfuls of those little shooter bottles in
there and I'm just like damndude you can't have that and
then one star reviews likewithin a month oh, no, we don't
roll that way.
Speaker 3 (36:28):
No, yeah so then, how did you, how did that get
turned around to being one ofthe best barbershops in the
valley like, how did that?
How come about?
Speaker 2 (36:37):
I don't know, I think just honestly, I don't know,
just just wasn't itself-promoting or anything like
that.
Speaker 1 (36:44):
It was just like it's something that just kind of
happened, right yeah, you'rejust telling my clients your
work spoke for itself.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
Basically, yeah, I mean, that's pretty kind of
bummed out that I couldn't getit every year that I started,
since I started right but it'slike I didn't know what it was
right so the two years that Itried, we got it so they came in
like since somebody reached outto where is it from?
Speaker 3 (37:07):
what's it about?
What is that?
The desert.
Speaker 1 (37:10):
They got to get nominated, though they can't
nominate themselves.
It's like somebody nominatesyour business and then yeah, and
then people vote and get clientlike feedback and all that fun
stuff.
So it's a good, like a lot ofbusinesses, but they do other
businesses too.
Speaker 3 (37:23):
But he's his business , has won two years in a row,
right yeah.
Speaker 1 (37:26):
Yeah.
So I mean it's pretty.
That speaks volumes, man.
I mean the kind of work you'redoing, you know that's not
everybody.
There's a lot of barbershops,you know.
Speaker 2 (37:33):
Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
That's a lot, that's a lot.
Shop category which made nosense.
They have their own category,so I'm competing with salons as
well.
Speaker 3 (37:44):
Because you're not dying people's hair, are you?
Speaker 2 (37:46):
necessarily.
No, not at all.
Speaker 3 (37:48):
Huh, that is interesting, that should.
That seems like it should betwo different categories, for
sure.
Speaker 1 (37:53):
Yeah, wow, we'll have to send an email to the desert
sauna.
I've been trying.
Speaker 2 (37:58):
It's like I got nominated for top five best
hairdressers or hairstylists thepast two years.
Speaker 1 (38:05):
Really.
Speaker 2 (38:05):
And it's like where's the barber?
Best barber category.
Speaker 1 (38:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (38:09):
I'm not a hairstylist .
Speaker 1 (38:10):
Two different things?
Wow, two different things, thatis interesting.
Speaker 3 (38:14):
So you were talking to me a little bit about you
make hats.
You're doing this, you're doingwhat?
What other things do you haveyour fingers at?
Speaker 2 (38:22):
Whatever interests me .
I'm starting to make someleather wallets and some chains
Really interesting, likeintricate Byzantine chains to go
with the wallets.
Speaker 3 (38:37):
I want to launch the brand.
Speaker 1 (38:38):
Outcome Over Income, so you can make hats, yeah, yeah
, tell me a little bit aboutthat, because I like the name on
that, so is that going to be aclothing?
Speaker 2 (38:44):
brand, a hat brand.
What are you thinking on that?
Yeah, kind of doing like aclothing brand.
Speaker 1 (38:47):
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (38:48):
Promote, not really promote, but it's for the
passion for the love of thecraft.
That's what it is.
Help them over income for thelove of the craft.
So that's the philosophy rightthere yeah, by, like you know
electricians, plumbers, you knowblue collar workers.
Speaker 1 (39:05):
And getting back to the old school standards that
they used to have right.
Yeah, because I think a lot oftimes.
The standards are the thingsthat kind of fall off when
you're just chasing money, right?
Speaker 2 (39:13):
No, yeah, absolutely.
I mean, you definitely lose thepassion and I'm not saying that
I've never lost it.
I've had to, you know, resetfrom time to time.
Ever lost it?
I've had to, you know, resetfrom time to time.
And you know, finally, even ifit's just watching a video or
someone's story and it's justlike spark something, so it's
like some sort of art oranything that you're passionate
(39:35):
about, that's what.
Speaker 3 (39:36):
Do it for, the passion so he was telling me
that he's it was doing an artshow, right?
Speaker 2 (39:42):
so tell me a little bit more about that and how that
all came about oh, I did an artshow at uh flat black over by
the at the mall there oh yeah, Iheard about that.
Yeah, graffiti arts play yeah,that's the homie pete.
They put on good art shows.
Sometimes they'll have, like,uh, some bands will perform
there and uh, yeah, I did an artshow with my buddy, joe, and it
(40:07):
was kind of uh, what was itcalled?
damn, I forgot the name of theshow it was a darker touch, okay
, so it was kind of like theskulls and tarantula yeah, my
tarantula butterflies dead, deadstuff a little darker I like
the butterflies at the track.
(40:28):
You should put them together Ihave one that's uh, it's, it's
pretty, it's a long like frame,that's like this and the
butterflies are coming up andthen there's got lights in the
back.
But I do want to make one.
I have one in my garage that Ihave the tarantula in it and
then I'm going to have like oneof the butterflies up at the top
, kind of like.
Speaker 3 (40:49):
You want to know what my mind went to.
What's that?
A tarantula like kind of on itsback, and then his hands like
this, and each thing had abutterfly on it.
Speaker 1 (40:57):
Let's see artists.
Look at these artists righthere.
Speaker 3 (41:00):
See, I don't know nothing about this.
The good with the bad.
Speaker 1 (41:03):
I'm the numbers guy.
I'm over here just listening totwo artists.
Speaker 3 (41:06):
Whatever, You're very artsy too.
Speaker 1 (41:08):
That's cool.
I mean, Ian, you're really likea jack of all trades when it
comes to the art.
Huh, If.
Speaker 2 (41:12):
I find interest in it .
I want to find out how to do it.
Speaker 1 (41:24):
I don't want to be creating it.
Basically, yeah, yeah, that'sthat's.
I think that's the differencebetween the artists and, like
the, the businessman they want.
A businessman wants to buyeverything and make the money,
and then the artist wants sitsback and says, hey, I think I
can just make that and it's likemore like the reward is for the
artist is just the actualcreate, the journey of the
creation right, yeah and it'snot not a monetary goal, you
know yeah, it's like even justbeing, you know, dad or husband
(41:48):
at home and something needs toget fixed.
You take care of it yeah, andyou're like I fixed that shit
even if I didn't know how to doit and go on youtube and figure
it out, right?
Speaker 2 (41:59):
dude that thing is.
That's amazing.
I do like the youtube.
Speaker 1 (42:02):
I can't tell you how many times I've had to fix stuff
off of YouTube.
I mean, I don't know if it didit very well, but at least you
know we solved the problem.
Speaker 3 (42:08):
At least the house didn't burn down.
Yeah, at least we solved theproblem without you know
flooding the whole?
Speaker 1 (42:24):
what advice would you give to, like a kid, maybe in
barber school or you know, maybethinking about opening up a
shop or, you know, even gettinginto art, like?
What advice would you give?
Knowing now that you're kind of, you know, at the top of the
game and seeing, you know you'reseeing it from the other side
um, somebody, young maybe, comesto you and says, hey, I want to
do this.
What would you say?
Speaker 2 (42:39):
don't do it for the money, do it for the love.
Speaker 1 (42:44):
That's it so you got to be passionate.
Speaker 2 (42:45):
You have to be passionate about anything that
you do or something like that,especially something that's
going to carry on and possiblyeven be passed down from
generations to your children.
You know it's it's you want itto be like, for example, the
barbershop, a staple in yourcommunity.
You want to give to yourcommunity in you, you know, some
way shape or form.
(43:06):
So I mean it's a lot of prideand passion.
Speaker 1 (43:11):
Yeah, so it's all passion-based, right?
Yeah, I mean money.
Speaker 2 (43:16):
A lot of cats do it because they're like damn, that
makes some good money.
Yeah, it's like yeah, butthey're also good Right.
Speaker 1 (43:25):
You, yeah, it's like yeah, but they're also good,
right?
You know they're not doing itfor the money.
Well, don't you think the moneywill come if you're put out of
your passion about and you putout a good product?
I mean, the money will come, Ithink yeah right, I'll come over
income.
Speaker 2 (43:32):
Yeah, you worry on, you know, building it and then
they will come absolutely man,so it's like it.
It will.
You put out a good product andthen they'll return.
Speaker 1 (43:43):
Yeah, and in terms of the business side, I mean you
just figure it out right.
You figure out how to stayafloat.
I mean if you're putting out agood product, like we say, the
money should come.
And then you got to just learnthe business side, how to
operate from day to day.
Speaker 2 (43:59):
You got to learn how to attract people too.
I mean, nobody wants to walkinto a place and they're hearing
hearing, like you know,offensive music or offensive
language or you know, if that'syour spot, then cool, you know,
rock with it, but it's gotta becomfortable for everybody.
And they say, oh, this is, thisplace is really cool.
(44:19):
I mean, every time someonecomes in they're like man, I
didn't see that before.
Like, was that Bob Hope signthere?
And I was like dude, it's beenthere for like three years, what
about that fridge?
Speaker 1 (44:29):
and I was like you grabbed a beer out of it, like
you know, two weeks ago it'salmost sensory overload in there
yeah, there's like I alwaysfind something new in here
that's awesome, though it's likerecreating the whole thing over
and over again, probably.
Probably why you got yourreputation is what it is right.
I mean, people are coming inthere and coming away kind of
mind blown, you know.
Speaker 2 (44:48):
Yeah, it's a cool place to look at things.
And then also you have to treatpeople how they want to be
treated.
You know how you want to betreated.
You know.
Just all respect, Right.
Speaker 3 (45:01):
What about like our son?
He's 13.
What about like our son, he's13.
And oh my God, he's soparticular about his hair.
Do you get little brats inthere like that?
Like ours, you know?
Speaker 2 (45:11):
Divas yeah.
Speaker 1 (45:13):
Call him a diva.
Speaker 2 (45:15):
Yeah, it's Especially no offense guys, the teenage
kids.
Sure, that's the one thatreally is tough.
Speaker 3 (45:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (45:25):
I mean the little little kids.
I mean we don't even have akid's price, a haircut's a
haircut.
Yeah, and honestly, I should becharging you more if your
child's not going to hold stillRight.
Or is interrupting this guy'snice time here because he's
crying and screaming.
Speaker 3 (45:39):
Maybe you should give the kid a beer.
I Screaming.
Maybe you should give the kid abeer.
I'm going to put him to bed.
Speaker 1 (45:44):
Just a tiny sip.
Just a tiny sip.
They let you in Europe.
It's fine, is that?
Speaker 3 (45:49):
right, they do.
Speaker 2 (45:50):
They do yeah.
Speaker 3 (45:53):
Oh well, that's great .
I will have to go see my son.
He's just like every time, butfinally he seems like he's
gotten it down and he's finewith it.
Like every time, but finally heseems like he's gotten it down
and he's fine with it, like hewouldn't he'd be like.
You have to go take me to getmy haircut on Friday, so then I
have till Monday, till my hairgrows out and I'm like, oh my
gosh, he's too much man, he'stoo much you know, there's some
(46:13):
things, some things.
Speaker 2 (46:15):
Sometimes guys can be like that yeah, you know very
particular, yeah, particular.
And sometimes it's like overhere, you know, sometimes you'll
just make the noise, you'll belike Check it out, is that good?
Speaker 1 (46:28):
Oh, now it's better, perfect Little tricks of the
trade.
Speaker 3 (46:33):
right there, man, tricks of the trade.
Speaker 1 (46:35):
I love it.
So what's next for Ian?
I mean, you're obviouslykilling the barbershop game.
I mean, what's next for you?
And then, what do you see foryourself in the future?
I mean, it seems like you'vegot a lot of passions and a lot
of projects you're working on.
What do you see in the futurefor yourself?
Speaker 2 (46:51):
Hopefully slow down, All right yeah my mind is just
constantly going.
I'd love to be able to justslow down but hopefully build
this brand up to where I can dothat.
Speaker 1 (47:01):
Yeah, that's awesome, man.
Well, I think the brand isreally cool.
I love the idea behind it.
I mean being us being in youknow, multiple businesses.
Sometimes it's hard to like sitback and actually remember why
you're doing this.
Speaker 2 (47:14):
You know, it's like why am I?
Doing this again.
You know, it's like you havethose days.
And it's okay to have thosedays, you know, you just go home
, go to the wife and you know ithelps get you through it.
And then you wake up and thenremember why you're doing it all
over, right?
Speaker 3 (47:32):
Let me ask you this Do you?
Speaker 2 (47:35):
feel like you have ADHD, dude.
I kind of wanted to look intoit, but it's like I've got
enough shit on my plate.
I need to know that there'ssomething else wrong with me.
Speaker 3 (47:44):
No, no, no, I don't think it's that, I think I have
and I'm.
I think it's just great because, like you, you're a little,
you're doing a little bit ofeverything and that's what I'm
doing, like right now I'm intosourdough making.
Yeah, you know what I mean.
Like I have okay, yeahdehydrator that's out in my
garage because I want to makeyou know, would that be adhd?
Speaker 1 (48:00):
yeah, she does yeah, I love it, it's great and we're
all very creative, yeah, so sheuses as her superpower.
Speaker 2 (48:10):
That's her, I just gotta rein it in and finish
something before I move on tothe next one.
Yeah, because the garage hasgot a bunch of projects totally,
totally I want to design a.
Speaker 3 (48:24):
I want to design a desert x project but I'm still,
I'm still a nobody, so I don'tknow that they'll let me, but I
already have like cool ideas.
Speaker 1 (48:30):
So we're trying to try to get get the word out
there.
Yeah, you can have like big oldscissors with the skull head in
the middle, like oh my god, ohmy gosh.
See, you guys are two of thelike over here.
These, these two artists overhere.
He likes skulls.
Speaker 3 (48:45):
right, yeah, and I was thinking about like we have
a neighbor and he has like that100-foot tall skeleton that they
sell.
Yeah, for Halloween and it'shilarious because every time we
walk by his house, likeValentine's Day, he has a dog.
That's a skeleton too.
And so the leash is leash islike red and there's a little
(49:05):
heart next to it.
It's hilarious and I wasthinking I wonder if your house
is pretty cool at halloween timeevery day is halloween.
Speaker 2 (49:13):
I have a real casket underneath my tv.
Yeah, oh my god, it's a realone see it's meant to be.
Speaker 1 (49:21):
I was just telling, telling Bobby, we need to have a
funeral director in here, wow.
Speaker 2 (49:26):
The next car will be a hearse yeah.
Speaker 1 (49:28):
No way Dark like that .
You're not worried about thekarma on that huh.
Speaker 2 (49:35):
Hopefully they've moved on.
Speaker 3 (49:37):
You know what?
Okay, get the hearse and thenhave a skeleton on the back like
this Help me.
Speaker 2 (49:44):
It'll have another casket in it, probably with some
speakers in it.
Speaker 1 (49:48):
Wow, totally Wire wheel Awesome.
I love it we got some big ideason this show, man.
Speaker 3 (49:54):
I can't wait to see Take it to the car shows.
Speaker 1 (49:56):
Oh for sure I can't wait to see what's coming next.
You know it's like, wow, you'regoing gonna be two little
artists over here creating so wehave one wall.
Speaker 2 (50:05):
It's just got all dead butterflies on it.
I built a shelf it's a coffinshelf for my wife.
It's got all her movies andlike cds and stuff in there and
one whole living room is justpainted black and white stripes
yeah it's pretty interesting, uh, in the study, a bunch of
plants and how come you don'tmake me a coffin bookcase?
Speaker 1 (50:26):
sorry dude, I'm gonna call Ian.
Ian, I need, I need one of them.
Made man, how much, how much?
Oh my gosh.
Well, ian, thanks for coming in.
We're kind of running upagainst time, man, but you know
it was a pleasure, thank you somuch for having me.
Speaker 3 (50:41):
It's been great to meet you.
Speaker 1 (50:43):
You got a great story and a great mind.
I mean I can't wait to see whatyou're going to do next man.
Speaker 2 (50:47):
Who knows, because it's all over the place.
Speaker 3 (50:49):
I'll let you know when I know.
Stay tuned, Stay tuned people.
Speaker 1 (50:52):
Stay tuned.
Well, thanks for coming in man.
We appreciate it.
We're going to ask them whereyour shop.
How can people reach out to youthat are looking to this?
Speaker 2 (51:01):
shop is located in uh palm desert.
It's on the corner of uh geraldford and cook street, right
next to that starbucks and theenergy in there, and uh the
instagram is the barbershop pd.
And then my art is dibs d-y-b-s, underscore a-r-t.
Speaker 1 (51:18):
Wow, all right, man, I'm actually gonna check that
out tonight, man.
A-r-t.
Wow, nice.
All right, man, I'm actuallygoing to check that out tonight.
Man, that coffin thing got me alittle shook, though, so I got
to Thank you.
Yeah, ian, once again, thanksfor coming in man.
Speaker 2 (51:30):
Thank you very much.
It was a pleasure, Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (51:32):
And if you guys, you know the routine.
If you found some value intoday's conversation, go ahead
and
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Introducing… Aubrey O’Day Diddy’s former protege, television personality, platinum selling music artist, Danity Kane alum Aubrey O’Day joins veteran journalists Amy Robach and TJ Holmes to provide a unique perspective on the trial that has captivated the attention of the nation. Join them throughout the trial as they discuss, debate, and dissect every detail, every aspect of the proceedings. Aubrey will offer her opinions and expertise, as only she is qualified to do given her first-hand knowledge. From her days on Making the Band, as she emerged as the breakout star, the truth of the situation would be the opposite of the glitz and glamour. Listen throughout every minute of the trial, for this exclusive coverage. Amy Robach and TJ Holmes present Aubrey O’Day, Covering the Diddy Trial, an iHeartRadio podcast.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
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