#50 | Johnny Martinez [On Point Barbershop]

[00:00:00] Speaker A: What's going on, y'all? Corpus Christi originals. This is an episode with Johnny Martinez, the owner of the On Point Barbershop. I hope you enjoy the show. Appreciate y'all. Yeah, man. So what's up? How you doing? [00:00:08] Speaker B: Not much. Chillin, man. Chillin. Doing the Sunday off, you know? [00:00:11] Speaker A: All right, all right. Yeah. So your. Your shop is on Kostoryz? [00:00:15] Speaker B: Yes, sir. [00:00:16] Speaker A: Okay. Okay. [00:00:17] Speaker B: Where the old Enriquez used to be now Neil's, mi amor. Yeah, they switched it up. So we're. I've been in that shopping center now. This year will be five years, dude. [00:00:26] Speaker A: Dope. That's awesome. How you like it? [00:00:27] Speaker B: Yeah, it's good. It's been a ride, man. It's been a ride. [00:00:30] Speaker A: Where were you before that? [00:00:31] Speaker B: I've been a barber for 13 years. [00:00:32] Speaker A: Oh, yeah? [00:00:34] Speaker B: So I've been getting it in. [00:00:35] Speaker A: Yeah. So. So you got into that industry. Has been. How's that been for you? Like, I mean, so what's it like? What's. So. When I think about, like, industries, I'm thinking about business mindset. Was. Was it difficult for you to figure out the business aspect of that? [00:00:51] Speaker B: You know what? Honestly? A little bit at first. And then I had. I had a homeboy. I went to a shop where I started working at, and I was blessed to be in a shop with a whole bunch of, like, veterans, you know what I mean? That had been in the game a long time. So they kind of hit me to the game and let me know what's to expect and stuff like that. Cause, you know, people have a misconception that, you know, you go out and get a barber's license and, you know, and you jump in a shop and you're just gonna. Just gonna out the gate, you're gonna often run in and make your money. You know what I mean? [00:01:17] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:01:17] Speaker B: And that's not how it is. You gotta grind it out, you know what I mean? So it was a rough one. It was a rough one the first year. It was roughly. [00:01:24] Speaker A: Yeah. So it's a lot of. A lot of life figuring it out on the job. Like, learning as you go, man. [00:01:28] Speaker B: It was a little bit of everything, bro. Like, that financial stuff, you know, I mean, learning how to manage. Because, you know, when you're a barber, you're your own boss. [00:01:35] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:01:35] Speaker B: You know, you pay booth rent, so the shop owner, he's not going to tell you when to come and when to leave. You know what I mean? So you got it. You got to take matters in your own hand and how much money you want to make is what you're going to put in. You know, it's a risky. You know, it's not like these other. A lot of other careers where you can go and, you know, you go to school, you graduate, you get your degrees, whatever. And you know what you're gonna make. You know what I'm saying? The first year, you're gonna know what you're gonna. You don't. [00:01:59] Speaker A: Wow. Crazy. [00:02:00] Speaker B: Yep. [00:02:00] Speaker A: So you gotta hustle. [00:02:01] Speaker B: You have to. You have to. And it's gonna show. Your clientele is gonna show your hustle. You know what I mean? Like, I worked my first. My first year working, I probably took off maybe like, two, three days. The whole year. I worked every holiday, seven days a week, grinding 12 hours a day. I was in it. [00:02:15] Speaker A: That's what's up, man. I like you. I like your grill down there. [00:02:17] Speaker B: Little shine, little shine, little shine going on, bro. [00:02:21] Speaker A: Yeah, it's awesome. And I seen that most haters a long time ago on I 37. Yeah, it was like a house, right? It was painted on the house. [00:02:30] Speaker B: That's my homeboys, man. That's the brand most hated look out for. [00:02:33] Speaker A: Yeah. What's up? Most hated? [00:02:34] Speaker B: Hell, yeah, dude. [00:02:36] Speaker A: That's what's up. So it's just a clothing brand? Okay. Yeah, yeah. That's what's up, man. So we got introduced just now, and I'm asus Jesus Hernandez, and we got. I got put onto you by Javier. [00:02:49] Speaker B: Yes, sir. That's my boy. He's been one of my. Been coming to me for a long time. You know, I always say, I hate using the word client, okay. Because clients, like, I don't know. It's not personal. You know what I mean? Like, that's my boy. You know what I mean? That's not my client. It's my boy, you know? [00:03:02] Speaker A: Yeah. Not just a business transaction. [00:03:05] Speaker B: I know his family. He knows my family type deals. You know what I mean? [00:03:08] Speaker A: Yeah, that's what's up. [00:03:08] Speaker B: So, yeah, build that relationship with your people, you know? [00:03:11] Speaker A: Yeah. He was mentioning. He was like, yeah, that guy cuts his story. I was like, oh, okay. Sounds pretty cool. You know what I mean? Let's get it going. And actually, I. It's funny because he mentioned you, and I saw his picture, right? I was like, hey, I work alongside that guy over there at the plant. [00:03:26] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. [00:03:26] Speaker A: And I seen him, right? And I was like, hey, that's that guy. So I go and see him, and then we were communicating, and I told him, hey, man, I'm trying to get your boy on. You know, I'm trying to message him, and he's like, oh, that's you? I was like, yeah, that's me, bro. So, yeah, shout out to him, man. [00:03:41] Speaker B: That's corpus, man. Everybody gonna run into somebody somewhere. [00:03:44] Speaker A: Yeah. So you're from Corpus? [00:03:45] Speaker B: No, I've been down here. I think I've been going on, like, eight years down here. I had. I was down here ten years ago. I was down here for, like, nine months. Checked it out. I bounced out to Cali, went back to Milwaukee, and then came back here. But I'm originally from Wisconsin. From Milwaukee, Wisconsin. [00:04:00] Speaker A: No kidding? [00:04:01] Speaker B: Yeah. It's a crazy story. Javier says it's crazy how, like, I ended up in corpus was no live off of Facebook posting. [00:04:08] Speaker A: No way. [00:04:08] Speaker B: Because I'm telling you, man, I used to be on it, like, on my grind, you know? So I used to always post, like, even by the time I came down here, I was already, like, four years into cutting hair. You know what I'm saying? So, like. But every day when I would go to the shop, I check in every day. Yo, open the clothes, open and close. Just heading out, sun up to sundown, you know? Every day. [00:04:27] Speaker A: Every day. [00:04:27] Speaker B: Every day. Every day. And there was a barber owner down here. He had hit me up and was like, hey, bro, you ever think about coming down the corpus? And I was like. And at that time, I was just. Just getting off of probation. I was just going through a little split, you know what I'm saying? With my chick that I was with at the time, and I was like, you know what? Like, I need to get away. You know what I'm saying? Like, maybe I should go check it out. Probation. I can move around how I want to. And he thought I was. He thought I was. He thought I was bullshitting, you know what I mean? He didn't know that I was really gonna come 1300 miles down. And I said, hey, bro, I get off of probation, like, in a month. I said, give me two months after that, I'll be there. And he's like, get out of here. You know what I mean? Ain't no way. In no way. And then finally I called him. I said, hey, bro, I already found a spot down there. I got a house locked in. [00:05:12] Speaker A: Seriously. And he. [00:05:13] Speaker B: And I popped up, and he's like, bro, I told you, you got a chair down here? When you. [00:05:16] Speaker A: How the hell, bro? [00:05:17] Speaker B: And then not. And then probably. It took me, like, probably six months when I came here to build my clientele, to fully book working six days a week. [00:05:25] Speaker A: Six months. [00:05:26] Speaker B: Yeah, six months. But that's open to close. Open, close shop hours. I asked, you know, at that time, there was only a less than a handful of barbershops that were actually open on Mondays. So I had asked him, like, hey, bro, I'm used to working every day. I don't know about the five days a week thing. Like, you think I could come in on Mondays? And he's like, man, like. Like, yeah, I don't know if. No, everybody's gonna even know we're open. You know what I'm saying? [00:05:48] Speaker A: Stuff like that. [00:05:49] Speaker B: And he said, but I'll post it. You know, I let everybody know that you're open. [00:05:53] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:05:53] Speaker B: And I just started taking off on Mondays. I started building my clientele up like that dope. I built a lot of my clientele off the military and stuff like that. Word of mouth. Word of mouth. Just talking to people. And, yo, I'm not from here either. You know what I mean? And they're like, oh, okay. We'll send people this way, man. I appreciate it. You know what I mean? Always, always, always telling people, you know, like, I appreciate your business and appreciate you sending me people. And that's how that's really. Like, I rarely advertise as much as I should, you know, but I have word of mouth, and I have my clientele, my loyal clientele that's been with me for years. [00:06:23] Speaker A: Yeah. So the first clientele piece of clientele was from Facebook or a little bit. [00:06:28] Speaker B: A little bit Instagram. [00:06:29] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:06:31] Speaker B: Had to try to use what I could when I was down here. I knew nobody. Like, I had nobody down here. No, no. I got one of my dad's cousins down here. You know what I mean? She's a little older, you know, like, I had no clientele down here, so. [00:06:44] Speaker A: So, okay, so you've. So you had family. One person that lived out here in corpus. Yeah, they're from here, or they're from. [00:06:50] Speaker B: They're from. [00:06:50] Speaker A: Okay, okay, so. All right, so you do kind of have ties with somebody here in corpus, but you were born in Milwaukee? [00:06:56] Speaker B: Yes, sir. [00:06:56] Speaker A: Whoa, that's crazy. Okay. Yeah, man, that's awesome, dude, that sounds like a long journey. So you must have been through a lot of stuff. You mentioned probation, bro. [00:07:03] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:07:03] Speaker A: So it's been a while, or. [00:07:05] Speaker B: Yeah, it's been a while, man. I've been off of probation and everything like that for about, like, since, I think, 2014, when I was done. Completed with everything. Yeah. [00:07:16] Speaker A: So were you trying to find other types of jobs before? Cutting hair. [00:07:20] Speaker B: Yeah. Like, I had. I did a little time or whatever. And when I had got out, one of my homeboys that I was working for before, he was doing construction, and when I came home, I started working for him, right? And when I was working for him, and this is no lie, this one on a fluke, we had a job that was like 45 minutes out. We get lost, whatever. We're like an hour and plus change out now. And on the ride back, he's like, yo, like, he called me wing. Cause I was everybody's wingman. I was a right hand man. I was a wing man, right? So he's like, yo, what do you want to do? And I was like, I want to go home, fool. [00:07:54] Speaker A: What you mean? [00:07:56] Speaker B: Lost all day? And it said, like, I want to go home. He's like, nah, man. Like, what do you want to do future wise? And I was like, man, like, what you mean, bro? And he's like, bro, like, I don't want you to jump back in the streets, and I can't. I can't give you what I want you to have. What you should have. You know what I'm saying? Like, I can't give you insurance, and I can't give you. You know what I'm saying? Guaranteed, you know? Cause, you know, in a construction, it's a. You know, you never know when it's gonna be busy, slow, whatever. [00:08:24] Speaker A: Yes. [00:08:25] Speaker B: So all of a sudden, he's like, man, what do you like to do? And I was like, hustle. Like, that's what I like to do. That's what I was good at. That's all. You know what I mean? Like, that's really what I thought. Like, for a real long time. Like, the streets was the only thing for me when I got locked up. Like, people would be like, hey, what you gonna do when you get home? Shit. Run it up again. [00:08:41] Speaker A: Go back to what I was running back. [00:08:43] Speaker B: I don't know nothing else. You know what I'm saying? Like, I wasn't the best in school. Not at all. You know what I mean? Like, I graduated. Yeah. But, like, man, I finessed my way through school, you know what I mean? And it's none. Like I'm not ashamed of it now because I learned from a lot of things, you know what I'm saying? So I learned how to finesse my way. But on a cool, like, I graduated with, like, a third and fourth grade reading level and comprehension and stuff like that. And it took me to go to jail to sit in that cell and teach myself how to read and write. You know what I mean? Off of reading books. Off of reading, like, hood books. They're like urban books, you know what I'm saying? They're like hood stories, you know? And that's what kept me, like, reading, reading. And once my mom found out that I could. That I was reading, she was like, whatever you need, whatever books you want, just tell me what it is, and I'm sending them. Send them. So she sent him. Send him. And, you know, I swear to, when I first got locked up and I would write my mom, it'd probably be like a little paragraph, you know what I'm saying? A little paragraph. And then probably about six, seven months in, yo, I'm doing pages back in front, you know what I mean? Just writing, writing, writing. And so I literally taught myself how to read and write, like, when I was locked up. [00:09:41] Speaker A: Wow. Amazing, dude. [00:09:42] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:09:43] Speaker A: So back in school, in your school days, like, so what would you. Was it like? Cause I was like that too. When I. When I got to college, I had to take remedial classes, bro. And every single word, I had to look it up in the dictionary to try to figure out what it meant. And I'm trying to figure out, like, how did I. How did it get to where I graduated? And I was like that, you know, I'm saying, like, so do you. Was it something that caused you to not, like, learn? Was it the teaching style? [00:10:12] Speaker B: Do you think they, like, you know, said I had a learning disability, you know what I'm saying? Like, early ages, like first grade, you know what I mean? But back then, when I was, you know, I'm 40. I'm 40. I'm gonna be 41 Friday. So back then, like, they didn't have all the different stuff that they have now for kids, you know what I'm saying? Different learning techniques and stuff like that. So it was basically. They were embarrassing you, you know what I'm saying? Taking a few kids that did have a learning disability, taking them out of the classroom and, you know, doing certain things with them, bringing them back and this, that. And it was. It was. It was a rough one, man. No lie. It was rough. It was rough from being, you know, being picked down, bullied, and fighting all the time, going to school, like, yeah, I fought a lot. Like, my mom, she tried to, like, we grew up primarily in the hood, you know what I'm saying? And my mom, she was a grinder, too, and she wanted to try to get us a better way, you know what I'm saying? So she signed. She signed me and my sister up to, like, go to school as a program. It was called like, the chapter 220 program, where they took, like, kids from the hood and they brought them in like, the nicer neighborhoods, you know what I'm saying? To try to give them a better chance, you know? [00:11:13] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:11:13] Speaker B: But at that time, and like the early nineties, yo, it was a lot of racism, you know what I'm saying? [00:11:18] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:11:18] Speaker B: So everywhere, you know, so it was different, man. It was going to school with a lot of whites, and it was only a handful of us, you know what I'm saying? The Mexicans, blacks and. [00:11:27] Speaker A: Wow. [00:11:27] Speaker B: So it was different, man. [00:11:28] Speaker A: Wow, that is different. [00:11:30] Speaker B: And then especially like a. On top of that, you know, my years have always been like this, you know what I'm saying? So, hey, my, you know, my pops told me at a young age, you know, I remember coming home, you know, calling them and crying, like, hey, they keep picking on me. He says, son, you don't have to stick up for yourself because no one else is. Like, as soon as they open their mouth, Jake, handle business. Handle business. No, no arguing, no back and forth. Handle business right away. [00:11:52] Speaker A: Wow. [00:11:52] Speaker B: I mean, I took a couple l's doing that. [00:11:55] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:11:57] Speaker B: But I swear to you, by 3rd, 4th grade, they knew what time they already knew. They. Everybody already. [00:12:01] Speaker A: How else are they gonna learn to. [00:12:02] Speaker B: Jump out there with them? If you want to, you gonna get hands. [00:12:05] Speaker A: That's dope, man. Wow. [00:12:06] Speaker B: I've been a shit talking person ever since. [00:12:09] Speaker A: Damn, man. Wow. You gotta do that, man. Yeah. You gotta stick up for yourself, man. [00:12:14] Speaker B: You have to. Yeah. And it was like I said, it was a little rougher back then. They didn't have people getting in trouble for bullying and stuff like that back then, you know what I'm saying? There wasn't no telling on somebody and you know what I mean? Like, that's just gonna make things worse. Me and my, a one man, still to this day, man, still my best friend since first grade. [00:12:29] Speaker A: Wow. [00:12:30] Speaker B: Yeah, me and him, we teamed up. [00:12:32] Speaker A: Yeah, we teamed up. [00:12:35] Speaker B: We weren't taking no L's. That's for sure. We weren't taking no L's. [00:12:37] Speaker A: We got divad Zajtraman. He said, happy birthday. [00:12:41] Speaker B: Thank you. Appreciate you. Thank you. [00:12:42] Speaker A: Yeah, man. Yeah, I turned 42 in November. Yeah, dude, I see. I seen you pumping that iron, bro. So you said you slowed down a little bit. [00:12:52] Speaker B: Yeah, no, I fell off, bro. I fell off. Yeah, man. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I went through some things, some personal stuff, and I had just fell off and I needed to. Need to get back on, though, you know what I'm saying? That's the outlet for me, for real. Right, bro? [00:13:05] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, we were talking about that on the. On the live stream earlier, that for people, like. Cause I made ADHD. I've been through all that stuff, too. I didn't really fight a lot. I just kind of ignored everything. But, yeah, having an outlet we were mentioning is one, like, mine was music. I played guitar. That was my outlet, you know what I mean? And then, of course, I had to be. I mean, I didn't have to be, but I chose to be in, like, sports, football and stuff like that. Cause my dad had me in since I was nine, eight years old, so I knew that. And that was another outlet because I had trouble communicating with people. You know what I mean? I didn't communicate at all. So one of the outlets was beating football because I got to, like, physically hit somebody. [00:13:46] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. [00:13:46] Speaker A: Without getting in trouble, you know what I mean? So I liked that part, you know what I mean? And then I lifted weights, of course, too, and that's. I kind of have a small love for that as well. When I saw you doing them 110s, bro, on both hands. Shoot, that's dope. Yeah, man. So that's cool. So you grew up in Milwaukee, and you and your friend, a one, handled it together. [00:14:06] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:14:07] Speaker A: So you learned all that, and then so you. When you were inside, you were. You were reading a lot. You taught yourself how to read. [00:14:13] Speaker B: Yeah, I actually got a culinary arts degree when I got locked up. [00:14:16] Speaker A: Nice. [00:14:16] Speaker B: Yeah, I got it. I got my culinary arts degree there. Prior, before going in, I was working in kitchens for a couple, like, six, seven years or so, working in and out of kitchens. I worked at a german restaurant for, like, two years, italian restaurant for like, six, seven years. So it's pretty dope. [00:14:31] Speaker A: Wow. So you couldn't. So you couldn't see yourself continuing in that path. [00:14:36] Speaker B: It's like, cooking is cool. Like, I dig it. You know what I'm saying? This is cool. But working wise, bro, you got to have. You got to have a different level of patience, you know what I mean? You work with a lot of people, a lot of stuff, a lot of arguments in the kitchen. Stressful. You know, it's stressful. It's not like that. That shit on tv where they're smiling when they're cooking. You know what I mean? [00:14:53] Speaker A: It's just. [00:14:54] Speaker B: It's a hell story. And there's a storm in there in the kitchens, you know, big shout out props. Everybody in them kitchens, man. [00:14:59] Speaker A: Yeah, no kidding. Yeah. [00:15:01] Speaker B: We appreciate you. [00:15:02] Speaker A: Yeah, definitely. Yeah, yeah. And you. And you don't own your own business, so do you own your. Own your own business, right? [00:15:09] Speaker B: Yeah, I own my own barber shop. Yep. And I also. I breed dogs, too. [00:15:12] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, I've seen that on your. On your page. So what are they, Frenchies? Yeah. [00:15:15] Speaker B: Yes, sir. [00:15:15] Speaker A: Okay, so there's a whole. Whole thing going on with that. [00:15:18] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. Little dibble and dabbling in it. You know. I've been going in it for about, like, three years now, so, like, about three, four years. [00:15:24] Speaker A: So you breed them and then you. You sell them? [00:15:27] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:15:27] Speaker A: Okay. Okay. So they're pretty popular. How do you do? How do you go about selling them? [00:15:31] Speaker B: I use social media, friends, family, word of mouth, stuff like that. Like, social media is like this. Last two litters ago, I had flew out to Memphis, dropped the dog off, and jumped right back on a plane and hit back over here. [00:15:42] Speaker A: Wow. [00:15:43] Speaker B: So, yeah, yeah, that's. [00:15:44] Speaker A: So. So they sell pretty good. Like, are the prices on them pretty good? [00:15:48] Speaker B: They were really good. The market's pretty flooded right now, so it's like, you know, everybody's low balling right now, but, you know, it's. It's just like anything else, man. It's a wave. You got to ride, you know, it's expensive. Wave to ride, though, you know? Yeah, man, seven. I got seven at my house right now. Yeah, yeah. [00:16:02] Speaker A: Wow. So you got to raise those. Wow. That's got to be a lot. How did you get into that? That, so from. So you cut in hair and then you figure you find out about this type of side. Side gig or. [00:16:12] Speaker B: Yeah, like, so, you know, I've always been cutting hair. I was grinding it out here in corpus. I had rented out my own private suite. I did that for two years out of salon by JC. And I was there, and one day I got to sitting down and I was like, yo, like, I need my own shop. You know what I'm saying? Like, but I don't want a big shop. I never wanted no big shop. I wanted, you know, small, tight knit circle, you know what I'm saying? And I got. Doing the math on what I was saving, you know what I mean? And I'm like, man, it's going to take me two years before I hit my mark. What I want, what I'm comfortable with, jumping out there with, and, yo, out of the fluke, yo, everything happens for a reason, you know what I'm saying? [00:16:48] Speaker A: Interesting. [00:16:49] Speaker B: And I jump, jump on Facebook, and one of the homies was. Was counting out money on there, right? And he's like, 3001 week in a barbershop. [00:16:58] Speaker A: One week. [00:16:58] Speaker B: In one week. And I said. And I saw. I hit him. You know, a close mouth. Don't get fed. You know what I'm saying? Like, I hate when somebody says, like, oh, this dude did what he did. If he did it right, you better follow suit. You know what I'm saying? Like, if he's going the right direction right, you need to go in that direction, too. [00:17:13] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:17:13] Speaker B: So I hit him up. No shame. My game. Hey, bro. Like, hey, where you work at? And he tells me, Odessa. [00:17:19] Speaker A: Oh. [00:17:20] Speaker B: And I said, oh, yeah. I said, you getting it? Like that? He was like, bro, I only work in the evenings. I'm only working five, 6 hours a day. [00:17:28] Speaker A: Wow. [00:17:29] Speaker B: He's like, I take off one, two days a week, too. And I said, and you're making that much? And he was like, bro, out here, there's a two hour waiting list. And I'm like, two hour waiting list? I'm like, nah. Hell, no. You're crazy. And he said, yeah, bro. Hey, I'm gonna tell the owner to hit you up on instagram. Let him check out your work. Owner hits me up in 15 minutes. It's a Tuesday. I never forget it. He's like, what's up, Johnny? Hey, man, I see your work. I need you out here. Come out here. Come get this money. I said, man, is there really money out there like that? [00:17:58] Speaker A: Yes, that. [00:17:58] Speaker B: I'll tell you what. You come out here for two days, if you don't make a $1,000 in two days. He was like, I'll give you whatever you didn't make. You make. Only make five. In two days, I'll give you 500. And I said, you know what? I'm gonna take you up on that. I'll be there Saturday. He's like, you for real? And I said, bro, I don't. About the bag. I don't play, bro. [00:18:17] Speaker A: I'm on it, bro. [00:18:18] Speaker B: So, hey, canceled some appointments Saturday. Hey, jump. Jumped in a whip, hit it out there, ran it up. Made. I worked 12 hours. I made 980 in 12 hours. And I was like, yeah, this is a move now, then. So I just. I did it for a year straight. I told myself a year. One year, I gave myself. I went out there. November 1 was my first day out there in 2018, and November 1, 2019, I opened my shop. [00:18:44] Speaker A: Wow. You saved all that money in one year? [00:18:47] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:18:48] Speaker A: Wow. Damn. That's discipline. Right there, bro. [00:18:50] Speaker B: Just grinding it, though. Just grinding it. Driving odessa every week, I was still having to come back, you know what I'm saying? Every week I leave every Wednesday. I come back every Sunday, bro. [00:18:59] Speaker A: Wow. That's grinding, bro. Props, man. That's awesome, dude. Do you. So, man, that. That's a lot of money to handle, bro. Do you. Do you have. Do you find yourself having. How do you. How do you handle your money? Like, as far as, like, this? [00:19:12] Speaker B: Horrible. [00:19:13] Speaker A: Yeah. You see what I mean? [00:19:15] Speaker B: Like, the more I make, the more I spend. [00:19:17] Speaker A: Exactly, bro. Exactly. So you ain't got a budget? You ain't trying to mess with no budget? [00:19:21] Speaker B: No, I didn't count. I've never been like that, yo. I've always been. [00:19:26] Speaker A: Nobody had, I don't think. [00:19:27] Speaker B: But I think it's because for where we come from, you know what I'm saying? Different. Like, eight. I've always lived by. Tomorrow's not promised, you know what I'm saying? I'm gonna save all this money and not do what with it, you know? I'm not gonna work my ass off every day and not have fun. Not let my kids see fun stuff and not let them do things. You know what I mean? It's cool. If that's your thing, that's cool. You know what I'm saying? Stack your money and don't spend it. Be. Hold on in pockets as long as you can. [00:19:49] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. [00:19:50] Speaker B: For me, I'm gonna run it up no matter what. If I'm broke today, I'm gonna go to work tomorrow. You know what I mean? I'm do my thing, how to make the money. I gotta make it. You know, I'm saying? I gotta make it. [00:19:59] Speaker A: That's cool. So your daughter is in. My daughter's eight. And, yeah, we're teaching her about money, and we're kind of. We're more on the conservative side of money. Like, we save it. We put it away. Of course, we spend some of it. You know what I mean? Stuff like that. And so I'm teaching her, like, this is where money comes from. You clean your room, you get $5 on Friday. You know what I mean? Because if you're just giving them the money, they're gonna grow up thinking, well, I gotta get money for mom and dad. That's where money comes from. [00:20:26] Speaker B: I got three daughters. Yeah. [00:20:28] Speaker A: Yeah. So you got three? Oh, man. No boys? [00:20:31] Speaker B: Nope. I got seven. My son that passed away. [00:20:34] Speaker A: Oh, sorry, man. [00:20:34] Speaker B: Yeah, no, it's good. My daughter, she's seven years old. I have a daughter that's twelve years old, and I have my 17 year old that's gonna graduate this year. [00:20:43] Speaker A: Wow, dude. Oh, my God. Wow. So, so you're raising them? Do you cut their hair? Somebody else cuts their hair? [00:20:49] Speaker B: Nah, we have somebody cut their hair. I used to cut my daughter's hair. I used to cut their hair when, you know, just little trims and stuff like that. My little ones always like, yeah, you can't cut my hair. I'm bald like you. I'm like, all right, cool. [00:21:02] Speaker A: That's awesome, man. So you, so you started cutting hair. So, did you, did you. Were you, were you dealing? Like, were you involved in, like, drugs and stuff like that before? Like, how do you make that lifestyle change? You know? [00:21:16] Speaker B: It was. It was kind of getting back to that one, man. It was kind of like a easy switch once somebody explained it to me. You know what I'm saying? So I had one of my homeboys, I'm like, man, like I would. When I first started, I was kind of coming and going for the first week, you know what I mean? Like, man, well, I don't have nothing to do. I'm gonna leave, you know, this, that. So my homeboy pulls up, is that. Hey, he's like, remember when we were getting money? You know, he's like, this is your trackpile, star. This is your spot. [00:21:42] Speaker A: Mmm. [00:21:43] Speaker B: Don't leave your spot. And you don't miss no licks. And I said, damn. You know what? You're right. So I got to stay in here and grind it out. [00:21:49] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:21:50] Speaker B: That's exactly what I did. The same way, you know, same. Same mentality you have in the street. You can. You can switch that. You know what I'm saying? You can just revert it into whatever you're trying to get it, you know? [00:21:59] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:21:59] Speaker B: So that's, that's. I just learned that. Learn how to do it. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, do it. Hey, man, my first year, Barbara and I used to tell everybody, man, if I made a $100 that day, I spent 150. You figured out. [00:22:13] Speaker A: So. So I paid that. I own a brand. I have to pay taxes on the wholesale stuff that I buy. How do you deal with that? [00:22:19] Speaker B: It's horrible. That's horrible. It's like the biggest l I've ever taken, and it's nothing I can do about it. [00:22:25] Speaker A: Worse than. Is it worse than in the streets having to deal with the tax man? [00:22:28] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:22:31] Speaker A: You could. [00:22:32] Speaker B: You could duck him. You could do whatever you need to do with him. You ain't ducking Uncle Sam, boy, that man coming every faithfully, he's coming. Both hands out. Both hands out. Hold on to the ankles like it's over. Yeah, that's. That's. That's a rough one, man. It's rough on barbers, man. [00:22:47] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. So do you. So you have to have a license, or how do you tax. So you tax the person and then you pay an amount on that tax or what? Or you know what I'm like. [00:22:58] Speaker B: I charge booth rent for the people that rent for me. [00:23:00] Speaker A: Okay. Oh, okay. [00:23:01] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:23:02] Speaker A: Okay. So you own your shop. People are renting the. The chair or the booth. [00:23:05] Speaker B: Yes. [00:23:05] Speaker A: From. So that's part that. So that's a whole business in itself. Yes. Cutting air. [00:23:09] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:23:09] Speaker A: Wow. So you got to keep track of that. [00:23:11] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:23:12] Speaker A: Okay. Okay. How many boosts do you have in your. [00:23:15] Speaker B: Seven. Seven of. There's seven booths. I have. It's six of us in there right now. [00:23:19] Speaker A: Okay. [00:23:19] Speaker B: I'm not really too, like, kind of picky about who I let in. I got a cool vibe, though, you know what I'm saying? I don't want to throw off our vibe. Like, everything is cool. Everybody's chilling, joking, clowning with each other and stuff like that. And I got a stump down team, man. Everybody's good. You know what I'm saying? [00:23:34] Speaker A: How do you find yourself, like, vetting or not vetting? Like, figuring out who you want in there. Like, do you interview them, or. [00:23:41] Speaker B: I mean, do you sometimes, like word of mouth? Most of the time, you know what I mean? It's mostly word of mouth. A lot of people get referred. I got a lot of homes. Homeboys that own barbershops, man. Shout out to all my homeboys, you know, hey, we're all going through it together, you know, I mean, and for real? For real. There's a lot of homeboys that send people their way, send us our way, you know what I mean? Like, so everybody shows love, you know? [00:24:00] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, so what's some of the things that you try to avoid? Like, what's some of the. Some of the stuff you try to avoid in your shop as far as the culture goes in there? [00:24:10] Speaker B: And I just. And I try to duck the hood vibe, man. Like, like, I just want my people to feel comfortable in there, you know what I'm saying? Everybody feel comfortable. You know, we don't got to be worrying about nothing going on in there and stuff like that, but, you know, you control that by who you hire, right? You know what I'm saying? You can choke that's who you hire is the vibe you're gonna get. [00:24:29] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:24:30] Speaker B: Because you're gonna go to the barber. Your barber. And you guys got a vibe already, you know what I'm saying? You don't have to be on that other shit, you know, I'm saying. It's pretty cool, though. Yeah. It's a. It's a ride, and it's different working with different people that come from different walks of life, you know? [00:24:44] Speaker A: Yeah, right on. Like, so hood vibe is like. Like just people bringing in bad business in here. [00:24:49] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:24:50] Speaker A: Talking about it. [00:24:51] Speaker B: Yeah. There's a certain place in time you talk freely, you know what I'm saying? About certain things. [00:24:55] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:24:56] Speaker B: You know, sometimes some people don't have filters, you know what I mean? And we have. We have. I personally cut up several cops, you know what I'm saying? And so I try to make it, you know what I'm saying? But they understand. They're cool with it, you know. [00:25:08] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:25:08] Speaker B: They're trying to. [00:25:09] Speaker A: You know, I had a Jackie. I don't remember her last name, but she braids hair. [00:25:13] Speaker B: She. [00:25:16] Speaker A: Was on the podcast a while back. We were talking about. We talking about. Touched on that topic also. [00:25:21] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:25:21] Speaker A: And she was mentioning, like, how, you know, you have families or kids come in here or whatever, and y'all are talking about something happening at club or whatever. I don't know what y'all talk about. And that's. That's just. It's difficult to have, especially if you're trying to have client, you know. [00:25:36] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:25:36] Speaker A: More clientele come in, and I think. [00:25:39] Speaker B: That'S all on the barber, you know what I'm saying? Because, like, in a conversation, if. If I know the person next to me is cutting up somebody, maybe that's not about that life, you know what I'm saying? And I know who I'm cutting up and how they talk. And, you know, some. You know, some people talk loud, you know, so you can hear what's going on. So then you, as a barber, you got to divert that conversation, you know? You gotta spin that. You know, spin that conversation to something else. Hey, how's the family doing? [00:26:05] Speaker A: You know, so do cut. So when you're conversing like that, do you come the all converse, but do barbers curse? Whatever? Uh, uh, uh. Have a conversation with another barber or another client all at the same time? [00:26:17] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. [00:26:17] Speaker A: Like. Yeah, like all the traditional barbershop. [00:26:20] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. We had it all time. We're always in there joking, clowning with each other across the shop. Everybody's in there. [00:26:25] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's awesome, man. That's a cool. Yeah. [00:26:29] Speaker B: Talk shit. [00:26:29] Speaker A: Equally, equally, equally, equally as well. Do I ever compare, like, tips or like, how much money I'll make now? [00:26:37] Speaker B: We actually, at our shop, we got a little running joke. It's like, hey, bro, what time you here tonight? I leave at seven. What time you leave at nine. All right, sucker. Like, you know what I'm saying? Just climbing like that. And then at the same time we're on each other. Like, we shop opens up at ten. Most of my barbers get there a little bit earlier, or they come at 10:00. I got barbers that start at 730 in the morning. You know what I mean? My boy heck out there getting it. Edgar's out there getting it. Seven in the morning. 730 in the morning. You know, he was just there at the shop when I was leaving. Two more heads are walking in that he had. So that's Sunday money. You know what I mean? [00:27:12] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:27:12] Speaker B: That's how you knock that booth right. [00:27:14] Speaker A: As I do it. Yeah. So you're got the talking about that your. Your guy, your guys in their shop, the ones that work for you, do you ever get to the. To the point where y'all are. Y'all, like, because we're talking about mental health earlier? Like, do y'all talk. Do you talk about that stuff with your. Your workers, or is it just strictly like. Oh, there's not. [00:27:36] Speaker B: I think we do. I think. I think you could probably say that because we probably. We're really cool with each other. Like, everybody's really cool with each other. So if somebody's going through something, you know what I'm saying? [00:27:44] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:27:44] Speaker B: If they speak on it, we're gonna. You know what I mean? We help each other out and do what we gotta do, you know, I've been, you know, I've been a barber for, you know, a while, and I've owned a shop for a while, and I've come close with a lot of barbers. You know what I'm saying? That. That work with me, that have worked for me. You know what I mean? And it's. I know this business, you know what I mean? It's a grimy business, man. People come and go, you know what I mean? [00:28:05] Speaker A: And people. [00:28:05] Speaker B: You just got to understand that. And sometimes, yeah, it hurts being a bar, you know, like, you build a friendship with people, and then if they leave or they go somewhere else, to another shop, it's kind of like, damn. Like, that's how it feels, you know, but it's business. [00:28:19] Speaker A: Okay. [00:28:20] Speaker B: But how, whatever. At the end of the day, whatever the reason they left, that's for them. You know what I'm saying? And I got to respect you. [00:28:26] Speaker A: I let it go. [00:28:26] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. I don't have hard feelings for nobody, you know what I'm saying? That work for me and stuff like that. But, you know, when. When tragic stuff happens in a shop, you know, family, something happens, you know what I'm saying? And you really see who's. Who's riding with you, you know? [00:28:40] Speaker A: Yeah, for sure. I think I read the Bible. I think it was, uh. There's a verse where it says, like, when, basically, when somebody's there for you in your bad times, they're there. They're there for you in their good times, not necessarily the way. [00:28:53] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:28:53] Speaker A: Therefore, you in the good times, and I there for the bad time. [00:28:55] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. I mean, you see it for sure. [00:28:58] Speaker A: So you mentioned that the business of haircutting. So I assume there's other. There's barbers or owners that are not as like that, like you are. As far as leaving business, business people leaving. There could be, yes. [00:29:11] Speaker B: Some people take it personal, you know what I'm saying? And it just depends on each situation. You know, some barbershop owners invest in barbers, you know what I'm saying? They give people time. I've had people personally work for me and be like, yo, hey, I'm gonna charge you this until you get your feet, you know what I'm saying? And so if I'm going out of my way, I'm taking money out of my pocket for you to get right and then for you to bounce when you do get right, you know what I'm saying? You might feel some type of way about that, you know? [00:29:40] Speaker A: That's good, man. Why do you. I mean, why do you find yourself. How do you find yourself doing that? Like, is there, like, have you been always been, like, a caring person in that way, or. [00:29:49] Speaker B: I think because I've been blessed with people that are around me that care for me, you know what I'm saying? And when I first started at the barber shop, I had no clientele. I had no. I was trash cutting hair, you know what I'm saying? But I had guys around me that are blessed me with gay. I had. My boy thought that who used to own the barber shop I used to work at, he blessed me. He's like, yo, I'm only gonna charge you this month or this much, you know, I'm saying, per week until you get on your feet. But in the meantime, yo, if you want to come in early and you want to sleep, if you want to come in, you want to stay till late and mop up and, you know, we'll knock off boof rent. [00:30:22] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:30:22] Speaker B: And so that's what I did every day. I was there early to get some money off my boof rent, stay late, help them sweep up, do what I got to do, you know, try to. Try to. So you stay in it. [00:30:31] Speaker A: So you saw. So you. So what you saw, you. You're like, that helped me. [00:30:36] Speaker B: I just had to pay it forward now. And I. Yeah, I still do it. Yeah, I still do it. I still try to. Still try in any way, you know what I'm saying? [00:30:43] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:30:43] Speaker B: You know, sometimes we're able to. To help out, and sometimes, like, hey, man, I've had my barbers look out for me. You know what I'm saying? Like, hey, bro, I know you're going through it. Like, you know, hey, man, I appreciate it. You know what I mean? [00:30:53] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:30:53] Speaker B: So it's love, you know, it's like you shared. Yeah, that's those that bless you, you know what I mean? [00:30:59] Speaker A: So, yeah, so bless. So does that. Are you. Do you consider yourself, like, a spiritual person? Because you're saying, like, blessed. [00:31:06] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, no, I definitely, bro. I'm. I'm trying, but I'm trying to get more back into church, you know what I'm saying? I've been strong going to church for, like, nine months now. I volunteer at church unlimited on the west side. [00:31:17] Speaker A: Okay. [00:31:17] Speaker B: I do that every Wednesday. Every Wednesday morning from, like, 10:00 to 1212 30, we cut. And we cut people there. [00:31:24] Speaker A: Oh, no. [00:31:25] Speaker B: It's like. It's like. It's not really a. It's a. I guess you call it a church, but it's more like a mission place where they. They hand out food. They got a food pantry. You can go there, get. Exchange your clothes there. You can go get hygiene there, and you can get a haircut there. And before you can do all that, you can go and listen to the service that was done that Sunday. [00:31:45] Speaker A: Wow. [00:31:45] Speaker B: So, yeah, it's a real dope. It's real dope, man. It's real dope. There's a lot of people there that go unrecognized, you know what I'm saying? [00:31:51] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:31:52] Speaker B: And that really, you're faithful to being there every Wednesday and trying to give back, you know what I mean? Trying to give back. And so I've been on that. I miss one. I miss one Wednesday in nine months. [00:32:03] Speaker A: Wow. [00:32:04] Speaker B: So. But, yeah, I've been trying to make it. Making my presence there, man. I've been going there for a long time. I started doing that. I've been going strong for, like, nine months. But I started, like, ten years ago when I first came down to church, to churches. [00:32:16] Speaker A: Okay. [00:32:16] Speaker B: Yeah. And I started volunteering over there. They used to have a thing called take it to the streets. I don't know if you ever heard of that. They used to come down here over by the bus station. [00:32:25] Speaker A: Wow. [00:32:25] Speaker B: We cut hair out there. Go pray with the people out there, you know what I'm saying? Try to give them some. Break bread with them, you know what I mean? And stuff like that. But, yeah, yeah. [00:32:34] Speaker A: Just to be able to talk to those, to the homeless people out there, man, like, that's wild, bro. [00:32:39] Speaker B: It's wild. You know, some people think, like, every person out there is a drug user, you know what I'm saying? And it's. Once you get to meeting some of these people, bro, it's deeper than that. Bro, it's deeper than that. It's like some mental, like, mental health. Yeah, bro. They don't have nowhere to go, you know what I mean? Like, they don't want to be around there family, because they don't want their family to see them, what they're going through and stuff like that. Like, I've met some, man. I met some crazy. I met some. I met some crazy stories out there, man. I met some people with some deep stories out there. Yeah, it's crazy. [00:33:04] Speaker A: Wow. [00:33:04] Speaker B: It's crazy. And I get, like. Is shown plenty of love over there on the west side at the. At the church unlimited and stuff like that. Like, all the guys know me over there, you know? [00:33:11] Speaker A: Yeah, that's cool. [00:33:12] Speaker B: They all rock with me over there. [00:33:13] Speaker A: Yeah. So do you feel, like, so now. So it seems like giving of your time, like, that has been a part of your life, bro. [00:33:20] Speaker B: That helps. It helps. You know, I never realized, like, it was probably, like, two months ago or something. Like, the pastor has said something in church, and he was referring to when you give back. [00:33:31] Speaker A: Mm hmm. [00:33:32] Speaker B: When you give back, volunteering any. In any way. Not even volunteering, just in any way. When you give back, you could kind of don't think about your worries and you're thinking about somebody else's for a second, you know what I'm saying? So nine months ago, I feel like my world is, you know, saying everything's going crazy for me, you know? [00:33:50] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:33:51] Speaker B: And I just needed a couple hours out of the day to where I don't worry about me and I could focus on some. [00:33:56] Speaker A: Wow. [00:33:56] Speaker B: So it really helps me, you know what I'm saying? Like, it helps me mentally, you know what I'm saying? Like, to a. Like, it humbles you. Yeah. Is no other humbling experience, you know what I'm saying? Like, you know, I'm a big shoe head. I'm a shoe kind of sewer, you know, sneaker head, bro. [00:34:13] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:34:14] Speaker B: So for me, like, I'm always shoe checking, like, every. And I like, every shoe, you know what I mean? You know what I'm saying? But you know when you get around certain situations, when you're over there and you're like, and this homeboy don't even have matching shoes. Wow. [00:34:27] Speaker A: Crazy, bro. [00:34:28] Speaker B: I don't have masses. [00:34:29] Speaker A: Don't have. [00:34:30] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. And, yeah. But they go there and we put them on. You know what I'm saying? They get right when they leave there, man. [00:34:36] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:34:37] Speaker B: Right. Make it right. We get thanked and that thank you. It sounds crazy, bro. That them, them thank you from people that actually, you know, I always tell people, hey, if I walk out this door, right, and you're coming behind me and I hold the door for you, hey, I appreciate, you know what I'm saying? [00:34:52] Speaker A: Like, right. [00:34:52] Speaker B: It's just standard, though. [00:34:53] Speaker A: Right, right. [00:34:54] Speaker B: You courtesy. You do that to anybody. But when you finish cutting somebody's hair and they really appreciate that and they let you know, you're like a bro. Like, hey, I appreciate you doing this, man. [00:35:04] Speaker A: Wow. [00:35:05] Speaker B: It's different. It's a different type of feeling you get from that, man. [00:35:08] Speaker A: Yeah. Like, you actually did something. [00:35:09] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. [00:35:11] Speaker A: Like, you're doing something for them that they can't actually do bad. Like, yeah, yeah. [00:35:16] Speaker B: I'm not. There's nothing in return they can do for me. [00:35:18] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:35:19] Speaker B: You know what I'm saying? Yeah, I wouldn't like. Oh, you get people in there, too. Hey, can I give you a tip? No. Like, now you can't. Now you can't, bro. Well, thank you. You know what I'm saying? I thank you, or they kill me. Like, different, bro. [00:35:31] Speaker A: So, like, you give it to, you give them a haircut, but they don't have money. Like, so your exchange in that. In that instance would be them giving you money, but they can't because they don't. They don't have money. I mean, so that. That's awesome. [00:35:42] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:35:42] Speaker A: I find that awesome that you can, like, give to somebody and. And that. That what you brought up, like, not thinking about yourself for that few minutes. [00:35:51] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:35:51] Speaker A: Hours or whatever that you're doing, you're actually thinking about somebody else, and it pays. [00:35:56] Speaker B: Like, yo, I could sit here and try to finesse the story about it, but, like, I can only tell you from personal experience, bro. When you give back, that shit comes back. It might not come, like, you know, when you bless somebody, that blessing, like, even I bless all the time, you know, I'm saying? I look out. People that know me know what I do. You know what I'm saying? I'm not a person. That's all, you know, cameras, you know, hey, here, do this for you to say, I don't do that. You know what I'm saying? So when. When the more you give, you're gonna get them blessings back. And sometimes them blessings might not come to you, but they'll come to people around you, and having blessed people around you is a blessing. [00:36:33] Speaker A: Wow. [00:36:33] Speaker B: You know what I'm saying? [00:36:34] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. I like that. Because I like that there's, like. I don't know where it is in the Bible, but, like, it says, like, everything that you touch, it'll prosper or something like that, basically. Meaning, like, if you're. If your life is evolving or around, like, God, basically, you put in first or whatever, then everything will come into place. [00:36:58] Speaker B: Yeah. Oh, yeah. His timing. [00:37:00] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:37:00] Speaker B: We just got to keep doing our work. [00:37:01] Speaker A: Yeah. Gotta keep. Keep grinding, keep doing our thing and. [00:37:04] Speaker B: Yep. [00:37:05] Speaker A: People. I see that, too, because, like, I'll be, like, I'll be doing stuff for people or something and just out of. Out of the norm, because, like, just, like, in the workplace, bro, people are rude. They're mean to you, and then just doing something that's nice for them or even, like, giving, like, an enemy or somebody that doesn't, like, giving them a taco or something like that, that makes a difference, that that's part of you doing what, you know, that the right thing. And then, like, you're saying in return, it's gonna. It's gonna come back. [00:37:34] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. It's gonna come back every time. Yeah, every time. Yeah. [00:37:37] Speaker A: That's awesome, man. [00:37:38] Speaker B: There's. There. I mean, there's times, you know, this is business, bro. Businesses. No. Business is steady. You know what I'm saying? So it's a roller coaster, bro. You gotta ride them waves. Even when you're down. You got to just keep on going and remain in faith. [00:37:49] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:37:50] Speaker B: Everything happens for a reason. I stand on that one. You know what I'm saying? [00:37:53] Speaker A: Right on. [00:37:53] Speaker B: I was putting certain places in. In my life, some bad places. [00:37:57] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:37:58] Speaker B: But even in. Even in the worst places in my life, in jail, I've met some of the realest dudes that I still talk to right now that still. That were, like, speaking light into me, you know? Cuz I was young, you know, I was young and I was, you know, I was hard headed, you know? But they were like, yo, bro, chill out, bro. Like, hey, no, stop telling people that shit, you know, telling people, like, you know, I'm gonna go back out and get it down. Nah, nah, don't. Don't like that. Don't speak. Don't speak that into your existence, you know what I'm saying? And, you know, they. I used to tell people all the time, yeah, I'm coming back. I know it. [00:38:27] Speaker A: Wow. [00:38:27] Speaker B: I'm not naive, bro. Like, like, bro, you can't run a red light ten times, not expect to get hit. [00:38:33] Speaker A: Wow, dude, so you. So you thought you were gonna go back? [00:38:36] Speaker B: No, I knew I was, bro. [00:38:37] Speaker A: You knew you were gonna. [00:38:38] Speaker B: I knew. I felt it, bro. Like, I. As crazy as it sounds, bro, I used to dream of being in prison when I was a kid. [00:38:44] Speaker A: Are you serious? [00:38:45] Speaker B: Yeah, I swear to God, bro, I said dream. I have dreams. I used to have dreams, bro, like, that I'd be in prison and stuff like that. And then if she was a reality, bro. But you know, when you chase that life, that life will catch you. [00:38:55] Speaker A: I got you. Okay. [00:38:56] Speaker B: You chase that faith fast life that is gonna. [00:38:59] Speaker A: Come on, he's gonna hit you. [00:39:00] Speaker B: Yeah, the finish line, you know what I'm saying? [00:39:02] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:39:02] Speaker B: Come a lot faster than you think when you least expect it, you know, at the best times, man. [00:39:07] Speaker A: Like, did anybody, you know, like, like, die or pass away? Like. Like, in that. In that. In that game, I guess you could. [00:39:15] Speaker B: Say, oh, yeah, you know, had more. More ods. Be honest with you. A lot of my homeboys, like, a lot of. Lot of my people's, man, a lot of people that I know associated with and stuff like that have went down that road, you know? Wow, a lot of people, man. A lot of people. [00:39:29] Speaker A: Oh, man. [00:39:30] Speaker B: Drugs are real big in Milwaukee, bro. Real big. Real, real big. Yeah. So, wow. It comes with the territory, though, you know what I'm saying? It's like, hey, like I said, you run that red light ten times, you're gonna get hit once. [00:39:41] Speaker A: And, yeah, I talking to somebody along the lines of that, they were saying, like, you can find it in Milwaukee or wherever. [00:39:49] Speaker B: You find it in anywhere, bro. Anywhere. [00:39:51] Speaker A: Like, you can. I'm pretty sure you can find it here. Somewhere. [00:39:53] Speaker B: Anywhere. [00:39:53] Speaker A: Anywhere. He's what I'm saying. Yeah, yeah, it. That's. That's. That's crazy to me. [00:39:58] Speaker B: But at the same token, like, that's how I look at it now. You know what I'm saying? Like, damn, you could find drugs anywhere. But my mindset back then was, like, I could sell drugs anywhere. You know what I'm saying? [00:40:07] Speaker A: Mmm. [00:40:08] Speaker B: So I would. I used to go to. Man, they used to put me in all these drug and alcohol classes, and they used to be like, you know, people talking about all their addictions, and they come to me, you know, you got to speak. You know what I'm saying? I was like, yo, I'm not addicted to drugs. I'm addicted to selling. I promise I'm not addicted. I never done none of this shit they've done. [00:40:32] Speaker A: That's wild roll. Were your parents. Would your parents hustlers? Like. But, like, were they hustling to make money? [00:40:39] Speaker B: You know, mom, bro, she the biggest hustler I know. [00:40:42] Speaker A: So you learned it from her or. Huh? [00:40:43] Speaker B: No, I got my grind for my mom. I always tell people that, man. Growing up, my mom. My mom supported us and took care of us on her own. She was working 60, 70 hours a week. My mom got it in. Boy. I can't. You know. You know how you hear that saying, like, you got it out the mud, you know what I'm saying? I can never say that because my mom got us out the mud. [00:41:00] Speaker A: Wow. [00:41:01] Speaker B: And I'm saying, we just. She just put me on concrete for me to get it through. [00:41:05] Speaker A: So your pops wasn't around? [00:41:06] Speaker B: Yeah, I used to fuck my pops on the weekends. You know what I'm saying? [00:41:10] Speaker A: Okay, okay. [00:41:10] Speaker B: Pops on the weekends, stuff like that. My pops was always there. Always there. [00:41:14] Speaker A: Okay. [00:41:15] Speaker B: He's always there. [00:41:15] Speaker A: Wow. [00:41:16] Speaker B: And my pops used to work at a community center, and he used to work for a school that they had there. And then he was a mentor there at the school. Started out being security. He was the mentor. And then he went on. They had. They opened up a drug rehab place, and he was a program director there. [00:41:31] Speaker A: No. [00:41:32] Speaker B: Yeah, he was programming people over there, so he worked there for, like, 20 something years. But my mom, back in Wisconsin, we only have one electricity company, and my mom worked at that electricity company for, like, 40 something years. [00:41:43] Speaker A: Wow. [00:41:44] Speaker B: Yeah, she was 19. It was her first. [00:41:46] Speaker A: Are they still with us? [00:41:47] Speaker B: Yeah, my mom's at my house right now. She's visiting from Milwaukee. [00:41:50] Speaker A: You serious? Yeah. So, did she get a pretty good retirement coming out of there? [00:41:55] Speaker B: Put it in, though. She got them. She. She actually retired being a vice president, secretary. [00:42:01] Speaker A: Wow. [00:42:02] Speaker B: So, yeah, she was in that position for a while. [00:42:04] Speaker A: Oh, man. [00:42:04] Speaker B: Dude, so we. I literally, I could say, like, I got to see my mom, like, literally go from the bottom and work our way all the way up. My mom. I remember my mom used to work in a cubicle. You know what I'm saying? Like, one of them movies you see where it's just a bunch of cubicles, people in there going away at. And then my mom had her own office the size of a small apartment building. You know what I'm saying? [00:42:25] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:42:25] Speaker B: Downtown is dope to look back and think about it. [00:42:30] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:42:30] Speaker B: I'm saying, like, came so far, like, yo, she ain't never gave up. And I'm gonna tell you, man, I put my mom through hell. We all did, you know? I mean, well, I put my mom through hell. But I'll tell you, man, from the first. From the first case to the release date, my mom was there. [00:42:44] Speaker A: She was there. [00:42:44] Speaker B: Oh, man. Every day. Every day when I was in the feds, you only get 300 minutes a month to talk on the phone. And so I used to make it my point to break that down. I talked to my mom for ten minutes a day. [00:42:55] Speaker A: Wow, dude. [00:42:56] Speaker B: That was my scapegoat, though. You know what I'm saying? I was like, man, I was like, I needed that. You know what I mean? [00:43:00] Speaker A: Of course. [00:43:01] Speaker B: And sometimes my mom be like, yo, I want to come see you. And I'm like, no, I don't want you to come right now. Oh, man. I don't want business right now. Because, like, you know, when you go on business, you take your mind out of what you're in, you know? [00:43:10] Speaker A: Right, right. [00:43:11] Speaker B: And sometimes it fucks you up for a couple days, you know what I'm saying? To get back out of that depression and shit like that. So I was cool with my mom only coming a couple months, and when she did, though, it was. It was. It was live. Yeah, I needed that. Nothing like getting your mom's hugs, you know? [00:43:24] Speaker A: Yeah, definitely. [00:43:25] Speaker B: Feeling that embrace, you know? She did it, though, with me the whole way. [00:43:29] Speaker A: That's amazing. [00:43:30] Speaker B: And it's crazy. It's the one person, like, and my sister, my sister, my dad, everybody but my mom, dog. [00:43:36] Speaker A: Like, wow. [00:43:37] Speaker B: Like, nope. You're gonna do it, Johnny. Anything you do, look at what you do. I know what you do. You know what I'm saying? Whatever you've done, you put your mind to, and you do it. [00:43:44] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:43:44] Speaker B: You know, like, anything from the street to business. Like, you know, people thought I was crazy when I started messing with these Frenchies, you know? You're crazy. Spending all that money on them. Shit. It paid off. [00:43:55] Speaker A: Yeah, right. You got to try it out, too, like, somewhere. Scared to try. [00:43:58] Speaker B: They're scared to fail. [00:43:59] Speaker A: There you go. [00:44:00] Speaker B: Every. You know, I'm saying? Yeah, a lot of people will try a few things, but they're afraid to fail, though. [00:44:05] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:44:05] Speaker B: Most of the time, people try things when they know it's a. For sure. You know, that makes sense. So, you know, this is that pride of failing. [00:44:12] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:44:12] Speaker B: And I'm saying, and I. Man, I don't fail so many times in my life. I don't care anymore. [00:44:16] Speaker A: Yeah, and try it. Yeah, I got you. Like, in our culture, too. Like, we just sit back and check out. See? Look at that, guys. Look what's gonna happen. That's not me. Is that me? It's. You got to try, bro. You got. Do you have to be wanted? We're talking about entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship earlier. You got to learn how to fail. Oh, you have? Yeah, right. You got to learn how to fail. Like, I mean, look at you. Like, has there ever been, like, stuff that you tried and you failed? You're like, all right, I'm gonna try something else. [00:44:44] Speaker B: Selling drugs. If it was good, I'd be somewhere else. You know what I'm saying? You know, but, yeah. Failed at that. I failed at a couple jobs. You know what I'm saying? [00:44:53] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:44:54] Speaker B: But, yeah, for the most part, though, it's. You know, it's a roller coaster, man. It's life. Roller coaster. And I strongly believe in everything happens for a reason. I'm saying. So whether I lost a job or that I quit a job or got fired or it wasn't meant for me. [00:45:06] Speaker A: Another door will open up. [00:45:08] Speaker B: I'm a knock on one. [00:45:09] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:45:09] Speaker B: You know what I'm saying? I'm not going to wait for one to open. I'm a knock. [00:45:12] Speaker A: Oh, come on, bro. Yeah. Got to make it happen. Poppy game chachi. Appreciate joining. She said 100. Yeah, man, keep that 100. Yeah, I like. I like the fact that you were talking about your parents, bro. Like, okay. And we gave them hell, too. You know what I mean? Well, something that you learned from your. Your dad or your mom, they would tell you, and you're like, nah, you don't know what you're talking about. But do you think about it. You're. Now you're like, they were right. [00:45:35] Speaker B: You know, a lot of things. And, man, if my mom's watching this, man. A lot of things she said, man, a lot of things. You know, you look back and you think about some of the things, like, man, Johnny, you know, you gotta relax. You know? That was my mom saying all the time, johnny, relax, relax, relax, relax. And now I catch myself being older, and when them heated times come up, he's like, hey, relax. [00:45:56] Speaker A: Chill out. [00:45:57] Speaker B: Chill out. It's not that serious, man. My dad, now, my dad is another story, man. My dad is a wild one, boy. My dad's wild, bro. Yeah, my dad's a turn up. So he gives some crazy advice, but, yeah, yeah, my pops always been there, too, man. He's always been supportive of me. He's always, always been my rider, for real. Like, even when I was doing things I wasn't supposed to do, he'll tell me, you know what I'm saying? Like, hey, be careful, you know what I'm saying? Like, I know what you're doing, but be careful doing it, you know what I'm saying? And you need me. I'm here. Like, whatever it is. Whatever it is. [00:46:31] Speaker A: So he let so. So he's like, he'll let you. Like, he knows what you're doing, but he'll let you figure it out as. [00:46:37] Speaker B: Soon as I turn 18. That man told me, do whatever you want to do, but do it whatever you're going to do. You want to work, work hard, do it. You want to hustle, say, you don't have to do it. Like, you should take what comes with it, you know what I'm saying? Because a lot of shit comes with it, you know? It's not sweet no more. Yeah, the game's not sweet, and that's just over with. [00:46:57] Speaker A: It's like you were talking about, like how, like, in schools, like. Like bullying, safe space and all that stuff. Like, once people get out, as kids get out of school, they got a whole world waiting for them, man. [00:47:08] Speaker B: And these kids today, boy, it's trouble. It's hard again. I think it's harder nowadays. No, lie on kids nowadays. Hard, bro. You got to think we didn't come up with all the stuff that we've come given our kids, you know what I'm saying? [00:47:20] Speaker A: Right? [00:47:21] Speaker B: From. Even from clothes to whatever, you know? And they didn't have. We didn't have that shit, man. You know what I'm saying? Designer shit like that. We didn't have that shit. So now these kids, they get. They get everything handed to them throughout school, and then when it's when games over, when high schools are when the real world comes in and no one in handling them shit. [00:47:38] Speaker A: Hmm. [00:47:39] Speaker B: And then now they got to figure out what they're going to do. [00:47:41] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:47:42] Speaker B: You know, some people decide to go different ways, you know what I'm saying? And, you know, there's a lot of options out there for you to go nowadays, you know, and it's like, what. [00:47:50] Speaker A: Do you lean on? What are you really gonna believe in or believe on? [00:47:54] Speaker B: What did you learn now? [00:47:55] Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. [00:47:56] Speaker B: I'm like, I don't like, hey, I don't knock school, bro. You know what I'm saying? [00:47:59] Speaker A: Right. [00:47:59] Speaker B: I think. But for your future, I think the best thing that happens in school is your networking. [00:48:06] Speaker A: Mmm. [00:48:06] Speaker B: You know what I'm saying? [00:48:07] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:48:08] Speaker B: Like, you got a network with people in school, and, yeah, you pay attention what you're doing and try to be great at it, you know what I'm saying? But in the long run, like, man, you know, you're from corpus here. Hey, if you don't know somebody to get in somewhere, you gonna be. It's gonna be some trouble, you know what I'm saying? Waiting. [00:48:22] Speaker A: Listen. Yeah, yeah. [00:48:23] Speaker B: It's all about who, you know, who you network in, and that revolves around what kind of person you are, you know what I'm saying? If you're a good person, you know, I'm not saying you got to be the best, happiest person in the world. Give everybody a hug when you see them. [00:48:33] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:48:34] Speaker B: But it takes nothing to say what's up to people, you know. I'm saying, how you doing? Whatever, you know? [00:48:38] Speaker A: Yep. [00:48:38] Speaker B: Hey, what are you doing? You know, I still go out once in a while. I don't go out much, but when I do go out, I'm always chopping it up with people. Yeah, I'm always cool. I'm cool. Some people think I'm not just cause what I look like. [00:48:49] Speaker A: Stereotype. [00:48:49] Speaker B: Yeah. I'll be the first one to clown with you and laugh with you and stuff like that. Put on some r and b. I'm gonna start singing and dancing and shit. [00:48:57] Speaker A: Yeah. One of my coworkers is like, you're on the podcast, right? He's like, yeah, you had that one guy with all the tattoos on there. I was like, yeah, and whatever, you know. He's like, yeah, no, that's cool, dude. Yeah. So, yeah, definitely a stereotype, man. [00:49:08] Speaker B: No, yeah, 100%. [00:49:10] Speaker A: Like, and, like, I've got cousins that are. That have tattoos and stuff, too, so I guess growing up around. Not really growing up with them, but. But having them as primos and seeing them at, you know, family partiers or whatever, and talking to them, knowing, like they're, oh, they look like this, but they're not like this, you know? Or they. Well, they might be. You know what I mean? You never know. You got to figure it out. Yeah, exactly, bro. You gotta. You gotta try it. [00:49:34] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:49:34] Speaker A: Because, like, a lot of us, too, like, we learned to not communicate, like, growing up. We don't. We don't want to network. [00:49:40] Speaker B: Stay in your own lane. [00:49:41] Speaker A: We stay in our own lane. We don't want to network because. Because in all honesty, you make yourself vulnerable to figure out who's the person to trust, who's the person not to trust. You have to open yourself up to talk to them to figure it out. Yeah, and it sucks, dude, because social media. The snakes are watching, bro. They're looking. They're lurking. [00:50:02] Speaker B: I think social media is so fake, though, bro. [00:50:04] Speaker A: That's what I'm saying. [00:50:05] Speaker B: I tell everybody, you could be anybody you post to be. You know what I'm saying? You could be the biggest baller in the world on Facebook, on Instagram, or whatever it's on who you. These, you know. [00:50:15] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:50:16] Speaker B: Women, girl. You know, whatever. You know, they can be whatever they want to be. Guys, they can do whatever they want to be. Until you meet somebody in person, you really see how they're moving. You know what I'm saying? [00:50:25] Speaker A: Exactly. [00:50:25] Speaker B: It's different. It's different, man. It's different. And I have met people like that I'm. That I known on Facebook. And then when I read them, you know what I'm saying? They're like, damn, bro, you know. [00:50:34] Speaker A: Yeah, it's cool. [00:50:35] Speaker B: You know what I'm saying? Like, I didn't think this. That I'm like, yeah, well, you know. [00:50:38] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, for sure. I think I was reading something. You got to use your eyes to see, and you got to use to hear what they're saying. [00:50:45] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:50:46] Speaker A: Is what you're seeing. Lining up with what they're saying. That's how you figure out, you know, if that person is who they are. They say they're going to be. [00:50:54] Speaker B: You got two years, one month. You got to listen twice as much as you talk. [00:50:57] Speaker A: Listen. You got to watch. Yeah. Use your senses to figure it out, man. Dude. Well, this has been a good interview podcast, man. We go coming up on an hour. Thanks for coming on the show. [00:51:07] Speaker B: Thanks for having me, bro. [00:51:08] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I like talking to people, man. I hope. Hope somebody learned something out there they're listening to, watching. Whatever, man. So your spot is on kasores. What's the address? [00:51:18] Speaker B: Yeah, 5230 kastores. Sweet 15. [00:51:20] Speaker A: Sweet 15. [00:51:21] Speaker B: On point barbershop. [00:51:22] Speaker A: On point barbershop. All right. How'd you come up with that name, anyway? [00:51:25] Speaker B: I had a client come up with a lie. Yeah. When I was gone for my. When I was gone in Odessa. [00:51:31] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:51:32] Speaker B: He said, man, I'm over here waiting in this barbershop, and you know, this dude's. My appointments 15 minutes ago. Like, man, I don't know. Haircuts ain't even that. That good. Like, he's like, bro, he's like, you were always on time. You're always you at my appointment times. This time, I'm in the chair. You're getting me taken care of. You're on point every time, bro. You should name your barbershop when you come back on point. I said, bro, you know what? I'm gonna name it on point. [00:51:54] Speaker A: Yeah. And you want to maintain that standard. [00:51:57] Speaker B: That's what you're trying to do. [00:51:59] Speaker A: That's good, man. [00:52:00] Speaker B: Try to be on point. [00:52:00] Speaker A: Hell, yeah. That's awesome. So it's there. Uncle stores do. So how do we find you online? Do you. Are you mostly on Facebook? [00:52:07] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm mostly on Facebook. Instagram. I'm on Instagram, but I'm not really heavy on Instagram like that, but I got Instagram. Facebook. I'm point. I'm point kennels. Three, six one. I'm Johnny cuts 361 or Johnny Martinez on Facebook. [00:52:22] Speaker A: And you're. And you use booksy for people to. To book. Okay, sir, what's the tag on that? [00:52:28] Speaker B: It's a Johnny cuts Martinez at book ski. [00:52:31] Speaker A: Okay. Yeah, Johnny. Johnny cut Martinez. [00:52:33] Speaker B: Yes. [00:52:34] Speaker A: At booksy. All right, cool, man. You guys know where to find them? Is there on Kasturas or you can book an appointment. Appreciate you guys. Stay tuned for the next podcast. I think we got puppy game Chachi. I'm not sure, but she's coming on next. Next few ones or whatever. I can't remember Kai Servan. Some other people coming on the podcast. Thank you for joining. Thanks for the producer back there. Chris produce livestream Studios. Stay tuned for the next few podcasts. Have a good one, y'all. Bye.