Today we’d like to introduce you to Carlos Lopez.
Hi Carlos, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I first started my junior year of high school to learn a skill that would make me some money while I was attending college. I came across barbering, which I always found satisfying, but I needed to learn how to cut hair. Fortunately, I have a little brother who was in 4th grade and did not care about his hair at the time. I decided to buy a basic clipper set and began learning through YouTube videos. It was a long process that became difficult, but I persevered to continue learning. I had to wait every 2 weeks minimum to cut my little brother because I was afraid of asking. My friends were messing them up, and they never returned for a haircut. So, for about a year, I was only cutting my brother, which felt like a prolonged process. My first year of college came around, and I started cutting student’s hair in my dorm. My friends liked the cuts, so I began cutting anybody who wanted a cut at college. Before attending college, I was a business administration major but switched to kinesiology because I did not know what to do in business, but I always liked it. After a semester of kinesiology, I switched to business administration because I finally found my potential to develop a business from cutting hair. I began cutting hair back at home, too, and cutting my friends’ friends and so on. The rest is history in the making. I am known around Columbia to cut hair and here in my college in Greenville. So far, I have built a solid clientele and am confident about my future in wanting to open a franchise of barbershops. It all started with a small dream, which started coming together slowly.
Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
It has been a challenging road for me. I would not want it to be a smooth road because it will be the best feeling when I have accomplished my goals in this industry. It is the process of working hard I have fallen in love with. I struggled so much in the fading process when I was first learning. I still am. Barbering is a craft you keep perfecting with each time you do it. Sometimes, the cuts were not coming out like I wanted them to, and I almost quit. Keeping up with good grades in college while maintaining a business has been the biggest struggle so far. Maintaining a healthy school, business, and social balance is crucial. Life is going to give you the hardest battles you are going to fight; the way we react and handle those situations is what defines us and makes us stronger.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might need to become more familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I cut hair in my free time. I market myself differently from other barbers and create content on Instagram and TikTok. I have learned a lot of new skills through this passion, and I intend to keep learning and teaching myself valuable skills. I am mainly known for being a barber who travels to both Columbia and Greenville weekly while being a college student. I am very proud of my progress since I first picked up clippers. I am proud of the brand I created at 18 years old. My hustling mentality and ambitions and how I execute these goals set me apart from others, especially at my age.
We love surprises, fun facts, and unexpected stories. Can you share something that might surprise us?
Most people are surprised that I am doing all this while maintaining good grades in college (above 3.0 GPA). It takes a lot of commitment and sacrifice to get to where I am right now.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cloblendz.square.site/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cloblendz/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlos-lopez-a2b089298/
Image Credits
Peter Van Reijn
