We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Josue Martinez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Josue below.
Josue , appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
Honestly I just look to those around me for inspiration. A lot of the people I know and admire are very creative people and my hero’s have always been creative types whether it be artist or musicians and seeing the work they produce has always kept me motivated to just try to even have a fraction of their talent. I definitely can admire their work but when doing my own thing I just want to add my person twist to things so it stands out as well and isn’t clumped into the same thing even when it comes to barbering.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Im a licensed barber here in Austin; I first fell in love with the profession while I was a porter at Herman’s Barbershop in San Jose, C.A. I started as a customer and soon befriended the owner Phill who offered me a job for a few hours a day twice a week which later expanded to full time and 5 days a week. I helped clean and maintain the shop and did basically everything there besides cut hair. After a couple months of being a porter I knew barbering was something I wanted to pursue,I have had plenty of jobs throughout my life but never really found my “purpose” until I found barbering and its been my focus every since. I especially love learning about its history and while I may not agree with the direction its going at times I truly believe those who love traditional barbering like myself are the ones who will keep it going when all the ones looking for fame within the industry can no longer exploit it and move on to something else,those who truly love this profession and craft will still be around keeping it alive and well.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
For me its always been just the end goal of becoming licensed,nothing else. I attended three different schools in two states because getting licensed and I also had to put my education on hold for several years due to personal matters but the end goal was always to get licensed and I did. The dedication it took to reach this goal is what’s helped me along the way,I left a school I felt wasn’t up to par with what I should be learning and I researched and found another school where the owner/instructor had been barbering for over 40 years and tuition at his school was a fair price compared to other schools so that let me know he was teaching out out passion and not to make a quick buck. I was also just determined to finish my hours and get licensed no matter what it took. I worked overnight and went to school during the day and slept an average of 4 hours for months until I was able to complete school and the sacrifice was truly tough but in the end it was worth it.
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
For myself it’s definitely the fact that I love doing this and want to improve day after day. I want to be able to say I am a well rounded barber and while Im nowhere near that level yet compared to those in the industry I admire I can say that I strive to learn while Im behind the chair or studying videos in my spare time. As with everything repetition is how you improve your skills and abilities and for me its just a matter of getting better in both not only for myself but for those who sit in my chair.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/swaythb
