Alex Arrieta never intended to be a barber.
At first, it started as a way to make some extra cash. Arrieta, a native of Peru, wasn’t in the U.S. legally and wanted to provide for his family as a high school sophomore. There weren’t many options available to him, so he began helping out at a local barbershop.
“Like, three barbers quit at the same time,” Arrieta said. “It was down to like … two barbers. They were desperate for barbers. They got to a point where it was like, ‘We’re so desperate, we’ll teach you how to cut hair.