Today we’d like to introduce you to Ociel Benitez.
Hi Ociel, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was born and raised in Austin Tx, when I was close to graduating High school I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life. I would watch a lot of hair cut tutorials on YouTube to find a style for me to cut my hair in, I slowly kept getting more interested by the art of barbering and I ended up trying it out for myself, started cutting my dad and my cousins hair in my backyard and ended up falling in love with it.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
After I graduated high school, I ended up working construction for about 2 years trying to save up money to be able to still support myself, and be able to pay for barber school, having 60-65 hour work weeks I always felt exhausted I had no motivation to work on my dreams when I got home from work, so I barely had any free time to work on what I really wanted to do. During this time I ended up losing both my grandparents a week from each other, the pain from this also really effected my motivation to do anything, I felt trapped.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a barber! I specialize in anything from mens haircuts from bald fades to a gentleman’s cut, I offer facial skin treatments, shampoo and conditioning treatments, straight razor shaves, beard trims, braids, and I am currently learning and trying to practice more color and chemical services to be able to offer to my clientele. I am proud of what I have been able to do, I went from doing something I absolutely hated for so long, and now I am doing everything that I love, I was able to take the next big step a lot of people are scared to do, and I am proud of myself for that. What sets me apart from others is I am able to offer my clients a comfortable atmosphere for them to come in, relax, and make the service all about them, I offer more than just a haircut with every visit, and I put detail into all my work to make it as perfect as I can, and have my clients leave incredibly satisfied with their service.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I see myself becoming a barbershop owner in the next 5-10 years to offer our clients the best atmosphere I can give them, and be able to offer a place for other barbers to come in and build up their own businesses for them to one day also have their own shops or help get them to the next level they’re looking for. I hope to be able to hold events to give back to the community such as free haircuts for back to school, back to school drives, give out food to those who need it, toy drives etc.
Pricing:
- Haircuts: $30.00
- Facials: $20.00
- Braids: upon consultation
- Haircut and beard: $40
- Shave: $25
Contact Info:
- Instagram: OCLfadez
