Today we’d like to introduce you to Landry Young.
Hi Landry, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born in 2000 in the great city of Austin, Texas. My life hasn’t exactly been relatable to others. I barely survived birth with the umbilical cord wrapped multiple times around my neck and broke my mom’s tailbone from doctors forcefully moving her around to get me untangled. Later on as a child, my parents noticed unusual behaviors and found out that I had Aspergers and Sensory Integration Disorder. Most people know what Aspergers is, but for those who don’t know what Sensory Integration Disorder is, doctors best describe it as imagining that your shoes are on opposite feet and your clothes are on backwards. Extreme discomfort in all five senses of the body. My mother took me to seven different therapists a week to help me, and through her and the grace of God, I am healed and you would never know that I had these mental disabilities.
Throughout my childhood, I did very well in sports, especially basketball. Although my learning disability made learning hard, anything I found enjoyment in I excelled in, and it’s why my friends and family believe I have the talent that I have. I did not go to barber school straight out of high school, I always loved barbering and watched videos but wasn’t sure if it was for me because I had never cut hair before. So I went to Austin Community College for two semesters and did not do well. When Covid hit, I couldn’t go to the barbershop, which meant I felt naked being that I went to the shop once a week to maintain a fresh cut. I made it a month without a haircut and finally couldn’t wait any longer so I bought myself a set of clippers and was determined to cut my own hair. I had watched videos for years because it interested me and was satisfying so I figured why not try? When I finished, my family expected me to step out with a jacked up head but were shocked when I had a clean haircut. So I began cutting my brother and dad during quarantine, and before my second semester at ACC was over I was determined to go to barber school. Once I completed barber school, I immediately got my license and opened up my own suite/shop named Back2Life Barbershop. I created this name because I’ve always believed as a barber that when someone leaves my chair, I have brought their look and confidence Back2Life.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
A week before I started barber school, I lost my uncle who I was extremely close to, it was hard to maintain my emotions while I was in school especially when we had difficult circumstances already. Multiple times we had to go on zoom for learning when there was an outbreak of Covid in school, we were limited to the amount of people who could be on the floor due to Covid so it was hard to get practice on people, our school flooded during the ice storms, and the school was understaffed so a lot of learning had to be self-taught. By far, the toughest thing I experienced along the way was the loss of my uncle, but the way the students and instructors of that school loved me and treated me like family truly helped me heal in the process. There were moments I felt I couldn’t function socially, and in those moments they made sure I knew that they had my back. I owe everything to those beautiful people that helped me heal and taught me so many valuable skills.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a barber that specializes in men’s services such as haircuts, beard trims, shaves, and skincare. But what truly makes me stand out as a barber is my Designs and Fades. I have done designs in hair such as skulls, a deck of cards, planets, pyramids, stars, sports team logos, and even detailed initials of someone’s name. With my specialty in designs, I am excited to see where it takes me in the hair industry.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Patience, humbleness, boldness, and hustle are key to being a barber. I remember feeling extremely frustrated when I couldn’t understand certain things, and as you get more comfortable with the clippers in your hand and cut more heads, you start to have a better understanding of things and realize it’s not as hard as your kind makes you believe it is. Humbleness is a must no matter what level of skill you are, it is a pleasure to service any person, the fact that they put their trust in you is enough. You are a servant of the people, at the end of the day while they need you, you also need them. When it comes to boldness, what I mean is to not be afraid of trying what you want to try. Do not be afraid of messing someone’s hair up to learn new things, their hair will always grow back, but you will never learn new things playing it safe. And finally regardless of being a barber or not, you must have hustle. You need a drive-in yourself to be ahead of everyone else. And sometimes that means that embarrassing yourself to get the job done, it isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes you have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Pricing:
- $30 Haircuts
- $10-20 Simple Design
- $60hr Complex Design
- $20 Shave
- $20 Skin Treatment
Contact Info:
- Email: landryyoung25@gmail.com
- Website: https://booksy.com/en-us/556446_back2life-barbershop_barber-shop_134608_austin#ba_s=s_1
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/landothabarber/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/landry.young.79
