Humans of Downey - Gustavo

"I'm going to school right now to get my barber's license. Being my own boss is what drew me to pursue this profession. Working for nobody and the money is good. It will be better than submitting all those applications. I want to prove to myself that I can accomplish this. I have to put in 1500 hours at the school to get my license. I can put in those hours at my discretion but if I don't complete them within my contracted time, I have to pay more. I'm on schedule though. I currently have 530 hours in since March.

"I used to work at Home Depot and I felt the people there were struggling because of the environment. I'd hear the same stories from most of them about how hard it was. Some other events were pushing me to make a change. I started thinking and decided that I wanted something different. That's when I started pursuing barber school."
~ Gustavo

Good decisions should be celebrated

My son is getting married this Saturday and today his brothers and I celebrated his decision by treating him to a day of luxury.

We started off the day with a round of golf at Bixby golf course in Long Beach. Then we took him for a manly shave and haircut at Gornik & Drucker Barbering in Beverly Hills. Celebrities like Ronald Reagan have been their customers through the years.

We then went to Musso and Franks Restaurant on Hollywood Boulevard for a steak dinner. What a great day with my sons.

Firestone Boulevard

Firestone Boulevard is the main thoroughfare through Downey. In the "old" days, it was called Front Street.

This section of Firestone, near Downey Avenue ("downtown Downey), looks very much like it must have looked 50 or more years ago. (Hopefully, some Downey historians can fill me in on the actual age of this area.) Revitalization efforts have had their effect down the street, around the corner, and elsewhere. This little area, with its odd combination of shops, some of which have been there as long as I can remember, stay the same.

Click the picture, then click again, to see it larger.

Some things don't change

Among the many manly accessories in the barber shop was this line of hair products I couldn't get enough of. The retro feel of the shop took me back to another decade where men draped in tattoos talked about everything from women to beer to the football game last Friday night... Oh wait, that's what they talk about now...



To see more of this shoot, click here.

Shave and a hair cut...

I went into a barbershop to do a miniature photo shoot today and there was this little tough guy doing his own shave. I guess I literally did a "miniature" shoot.