Rewire

- I had a dream to open up a museum.

I did not even tell my family, my mom didn't know.

My wife didn't know.

A lot of people ask questions, "why a barber shop museum" and "why I'm so compassionate about this work," is I think it's not just a vocation, and "why I'm so compassionate it's arts too.

(fast-paced, lively piano music) At first, I didn't wanna become a barber, to be honest with you.

I mean I knew how to cut.

I grew up in a barber shop.

But to me, I wanted to do something else, like, all of them, four generation barber, I wanna do something else.

Well, I guess this is my destiny.

My son is fifth.

He's running one of my shops.

He also always said, "oh, I don't wanna be a barber," but you know, he likes it.

- I felt pressure when I became a barber.

he likes it.

I never wanted to be a barber.

And then, in the long run, I realized he needs help I never wanted to be a barber.

because it's just too much to handle for one person.

So I just, one day, picked up a pair of scissors and comb, clippers and just took the next person, just to see how it goes.

The first cut was nightmare.

I was all shaky and nervous and stuff.

But once I got through it, I always stand nowadays I was all shaky and nervous and stuff.

and I tell myself, I mean, I was all shaky and nervous and stuff.

why I can't believe I'm able to cut hair.

Honestly, he never really saw me cut hair.

It was more like a surprise to him.

'Cause he always used to push me, but I'm very prideful sometimes.

When he would tell me to do it, I didn't wanna do it.

But when time went by, I just decided I'm gonna do it for myself.

And that's when I actually started to think of it and like it.

- I think without our family being like this, and like it.

closer together like a bunch, for Arthur alone, it will be very hard to be where he is right now.

closer together like a bunch, for Arthur alone, A lot of people try to copy him and I always tell him, closer together like a bunch, for Arthur alone, "well, Arthur, they don't understand one thing, that in our family, you're a barber, I'm a barber, your son is the barber, even your mom knows how to cut hair, so we could always help each other, we could always be there."

so we could always help each other, Family, it's a number one thing in my eyes.

- [Arthur] My father was a men's stylist.

But the city of Fergana in Uzbekistan, they did not know what wash, cut, and blow dry is.

In 1989, it became very, pretty, pretty bad.

So we moved to New York City.

And one day, just, he came to my mom, he goes, "I have a great idea!

Why don't we open up barber shops, build them up, take people to work, and then after a year, two years, build them up, take people to work, we'll sell them to the people that work for us.

build them up, take people to work, We're gonna create jobs, and we gonna help people."

And not only that, he started teaching people We're gonna create jobs, and we gonna help people."

for no money.

For free.

My father-in-law used to tell me, "Marina, while I'm alive, For free.

you don't have to work."

Most of the time that I would go into his barber shop, he would be to me, "oh, this is how you cut the hair, Most of the time that I would go into his barber shop, this is how you do it, this piece you cut like that, Most of the time that I would go into his barber shop, that piece you cut like this," so observing with my eyes, for about eight years, that piece you cut like this," so observing with my eyes, that kinda set in the back of my head.

And then, when he got sick, he was diagnosed with brain cancer, when he got sick, and he passed away within three months.

Somebody needed to be there to help at the hardest, at the hardest point in life.

And I just quit my job as an optician, and then within two months I was already standing and cutting hair.

In my family, nobody was a barber.

My mom was a nurse, my father was in retail business, so yes, for me, it was more like a life expectation that I had to learn that to help my family.

it was more like a life expectation - [Izak] When it's a family-owned business, it was more like a life expectation you give more care and love to it.

You're not just doing it for the money.

You have to keep your name growing, you have to keep your name alive.

You have to keep your name growing, And doing so, you gotta put all the care in the world You have to keep your name growing, to your job.

- There is always challenges working with the family because being together at work, and then when you go home, you together again, sometimes, you just maybe have nothing to talk about, only work.

Sometimes, there is something that you didn't like only work.

that happened at work and you wanna point that out.

But you know that it's a family, you're there to help.

You support each other.

So you know, there is, somebody's there behind you to help you out.

So you know, there is, And you know, you not gonna fall down.

So you know, there is, - Sometimes, we more kind to strangers than to our own family.

And it happens.

than to our own family.

But sometimes, when other person tells you that they advice, you take it much easy and much calmer, But sometimes, when other person tells you and you will listen to him.

But when time goes by, you look back, and you say "oh, my dad did tell me the right thing to do."

In 1991, I was 16 years old.

My father went to the flea market in Jamaica Avenue I was 16 years old.

and he bought, like few pieces manual clipper, some old scissors, and I'm like, "what are you doing?

This is garbage."

and I'm like, He looked at me and he yelled at me.

He goes like, "never, never say that because this is history" and he bought it.

When my father passed away, I wanted to dedicate something to the people, not only to my family, When my father passed away, I wanted to dedicate something not only what I love to do, no.

To the whole beauty industry.

I started buying barber poles, chairs.

We have 44, 45 in our collection.

We have over dozen of barber poles, sign.

- Ever since I was, I mean, kid, I remember him collecting all this stuff and I just never understood why.

He always say, "you'll see, you'll see," but I never really understood it He always say, "you'll see, you'll see," until he opened up this place.

He always say, "you'll see, you'll see," - [Marina] He was living with it for many, many years, before we, actually were able open up a location where people could come and see.

And I think I was the only one that was so happy about it.

And the number reason why, I would say, "okay, finally!

A lot of the things would be out of the house."

- Not everybody was supporting this.

A lot of people were talking down on it.

- Not everybody was supporting this.

They were saying "oh, barbery," even people now, still, they'll look at it and laugh.

- [Marina] Since we opened up this place, I could see that this needed to be here.

- [Marina] Since we opened up this place, We could educate people or for our barbers, - [Marina] Since we opened up this place, what they used to do.

- [Marina] Since we opened up this place, - [Raphael] Not many people knew that barbers were dentists, that George Washington's killed by a barber.

- We came to this country as an immigrants with two suitcases.

- We came to this country And achieving this much, where we could educate, not only Americans, even tourists will come into this shop, and we could teach them and let them know what is a barbery.

- [Arthur] So we do have history, and I wanna pass that on.

Throughout the jealousy, that's what's killing the world.

And I've seen it more and more and more, even with this.

My advice is to throw the anger out.

To help one another, to teach one another, and to be kind to one another.

(lively piano music)