Meet Roger Garcia | Mens Hairdresser | co-owner The Parlor Inc. | Bedhead by Tigi Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Roger Garcia and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Roger, how do you think about risk?
it might sound cliché, but I’m a firm believer in “no risk, no reward”. for a long time my mother taught me not to be scared of going for what I wanted even if I didn’t see a clear path . the risk I have taken have always been a “calculated risk ” I’m not going to blindingly jump off a cliff lol . the risk i have taken started from the first time I left my neighborhood to head out for college in Tallahassee,fl . and I continued to do so with my career. I left Miami to move to Gainesville just to change my environment and hope to find a better avenue in my career. which I did I had great experience up in Gainesville even if I was on my own . there I met another barber Alberto who really showed me how to take my craft to a new level. once I stayed in Gainesville for some time ,I decided to head to Miami in pursuit of a bigger city because I now wanted to be a platform artist . platform artist is someone who is ambassador for a beauty company and also teaches hair seminars . so this was my new focus so I dropped everything and moved back home to Miami where I started at The Parlor Inc . there my craft really went to another level because we were all focused on bettering echoer as a team. . through some time a connections I went to a hair seminar for Bedhead By Tigi . I attended there class and found out they needed barbers for their ambassador program and I signed up and sent in the stuff they needed hair pics, a video interview ,and some pics of me and I ended up getting chosen and I’ve been with the company ever since. through them I got to experience so many things in the hair world that I couldn’t put a dollar sign to. they not only have completey elevated my craft but because of my risk and landing myself with TiGi I’ve been able to do a good amount of traveling all based on me going to venues and doing mens hair which is amazing to me . by also joining up with the parlor team I’ve been able to really learn a great business system and how to provide a great overall service and how to properly establish a healthy culture for clients and co workers. sticking through the ups and downs and even when things got crazy through a pandemic staying true and even if things got tight you ride it out even if things gets risky there’s always light at the tunnel . staying true with the brand over the years has led me to a place where I was able to buy into The parlor Inc. brand and I now am co owner of The Parlor Inc. I’m truly blessed to be able to get these things accomplished but it sure wasn’t without a lot of calculated risk and some just a leap of faith and choosing to see there upside of the risk vs the down side . I’m a glass half full type of person vs half empty .

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I was born in Cuba and migrated with my mother at the age of 6 via raft to the United State. naturally every parent would want the best for their child , my mother hoped to give me a better life and better education . fast forward to high school junior year 2007 ,I decided to go and start cutting hair at my cousins barbershop even if sometimes it was against my will lol. there I really developed love for barbering as a craft and career. through a lot of chatter of people trying to guide me to do the right thing . I decided to go attend college at TCC. I was still cutting hair part time while I attended but, I realized my heart was really in cutting hair and being a barber. I heard it all from it will be short lived to there is a small ceiling in mens hair you won’t make any “real” money . to think about my future and not waste time but I still went ahead with it my poor mother supported me 1000% even if its not what she envisioned when she left the island. once decided to take on barbering full time I would dedicate everything to it . things took time …..alot of time but I slowly was able to make a career out of it . things were not easy a all I worked in Tallahasse , Gainesville , and then ultimately back in Miami in search of bettering my craft and continuing to elevate myself and service . in 2016 I had the opportunity to join TiGi Collective cutting Team for Latin America/ USA . through this I trained under amazingly talented hairdressers and was taught at the Tigi academies in the U.S. created by Anthony mascolo a renowned hairdresser . In these academies I was trained to be an educator for TiGi for the cutting team. with Tigi I developed my style of blending cosmetology and barbering. having been so heavily involved n both worlds I could now give a great blend of insight to the mens hair I was involved in. because of this opportunity gave me the platform for me to help and inspire others in and out of the hair industry however my story or certain parts of it could help someone . I currently call The Parlor Inc. home , we are based locally in Miami,fl. through a lot of patience and hard work I have been able to create a reputable clientele base over the years. through this culture we have at The parlor I have been able to give a premium service and have had the blessing to raise my rates to a premium . At the HQ (The Parlor) I’m able to push the boundaries of my creativity and explore other avenues such as international hair competitions that I have participated in and had the honor of winning or placing . such as TiGi Photographic Awards and Big Sexy Hair James dean Steal the scene comp. I’ve learned to just stay in your lane and stick to the vision even if sometimes things get tough every obstacle to filter those out who don’t really want it. I would like the world to know that it might be super cliche but always believe in yourself its never to late to switch it around . through my story I hope it can inspire anyone , I came to this country and my mother didn’t know English and I thank her for everything she did but it was up to me to break those chains for future generations I could’ve easily used every excuse because trust me they were there but its better to use that as fuel and now all those years later see that the hard work has paid off and its only the beginning it feels really good .

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
this is awesome ,ok cool.

Monday – wynnwood walls/local favorite murals
eat/drink – kyu / j.wakefield brewing
night- longbaord/walk/bike south point park

Tuesday – Midtown shops
lunch – La Traila
Marlins Park

Wednesday -Virginia Key Park (mountain Bike )
lunch/drink – teds burgers (brewery pop up)
night – Lagniappe

thursday –
brunch – greenstreet
hard rock Casino

friday – south beach
house of Mac
night – wynnwood

Saturday –
breakfast casavana
boat day /snorkling

sunday
Spearfishing .

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
So many people deserve a shoutout but ill keep it tight to those who I’ve felt had a direct impact in my journey to this point . Starting with my mother who at a very early age pushed me to get a part time job while I attended high school at a barbershop that two of cousins owned at the time .she pushed me to go even when I really didn’t want to cut hair lol. little did she know after some years of cutting and later in college I would decide to stick with mens barbering full time and drop out of college .this was extremely difficult for my mom because she migrated with me on a raft from Cuba and we spent 8 months in Guantanamo bay military camp in the refugee section in 1994. despite of her own wishes to see me in college she gave me full 100% support in my decision to pursue barbering. My two cousins Carlos and Yasmany which taught me how to cut hair when I was younger and gave me the foundation I needed as a self taught barber to grow and acquire all the skills working in “urban barbershop” that later in life would be the skills I teach people now as an educator for the bedhead brand . they helped me establish that foundation that I was able to morph and. blend together with what mens barbering is today . The Parlor Inc. deserves its flowers because its is a barbershop I started working in 2015 and opened a lot of doors for me . with the team we had in place we were all very hungry to improve our craft and overall service to elevate mens hair in our area . during my time here I learned an invaluable business system from mike at the parlor . here I learned what culture is all about and how to build brand community .some years later now in 2022 and I am co-owner of the Parlor Inc. and we will continue to our brand of mens hair and great culture surrounding mens hair . Next up is Vero beauty distributors and the Tigi bedhead company . Vero Beauty is a local beauty product distribution Center that also host an array of hair seminars here locally and in the Caribbean .throiugh Vero beauty I have been able to acquire my spot in the Bedhead by TiGi company .Tigi is a big deal in the hair world and I was lucky enough to join their Tigi collective cutting team .with my experience with Tigi they have completely evolved my outlook on hair ,having so much access to internationally known hairdressers I was able to take my skills to another through their training and allowing me to be part of their team and giving me a real shot to pursue my passion in sharing my skills and experiences to help others better themselves in the beauty industry . I also would give a great digital shoutout to GaryVee (audio experience with GaryVee) & Andy Firsella (REAL AF with Andy Frisella)) for their podcast, I feel through these daily listens have helped me grow tremendously in conjunction with the Seth Godin books I’ve read have been key for me to apply things and move forward and take my calculated risk .

Website: linqapp.com/roger_garcia

Instagram: @HairNinjutsu

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roger-garcia-a359668a/

Twitter: @Hairninjutsu

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpvGPaNstrXT95PWUcOArpg