Barber, educator and Artist Connective Member Freddy Razo (@razothebarber) takes us through a day in his life as the Barber Education Leader for Paul Mitchell, the School Costa Mesa.

Morning

6:30 a.m.: My alarm goes off. I snooze once…maybe twice. I then catch up on my social feeds, get up and brush my teeth.

6:45 a.m.: I wake the kids up for school and start getting ready for my day. My kids are a bit older so don’t have to get them ready. They even make their own breakfast! I, on the other hand, have gotten used to not eating a full breakfast in the early morning.

7:00 a.m.: Getting dressed is the easiest part since a barber’s color palette involves different shades of black. I let the pup out so she can do her morning routine, then I give her food and water. The last thing I do before we head out the door is making sure the kids have water in their hydros, and I grab a new mask for the day.

7:15 a.m.: I leave my house to begin school drop off and the drive to work. The first to get dropped off is my high school daughter, then my son at grade school and sometimes I drop my oldest daughter at college depending on the day. Once everyone is dropped off, I throw my favorite playlist on to get my mind ready for the rest of the drive to work.

8:30 a.m.: I arrive to work and we have our daily huddle, which starts with “facing,” where we offer positive words of encouragement and recognition to one another. This is followed by an overview of business performance from the day before. Then we review all meetings and appointments on the schedule for the day. As soon as the huddle is over, I walk over to Portola and get my coffee. That’s really when my morning starts.

9:15 a.m.: Similar to the structure of my huddle with coworkers, we huddle with the future professionals (students) and review the agenda and client appointments for the day.

The first appointment starts at 9:30 a.m. and the last appointment is at 3 p.m. Their school day ends at 4:30pm. And although teaching has established a bit more structure to my schedule, it still varies depending on the day and clients in the books. The appointments range from haircuts, color, perms and shaves.

Afternoon

Noon: Since I’m at a school we have a designated lunch break. Yes, I know it’s not the same as being in a shop and having to eat in between clients, stuffing my face to get to my next appointment. It’s strange to say, but sometimes I miss those days! Lunch usually involves the same rotation every week: Cane’s, Waba Grill, In-N-Out (Whataburger lovers, don’t start!) and Gina’s Pizza.

4:30 p.m.:  My work day ends. Before I start driving, I change my shoes and slip my Birkenstocks on. My commute back home is an hour and a half so I try to get as comfortable as possible. For the drive home I throw on my favorite podcasts and listen to them to wind my day down. This is usually The Grindstone Collective (hair) or The Joe Budden Podcast (music).

Evening

6:30 p.m.: My wife makes dinner. Depending on our work schedules, we pick a day to get some take out. Dinner is my favorite part of the day because it’s the time my family gets to sit down and talk about how our day went.

8 p.m.: I walk my dog around the neighborhood while my son skates along. 

9 p.m.: I’m usually on the couch on Instagram, Pinterest or TikTok with the TV on in the background, either looking for creative outlets or creating content for my Instagram.

10 p.m.: I’m ready for bed, but don’t fall asleep till 11 p.m. Unfortunately I don’t have a skin routine but the older I get, I should! (Send me some tips!) Then I prepare myself to do it all over again tomorrow.