 Hey guys, this is Matt Beck from freesaloneducation.com here with American Salon hooked us up with this cool booth and Hooked us up with cool people. I got Lauren and Roderick We got a ton of information from these guys that we're about to give you so I hope you guys enjoy this podcast So where I want to start is with your story because you guys have One of the most unique stories of this entire day of every interview that I've done You guys are doing something completely different than Anyone else so that's interesting. So let's talk about that. Let's talk about your backgrounds real quick I know let's start with you Lauren. Okay, we'll go forward So I've been in the industry for about 18 years. I did an apprenticeship at a salon. So I didn't go to school I learned everything Hands-on in the salon Which was a really interesting way to learn I it made me grow up in the industry being self-taught So right, you know while I've taken advanced classes, and I think they're really important for foundational work I've been able to fill in the gaps by just trial and error And I think as artists and as creative people We should embrace that a little bit more and and and work really hard at Making ourselves better instead of relying on other people to make us better Yeah, so take what you learn from the extra education and the additional training and take it back and make it yours And how long ago was that that was 18 years 18 years I started yeah 18 years ago So 18 years ago you started out as an apprentice So you were self-taught kind of did you find your path because I know that you're really into styling and Editorial and all that did that was that right away. It wasn't it wasn't Um, I always thought outside the box when I started doing here They threw me into color and I specialized in color. Okay. I did that for about five years I master that and I'm gonna use quotations, you know because we ever really master anything Yeah, you know I felt like I had a really good grasp on it and then I wanted to move on and so because I couldn't cut it Made me really uncomfortable to call myself a professional only being able to do one thing and mastering one thing So I found that over my 18 years I tend to dive in and submerge myself into one area and once I feel confident and comfortable I move on you move On yeah, so I did color and then I did cutting And then I went into more event styling and and classic hair dressing And that's when I really started to take a lot of classes because it interested me You know hair does what you tell it to do so it's a matter of speaking the language that hair speaks Yeah, and being able to talk to it So through all of those classes I really realized that my true love is being behind the camera and Styling for photo shoots and I started doing just fun photo shoots with locals in my area Photographers models just to have my work on record and be able to watch my growth because I think as hairdressers It's easy to forget how far we've come. Yeah, and by getting all of this documented I was able to look back and say wow seven years ago. This is what I thought was amazing. Yeah, how far I've come Do you find that that classic work that you kind of started with? Because obviously the editorial work that you do now you find traces of that classical. Absolutely. That's the foundation Right so without having a foundational understanding of how to do hair Then you sort of can't break the rules right you have to learn all the rules to break them right sort of the way that I've approached it And being a more creative person really strict boundaries. I'm the one that goes okay. That's cool But now what right which ones can I break and I always ask a lot of questions of why and how? So that I know Which rules you can break and which ones you can't because there are certain areas and hair That it's easy to break the rules and it makes sense to break the rules But you have to know the rules first right to know how far to push it So yeah It's always been a passion of mine and just being able to create amazing images that are a little different but still understood Right has been it's been a great journey. That's awesome a great journey. So tell me how the journey kind of Shifted and then now you tell me about this partnership that happened. So that's really funny. So Probably about you consider this a partnership Is this what this is? We're business partners official We're a little more than that we we have been dating now for years. That's awesome I contacted Roderick six years ago Because as I told you before I can't call myself a professional if I don't understand right? So there's areas of the hair world that I just didn't understand Clipper cutting was one of them So I felt like how do you call yourself a professional when a client comes in and you say I'm sorry. I can't do that, right? It's ridiculous. Yeah, so I contacted him about doing a clipper class for the first salon that I owned and I owned it with partners We hit a rough patch some things Happened that we weren't able to afford to bring him up And it's expensive. He's expensive. You can tell he's still Don't let this affordable education for everyone So so I sort of put it off and two years later I sold my salon and I was Doing some different things. I was working with a different company throwing hair events Okay So I sort of stepped back from the ownership role and was doing my clients behind the chair But also getting involved in other areas of the industry. I'm not one to sit still So I can't just stand behind the chair. It doesn't work for me I have to do 8 million other things while I'm doing that. So, right? I Wanted to take clipper cutting and I contacted him to come down to South Carolina where he was I figured to be cheaper But I just went myself and figured it out and so he I said I don't have the money like right today But if you can give me a schedule, then I can plan for it. You know about him He was on my Facebook constantly posting barbers barbers barbers. Well, who else to ask then the guy that's really yeah Yeah, exactly. So I said I don't have the money right this minute But what can we work out? You know, give me a schedule. I'll plan for it. I'm I'm amazing at financial planning so I mean I can plan for this and He said well you can come down and I won't charge you for the class. You can take me to dinner Sounds like a proposition a little bit proposition. I was trying to help a starving artist Get to the next level in their career It gets better. So I said, okay. I have nothing to lose. I'm gonna go take this Just to let the audience know that there are two stories that goes along with this whole With with our relationship. So I'm gonna let her tell the first one So I said, okay, I'll come where should I stay so he sends me a link to a hotel that looked like nothing I would ever feel comfortable staying in okay. It was probably rented by the hour So I explained to him that I don't stay in such places. What's my other option? And he said you can stay at my house. Oh So another good move again trying to help the starving artist to get to the next level in their career You can stay in this really disgusting place or my house. So I'm thinking he's a killer And I think well, you know, let's Google this guy right and see really what's going on He had over 50 pages of Google results. I thought he's got way more to lose than I do Go ahead and chop me up in a million pieces. Somebody's looking for you So I was just at a business seminar last night with my wife actually and the guy was talking about how Like 20 years from now the world is gonna be so much safer because there will be no privacy Everyone will be Googleable. You can't do anything wrong because people will know I mean go ahead and chop me up You got 50 you're all over the web. Somebody's looking exactly. All right, so so So I you know, I agreed and then I thought well, I'm staying at this guy's house I got to get to know him. So I start trying to like start conversation. He's very cold. He wants nothing to do with me It's the weirdest scenario. I'm like, I'm staying in his house. He's not flirting with me. There was nothing flirtatious Hence the killer thought right like only is luring me in And about three weeks later after we started talking more and more and more he flew up to Detroit and the rest is history I never even took the class. So you lived in Detroit. I did and you lived in South Carolina Yes, I'm from South Carolina And I'm Roderick Samuels. I moved from South Carolina to Detroit about a year and a half ago To start on this amazing adventure with Lauren Both in love and in labor We did meet and I guess it's kind of funny because it wasn't like on Tinder or you know match.com We met on Facebook But it was all business. Yeah. Yeah, and yeah, it's cool that you guys share that passion for what you're doing And I always joke like if you know, nothing's ever gonna happen to us because it can't we can't date normal people now Right, like we have this understanding that we're in the same industry And we we balance each other in ways that I don't think either of us have ever Experienced and you're traveling together and you're creating something and that's what's cool about this industry Like you you've now opened up the door to be able to work together and absolutely tell me about You guys have launched this education program. So tell me about your education that you're doing now So hair lab Detroit is an independent education company Lawrence background is in editorial styling. Of course, we you know with her 2013 Naha nomination in her 2015 win in texture. I'm I'm actually been been in the school business for 15 years I'm at I'm in my second school right now. Okay, Michigan Barber School And but our main focus is our salon and basically for the most part are Hair lab Detroit the Academy. Okay, where we kind of balance each other in that way, too I'm a barber been a barber barber stylist for 20 years. Let me make sure I get that right. Yeah, because I get called a liar Or have liar Beatty's While I'm on on on on the air But but doing in 20 years and loving every moment of it. So tell me so as a barber Because I have been getting feedback actually a couple of people that we interviewed today launched men's cutting programs There's a big boost in Contacted me first. I know right and nobody asked Men's cutting programs are becoming very popular or became very popular a year ago Yes, and in the hair, you know salon business. So what's your take on that since you've been doing it for 20 years? What's your thoughts on the current situation with barbering right now? The current situation with barbering right now is amazing Again, you know, you see a lot of stylists that are out there and no hate no offense to any of the Cosmetologists out there working those clippers as well, but you see a lot of people wanting to To to get more barber education. They want to see a lot more people They want to create those classic fades and tapers and right now it's booming, you know, I think it was a matter of fact I don't I can't remember exactly what the article was But it's supposed to rise again like 2.1 million dollars in the next like year or so So it's really crazy. Yeah, it's really crazy really crazy. But you know being a barber like a down like a real true barber I love the movement. I love to see that, you know at one point It was a front for a lot of people, you know to do bad things and now it's at the forefront of the industry and continuing to make waves That's awesome. Yeah, man. So tell me to be more creative. Can I add to that? Yeah, it's more creative than it has been. Yeah in the past because now it's in the forefront, you know I think that that's sort of where we fill a hole. Sure, right because we have the balance of Coming from a school system. He's great at breaking it down to basics because that's what he's used to He's used to teaching people that don't know how to hold a comb, right? So coming and teaching these cosmetologists Barbering you have to start at the ground floor and I think that's where sort of the miss is that you know They're not teaching to barbers. They're teaching to cosmetologists, right? So because we have no experience a lot of us that either went through school or did apprenticeships learned Sheer over comb because that's what was in you know in the 90s and then early 2000s and now that clippers are in You have to start from the ground up. So that's what he does. That's what he's used to And you know we balance each other in that because he's very structured in his educating and I'm sort of the more creative You know there's a million different ways to do something and let's just do you know Right be careful when she starts to move her hands like this because she starts feeling shapes and textures in the air that aren't there Yeah, so just just be careful because we teach together. We're able to reach all the learning types, right? So and for us, that's great. I mean, that's an amazing feeling to you guys team up on each subject Or do you do your thing and you do your thing so both both? So Contingent or depending on what the show is, you know a lot of shows really find a lot of interest in us Because you know we can teach together both the barbering and editorial styling aspect But we're also amazing apart, you know so if you want to learn the latest and greatest and techniques to to help you create your next your your next Collection or photograph competition work, you know You want to see Lauren if you really want to get down into men's grooming how to properly hold a clipper Why how to build a male clientele you come to me and then both of us even from a business standpoint We have a lot of salons that are con you know that are that are wanting to hire us because they're dealing with Millennials They're dealing with a new group of people and for me. It's like okay from the undergrad perspective It's like okay. This is what should be taught in schools. However, I'm gonna bridge that gap now Let's talk about from a salon ownership standpoint She's gonna hit you with all the real facts of what you know What salon owners are looking for when it comes to hire so From whether it be from the business aspect of the personal appearance industry or from a technical standpoint We actually reach every say you guys hit everything in the industry absolutely Very when we teach together a lot of what we get booked for is like a men's and women's clipper cutting Mm-hmm. Okay, so he'll teach the men's end of it Which is like the barbering end of it and then I teach how to use clippers to cut women's hair to make more Money, right? So you can do a much faster women's haircut using clippers and in our industry time is money Right, you can tear through a haircut and have it be very efficient and very accurate in 10 minutes versus 20 minutes You've just doubled your money, right? So that's where we kind of combine forces Well, I think I think a lot of times stylists don't realize that clippers are no more than mechanical shears, right? You know where you have two blades on a sheer you have 26 teeth cutting at 2,500 strokes per minute on your mechanical shears So I think that you know just bringing that type of focus to the education bringing that type of You know being able to bridge that gap between barber to stylist Terminology mechanical shears versus traditional. I think that we're really really doing some amazing things as you know for education for our industry Awesome. So tell me what is what's coming up with you guys? Where are you headed next? Oh, we we have a lot of changes going on right now We've been traveling all over the country more and more and more and you know with each year It's like more weekends that were gone and we had a full staff at the salon We're sort of scaling back and going into our own private studio working by appointment only so that we can keep our clients happy But still keep the industry happy, too So we're now sort of had to make some really hard decisions, you know, do we want to grow the salon into this giant? Salon to take over Detroit or do we want to keep sharing what we what we're doing with the industry because the salon being new It's hard to grow something from the ground up. Yeah while you're on your way You can't yeah, it's hard So anyway, you know and we are firm believers that you know when you divide all of your energy into too many different places You succeed at none of them, right? So we've scaled back that we're moving into a different space So we'll still run education out of out of our smaller space But we'll incorporate photography studio inside our space. Okay, so that's kind of what we're missing too Is turning out more editorial work on a regular basis because we're so busy traveling running a salon dealing with staff doing all this stuff So we've scaled back the salon. It'll just be the two of us We'll scale back the number of days that were there, you know maintain our client base But then have more time for the industry so very cool We're available for hire to travel and come to your salon or you can come to us We haven't set a set schedule in Detroit because it's a little easier to be fluid with it Right and see where we're needed the most and kind of go from there Yeah, we're pretty good with doing pop-up classes, you know, whether it be, you know Couple weeks in advance, whatever the case may be we do a lot of jam sessions Okay, I'm throughout for our space and just hosting a lot of cool events. I know that right now We are definitely doing the IBS Las Vegas show. Okay, we are looking forward to the Naha announcements on May 18 Okay, I hope that I get a nomination this year And definitely a win But you know for the people out there I just want to let you know, you know being a downhorn barber And entering into the men's hair styling competition still hadn't got a nomination yet still hadn't won But I'm still continuing to to fight and for a lot of the barbers out there, you know I think this is something that'll be amazing. It's really good exposure, but it's also good practice Yeah, and really working on your craft. Very cool. It's a lot of stylists that enter. So I mean, I'm I'm really proud of him for Putting himself out there in a world that has traditionally been stylists Yeah, the barbers have sort of like bowed out not really gotten involved. And so You know, if nothing else at least he's sending a message to step outside your box and I think for Naha That's about your box You know and not making it is okay You know, I made it the first year that I ever entered which was Mind-blowing right because you go into it like we'll see what happens, right? But to make it to the finalists round the first year and then not make it at all the second year You know the second year I entered it was like I was missing so right, you know That was an ego a punch to the ego a little bit, but it doesn't make you quit So what do you think is like so now that you've done it, you know a few times and you're entering as well Like what is your focus when you're entering like why why do you think the first year you you got the nomination? Second year nothing so the first year I entered texture texture has always been a love for me It's one of those wild Wild cards that you know, you have to kind of Yeah, it was a huge challenge for me because to me I look at that category and think it's so boring Right because there's nothing to feel there's nothing, you know So to make that interesting and it's funny because we'll see what happens But my contemporary classic collection I like a lot more than I like my texture collection Okay, it's been interesting and he's done a lot this year too. Yeah, so normally I into I've been entering men's the men's You know hairstyles of the year category every year for the last three years Still hadn't given up yet, but you know for me it's more so like you know what since I'm a since I'm a barber I have a barber's license for me. This is something big just for the barbers Yeah, yeah get the nomination get in the wind, you know that will help to really for me solidify where barbers are in our country and the importance of Being a barber not just from you know from a styling aspect But just really really giving the barber something to look forward to too, you know, and right now texture and men's grooming are really really hot Yeah, I think you guys are in the perfect place. Yeah, so good luck with thank you Oh that can't wait to see what happens. Absolutely also congratulations on your cover. Thank you This isn't it this isn't it will be out in June, right June. Yep. I just found out last night It's a it's a huge huge success for yeah a lot. I was working for we dad And we actually have it will be an afro on the cover which I mean it hasn't happened before so that's great It's a really big deal. We're excited. So how can people follow you guys find your education all that? You can go to he runs all of our social media. I'm like, I don't know. How do they find us? You don't even know pass codes right now No, I gave them all the passwords to all my social media so we can help me help me help myself So you can check us out at hair lab Detroit on Twitter at hair lab Detroit on Instagram at hair lab Detroit on Facebook at hair lab Detroit on Google plus Yeah, I didn't know we had all those you do you can go to www.hairlabdetroit.com and you can also get some of our education you can get a subscription or individual educational classes for 99 cents at Hair lab Detroit the Academy dot com good job Yep, and you can find Lauren Moser on Lauren M. Moser on Instagram Lauren Moser on Facebook Roderick Samuels on Instagram at Roderick Samuels on Facebook at Roderick Samuels on Twitter At Roderick Samuels on Google plus that went to the same school you did it it works because the more you read it I mean you can't forget it right. I got shameless plugs for days. That's awesome. Thank you guys so much Good luck with everything. Thank you. Congratulations. Thank you to American Slawn magazine for letting us sit here and talk to cool people That's pretty much it. We'll see you guys on the next video Thanks. Thank you