Our Story
Gettin' Faded
Our Story
When it comes to our story, Gettin’ Faded has had several twist and turns. Infact, many moments that almost crushed our dreams but through our perseverance and tenacious attitude, those moments actually defined us.
Our story begins in 1989. I decided to use my brother and my friends as models as I was about to take on a new hobby; haircutting. I figured what better place to start than in my own home. My office was a massive 8’ x 4’ bathroom. I had many hobbies before and cutting hair seemed like a great way to pass the time as I figured out what the next cool thing was, or so I thought. Turned out cutting hair happened more and more frequent as my friends passed on the word of what I was doing. Cutting my friends hair for a few hours turned into having to book people for appointments a few weeks out. It was great.
Its now 1993 and it was a regular day during my 9 to 5 hustle of cutting hair as my brother and friends where just hanging out talking as I did my thing. This was the moment that some one said that he was next and he was going to get a “fade”. All stories have a beginning and this was the moment that it all came together and Gettin’ Faded was born. I spoke to my sister about how I loved the name and she suggested getting it registered. She could hear the passion in my voice as I told her about the possibilities and she got it done. Gettin’ Faded was official.
I was not ready to open up my own barbershop so I continued to work and grind everyday that I took on another job. I was cutting hair on the weekends in a makeshift barbershop my dad put together in the garage. In 1998, I quit both my jobs to go to barber school full-time. Once I finally got my barbers license from a school in South Central Los Angeles, it was hard to find a job because I had zero experience working in the field professionaly but even though no one would give me a chance I never gave up.
I began working at the Fox Hills mall in Culver City while only making $85 a week. Although I was making very little money I knew that there was still so much room for growth and I had to see my dream come true. After sometime I ended up working at a shop in Inglewood where I stayed for two years. During that time I had convinced one of my cousins to go to barber school and in 2004, I brought my cousin along and we purchased an existing shop for $30,000. Gettin Faded was now a real place but it didn’t feel complete.
After many years of late nights, long hours, hard work and a little bit of luck, I partnered up with an awesome individual, my sister and Gettin Faded was built from the ground up. You see, Gettin’ Faded isn’t just about hair cuts and looking good, it is a lifestyle, a culture that we love and live true to our selves. Over the years we managed to open up two more shops in our community. Each bigger than the last. We participate in several events every year and have made friends along the way with other business that care for our city just as much as we do.
The Argonaught has honored us with the award of Best Local Barber Shop 4 years in a row since 2017!
2020 was a rough year for everyone but it was a breaking point for us because we had plans to open our third shop that is across the street from the new Sofi Stadium in Inglewood. The world was having a rough time but giving up wasn’t an option. Through love and support we crawled out of that mess with our heads held up high and knew that the end was no where near. We opened with flying colors.
Like all stories, they have a beginning and we are just starting to tell our story.
