In January 2025, I was cut from a contract with the US National Archives — part of the first wave of DOGE layoffs. Two days later, the platform I'd spent nearly 15 years helping build with the US Department of Defense was taken offline overnight. Fifteen years of work, gone before the week was out.
I'd spent my career in HR consulting and learning technology, helping people stuck in low-grade federal roles build the skills to move up — and building the xAPI Profile Server that underpinned digital learning across government. It was meaningful work. Until it wasn't there anymore.
So I asked myself: what kind of work can't just be switched off? What do people actually feel?
The answer I kept coming back to was: a great haircut.
From curriculum to clippers
In October 2025 — thanks in part to a Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act grant — I enrolled at Erskine Reeves Barber Academy in Hillside, IL. I graduate and get my license in November 2026. I've been cutting ever since and I'm not looking back.
My whole career in tech was mobile-first. Not having a shop is actually a feature, not a bug. I'd rather show up at your home, your office, a farmers market, a disc golf outing, or a tailgate than wait for you to find parking. The freedom of that is something I genuinely love.
Who I love taking care of
I have a soft spot for the O.G.'s who've been in the game longer than I have. I love working with women experiencing alopecia or thinning hair — helping someone look and feel their best when hair loss has been hard is something I take seriously. I love a kid who wants to talk Pokémon, Smash Bros, or sneakers while I work. And I especially love sitting down with a young person who's ready to figure out their whole look — bold styles, color, something that's really theirs.
If you found this site and something clicked — that's the idea. I want to be your guy.