Today we’d like to introduce you to Ariel Elias.
Hi Ariel, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
It seems an impossible task to pinpoint exactly what makes me interesting, I am interested in many things and fascinated by life in general. Born and raised in the sunshine of Southern California, at the ripe age of 21 in 2012 I was an almost graduate of CSUN with a major in ecology and evolutionary biology. I blew up my life, in a span of a few days I broke up with a dude I shouldn’t have been with, quit my job, dropped out of school and spontaneously moved from LA to San Diego. My dream of being a scientist was years later fulfilled in 2018 by becoming a hairdresser at Robert Cromeans Salon, now I get to do science experiments with chemical reactions in the form of haircolor on peoples heads. A few years later I joined EasiHairPro, a local hair extension company, as an educator. Being a part of EHP healed my inner child, I was the youngest of 4, raised by a low income single mom, as a child the extent of our travel and vacations consisted of packing the Astrovan, driving a few hours, camping in a tent where I will no doubt end up with the air mattress that has a slow leak and wake up with my ribs on the floor. Don’t get me wrong camping has it’s charm but this girl likes white linen bed sheets and a chocolate on my pillow. The first time I flew on an airplane I was 19 years old, and now with EHP, in one year I flew on more than 30 airplanes (I counted)! and then next thing you know, this little girl is further than a few hours drive from home, I am all over this beautiful country and seeing the most amazing places. I had the thought that I would use this job to fulfill my sense of adventure and then I will learn along the way how to teach these classes. Low and behold I found out that I LOVE teaching, and I’m really good at it!! I worked so hard and pushed for so long to build my hairdressing and EHP career and at the hight of it all, when I was on top of the world, it was then time to take a step back. In 2016 I met a guy through friends here in San Diego, he was tall and handsome and stole my heart, and we started dating. In 2023 he started his own small business of fresh ingredient, human-grade pet food and for so long I had this “you got this” mentality, you have your business and I have mine. It wasn’t until we married in 2025 (we eloped in Japan) that I really asked myself “when do HIS dreams become OUR dreams?” In this year of 2026 I’ve made moves in my career and schedule to officially come into Pooches Kitchen as an owner. My then boyfriend, now Husband Anthony started Pooches Kitchen right here at home for the love of my dog Molly, now our dog I guess. Molly is my soul dog, she’s the one thing in this world that holds my whole heart. I got her as a puppy when I was 18 years old, she’s been my one constant through moving cities, homes, careers, boyfriends etc. I’m turning 35 this year and she is 16 years old and counting. I am a firm believer that she is so healthy at her age because of her diet, Pooches Kitchen isn’t just a business that I am helping my husband with, it’s what is giving me more days with my beloved dog Molly, and as we approach her golden years, I’ll trade anything for just one more day.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Everyone has a unique and special story and we all have a long long list of obstacles and challenges along the way. My challenge is and has always been time, I could tell you all about the bartending and waitressing jobs in my 20’s that I maintained while going to school, many many nights of getting home from a shift at midnight or later just to wake up to a 5am alarm to get to an early class, and my dog Molly was a trooper through it all. Every day I had heavy heavy bags under my eyes, but I still had a smile on my face got through it!
Today in my 3o’s I no longer having an assignment due in the morning and asking “mixed or shaken?” at night, but it seems I am still just as busy! Now my day is filled with sending out Pooches Kitchen marketing emails about ‘the importance of your dog having consistent poops’ in the 30 minute window of time while my client’s hair color is processing, then it’s time for their relaxing shampoo and a blow dry set. Multitasking as a hairdresser is next to impossible because my client in front of me gets 100% of my attention, have you ever gotten your hair done by a stylist with their laptop open next to them? it doesn’t work! I have found that if I think about everything I have to do to maintain my hairdressing career and build Pooches Kitchen as balls in the air that I juggle, then I will become completely overwhelmed and drop a ball. I’ve evolved my process and my schedule into roles, basically different hats that I wear, I only wear one cap at a time and devote 100% of my attention to what’s in front of me. On a weekly basis I am 4 days in the salon and 3 days on Pooches Kitchen, On a monthly basis my clientele is on a routine schedule so I’ve created a schedule of 3weeks on, 1week off to accommodate them all and then I get one full week to devote to Pooches Kitchen and unfortunately my amazing job with EHP had to come to an end, it was a huge sacrifice, but I will get back to 30+ airplanes a year later in life, mark my words. My days/weeks/months are meticulously planned and scheduled, I can look at any day and time in the future and I can tell you exactly what ‘hat’ i’ll be wearing at that time. All the while still trying to find the time to wear the hat of wife, sister, friend etc. I recently had a friend tell me ‘you’ve disappeared’ because my schedule has not allotted for a lot of friend time, as much as that hurt, I think that in the future I will look back on what I’m doing now and think these are the best times in my life. There’s something so beautiful about things being hard, I had more fun building my last career, when I got good at it then it wasn’t fun anymore. I’m addicted to the challenge, I’m constantly learning, and always reading the next big business book, I go towards things in life that are scary and seem out of reach just to prove that I can do it. So as much as time is my challenge, when it’s used right it’s also my strength. Theres only one resource that is evenly spread to every single person on earth and it’s time, how do you use your time?
As you know, we’re big fans of Pooches Kitchen . For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
At Pooches Kitchen we make human grade, fresh ingredient dog food cooked in small batches and delivered right to your San Diego doorstep on a bi-weekly basis. Our pet nutritionist created recipes are all lab tested and AAFCO compliant for a perfect and balanced meal. Not a single ingredient that you can’t pronounce, and four proteins to choose from beef, chicken, pork and turkey, we’re perfect for picky eaters. Feed your dog a complete meal or use our recipes as a topper with your dogs favorite kibble.
I whole heartedly believe that the Pooches Kitchen diet saved my dogs life, we started because my sweet molly came down with pancreatitis and each ingredient she ate became a life threatening situation. At the time I had to learn that there’s no such thing as ‘dog food’ and ‘people food’ theres just food and they need to nourish their bodies the same way you and I do. Since we switched her to a home cooked meal she overcame her illness and has been healthier than ever. We then started cooking for our friends and family’s pooches and the business grew from there. Pooches Kitchen is perfect for the family that would like to home cook their dogs meals but don’t have the time, we got you covered!
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was the 4th and last child of two people that should have never had children, their distain for each other was stronger than their love for their children. I’m hardly the first child raised by divorced parents but I was born into a situation full of trials and tribulations, what that has taught me is to cherish what I DO have, and that is 3 amazing siblings that I love, including one sister with down syndrome who is one of the greatest people I know. And the most recent addition is my little niece, my hat of being ‘auntie’ is my favorite hat that I wear. My family is small but mighty, I am a walking and breathing example of ‘your past does not define you’.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.arieldoeshair.com and www.poocheskitchen.com
- Instagram: @ariels.hair @poocheskitchen
- Youtube: @poocheskitchen
