Today, we’d like to introduce you to ZomBee Mike.
Hi ZomBee, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My start into hair was sprinkled throughout my growing-up years. Spending time at Cut, Color, & Curl in Chino, California, while my mama and abuelita would get their hair done by a family friend. Or summers getting cut in the garage by my friend’s youngest brother.
It didn’t stop when I asked my at-the-time manager of Pacsun, who was also a barber, if I wanted to pursue barbering. “no, you don’t.” Anthony said as he was fading me in Yorba Linda at Cuts & Glory. It was another reason to keep pursuing; it ultimately brought me out to Utah, where I left the world of finance and the realm of 9-5 corporate America. And To go to Paul Mitch The School full time while working as a server/food runner in downtown Salt Lake City.
Time at PMTS was fast, and I made friends and met instructors that I keep in contact with today. It’s also the birthplace of ZomBee Mike, the hair persona we get here today. From school, I had opportunities to work for different shops throughout the valley, piecing together what an ideal workplace could be like. Taking all I’ve learned along the way.
A couple of years after school, I found myself going back to school, but as a barber instructor, it was exciting, challenging, and humbling all together. It pushes one to refine oneself in order to break it down. You catch yourself behind the chair asking yourself, “Why am I doing diagonal sections?” “Do I count my clicks on the clipper, or do I just eye the hair and go from there?” “do I report my tips?” And plenty of other questions.
My time in the school overlapped with the transition to the current location in Millcreek called Salt Valley Barber Co.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Bartending/Serving didn’t always cover the bills, and with some not-great decisions, a car repo was quickly on my plate shortly after graduation. We spent plenty of days on KSL searching for a “commuter,” which ended up breaking down; after about three cars or so, we were blessed to be riding safely.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Im a hair geek, to me hair is everything. For example, “cowlicks” or whirls in our hair tend to follow the clockwise/counterclockwise patterning. Which, in turn, can help you section the top of one’s head in pie sections down to the hour and minutes.
If you can visualize that for a second. Understanding those patterns allows different sections to cut precisely or place specific textures. Hair is unique just as the person who is wearing it, but styling may come from a collective inspiration. Lots of my cutting & color inspiration comes from anime like Demon Slayer, Mashle, Yu-Gi-Oh, and others.
What sets me apart is the experience you can have in my chair, we are gonna talk about your likes and dislikes of your hair, your hair goals. Product use: Don’t use 4 in 1 daily. Routines: do they have one? Are they open to one? And the benefits of adding a moisturizing hair mask twice a month can do for someone who doesn’t routine at all.
We are gonna geek out together, the infinite vault of information relevant or not will keep the conversations going. A client shared during a cut that the killer whale info-dumping I did on his last haircut was later shared on his date, which earned him extra points. Your barber is more than a barber.
Lastly, we are gonna work together on their hair goals or vision and do what we can to make them a reality and, in the process, sprinkle some confidence into their days.
What does success mean to you?
Success is finding one’s passion & being recognized for one’s said passion.
Pricing:
- Cut & Beard Combo -$50
- Modern Cut – $35
- VIP – $65
Contact Info:
- Website: www.saltvalleybarber.com
- Instagram: @ZomBee.Hair
