[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/web.bellus.qa.dev-q.com\/beauty-and-wellness-careers\/u-s-veteran-finds-passion-for-barbering-during-military-service\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/web.bellus.qa.dev-q.com\/beauty-and-wellness-careers\/u-s-veteran-finds-passion-for-barbering-during-military-service\/","headline":"U.S. Veteran finds passion for Barbering during Military Service","name":"U.S. Veteran finds passion for Barbering during Military Service","description":"Interview led by Behind the Chair: All hairdressers can tell you the moment they discovered their passion for hair, and when we heard the story of Kristyl Rodriguez ...","datePublished":"2019-05-15","dateModified":"2025-07-01","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/web.bellus.qa.dev-q.com\/author\/bellus-editor\/#Person","name":"Bellus Editor","url":"https:\/\/web.bellus.qa.dev-q.com\/author\/bellus-editor\/","identifier":3,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Bellus Academy","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Purple_Logo_Bellus_horizontal.png","url":"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Purple_Logo_Bellus_horizontal.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/web.bellus.qa.dev-q.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Screen-Shot-2019-05-15-at-4.07.18-PM.png","url":"https:\/\/web.bellus.qa.dev-q.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Screen-Shot-2019-05-15-at-4.07.18-PM.png","height":389,"width":453},"url":"https:\/\/web.bellus.qa.dev-q.com\/beauty-and-wellness-careers\/u-s-veteran-finds-passion-for-barbering-during-military-service\/","video":{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"VideoObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=pO8MOP5jaJo#VideoObject","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=pO8MOP5jaJo","name":"Beauty Changes Lives Sydell and Arnold Miller \"Art of Haircutting\" Scholarship","description":"Beauty Changes Lives Sydell and Arnold Miller \"Art of Haircutting\" Scholarship \n\nThis is my video submission for the \"Art of Haircutting\" scholarship.\n\n\n- MYSTIC MEDIA FILM - 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I want to be able to spark that passion into people where we\u2019re making this industry ten times better, we\u2019re learning from our history and we\u2019re carrying on that legacy,\u201d shares Kristyl. Read her story below.The Beginning: Inspiration Can Strike AnywhereKristyl joined the Marine Corps in 2014 and was enlisted at the age of 19. Her first duty station was in Okinawa, Japan, followed by a field operation in Korea. Every Sunday during Kristyl\u2019s time in Korea, a barber would visit the site and give haircuts to the Marines. But then, this happened: \u201cI was in a tent doing my own hair,\u201d shares Kristyl. \u201cI would just do shape ups and line ups for myself, nothing too crazy, when I had a Marine Sergeant come up to me and ask me for a haircut. I had never cut anybody\u2019s hair before but I jumped right into it and he ended up loving it\u2026and with his outreach and leadership, literally the next day, I had 13 Marines lined up for me.\u201dThis is the first moment that Kristyl considered barbering as a future career\u2014she settled on charging $5 a haircut and that was it. With a strong intrinsic motivation and entrepreneurial spirit, she worked overnight shifts on guard duty from 12a.m. to 8a.m., then cut hair during the days. What Kristyl learned was profound: Hairdressers touch more hearts than heads and every time you service a client, there\u2019s impact.The Impact of A Haircut\u201cAs a Marine, the standards for appearance are at an all-time high. The uniform has to be squared away and ironed. Everything needs to be flush, measured properly\u2014there\u2019s a lot of attention to detail,\u201d shares Kristyl. \u201cI was looking at Marines from head to toe. It tore up my heart because we\u2019re the finest people of this nation and we need to be walking around as such. That\u2019s where the impact in my mind and heart came from, and I wanted to be able to transmit that through my hands to the people around me\u2026and have them walk around feeling proud and good from head to toe, and representing this nation as such.\u201dFinding Creativity Within Strict LimitationsKristyl found opportunities for creativity and personality within the strict military protocol. \u201cYou can still be free and have structure,\u201d shares Kristyl. The universal men\u2019s grooming standard is skin fade (100 percent automatic) and there are three options: medium fade, high fade or high and tight. \u201cI wanted them to have personality as well, so they could still be themselves while respecting regulations,\u201d says Kristyl. \u201cYou don\u2019t want to lose your identity, but when you\u2019re being so restricted you\u2019re bound to in a sense, so you need to remind yourself of who you are and don\u2019t forget it.\u201d\u00a0Similarities In Service: Military & Barbering\u00a0After returning from service, Kristyl asked herself what the next challenge and chapter in her life would be. That\u2019s when she decided to pursue her education as a barber at Bellus Academy. Learning from her own history and looking forward, she found many similarities in her service and serving as a barber:Leadership and the ability to lead oneself, admit your own faults and weaknesses and always seek self improvement.The use of measurements on uniform translates to the attention to detail on a haircut or the structure of the haircut.There\u2019s logic (go by the books) and there\u2019s freestyle (when sometimes the books don\u2019t work for certain heads.) There\u2019s measurement and there\u2019s free will where you figure it out on your own.Beauty Changes Lives: The Power of EducationAs Kristyl continues her education, she continues to challenge herself like entering (and winning!) the Sydell & Arnold Miller Family \u201cArt of Haircutting\u201d Student Scholarship which is administered by Beauty Changes Lives. The scholarship covers tuition for a student up to $5,000. \u201cI think education is so important,\u201d shares Kristyl. \u201cI want people to know me as someone who educated themself, to see my selflessness to serve my country and now this industry\u2014and my giving heart.\u201dTo watch her Beauty Changes Lives entry video click here:"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Beauty And Wellness Careers","item":"https:\/\/web.bellus.qa.dev-q.com\/beauty-and-wellness-careers\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"U.S. Veteran finds passion for Barbering during Military Service","item":"https:\/\/web.bellus.qa.dev-q.com\/beauty-and-wellness-careers\/u-s-veteran-finds-passion-for-barbering-during-military-service\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]