ARLINGTON, Texas—Growing up in Chicago with three brothers and a single father trying to make ends meet left few options when it came time to get haircuts.
So, at 13 years old, Fernando Salinas started cutting his younger brothers’ hair, saying it couldn’t be worse than the chili bowls their late father would give them.
What started as Salinas helping his father save money and making his brothers look fresh would eventually evolve into him opening 817 Barbershop in 2018 in Arlington.
“I knew very early on that I wanted my own [shop],” Salinas said. “I think whenever I started, I wouldn’t say out hustling or out working but caring more about the shop more than the people around me did, kind of had that owner mentality. Grace of God, was able to make it happen.”
Salinas said the first haircut he gave as a professional was his father, whom he credits, along with his two kids and wife, as the people who made him the man he is today.
Salinas said watching his dad do everything he could to make sure his kids were all right always stuck with him. He said he knew when he had kids, he was going to be an active and loving father. Salinas and his wife, high school sweethearts, had their son as teenagers. That early responsibility flipped a switch that ultimately made him pursue cutting hair. They later had a daughter who only made him want to work harder.
The approach Salinas takes in being a husband and father is the same approach he takes in the barber shop.
Calvin Johnson, who’s worked at 817 Barbershop for nearly two years, said Salinas brings the same mindset into the shop every day.
“Nando showed me a lot, bro, I ain’t gonna lie. I learned the majority of the stuff that I know from Nando,” Johnson said. “From cuts, to attitude in a barber shop, to just unwritten rules that you should know about, like the kids—no cursing in the shop with kids. Just real stand-up [stuff] that you should probably learn in life.”
For Salinas, the human connection and conversation he has are his favorite part of the job. Adriel Rivas, who’s been going to Salinas for four years, takes a seat, and they start talking about a basketball game that took place between the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio the night before.
Some conversations revolve around sports, while others get deeper and more personal. Rivas called the shop a “safe space” that allows guys to let their guard down and share parts of their lives that they may not feel comfortable sharing elsewhere.
The sound of clippers buzzing, conversation and music fill the purposefully small shop. Salinas said he knew he wanted to build that type of atmosphere in his shop.
“People were my No. 1 priority, always,” Salinas said. “They’ve always been my No. 1 priority. That’s why we’re here. We’re here to cater to the people where we serve, the community we serve. We’re servants. I’m a servant.”
