"Cutting Hair Keeps Me Afloat"

Cutting hair has kept Sean Davis, a 33 year-old barber, afloat in different circumstances and places throughout his life.

The Californian born, who now lives in Miami, started to cut neighbors' and friends’ hair for five dollars at the age of 14. “I was still in school but loved cutting hair,” Sean Davis said.

Sean Davis grew in East Oakland, California. As a teenager, Sean was selling drugs and cutting hair, while struggling with school. He got into a lot of trouble. East Oakland was a hostile area - plagued with gangs, crack and poverty. "There were not many jobs,” said Sean Davis. 

Sean Davis’ mother wanted a change for him before it was too late; so, she got a job in Virginia. Sean moved to Virginia with his mother and grandmother while his two siblings stayed with his father in Oakland. Sean quickly found a job in a barber shop in the Virginia Beach area.

It was easy for Sean to build clientele in a short period of time. The shop was by the corner of a high school in a nice neighborhood and people were way friendlier than in Oakland. “There was not much pressure to be tough in Virginia,” Sean Davis said.

Star Style, where Sean worked in Virginia, was a flourishing business. They offered a regular cut for $5 and a fade plus face for $ 10. The shop was always packed and Sean got used to make an average of $ 200 per day. He quickly started to lose interest for school, spending more time working. “It was like being back in Oakland selling drugs again; but, it was legal so you couldn’t go to jail,” Sean Davis said.

Back then in Oakland, he used to sell marijuana bags for five dollars. Now he was cutting hair for five dollars on a 60 % commission plus tips. It was the same energy but more fun. He made a lot of friends and saw a father figure in some of his older friends. "Once you cut it good, they respect you as a person,” said Sean Davis.

Davis finally dropped out of high school in 11^th grade. His mother did not like that decision so he promised her he would get a GED. “I went to a night school for five months until I got my diploma.”

Sean had his first daughter at the age of 17 and came back to California as he turned 18. “I missed California and my friends,” Sean Davis said

 From that point on, Sean worked in barbershops in Las Vegas, Arizona, North West DC, and New York. At the age of 22, Sean met a girl from Trinidad and had his first son. But, his continuous trouble making forced him to leave the town again so he came back to Virginia. He was arrested for trafficking and served two years in prison after having two daughters.

Sean cut inmates’ hairs on daily basis; he did between 10 and 15 cuts a day. He used to put Magic Shave on the hairline and shave the edges with a playing card. "You got to be creative to cut hair in prison because you don’t have all the tools," Sean Davis said.

The demand was high and Sean made money on it. He had learned how to cut in layers using a scissor and a comb while he worked in a Mexican barbershop in Tempe, Arizona. His only experience in a non-black barbershop had given him the skills to be highly appreciated in prison. Officers gave them the clippers twice a week before visitation but no attachment combs. Everybody wanted to look good and Sean was the only one who knew how to do layers with the clipper and a regular comb. "I never had a fight in prison,” said Sean Davis.

Once out of prison at the age of 27, Davis came back to California. He felt he was going down the same vicious circle. Sean knew he may either go back to the penitentiary or end up dead. Nothing had changed. "My friends were doing the same shit,” he said.

Sean’s sister had been in Miami for six years already. For several months, she insisted he could restart his life since nobody knew him in Miami. “She offered me a kit of tools and a plane ticket and I accepted.”

Sean has been in Miami for the last 18 months. He first tried a barbershop at Biscayne and 62^nd street but it was to slow. He quit after two weeks and has been working in Platinum Boyz Barbershop ever since. “It was a fresh start, a new me,” Sean Davis said.

Sean lives by himself . He talks to his children everyday and support them financially. His two daughters from Virginia are staying with him for the entire Summer. "I’m very excited.”

Ethnic Media Growth Is Just Impressive

Ethnic media play an important role in democracy. They have the ability to provide a more insightful view when it comes to ethnic news.

The section on ethnic media is full of examples of the unifying, directing and watching dog role of ethnic media for ethnic groups; but, its rapid growth really caught my attention. As the immigrant population increases, so does ethnic media. That makes total sense.

The news industry, especially newspapers, has been steadily shrinking for the last several years. According to the state of the media 2011 by the Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ), 1,000 to 1,500 more newsroom jobs will have been lost—meaning newspaper newsrooms are 30% smaller than in 2000. However, the readings on ethnic media reveal ethnic media growth is skyrocketing as it reaches impressive numbers in New York or expands to states that are not traditionally familiar with minority media.

Journalists are appealing to creative and diverse forms of journalism to survive in a changing, uncertain industry. The fact that ethnic media are growing as media in general is contracting makes me think that ethnic media could be or is the way for many journalists to build a career.

Ethnic media are not only increasing in quantity but also in variety. They are extending to multiple platforms as later generations start to consume their products. Some of them provide news in their languages of origin and English. Also, they are serving populations that were not even in the media landscape in recent years such as African groups.

Ethnic media also have a unique model right now. While mainstream media are predominantly owned by private corporations, ethnic media are still owned by independents or are family businesses. This might be a factor why ethnic media is still effective fulfilling a community role and feeding democracy in contrast with mainstream media. In 2010, mainstream media were effective generating more debate but highly ineffective expanding it, according to the state of the media annual report by PEJ.

Platinum Boyz, the Story

Platinum Boyz, a black barbershop located in a multi ethnic section of Biscayne Boulevard, prospers due to the warm environment they create and the professionalism of its barbers. Fancy furniture stores and restaurants, motels, community centers, and fast-food restaurants surround the barbershop in a collage of tones and flavors. But inside the barber shop, a different world takes place.

On the front left chair, the client was facing to the ceiling as Hanes Wousess, who everyone calls Kat and is also the manager, was meticulously doing the edges of his beard. Even though this requires surgical precision, Kat managed to handle the blade and rap in unison with the speakers, smiling in between verses.

Other three barbers were working at the front right chair and the contiguous chairs toward the back, doing a goatee and two cuts respectively. Two young men were patiently waiting on the comfy, black chairs next to the entrance. Everyone seemed to participate of a celebration while exchanging singings and looks through the mirrors hanged along the side walls of the rectangular room. The smell of after-shave lotion sealed the deal.

The idea of being pleased while getting a hair cut is the core principle of Platinum Boyz. That is why it was named after the barbershop a cappella vocal quartet Platinum, which has won several international quartet championships. Barbershop vocal music began in the late 1930s with a cappella quartets that used to sign simple songs to delight the clientele according to the Barbershop Harmony Society.

Platinum opened its doors in 2009. Ever since, the shop gives service mainly to the black community split at both sides of the busy artery, in an area known as Morningside. However, some clients derive from the various business places neighboring the barbershop.

Sean Davis, 33, who has been a barber in California, Virginia, New York, Las Vegas and Miami for the last 19 years, believes Platinum Boyz stands out in comparison to other black barber shops in the area because of its prices and quality of service. A regular cut costs $ 10.00 for kids and $ 15.00 for adults. Designs that include words, symbols and arts fluctuate around $ 80.00.

“We don’t have the advertising they have; but, we have lower prices and better performance," Sean Said.    "Clients come often times from those places and we have to fix what they did. Many of them become our regulars."

However, other barbershops such as T.O. Cutz Barber Shop, owned by NFL star Terrell Owens, and Chop Shop Barber Shop are way more popular than Platinum in the area. They spend robust amounts of money in celebrity advertising; therefore, many clients gravitate towards them, making serious competition to Platinum Boyz.

The shop’s website and word-of-mouth are the primary forms of advertising for Platinum boyz. Still, they find the way to appeal to the general public and celebrities alike. Rapper Rick Ross, singer Travie McCoy and Miami Heat Dexter Pittman are some of the celebrities Platinum barbers have worked with.