Meet Karla Leon | Barber/Artist .

We had the good fortune of connecting with Karla Leon and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Karla, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I think life it self is all about risks, you will never know what you can accomplish if you don’t just jump off the cliff and take a chance on yourself , all you have to do is believe that you can , and you will !

Taking risks has actually made a huge impact in both my life and career. It’s definitely a scary process but what’s the worse that can happen ? Failure? You have nothing to lose ,for failure gives the best lessons in life.

I started my career very early . I enrolled in Barber School at 15 years old , and got my first job as a licensed barber at the age of 16 , in a male dominant industry..

I’m currently expanding my business and brand  “369 Studio by KLeon” . Would I had not taken the risk then , when I was afraid the most , I would have never made it to where I am now, and I can truly say I’m extremely grateful!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m an artist , barbering is my craft , making art with hair . My client is my canvas , I enjoy watching things take form , especially on hair . You can really make someone look and feel different with just one haircut , it’s like glamour magic as I like to joke about it . what sets me apart from others in my industry is the engagement, the trust ,and how my clients confide in me. I really take the time to get to know them and engage in deep conversations , my time becomes their time , I take much much pride in what I do , for me it’s the engagement and the creativity  , it’s expressive art.

The things that I’m proud of the most , is all the projects I have been able to bring to life within the industry, even when other people or myself thought I’d never be able to do it .. I’ve participated in barber competitions, taken home trophies and medals , I’ve even hosted a barber battle , I created a podcast at one time , that was really fun . Learning about how other barbers started in the industry and what kept them motivated . I put out my brand , currently working on a clothing line. and also humbling projects like giving back to the community ,  donating my time and haircuts … what really really excites me has to be new projects . That always gets my adrenaline rush going , putting something together and watching it grow . I’m really proud of my shop now , it started as a studio and now currently working on expanding it bringing “369 Studio  by Kleon” to live . I’ve tried opening my own shop many times  before , four times to be exact.  I would succeed to open but not to continue in business .No matter how many times I fail , I always try again , I simply enjoy being my own boss and doing things my way.

My journey here has not been easy at all ! Not only did I start really young and inexperienced , but I am also in a male dominant industry . I can’t remember how many times I would go home crying because my work was just trash at the time and even though I would try so hard , people just wouldn’t see it ,  human beings can be so harsh and not understanding , people don’t realize that everything is a process and it takes time ,I would get so many negative comments , I felt like I was never going to be able to get it right , I almost gave up on it , but 18 years later I’m here & still cutting hair . I remember when I first began my career it was really tough , I had to work twice as hard just to be good like the guys in the shop and also to prove that I was good enough . I wanted to reach certain goals in the industry ,one of them was to be known as a good barber despite being a female , I wanted to prove gender did not matter , that it wasn’t about being male or female but the passion put into the work, of how clean the work looks and how the client feels after a haircut  . First I had to gain the experience , but gaining the trust of clients was the hardest part of all , it took me about a year and half to polish my craft , I don’t want to say perfect it because as an artist there’s always room for growth ,keeping your mind open for new learning experiences is a must! There’s also a lot of new trends to keep up with , but I did get to polish my haircuts really nice in that time frame . At the time female barbers were really not a thing and I had to really really work hard to build my clientele and trust from them . I remember I would just move shops the moment I felt like I wasn’t learning anymore , I wanted to learn new techniques and how to handle different textures of hair , I wanted to be good like the barbers I would look up to . There were a lot of times where I was the only female barber in the shop & I had to learn to grow thick skin , the clients weren’t any nicer either , I would always either get shut down , faces made at me or simply ignored , I remember I use to get so mad at some of the comments I would receive , but if I really wanted to be like the top barbers I simply had to keep trying , perseverance was the key! eventually I started building clientele and my work and technique started getting recognition.

In the process I learned not to take things so serious , there’s a process and reason for everything ,I’ve learned to have more fun with my craft despite the negative comments and interactions. I realized that you will get as far as you want to push , that there can not be positive growth without those negative moments it’s all part of the journey, it’s a balance there can not be one without the other . I learned that my art wasn’t for everyone and that is perfectly ok , that who ever was interested , would appreciate my work for the art that it is ,no matter if I was male or female , in the end I realized that the only person who truly needed to accept the barber and artist that I am, it’s me ! Sooner or later The right people always come along , people come and people go , and there’s a learning experience in every interaction. But over all I’ve learned to never give up on my dreams .

What I want people to learn about my brand and story is that every project I put my hands on will always come from the heart because I’m passionate about everything I do! even if it seems irrelevant. I always pour my heart and soul onto things , all I ever wanted was for someone to take a chance on me without paying attention to the gender but for the type of work that I do ,my art represents who I am .

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would Definitely take them to Sedona , it’s just so raw and beautiful, it’s a beautiful place to meditate and to simply be , find peace and admire the beauty of it. Sedona is always my go to place to reconnect and ground myself.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to thank my parents for giving me the opportunity to be in the industry that I’m in , for pushing me to do something I didn’t want to do at the time.

My children for being my everyday motivation .

A very special thank you to my very first bosses , Osman & Rodrigo Matamoros from Rigo’s barbershop , who gave me the opportunity with no experience whatsoever and allowed me to learn in their shop .

I’m grateful for my business partner JG for taking a chance on me.

Salomon Gaxiola who played a huge role in my barber career, he supported me in my worse moments .

Also I want to thank all the barbershop owners I’ve ever worked for, positive or negative , overall I always learned something new at every single barbershop I’ve worked for , I want to thank them for giving me the experience ,  opportunity and growth .

But most of all I want to thank my very loyal clients . Who make my busy weekends possible, the ones that have been present , supporting me in my journey for years , without them I wouldn’t be recognized for my work nor I’d be where I’m at now , they show the most loving , genuine and unconditional support , I feel like they believe in me the most!

Instagram: @369_studiobykleon

Image Credits
Ray Mora Jacqueline Treviño