Through the pitfalls and nervousness of the early days, I strove to accept my career as it unfolded. The first job that made a lasting impression on me was in a salon that actually did hair analysis. The testing of grams force and percentage of elongation intrigued my scientific nature. Knowing about the structure of hair became just as important to me as the knowledge of creating new images on actual human beings, and the power that it held.
Moving from my hometown to Nashville was a major stepping stone in my professional evolution. Through the patience of my first best friend and mentor in Nashville, Danny Miller, I was taught a new "English" style of barbering that made a quantum leap in my hair cutting ability.