His name is Eric Rodriguez, but in the barber world he is known as Ebarber828. At the early age of seventeen he got his first pair of clippers after being influenced by a good friend Willie Garcia. Who would have known what the art of barbering had in store for him as a father of two with no idea where his life was headed?
Then he was offered an apprentice spot under Thad Haines who would later teach him all the ins and outs of barbering at the legendary Mike & Joes which opened in 1961 and now has been in operation for over 60 years. Eric says he would go to work every day and take with him his 2-year-old son just because deep down he knew this is what he wanted to do.
He worked long days to establish a clientele and stayed busy at all times. He worked side by side with some of the best and has done some great community events like KUTZ 4 KIDZ, bus trips, charity softball games, and educational seminars etc.
Eric tells us that barbering is evolving increasingly every day and is being taken more seriously. Barbering has provided for him, and his family and he always has taken his profession serious and has given it 100% with great haircuts but most of all GREAT SERVICE. He believes that barbering will take you to wherever you want to go as long as you are continuously doing just that, providing great service.
People often ask him what his proudest accomplishments are, and he always responds with a few such as helping and building up the next generation of barbers, mentoring them, giving them pointers and setting them up for success, and one of the biggest has to be bringing PA the best Barber Battle/Expo in collaboration with his great friend Junior Rivera, especially bringing it to their own hometown here in Berks County. It’s an event of competitions, networking, vendors, education, platforming all under one roof. Throughout the years this event has grown bigger and bigger drawing in one thousand barbers from all over as far as Florida, Texas, Virginia, New York, New Jersey and even the Virgin Islands etc…
We asked Eric to leave us with some barbering wisdom and this is what he had to say; “Not everything when it comes to barbering is easy. There are lots of people who think barbering is easy and they chase barbering as a lifestyle and find out really fast that this is a profession. You see barbers have to work long hours on their feet, work weekends, most have no health insurance and must create their own financial future.” Also having a good support system is key. Therefore, he thanks God every day for his wife (the strength of the family) and who totally understands the barber hustle along with all that comes with it. She is always holding it down day in and day out.
He also wants people to not forget that when the world was shut down due to a national pandemic, barbers were deemed essential, and the world got to see for themselves the importance of barbering. -Ebarber828
Palo Magazine
Again, thanks to our model: Josh Morales CEO of PaFlipBros