Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Arrieta.
Alex, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My name is Alex Arrieta, I was born on July 20th, 1990 (31 years old) in Lima, Peru. Raised on an “middle class” household in Lima. Oldest son of 3 and son of a young entrepreneur (also Alex Arrieta) and a banker (Giselle Vidaurre). I started playing soccer at the age of 6 years old and started developing a special love and passion for the sport. Coming from a family that was very influential when it came to the sport as my grandfather (a retired Air force general) was the “number 10” from his air force team, and my dad was the “number 10” from the Air force high school he assisted, in which I assisted to an also represented as the “number 10” on the same team 30 years later. (I write “number 10” as many may know the number 10 in soccer is like the quarterback of the team and most important one as well). In 2001 we won the regional championship with me winning (young player of the season) as I was one of the youngest on the team playing with people 2-3 years older than me and led to the 3 mains professional peruvian soccer teams to put their eye on me ( Alianza Lima, Sporting Cristal, and Universitario de Deportes) I chose to go to the tryout of Universitario de deportes because I was a “die-hard” fan. I did not to a regular tryout since I was picked by a scout to go get looked at by the team. I remember getting there with my dad and he looked more nervous than me. He confessed to me later on the nerves he felt getting there was because we got there and the team I was trying out for was already playing against another team and my dad did not only saw the level in which these kids played but also, he was worried about these kids were ballers from the slums of Perú and they were “more street” than me as I was raised on a nice neighborhood he felt the pressure he thought I was going to feel, he told me “alexito, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want, your mom and I will always be proud of you no matter what) I told my dad to unlock the door and that I was ready to go. My dad describes me as a lion coming out of a cage when he tells this story to all of his friends in many occasions. Long story short, I came in in the second half after a substitution playing on a new team, with “intimidating “players I didn’t even know. 15 mins later I scored one of the nicest goals I have scored to this day and the Head coach turns around, looks at my dad, and says “he is staying with me”, that day I said to myself “this is what I want to do for the rest of my life”.
Unfortunately, those happy moments only lasted about a year, after we went through a very dramatic and tragic family loss. My uncle (my dad’s brother) Kiko Arrieta, a pilot from a Peruvian regional airline died in an airplane crash. My uncle’s death was a family tragedy and it affected all of us very much, especially after seeing my father suffer so much and fall into a deep depression.
In December of 2003 we decided to change our lives and start from 0, things in Peru were not as good as before and my dad coming out of a deep depression it was only right to start fresh somewhere else. We moved to Miami but due to the similarity of Lima and Miami and the point was to have a change in our atmosphere we moved to Sanford, Florida in 2004 where I have been ever since.
Now my family faced a big problem, we did not have papers, so we had to follow the path and learn how to live as illegal immigrants. The journey was very rough but my parents taught me to never give up. Having a rough childhood made me tough and hungry for success, I promised to myself I will be successful no matter what and find a way to thrive in this country even with the difficulties of being an undocumented alien.
I made it to high school and it was time to get a job like all my friends, I didn’t want to be the broke friends that depend on others so I started doing my research on what I could do to make money without having to have a green card, CUTTING HAIR! My barber at the time was willing to teach me how to cut, he saw the potential and my hunger towards the hustle that he gave me an opportunity in his shop when I was only 16 years old and a sophomore in high school, he was willing to take the risk or getting a big fine for having an unlicensed barber working there. I mastered my craft and by the time I was in 12th grade I wasn’t only cutting all my high school friends, but also their friends and family member (I still cut most of them to this day) I began to create a reputation as a credible barber and my client based started growing quick! Unfortunately, my friend and barber teacher also didn’t have papers which caused him to get deported.
I decided to start working on my own so me and my dad put up a sick home set up in their patio. At this point, many of my friends left to college, which made me fall into a depression because even though my barber career was taking off, I still thought I could do so much more.
I made a list of “Steps to Success” and the number 1 step on the list was to get my papers. In 2011 I decided to have a talk with my girlfriend and high school sweetheart Leslie. At this point, we were together for many years, and told her that if she wanted a better life for us, I had to get my papers. So, we got married and in 2012 I got my green card (Permanent resident card) in which it allowed me to get a driver’s license and more importantly my barber’s license. But I still wanted more so I signed up for college.
After receiving my license, I decided it was time to elevate and become more professional by leaving my home setup and working at another barbershop called MLB where I worked for 7 years.
One day I was cutting hair and players from Orlando city walked in the barbershop and got haircuts by all of us, apparently, they were impressed by my work, and players Cyle Larin and Giles Barnes decided to bring me in the Orlando soccer facility. The players love my work and so they told me I could come back once a week to cut the whole team!
The soccer circle it way smaller than everyone thinks so my name started running around that circle and next thing I knew I was getting on an airplane to go cut in different parts of the world! I always wanted to travel and see the world and I was getting paid to do it!
In 2017 my now “5-years-in wife” breaks the news to me that she was pregnant so I started saving more money than usual to “Hold the fort down” while my wife was out of work because of the baby. I came to the conclusion that eventually the money I had was not enough to survive for a long time so while she was pregnant, at the best time of my career but maybe not the best time to take risks, I decided to jump out the plane and open my first barbershop called Mr. Cutz Unlimited. Leslie thought I was crazy but she trusted my gut feeling and the support I got from her and my unborn baby was all I needed. So, everything was ready to go, it is now Monday and I’m ready to start my week and my new barbershop, so on my very first day, I put the keys in to unlock the door and open for the very first time and I get a phone as I’m doing so when I picked up my wife said “Alex, I think the baby is coming” Long story short I had my beautiful daughter Mia on Nov. 10th of 2017, 2 months after my daughter was born my wife ended up pregnant again with my baby boy Kai! What a time to have all these kids! But the experience was awesome and I always say that my biggest success is my own family!
But Shops were a success as well and in the middle of opening shops and starting a family, I kept cutting soccer players and celebrities all over the world. Cutting for tournaments I wished I played on, cutting famous soccer players I used to watch as a kid behind the TV wishing I could meet these European players one day, but as a kid growing up in Lima, even seeing them play or just see them in Person was almost impossible, and here I am cutting all these players I wish to meet one day, in my chair, being flattered by my own heroes for my work, work ethic, and success story. Life didn’t give the chance to be a soccer player but it gave me the chance to meet most of my childhood heroes, not only that but I am now friends with most of them. It is crazy to even think of! From watching Wayne Rooney and Nani on TV to have them on my barber chair and as a contact on my phone! Very surreal to be friends with most players of the Peruvian national team (As I’m their barber in American soil) and the USA national team! I have cut over 150 different players, I have cut in 5 different continents, and cities I can’t even count because they are so many! So many important soccer tournaments! I owe a lot to a pair of clippers!
It is now 2022 I have opened 3 barbershops (2 in orange city and 1 in Sanford) I just graduated college Summa cum Laude (4.0 GPA) I have 2 beautiful kids with my high school sweetheart who I’m still happily married to, not only I have a beautiful family but in general I have the most united and supportive people I can call family! God didn’t give me the chance to become a soccer player but gave me something even more special, he helped me become a “life warrior” and fight all the negative situations that I had to confront in order to be where I am today! I am currently working on some other projects that I can’t share with you guys yet! But this project is much more than just making money, it is a project in which I am going to give back to the world! Some people in my shoes would say that life didn’t give me anything at the beginning but it gave me the strength to keep fighting, fighting to not be a victim of life, and to create my own opportunities! I will be giving back to the world and will love to share my story when doing so!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being an illegal immigrant, being new in this country, language barriers
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
16-year experienced celebrity barber, have opened 3 barbershops, cut over 150 celebrities around the world (5 different continents)
We’d love to hear what you think about risk-taking?
A big risk I had to take was to use the money I saved when my wife was pregnant to open my first barbershop
Contact Info:
- Instagram: www.Instagram.com/alex2pelotas
Image Credits
Christian Sorondo
Jacqueline Jimenez
Orlando sentinel
