Titan Barber By Rex A. C. Silver

John Carmona is an American Barber on the move. I first met John in 2019 putting together my first issue as editor of barbershop, it was just a couple of comments on the fly about a tour he was doing with our dear friend Nieves Almaraz and the senior Wahl Pro Creative Team at the time. I started following him intently from that moment and have observed and witnessed the rise of a truly gifted artist.

His work now, as I mention later in this piece, is instantly recognisable as “his”, you may have heard me say this before, you will hear me say it again, I think it’s a testament to that of a great talent when you identify the creator on first sight of an image of someone’s work.

He is a Barber Shop owner, he is a Global Educator and member of the current Wahl Pro Creative Touring Team, he’s a photographer, stylist-cutter and colourist he is a ONE SHOT winner and he is… TITAN BARBER

Please tell us about yourself and your entry in the hair world.

I grew up in a small town outside of Orlando Florida. I always tell people that from pretty young age I was a jack of all trades but a master of none. I had a very short attention span and because of that had a ton of hobbies. However, I lacked the follow-through, so once I would decently be good at one thing-I would just jump to the next thing. With hair, I went to school because I found I couldn’t concentrate on anything that I didn’t enjoy. I failed out of 2 classes in college and decided to try out hair school because it always was something in the back of my head that I thought I might enjoy. I began my career as a hairdresser and worked for John Paul Mitchell Systems. Then after 6 or so years of doing colour and long hair I decided to get my barbers license and found myself much more motivated in my career. I bought a camera to start promoting myself and several years later I’ve been fortunate enough to travel the world doing what I love to do.

You’re a passionate educator please expand on that.

No matter what you aspire to do in life, I believe education is at the forefront of progress. Once you stop learning, that’s when your career starts to die. This has rung true for me because learning has always kept me engaged in my career. I want that feeling to be passed on to others who may have struggled like I have with jumping from thing to thing and not knowing where they fit in.

Can you tell us a little about your amazing shop “Barber Theory”?

My shop is in Denver Colorado. This brand is near and dear to my heart but even more, so my incredible staff and amazing business partner are the ones who really deserve the recognition. A shop is nothing without a strong team and I never would have been able to do it without them. We believe that a barbershop experience shouldn’t be limited to the “traditional” approach but should be customizable for every individual.

I love the statement “Bridging the gap between Salon and Barber Shop” on your website. Can you explain this?

Education is at the forefront of our philosophy and bridging the gap between barbering and cosmetology means that cutting hair is cutting hair… and having an all-encompassing understanding of how to cut hair is way more important than just “learning how to do a haircut”.

Your work envelops many modern hairdressing and cutting techniques and classic barbering, tell us about that?

While the finished result is the goal, I think people underestimate the power of the process. Whether it be classic barbering or modern hairdressing, the important thing is to be able to recreate predictable results. My personal style stems from a very precision “Vidal Sassoon” type of hairdressing, applied on short hair. What helped me gain a better understanding of what I was doing, was realizing that things like layering, graduation, etc. do not change based on the gender or length of hair in front of you. What does sometimes change is the tool of choice. For instance, a graduated bob, and a fade are fundamentally the same thing which is a build-up of weight moving from short too long. However, the technique used to achieve both are where the difference lies. Gaining an understanding of how to use your tools is incredibly important but gaining an understanding of hair and how it is affected by bone structure as well as technique is just as important. For my colour work, a lot of what I do is just to enhance or compliment the haircut that I’m working on. I used to be a colourist for years and just like haircutting fundamentals never change. Some of my work you see I have done the colour on but not everyone. I have been fortunate enough to be surrounded by awesome hairdressers that either do their own colour or are willing to collaborate from time to time. I always try to make sure that I give credit where credit is due. Ultimately my passion is hair cutting and not colour, but artistic expression sometimes calls for a little extra something to bring an idea to life.

Your photographic work is crisp and clean and vibrant!! You are producing work that is instantly recognisable. Do you do this yourself?

First off, thank you so much. It does mean a lot to be recognized for something that I enjoy doing so much. All my work is photographed by me unless otherwise credited. I think it’s important to always grow and find inspiration outside of your own industry. For me I always loved taking photos from the second I bought my first camera. Through the years my style has evolved and changed based on my tastes and what I’m into. I’ve gained a ton of inspiration lately from people like Haris Nukem, Kai Boet, and Brandon Wolfel who are all professional photographers not barbers. Additionally, I’ve gained a ton of inspiration from someone who I admire and can happily call a friend Roman Solo (On Instagram as @clipperkillah) It’s so important to feed your mind in the right ways and find opportunities to be inspired by others. The more you venture outside of your comfort zone the quicker you will grow and the more you will love your own work. Always remember there is a difference between Imitation and inspiration. Always stay true to yourself and put your own spin on things but the greatest artists in the world would be nothing without their muse.

Can you please give some inspirational words to the Barbers here who aspire to be the best they can be and the how to get the mindset right?

Always remember that comparison is the thief of joy. Telling yourself that you will never be this person or that person can be a very self-deprecating process and we are mostly all guilty of it. However, realizing that you, not being that person is your greatest weapon will retrain your mind to be your own personal best. Most great artists have gone through the experience of trying to imitate others and ultimately the thing that made them so successful in the end is that they failed every time. This led to the realization that they were unique and had so much more to offer themselves than they ever thought.

60 SECOND SPEED DATE WITH JOHN CARMONA AKA TITAN BARBER

Favourite Destination in the World: Hands down its Tokyo Japan. Everything about this country and city gives me life.

Favourite Food: It would have to be ramen every time.

Favourite Movie: Easy. Stepbrothers

Favourite Book: Red Rising

What/Who are you reading right now? Currently I’m on The second book of the Storm Light Archives called Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson

What/Who are you listening to right now? A couple bands/artists that are in my rotation right now are Kublai Khan TX, Trapped Under Ice, Polyphia, and Frank Ocean

What are you watching right now (TV)? Just finished up Archive 81, Demon Slayer, and Ted Lasso to name a few

Always remember that comparison is the thief of joy.