The Room You Walk Into Can Change Everything

What Happened in That Room

A few days ago we hosted Cultivating Culture in Los Angeles. A STMNT event built around something simple but rare: a space where barbers could actually talk. Not perform. Not network in the traditional sense. Just talk.

And the moment that stuck with me most wasn't a speaker or a skill demo. It was someone saying almost quietly “I can only talk like this in this type of setting. I've never been able to do that back home.”

That was memorable for me.

Because what that tells me is that a lot of barbers are spending the majority of their time in environments where they can't ask the questions they're actually curious about. Where growth feels like a risk. Where being ambitious makes you stick out in the wrong way. And if that's the room you're in every single day, you have to wonder, how is that environment actually helping you grow?

That comment reminded me why events like this need to exist. And it reminded me why the room you choose to walk into matters more than most people realize.

What Cultivating Culture Actually Is

STMNT is special in a specific way and I say that not just as someone who helped build it, but as someone who has watched what it attracts. We don't look for one type of barber. We look for multiple lanes of barber creatives who operate differently, think differently, and bring something individual to the table while staying connected to the common denominator of barbering at its heart.

Cultivating Culture is an extension of that. It's not a class. It's not a product demo. It's a space designed to make you feel like somebody understands your pain. Somebody gets what you're going through. And you are not alone in it.

We saw familiar faces come back. We saw new ones walk in uncertain and leave with something new and refreshed. That energy, people rooting for each other, openly, without competition, yes…that's what we're building! And the fact that it keeps showing up tells me we're aligned with the right people.

Your energy attracts your people. Every time.

What Getting Into Position Actually Means

Let's get practical for a second because positioning is one of those words that sounds good but can feel vague if nobody breaks it down.

Getting into position means putting yourself in a place where you can be discovered, considered, or chosen for the next lane of your career. That could look like becoming an educator. It could be a brand ambassadorship. A social partnership. A seat at a table you haven't sat at yet. There are a lot of lanes and events, shows, and spaces like Cultivating Culture are where those lanes become visible to you.

But here's the thing and this is important to note that positioning only works if the foundation is already being built.

Daymond John, the founder of FUBU, has talked about this on Shark Tank: pitching too soon, before you're ready, can actually damage the first impression people have of you. And first impressions in this industry are hard to undo. That's not a reason to wait forever. It's a reason to be self-aware. To know what you're bringing to the room before you walk into it. To pitch from a place of genuine value, not just desire.

Skills are the answer. Have you practiced enough that someone else would find what you do valuable? If yes, then you're ready to start positioning. If not yet, that's okay. Keep working. The room will still be there when you are.

The Difference Between Showing Up Ready and Showing Up to Be Seen

Both types walk into every event. And both have a place.

Some people come in and they're absorbing. They're taking in the perspective of what's possible, what exists beyond their current environment, what their career could look like in three years if they keep going. That's valuable. That's fuel. Leave with that and it can change the trajectory of how hard you work when you get home.

Others come in ready to connect. They have the skill, the confidence, the clarity on what they're looking for, and they know how to add value to a conversation before asking for anything in return. Closed mouths don't get fed. But neither do mouths that open before they have something real to say.

Self-awareness is a muscle. It has to be trained just like everything else through books, through classes, through honest reflection about why you want what you want and whether you've done the work to deserve access to it yet. That journey changed everything for me. Understanding myself more and why certain things matter to me, where I see myself going, what I'm actually good at, that's what made pitching feel natural instead of forced.

Think about it like this: when you get really good at your craft and a new client walks in, you already know how to approach them. You can recommend what fits their head shape, their lifestyle, their maintenance routine without any hesitation. That confidence came from thousands of hours of practice that nobody saw. Positioning yourself in rooms works exactly the same way. The preparation happens behind the scenes. The pitch is just the moment it becomes visible.

What the Barber-Creator Sees That Others Don't

When you step outside of purely being behind the chair and start operating as a creator, the ceiling disappears. That's the only way I know how to describe it.

You stop filling one slot per day and start seeing how many different ways your skill, your perspective, and your story can show up in the world. The ideas become infinite. The options multiply. And the fulfillment comes from a different place not just from a great haircut, but from building something that evolves with you.

That's what my journey has looked like. And it didn't stop at the chair, it grew from it. Everything I built as a barber became the foundation for everything I do as a creator, an educator, and a brand builder. The chair gave me credibility. The rooms I chose to walk into gave me trajectory.

If You're Not Ready Yet, Go Anyway

This is what I'd say to the barber who feels like they're not quite there yet: go anyway.

You don't have to pitch yourself. You don't have to have a plan. Just go and let the energy do what it does. Everything starts with a thought, a feeling, an emotion that drives you toward something. If you keep putting yourself in rooms that expand what you think is possible, that drive compounds over time.

For some people getting into position means moving to a new city. For others it means traveling to a show for the first time. For some it's just following the right people online until the right event shows up on your radar. Whatever that access point is for you, take it.

If you want a different outcome, you have to be in different spaces. That's not complicated. It's just a choice.

The room you walk into can change everything. But first you have to walk in.

-Sof!