A benevolent barber calls for compassion

Who am I and what do I do?

Hello, my name is Lance and I’m a barber based out of Vancouver Island, Canada. Thank you for being here. I have a dream that I hope will resonate with you, and I'd like to take a moment to share it with you and the world.

I'm going to be sincere and open with you about who I am, what my work is, and why I do the work I do. My vision, what I expect from it and where I want to go with this. I'm gracefully calling upon kindness and help from strangers. Maybe you. Or, someone you know, perhaps?

I have had the privilege of crossing paths with many different types of individuals from all walks of life and hearing their stories through my trade. Stories of Joy, laughter, tears, pain, and sorrow. I’ve seen the whole spectrum through my work.

I'm a barber by trade, and meeting people from all walks of life and hearing about their experiences has been one of the most fulfilling aspects of my life. What’s even more fulfilling is to be able to offer my services to a demographic in need free of charge. Why? Because many have never received a reference point for unconditional kindness from strangers and I believe small gestures of kindness are big enough to invoke substantial changes in people's outlook on life.

Especially if these acts are coming from someone completely alien to you.

Because of the belief I've consciously chosen to hold, I’ve been very well-received by strangers throughout my life. My worldview consists of putting all my faith and trust in humanity and letting the chips fall where they may.

4 years ago, I decided as an experiment to test the validity of my worldview, and in essence, bring to the forefront what I truly believe in allowing it to navigate the course of my life. Which is “ Yes, navigating the world is a tumultuous place and dangerous indeed, but there are others who you’ve never met and who don’t want anything from you, who are willing to extend a helping hand and will in fact go above and beyond to help you along your path, and perhaps even join you.”

Unconditionally.

The sacred preservation of the definition of “humanity”.

So as an experiment, I walked out the door with nothing but a bag on my back and 500 dollars in my pocket, with zero reliance on friends, parents, government assistance or money or a safety net of any kind and decided on a destination on the other side of the Canada. I just walked out onto a highway in northen Quebec. I believed I was going to get there but I didn’t know how. By continuously letting go of my own ideas of how things should happen and my false expectations, I ended up relying on strangers to lead the way.

I made it to the other side relying purely on the kindness of strangers. Which directly resulted in the solidification of a worldview that was already innate to my essence and an ideal I have not stopped dreaming of since…

"The world is full of people who want to help other people by giving and would also like to BE helped by receiving. Even if they're strangers to one another."

Into the darkness I go…

In 2021, I took a year-and-a-half-long sabbatical and needed to be very far away from the chair to put many things in perspective. During that year, I moved to Vancouver Island, travelled abroad, reconnected with family ties in my father's place of birth, became homeless and went through a very deep depression. I understand on a deep level what joy is, and conversely what deep depression is as well. I didn’t see an end to it at the time. I couldn’t feel anymore.

Depression isn’t just being sad and gloomy. It’s being robbed of the ability to emote. You turn off. Completely. You don’t feel. You fall out of touch with yourself. You betray yourself. You betray everyone around you, all your loved ones, everyone who’s reaching out to help you. You don’t want it. You just want to sleep all day. You can’t even cry, because you can’t feel. I didn’t have answers for what I was going through at the time, I didn’t even understand why I was going through it. It was a never-ending vacuous space, and all I could do was blankly stare off into it.

Now, looking back in hindsight, I have my answers. I believe sometimes we go through very rough patches to learn a lesson. Through pain, we get closer and closer to what it means to be a human being. A human being is someone capable of compassion towards others. It’s infinite and infinitely connected. I can understand what John is going through, who understands what Sheila is going through, who understands what Jeremey is going through and so on.

We all want to feel heard, be seen, and feel understood. And we also want to reciprocate for others. I believe the whole essence of why I'm here is to learn to become a better human being.

Why am I writing this? Because I want to find people who resonate with me. If you’ve read up until this point that means something about what I’ve said resonates true with you. And If any of what I've said resonates with you, then I would like to share my dream with you and then graciously ask you for your help.

What I’m asking for

I currently work with the Sooke food bank and Esquimalt's Rainbow kitchen on a weekly basis providing haircuts for free. I also provide haircuts for the homeless on the streets of Victoria and would like to start expanding my services to a wider spectrum of other demographics in need. But I don’t want to stop there. I’d like my whole week to be dedicated to working with various non-profit organizations, on the island and off. I’d like to provide my services to these organizations free of charge. And I’d like to build a team so we can increase our range of coverage.

It saddens me to currently feel very limited as a human regarding what I can give because I want to give so much more, but I lack the resources necessary to do so.

Up until now, all of my services come out of my own pocket. I work for free, in fact I don’t just work for free, I pay to work for free. I pay for my own gas, I give my time travelling to and from, I pay for my own food, I execute the haircut for free, I chat with clients and give them extra time for free, and put myself in a deficit to do so.

People out there need my help, and they need it right now. I need your help in order to help those people. I want to create a non-profit organization by the end of the year that will be offering self-care services to demographics that cannot afford but NEED self-care services, free of charge.

In order to do that I need full control over my time and schedule. And in order to have full control over my time and schedule I need my basic living expenses covered.

I need funds to cover my gas. I need my vehicle maintained due to mileage covered. I need to eat. And I need a place to lie down flat at night.

I need funds to purchase separate sets of tools to maintain a certain hygiene standard amongst demographics who are well-kept and those who are not well-kept. I would not like to use the same sets of clippers on different demographics if differing hygiene levels. It’s not fair to the clients.

I need funds to purchase hygiene supplies and disinfectant. Watch very carefully how many barbers or hairdressers disinfect their tools. Very few. I’m trained to disinfect and use barbicide, clippercide, cool care, blade wash and lubrication. To wash and periodically replace my brushes and combs, and neck dusters. To replace my blades. Use blade lubricant. To wash my capes, use clean sanek neck strips. I can’t take my chances with people, I’m highly liable for working in people's personal space. And that goes for every hairdresser out there.

I need funds to come in to continue my education and my team's education. I don’t want to settle, I want to continue to learn and would like to ask for opportunities to work with the best. I’m a professional and want to conduct myself accordingly.

I need funds to start coming in so I can eventually provide a salary to team members who will be working with me. I currently have my partner barber Alexis Anderson who's willing to be on the frontline with me. I don’t expect anyone else to function on my level, I just want good people who are doing good work to be compensated for their own work and wellbeing.

I get paid last.

How can you help?

-Donate money

-Donate supplies

-Share with your circle

-Join my team and offer your time and skills, both front-end and back end

-If you have filming or editing skills, or familiarity with social media, I film what I do and put it up on youtube

. I'd like to create a show around what I do to raise awareness. I currently perform on the front end, execute the service, edit the videos on the back end post them and do everything myself. I can't sustain this by myself but I feel a deep calling to put my work out to the public to raise awareness.

-Even something small like $3 for a cup of coffee would keep me going and be very appreciated.

I've tried knocking on many doors myself up until this point. Many people tell me they'll call me back every day.

Very few do. I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle.

Alone.

The survival of my philosophy and work is reliant on your word of mouth and spreading awareness.

I’d like to start and I'd like to start immediately. This isn’t a dream for down the road. It’s for right now. I’m ready right now.

Will you help me facilitate the process?

Thank you for taking the time to share my dream with you. I hope we can collaborate together and contribute to creating an exciting new world full of love and compassion.

Sincerely,

Lance

LEARN MORE ABOUT ME AND MY WORK AT www.lancemobilebarber.com