
Being a barber at John Mosley’s level is no walk in the park, but it’s less bodily dangerous than the potential career he left behind around the turn of the millennium to pursue his current calling. “I was playing college football, and I got tired of getting hit by grown men for free,” he recalls with a laugh. “My mother, my sister, my whole family were in the beauty industry, so I figured if I told my mom I wanted to join, that’d give me some time to drop out of college. Three days later, I was enrolled in barber school, and it’s been nonstop from that point.”
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Being a barber at John Mosley’s level is no walk in the park, but it’s less bodily dangerous than the potential career he left behind around the turn of the millennium to pursue his current calling. “I was playing college football, and I got tired of getting hit by grown men for free,” he recalls with a laugh. “My mother, my sister, my whole family were in the beauty industry, so I figured if I told my mom I wanted to join, that’d give me some time to drop out of college. Three days later, I was enrolled in barber school, and it’s been nonstop from that point.”
Mosley may have originally been seeking a way out, but what he found was a way in—the path to unfolding his true calling as a barber and, eventually, an award-winning educator. Still, if you ask him, his success lies not in accolades, but in how many people’s lives he can transform.
At the Barbershop
Mosley didn’t feel like a natural when it came to men’s cuts, and he struggled out of school to find a barbershop that fit his personality and offered longevity in order to build his career. “I had to practice, practice, practice,” he notes. “But, one day, my mom looked at some of my work and said, ‘John, you’ll be really good at this if you put some real energy and attention behind it.’”
Newly determined, Mosley landed a spot at Premier Hair Stylists, one of the top shops in Long Beach, California, and worked seven days a week, building his reputation and clientele. “I was building a brand inside that barbershop—just being authentically myself,” he recounts. “I always built my chair and my personality around serving the people who were helping me grow.”
From there, Mosley started to land work with celebs and other high-profile gigs for TV, film and print. Just over a decade into building his career, he joined John Paul Mitchell Systems as a learning leader, helping write barbering curriculum. “That’s when I started falling in love with education, helping the next generation come up in the industry I love—and that has been so great,” Mosley muses. “The educator’s job is the most important on the planet because we are responsible for teaching everybody else their job.”
Overcoming Hurdles
Climbing to the top is never easy, and Mosley was forced to overcome a slew of hurdles throughout his career, like being labeled “not good enough”—a perception he was determined to prove wrong. “I struggled like everybody else, plus, like most African Americans, I had to face racial stuff,” he adds. “That’s one thing I hope to open other companies’ eyes to: to give anybody a shot because you never know how they can help your company grow.”
Then, there was pushback from work that labeled him selfish and discouraged Mosley from branding himself versus merely blending into the barbershop. He continued to make a mark by juggling his top three passions—barbering, education and celebrity work—and still does today. “I think the hardest challenge was going from being a creative to a director’s role,” he reflects. “Your mindset has to change. Instead of being creative, now it’s about creating the things that help a company grow. It’s about building the team, being a leader, making the team members shine, the company shine and yourself shine. You’re doing more with your mind than your hands.”
As a mentor and educator, Mosley hit his stride. He believes his success comes in part from allowing himself to be a vulnerable leader and maintaining a strong team of supporters around him—his mother, who encouraged him early on, as well as his wife and kids. “I had that strong family background and put the right people around me,” he relates. “They help me be successful because they hold me accountable. My team holds me accountable and, more importantly, I’ve got to hold myself accountable.”
His years of perseverance and hard work paid off when he accepted the Educator of the Year award at the most recent North American Hairstyling Awards (NAHA)—a top accomplishment, he believes, alongside maintaining a steady barber relationship with Kendrick Lamar for eight years. As for the future, Mosley continues to foster big dreams. “The creative talent coming out of schools right now is way more aggressive and exciting than it used to be,” he notes. “Still, I want to be known in the industry as one of the best ever—not just cutting hair, but helping lead the industry and the next generation in the right direction and being innovative. I want to teach people not just how to be a barber but an entrepreneur, a leader. Anybody can teach you how to cut hair, but can that person teach you how to be a better businessperson—and a better person—in general?”
Overcoming Adversity
Mosley has overcome plenty of hurdles throughout his illustrious career to reach the educator’s pinnacle at the North American Hairstyling Awards. He shares his advice for others who face similar struggles:
Don’t stop and don’t give up. You’re always going to have challenges—people who might not like you or how you do things. You’ll get doors slammed on you, but don’t worry about it. You’ll get through it.
Set mile markers, not goals. If you set goals and don’t hit them, you can feel defeated. Ask, “Am I making the progressive steps I need to make as I walk this journey in my career?”
Work with a sense of purpose. You don’t want to have the drive without the purpose—the sense of why you’re doing what you do. You’ll have a great career because you’re always working toward your purpose.
Stay positive. Don’t let someone else’s negative energy take hold of your career. You are in control of your own destiny. If you want to be great, you’ve got to tell yourself you’re going to be great. You know those challenges are going to come, but if you quit, you won’t be able to give somebody else hope—you’ll fail yourself as well as others.
Agent of Change
Mosley prioritizes giving back through community efforts and encourages everyone in the industry to partner with nonprofits. His passion project is A Change Is Coming Scholarship Fund, which provides Black men and women with educational opportunities.