This is Mark Bustos. He likes to give homeless people haircuts.
He spends most of his week styling people like her at the high-end salon, Three Squares Studio, in New York City…
… but during his personal time, he’s cutting the hair of people like them:
According to NBC News, Bustos’ practice of giving out free haircuts to the homeless began in May 2012 during a trip to the Philippines, his family’s native country. He temporarily rented a barber’s chair and offered free haircuts to to offer his services to poor children in the area.
“#tbt to that time a few years ago I had the opportunity to work in a 100+ degree barbershop in my hometown province in the Philippines giving free haircuts to less fortunate children. This day started the movement. #BeAwesomeToSomebody”
Bustos shared one of his most “vivid” memories of his experience in the Philippines:
“He was 12 years old, and so shy, and rarely made eye contact with anybody. He had no shoes on his feet and looked extremely rough and callused. During his haircut, he looked upset the entire time and didn’t look up once, until the cut was complete. One man in the shop said, ‘Now you look like you’re from NYC!’ He looked up and cracked the most unforgettable smile.”
Now Bustos saves the tradition for Sundays and the homeless residents of the streets of New York.
“I walk around into random neighborhoods and often ask clients at Three Squares Studio if they notice homeless people in their neighborhoods or near their offices,” he told NBC News. “(Asking clients) helps save me time. Sometimes I can walk around for hours looking for a haircut recipient on the streets.”
Bustos uses his Instagram feed to post photos of his work, and the people he meets on Sundays. He’s even created his own hashtag to track the haircuts: “#BeAwesomeToSomebody.”
“My parents will be so proud of me when they find out why I’ve been missing Sunday dinners,” one caption reads.
They don’t always know when their next haircut will be. Most times they ask me to buzz it all off… Til we meet again…. #BeAwesomeToSomebody#NYC
Bustos has also given free haircuts to homeless people in Jamaica, Costa Rica and Los Angeles.
The first thing this guy said after his free haircut was, “Do you know anyone that’s hiring?”
This woman celebrated Mother’s Day with her gift from Bustos.
How do you choose to “be awesome to somebody?”
