The barbershops were closed and âwe all had big hair,â Arias said.
His mom used to cut his hair, but she didnât know how to do a fade, a hairstyle with shorter hair near the neck gradually fading to longer hair on top of the head. So Arias learned by watching YouTube videos and began practicing on his brother and dad and soon expanded to cutting for cousins and uncles.
âI feel like itâs in my veins because my great-grandpa used to be a barber,â Arias said.
The sixth-graderâs efforts caught the attention of Laura Andis, co-president of Racineâs Andis Co., which manufactures handheld hair tools for trimming, cutting, curling, straightening and drying.