Jhon Li, a sophomore from China studying exercise science, said he enjoys the family connection, friendship, and fulfilment his hair cutting skill has brought him as he offers his talent as a service.
“One time, my grandpa called me up and asked me to give him a haircut. In Chinese culture the elderly are to be respected, and he is always putting up a straight face, but when I was cutting his hair, I felt like we don’t have that cultural barrier anymore,” Li said.
Li shared how his grandpa was like his client, and they had friendly conversations while doing his haircut. “He even told me experiences he never told me before,” added Li.
Li said he enjoys giving haircuts to people because of the satisfaction he sees from their faces. “Some people would want a haircut from me because they have a big day coming up, such as a wedding, graduation, or an important date. When I see people feel satisfied with the haircut, that makes me happy too.”
Chad Hsieh, a sophomore from Taiwan studying computer science, is a regular client and good friend of Li. He said, “I’m always satisfied with the haircut experience. I recommended him to the people I know because how good he is.”
Jhon Sia, a freshman from the Philippines studying biomedicine, said, “He knows what he is doing. He is very detailed and clean on his cut. If you want to have a good look, he is the one to ask.”
Li said, “Since studying at BYU-Hawaii, I have been making a lot of friends from different cultures through giving haircuts.”
Sia added, “During the haircut, we chat about different things and we share our cultures with one another. I have learned so much about China from him.”
Hsieh said, “He is friendly and very easy to talk to. We talked about things we both like such as technology, the mission, and girls.”
Prior to Li’s mission, he said he started practicing giving haircuts for his family and friends.
Li said he worked in a barber shop and found individual clients through social media.
According to Li, he continued to develop his skills during his mission. He said, “I had the chance to learn more from the professional barbers I met through proselyting and my companion who taught different designs and fads.”
Li brought his skill as service for others. He said, “I offered haircuts to missionaries, members, and even investigators.”
After his mission, Li said he continued to improve his haircut skills through the Internet and social media. He said, “After my mission, every day is about either cutting hair or learning how to improve my skills through YouTube videos. I made a lot of money out of it. I bought more professional equipment such as a trimmer and clippers.”
When Li came to BYU-Hawaii, he said, “I don’t want to give up my skills, and I got a lot of free time besides my school and job, so I decided to offer haircuts as service for the students here in the hale.”
Being an exercise science major, Li said he hopes to be a coaching assistant for a basketball team in the future and bring the American style of fads to the Chinese players.
Li said, “If you want to find me, look me up on ‘sell your stuff @BYU-Hawaii’ page or search my name ‘Jhon Yueheng Li’ on Facebook.”•
Writer: Zeek Cheng