San Antonio – Two brothers credit their successful barbering business and passion to give back to their community to their mother who raised them to be the men they are today.
Fonzie and Gilbert Lopez started Barber Bros in 2015. It was an idea that started from their history of cutting hair in the community.
“We grew up in a single-mother household,” Gilbert Lopez said. “We were fortunate to have a lot of things but there were five of us. She just did a lot on her own. Raised us the way we are today. Things got hard for her and hard for us when we were kids.”
They said they were competitive growing up together with their siblings and were very active in sports.
One thing they had to learn for the sake of helping their mother was how to cut hair.
“Because there were so many of us, we started cutting each other’s hair, practicing, just so we could have a haircut every week and we just got better and better,” Fonzie Lopez said.
When Fonzie Lopez got back home from the military, his brother presented the idea of starting Barber Bros.
“We were cutting in a small restroom in a restaurant,” laughed Fonzie Lopez. “It was really small, really cluttered, really moldy.”
“Having each other helped both of us anytime we hit those brick walls,” said Gilbert Lopez.
Brick by brick, the brothers’ business began to flourish, which led them to pursue giving back to others.
“Just alone, the haircuts were a pain in the butt for our mother, and then trying to get some school clothes,” Gilbert Lopez said. “So that was when we thought, ‘Hey, there are people like our mom.’”
They have since held several back-to-school drives, they cater and serve our veterans and they cut hair while feeding the homeless population.
The two say they are grateful to be able to give back to others and they are grateful to have each other along this journey.
“Whenever he sets his mind to do something, he does it,” Fonzie Lopez bragged about his brother. “It is going to happen.”
“Back in the day, he was nuts,” Gilbert Lopez joked about his brother. “But now, he is a good big brother always trying to support us.”
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