LEXINGTON, N.C. (WGHP) -- Things looked bleak for Christopher Hunter not too long ago.
He made some mistakes and went to prison, but faith got him through.
“I took it on the chin and kept it moving and left it in God's hands,” Hunter said. “He blessed me to get my barber's license and to be able to come home and be a better person than I was before I came to prison, and I appreciate that and thank God for that.”
Hunter met up with Adrian Carthens, someone he knew back in high school who had a couple of businesses, including a barbershop in their hometown of Lexington, and Adrian gave Hunter a chance.
They run King’s Image Barber Shop, but they offer more than a nice cut. Their partner, Marcus McMillon, will detail your car while you’re in the chair.
“I'm disciplined when it comes to work,” said McMillon, who will wear you out just watching the speed at which he works. “To be honest, work is my sanity. That's why I'm a hard worker when it comes to it. As long as I'm working and busy man. People go through a lot of stuff in life. Work is just what takes it off my mind, keeps me at ease. The harder I work, the better I feel.”
Carthens has had to close some of his other locations, but his customers were loyal enough that many of them still make the drive from Asheboro, where he used to have a shop, to Lexington for a cut.
“Once you find a barber that you like and trust,” Carthens said. “It's somebody you stick with, and I found my customers have been real loyal even through the pandemic. They waited on me to get back into a barbershop to cut hair again, so I'm grateful for that.”
The pandemic has affected every business out there. But since his Lexington location has survived, Carthens wants to make sure he uses it to do more than make a living.
“It was a struggle during the pandemic, and kids struggled in school, struggled with virtual learning, and they really didn't have an outlet for that,” Carthens said. “So we want to give them that outlet here, so if they want to talk about that, talk about things that happened during the pandemic, talk about their grades. They want to come here and connect to Wi-Fi and do their homework. They're more than welcome to do so.”
And they might even see how a life can be rebuilt if they spend some time talking to Hunter.
“I want to let the kids know that even though you do wrong and get in trouble, you can always change it around and make a positive change in life itself with the help and grace of God. That's what happened to me. And I feel like if I can do it, anybody can do it,” Hunter said.
See more of their story in this edition of the Buckley Report.
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