Pete Hernandez

Pete Hernandez's journey to becoming the owner of one of the best shops in LA started humbly. At a young age, Pete was adopted into a family that taught him the value of hard work and perseverance. Pete credits his brothers for exposing him to cutting hair. He would be the test subject of theirs, as well as their sister's practicing. The thing that stood out to him the most when he was observing his brothers' craft was the "returning friends with smiles". Seeing how a fresh cut from his brothers helped their friends and clients feel good about themselves, get a job, and simply present themselves better assisted in establishing Pete's desires to cut as well. Working at his brother's shop in Santa Barbara, CA taught him to be responsible, look clean, and work hard.

When Pete turned 20, he learned he was going to be a father, and it awakened a deeper sense of responsibility in him. Having gone through life's tougher challenges, including constantly getting into trouble and even going to jail, he paused to asked himself, "Do I want to raise my child from jail, or raise him from inside his heart?". He made the decision to hone in on his barbering craft and create a better example for his son to follow. After making this decision, Pete never looked back and eventually, he moved to LA where he met his business partner and mentor Adrian who he credits for seeing his potential and assisting him with branding, his website, and bettering his business in general.

Flower St. Barbershop is thriving and keeping its sense of community strong, even while the events of 2020 have impacted it's business like many other barbershops in 2020. The events of 2020 have led Pete and his team to brainstorm ways to keep going, in a safe way.

Pete is no stranger to struggle. Before opening his shop, Pete cut hair in bathrooms, backyards, tents; basically anywhere he was. If it's something you have a passion for, limitations that come with your situation won't stop you, they'll just force you to get creative. Pete makes it a point to teach his team not to stop. Even when things look tough, as they did in 2020, he continues to teach perseverance.

The future of Flower St. Barbershop is in LA. The family they have created in their community will continue to grow, and continue to make their customers feel like they belong. Pete is working to create branded products and merchandise to sell in the shop, and continue his shop's grass roots marketing through word of mouth & merch.