Description
In this inspiring episode, we follow Frankie’s journey through Tricoci University of Beauty Culture — from discovering his passion for beauty to achieving career success. Hear firsthand how dedication, creativity, and the right education can transform your future. Whether you’re just starting out or considering a career change, Frankie’s story will motivate you to take the next step toward your dream career in beauty.
Follow Frankie on Social Media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/faded_by_frankie/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fj_fades?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
Show Notes
– Frankie’s path to discovering his passion
– Overcoming self-doubt and building confidence
– The impact of Tricoci’s hands-on training
– Advice for future students
Links:
YouTube: https://youtu.be/MMG_Sviy1jg
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6iMR6zHgzwWTFFj5KiAWqe?si=pHMM8MSSRSSgX6KGXFNU_g
Transcript:
We are here to make people feel good about themselves.
We really have to feel like we are a day maker for the guest.
“You’ve made my day.”
How great is that when you hear those words from your guest?
Welcome everybody to the Day Makers podcast.
I’m your host, Daved Dolce, and today I am proud to be interviewing my friend and yours, Frankie.
Hey, how you guys doing?
Frankie, welcome to our show.
Um, you are special to me because you’re someone that’s, like, just reached out to me from following some of the things that I do on social media and stuff.
So it’s really cool to be actually recognized from somebody else telling me that I’m doing a good job.
Like, you just mean a whole lot to me.
Being able to get to meet you in person this year and bring you on this podcast is really, really special, so welcome.
Thank you.
Thank you.
You are very welcome.
Why don’t you tell us a little bit about your journey, why you chose Tricoci, and the journey from cosmetologist or from barber to cosmetologist?
Right.
Right.
Um, I’ve basically it all started, um, kind of like any other story, you know?
Um, I lost my job, didn’t know what to do being a single dad.
Uh, wanted to be an example for my son.
Mm-hmm.
So I told him that, uh, or he actually encouraged me because I was cutting his hair and I wasn’t really good at it.
I’m not gonna lie.
I wasn’t really good at it at all.
And, uh, he told me, he’s like, “Well, Dad, why don’t you, uh, you know, take haircutting, you know, a lot more serious?”
And here I am, you know?
I wound up going to school.
Uh, I, I actually saw an ad for Tricoci on the, uh, on Facebook.
Mm-hmm.
And it was almost like divine intervention, you know, because I was just sitting there like, man, I don’t, I don’t know anything about schools or anything like that.
So, wound up going.
I talked to, uh, Miss Jenny.
Aw, Jenny.
Oh, Jenny.
Yeah, she was, uh, she was the one that motivated me and kind of, like, told me to just push forward, just everybody’s going to be scared, you know, at some point so just push through it and see where you go.
And there, that was it, you know?
And then I wound up what brought me to, to, uh, cosmetology- Mm-hmm.
was, uh, the fact that I was, I was working in the shop and I was, I noticed that I was letting a lot of people out of my chair.
The guys that were guys and ladies coming in, you know, they’re, they would have their hair up.
Yup.
And they’re just like, “Hey, you know, can you fade me?
And I’m gonna go get some braids.”
And it’s like, man, well, I would love to learn how to braid- Yes.
because that’s, that’s money leaving out my chair.
You know?
You are smart.
You are smart that that’s literally what it’s all about.
And we talked in a previous episode about people going through one program and picking up another one.
Correct.
So going through a whole barber program, excel, graduate, and then come back to do the cosmetology program, it’s 2 different things.
And I remember when I worked for, um, a barber shop that serviced men and women, we had a lot of people come to our barber shops because they said, “Yeah, my regular barber, he knows how to fade, but he don’t know how to do nothing on the top.”
Right.
And so you just even saying, like, you had to get rid of a lot of clients and I’ve had that experience going to barber shops with just fade it and I’ll go home and I’ll do my own top.
You know what I mean?
It’s a whole thing.
It really is.
Um, so how has your overall experience been as, as a student at our Rockford campus at Tricoci?
Oh, it’s been wonderful.
And, you know, big shout out to Miss, Miss April, Miss Audra, you know, Miss Jenny.
Um, who else?
Miss Julie.
All the, the, everybody, the whole Rockford staff, you know, they’re, they’re, they’ve poured into me so much that it just, like, I want to come back and do the, the TT program.
Um, not want, I’m going to.
Yes.
Yeah, you are.
Like we talked about this.
Oh yeah, I’m going to.
And it just, it, the experience and the knowledge between all the teachers and the hands on and all of that, that, it, it made me feel so, like, at home.
Like, being at school is my happy place.
That’s, I love hearing that-
because it’s totally my journey.
Um, I think learning to do hair and working in a shop was life changing because I got to help people in their lives.
But becoming an educator is a whole other level.
I left the shop, I left teaching to go back to the shop for, like, a month –
because I made good money- Oh, that’s-
at the shop and then, yeah, and then Tricoci called me back.
I’m like, “Yes, yes, yes, yes.
Let me come back.
Let me come back.”
That’s cool.
And I did admissions and so that’s kind of part of my climb and how that started.
Um, what is, like, something that you wish you knew before you started school?
I wish I knew all the, the different types of skin diseases and just diseases in general that deal with, with skin and hair and dealing with this industry.
Uh, I wish I would have known that because that probably would have deterred me though.
Really?
Because find, actually seeing all of that and going through that in essentials, it was like, oh, that’s gross.
It’s like that, that’s gross.
I, I, no way.
And they’re just like, “Yeah, you’re gonna wind up seeing that, you know, out in the real world.”
Yeah.
I was like, I don’t want to deal with that.
No way.
People think it’s just, just hair school.
No, you need- Right.
to identify diseases, disorders, like someone that’s got ro- not rosacea, but, um, psoriasis on their head, that can look exactly like ringworm.
One you can work on- Exactly.
one you can’t, and you’re not going to send somebody away from your chair just because they got psoriasis.
Like that’s terrible.
And I even learned about the, uh, you know, uh, shout out to Miss Julie for beating it in my head.
Tenia Barbe, uh-
the ringworm of the beard.
Yeah, yeah.
Yup, that’s cool.
You guys, you have OGs over there-
at that Rockford campus.
They know everything.
Yeah, Miss Julie, she makes sure that, like, she beats it in your head.
She even comes up with, like, little goofy sayings, you know, to help you remind, remind yourself, you know, when you’re taking tests that, you know, this is that word or this is what that means.
And so it’s
Oh, yeah.
That’s a good teacher.
So yeah, pick up on that stuff for your teacher training program.
Oh, I will.
I will.
So you, you’ve been here for a second, doing 2 programs.
The barber program was a little bit a while ago.
Mm-hmm.
We are always trying to change our curriculum, right?
To offer new things for our students, because the industry’s always changing.
What have you seen different now that you’ve come back from cosmetology that we might not have had when you were there as a barber?
I noticed that as a, as a barber, we, we touched on certain things, but in cosmetology it goes a lot deeper.
So it shows
It gives me a lot more knowledge and it helps even now, it helps me as a better
to be a better barber because it teaches me that, hey, you know, it’s not just about a cut.
You know, you gotta analyze hair, skin, all of that stuff.
So you have to really, really pay attention and, like, get into it, you know?
That, that’s, that’s the main
one of the main things that they’ve beat into our head up there at Rockford is, like, “Get into it.”
Like- Get uncomfortable.
Yeah.
Let’s get this done.
Be comfortable being
Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
That’s what we’ve been told.
That’s the b-
I know, I want to get that tattooed actually some day, like, “Ha, it’s for real.”
That’s what I tell myself.
I get nervous doing things and I’m like, “Well, you tell your students all day, like, ‘Get-” ”
get up, do it, be uncomfortable and get this done.'” Right.
What I like the most about you and being a barber in your community, you really do have an opportunity to make a strong impact.
A lot of barbers, I think, sometimes, um, get kind of hot-headed and think they’re this type of guy.
And they portray themself to be this big person.
And somebody that I followed and that I admired, I met at, um, America’s Beauty Show and just really rubbed me off and passed me by.
And I just wanted to let him know, he’s somebody that’s inspired me through my career.
Right.
But your community is so important to you, taking your skills and giving back and establishing for something for other people is, like, really what you plan on doing- Yes.
with your career.
Was there a moment or something that happened in your life that made you realize, like, “I want to give back?”
Um, yeah, it actually was a moment.
It w-
I still remember, uh, as a kid, I would sit back and watch my dad cut hair.
He’s n- never been to a school or anything like that.
He just naturally did it, I guess.
So, uh, as a kid, I would always sit back and just watch how my dad was
could connect with people, and how he could talk to different people.
You know, he was
You know, people would bring him food and stuff and- Yeah.
you know, as payments and stuff.
And it was just like, “Dad, where did this pie come from?”
“Oh, you know the guy had
uh, down the street, I cut his hair the other day.”
And it’s like, “Well, man, you know, what, what made you want to do that?”
He’s like, “You know, it’s just something about, you know, being able to talk to people and connect with different people.”
Because you never know, you know, what they’re going through, what they’ve been through.
And just something as simple as a haircut or a hairstyle, a color, you know, a cut, it doesn’t matter, something dealing with your hair or something like that can lift their confidence and, you know, just
You know, like you guys say, being a day maker, you know?
Yup.
It’s powerful.
Yeah.
It’s a powerful statement.
You got an opportunity too, to be one of our mentors.
Um, this is the first year we did our high school program where we invited high school students into our summer camps, um, to get a taste of, like, what we do.
And, um, during your mentorship, I’m like, “Look, this is
This is ”
“You get a taste of, like, what education was.”
Did you learn something from that experience?
Oh, I learned a, a whole bunch.
I learned that a lot of people, you know, learn different ways.
Mm-hmm.
Some people
Like, there were a few students there that they were very
Like, you could show them something on a piece of paper and they, they get it like that.
they were very, like, you could show them something on a piece of paper and they, they’d get it like that.
Then there’s others you have to show them or just tell them, you know, hands-on training.
And to me, it’s, it, that’s another way of connecting.
And so, that’s why I wanna do it, because to me, it’s like, yeah, I can connect to pretty much anybody, you know what I’m saying?
And you can.
You’re easy to talk to, you’re happy, positive, you get along with other people.
So this leads me to my concluding question, which we ask everybody, and you kind of brought that up earlier in the last question- For sure.
is being a daymaker.
What does being a daymaker mean to you?
Man, being a daymaker actually, to me, means connecting with people.
You know, making someone’s, making someone’s day by doing the, the littlest thing, you know, because little things here turn into big things.
You know, uh, like I said before, you never know what any, what anyone’s dealing with.
Mm-hmm.
So therefore, you know, just, like I said, something as simple as a haircut or, you know, an updo or something like that, “Hey, let’s get into this fall color, you know, to help bring your confidence up or your attitude out.”
You know, stuff like that, to me, that’s very uplifting.
And, you know, it just, to be able to see it within the community, it’s like, “Hey, you know, I did that.”
Yes.
You know?
Those family parties, “Oh my God, did that person.”
Or the up, mm-hmm, baby.
Yeah.
But thank you so much.
You are truly a daymaker.
You’re a daymaker for me when you reach out to me.
It makes me feel proud to see what our students do on- Yes it does.
on the posts that you do.
Do you want to share what your Instagram handle is here with our listeners?
Oh, um, Instagram is faded_by_franky.
That’s right.
Check him out.
Yeah.
All right, Frankie, thank you so much for being part of our podcast.
And, um, yeah, just thank you so much.
No, thank you for being an inspiration.
Ah, stop it.
Every- everything you do, I’m, I’m on your tail about it.
I want to be i- just like you, man.
I’m, I’m not playing.
Like- I love it.
Thank you, ’cause, you know, knowing I inspired somebody, that’s why- Yes, yes.
that’s what being a daymaker means to me.
Yes, you have a bi- very big impact on your staff and everything like that.
They speak, especially Miss Michelle, she speaks so highly of you, and she, she wanted me to connect with you because she’s like, “You guys’ stories are just, like, so alike,” you know?
And then, so she was like, she really, really pushed for me to, to meet you and- That’s cool.
Yeah.
Thank you, Frankie.
And we’ll have a great, great time together at the Beauty Blitz.
So I look forward to seeing you with that.
Yes.
Again, thank you for being a guest and a great student here at The Coach.
Thank you.
You’re so welcome.
Go Team Rockford.
Yeah.
Oh, shoot.
Go Team Rockford.
We got this.