Anthony Medina, 16, started cutting hair at 13. Now he owns his own business: 903 Cutz. He will walk at the Tyler ISD’s RISE Academy graduation. He will be the first to graduate in his family. (Raquel Villatoro/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

Editor’s Note: This is one in a series of stories highlighting graduating high school seniors in Smith County.

Sixteen-year-old RISE Academy senior Antonio Medina started cutting hair at age 13. Now he owns his own business: 903 Cutz and will graduate this Thursday from Tyler ISD’s RISE Academy.

Medina wanted to graduate early so he juggled barber school and high school. He went to barber school at 14 and took his barber exam at 15.

“It was just hard because I had to be able to manage school and try to graduate early too at the same time while still going to barber school and still putting my 1,000 hours in,” Medina said. “It was stressful. So from August to November, I was just stressed, stress and stress back to back.”

He did his course work in four months. For Medina, graduating will be a big deal for his family because he will be the first one to graduate in his family. When he graduated middle school, he said his mom cried.

“I’m excited to see my parents happy,” Medina said. “We’re happy that I already graduated but it’s different when you walk.”

Becoming a barber

At age 13, Medina became interested in cutting hair because he would see his mom cut hair.

“She would be in the kitchen trying to multitask and she would be, ‘hey Tony come do him, try line him up real quick in the back and just make sure you clean in the neck area,’” Medina recalled.

He started posting to social media about his work and realized he wanted to open up his own barbershop. He started working at barbershops and gaining more experience. He told one barber to do a design and it became his focus when he began cutting hair.

“I started liking doing designs and I grew a passion for doing designs and just overall talking to people,” Medina said.

Balancing an education and business

He wanted to move faster and open his own barbershop. However his dad said no, “You’re not dropping out. You need a diploma to get out of school. Without a diploma, you’re not getting out.”

His parents were supportive but worried he would change his mind. They wanted him to be able to have a diploma just in case.

After his father told him he could not drop out to start his business, he looked into RISE Academy. However, he was told they had a long waiting list. He was able to get in with the help of a teacher.

He has gotten his dad and brothers into cutting hair. His dad quit his job and obtained his barber’s license. Two of his brothers also cut hair. He owns the barbershop along with his dad.

“They’re always recording, making content and always trying to just help out with clients and stuff [and] always trying to support people and help out people,” Medina said. I have support from them. So we go together as a team.”

He is grateful for his family’s support.

In the future he hopes to enroll in Tyler Junior College.

Through RISE Academy, he was able to do coursework and work at the same time. As he cut hair, he would have clients ask him questions to prepare for tests. He is grateful for the support he has received from clients who encourage him.

Finding the right location

He plans to open his business in two weeks at 1211 W Gentry. Every time his dad would pass the location, he would point and say, “that place would be nice for a barber shop.”

“It’s whatever. There’s nothing major,” Medina would say, brushing it off.

His mom called the owner and asked if he was renting it out. He said no but allowed him to go look at it. The owner decided to allow him to rent out the space.

“You know what, we can actually make something out of it,” Medina said. “It’s a new build. We can actually put new stuff in there [and] I know everything’s gonna be new. So I kind of fell in love with it and just started working and started remodeling.”

Giving back

Through connecting and receiving help from other barbers, he was able to grow. In the past, he has done a community event giving free haircuts. He wants to give back and support other young barbers.

“I just want to make it pop out,” Medina said. “Right now in this generation, I see a lot of kids that start early like in sixth grade.”

Many of his barbers are still in high school, along with some recent graduates. His dad will be the eldest barber in the barbershop.

“I wanted to change it up, change the generation of barbers,” Medina said.

He advises people interested in starting their own venture to not listen to naysayers and to keep trying.

“If you never try, you will never know if you will succeed or not,” Medina said. “So that’s one thing that I always keep in mind … and just keep pushing. If you fail, just keep trying again and again. And if you can’t, just try looking for something else or different doors or opportunities.”

He also received support from Benito, a local barber who opened up his own barbershop, which motivated him to open up his own shop. Eze, another alumni of RISE Academy, also got his license and opened up his own barbershop recently called EzeCuts.

Since starting his own business, he has received support from the community. The support has grown and has been important for him.

“We just got to support each other and keep pushing. Just show love,” Medina said. “At the end of the day if you hate on someone it doesn’t do you any good.”

For more information on 903 Cutz, visit their Facebook page.

RISE Academy’s graduation is set for 6 p.m. Thursday in the Tyler High varsity gym.