Traditional Barbershop in San Diego, CA

Johnny Lovato’s Barbershop

Back in 2011 I began photographing traditional barbershops as a way to preserve a dying piece of American culture and cornerstone of every local community. These relics were all going away due to the barber passing on, retiring, or being pushed out of their shop to make way for a higher paying tenant. Last week I drove by Johnny Lovato’s Barbershop in San Diego and was sad to see that it had changed hands, been gutted, and reopened as a soulless salon. No offense to the current owner, but it’s sad to see decades of memories stripped away. A barbers shop is his second home and a place that he’s spent a life forging relationships and community. And that’s what this body of work is all about - documenting these time capsules so their legacy can live on. These photographs are from 2011 when Johnny was still cutting and later in 2019 when his son had taken over. I remember Johnny being a very kind person. He loved the bird in his shop and got a lot of enjoyment from feeding it Cheetos.

If you’d like to support this project you can do so by purchasing a copy of my photography book on traditional barbershops in all 50 states of the USA.

And contact me directly if you’d like a photography prints of any barbershops from this series.