Meet Rob, owner and resident barber at Rob the Original Barber Shop in San Antonio, Texas. His specialized approach to hair has gifted him a massive online audience, nearly 2 million followers across all social media platforms. Rob doesn’t just cut hair; he creates intricate portraits of celebrities that temporarily reside on his clients’ heads.
Rob is a true artist inside and outside of the barber shop, testing different mediums to enhance his creativity and artistic visions. Most commonly, he is creating sand art, painting celebrities, and carving famous faces into wood and concrete. “I consider myself an artist before a barber, I actually consider barbering as one of my hobbies and an art medium,” he tells Removery.
In 2008, Rob started his hair portrait journey with a simple concept: trying something new. “The very first portrait that I did on hair was Tupac. It wasn’t the best because it was a concept, but it was an idea I had,” he tells Removery. “[These] lifelike images have helped my career in ways where I’ve gained respect from barbers all over the world”.
His eye-catching artwork has catapulted him to internet virality many times, causing his audience to steadily grow to 1.4 million followers on Instagram and 450k+ followers on TikTok.
Rob’s prominent social media presence led to him becoming Barber of the Year at the American Influencer Awards in 2020. “[It’s] another huge accomplishment for a Mexican that started cutting hair on the Southside of San Antonio,” he told MySA after his win.
Being an artistic visionary himself, it was only natural to eventually cover his body in tattoos. “[They] are all from different artists. A lot of my tattoos I got done here in San Antonio,” he says. “But whenever I go to other countries, I like to get tattooed. It’s kind of like a souvenir on my body instead of buying gifts.”
Most recently, Rob got a black and grey portrait of legendary rap icon, Tupac, completed by world-renowned artist, David Vega. “I think that tattoos are cool because it has a story behind it. I actually want to become a tattoo artist and start practicing the craft.”
Although Rob has many tattoos that he loves dearly, there are a few that he doesn’t vibe with anymore – specifically the ones from his early life.
One tattoo in particular has been a significant catalyst for his tattoo removal journey: the giant “SD” on his chest. Following a move from San Diego to San Antonio, Rob wanted something to represent where he was from. “I really like the meaning behind it, but it was done poorly when I was 18 years old.”
Through his own artistic exploration, Rob decided it was time to part ways with his once-beloved ink in order to get something new and higher quality.
For insights into Rob’s tattoo removal journey, we chatted with Removery’s Vice President of Clinical Operations, Carmen Vanderheiden-Brodie:
“This is a very heavily saturated tattoo. I’m assuming given his other work he wants black and gray, which almost always has a lot of negative space, so this is why he’s looking for full removal. His cover up is certainly doable, but we will have to clear more ink for him, than if he wanted to put any other type of tattoo on top. To prepare for black and gray we have to completely clean the canvas. Removal is possible, it just may take some additional time.”
Every 6-8 weeks, Rob visits Removery in San Antonio to receive laser tattoo removal treatments on his chest.
Rob is looking forward to covering up the San Diego-themed script on his chest. “I love tattoos, and I want something over that area once it’s removed,” he tells Removery. “I still haven’t found the right piece for my chest, but I know exactly what I want: one big piece.”
As the World’s Tattoo Removal Experts, we are committed to providing clients with the best tattoo removal care possible – with pricing that fits any budget.
We have over 165 studios across North America and Australia, making us the largest specialized tattoo removal provider in the world. With over 2 million successful treatments and counting, we’re ready to be a part of your success story.
Book a free consultation today.
We’re on a mission to give you the most straightforward, easy and efficient laser tattoo removal experience. Your estimate will be entirely bespoke to your tattoo; the size, the colors, the ink. It won’t take long and afterwards you’ll have a plan to finally get rid of your unwanted tattoo and get back to being you.
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