Starting a business from the ground up is certainly no easy feat, and it’s not one without its immense challenges. The considerable amount of stamina, wit, and perseverance required to even make it a fraction of the way towards one’s goal is hefty.

Pacinos The Barber
Pacinos The Barber Pacinos The Barber

Entrepreneur and business mogul Eric Roa, or professionally known as Pacinos The Barber, began at the bottom. Growing up, Roa and his family endured several hardships many of which were financial. When his mother couldn't afford for him to get a haircut, the Queens native went into her bathroom, plucked a pair of scissors, and began cutting his own hair. This moment would unlock the key realization for his passion. Roa would charge friends in high school $5 for a haircut and during this time fashioned for himself a fairly profitable side hustle. When his girlfriend got pregnant, Roa set aside his passion to enlist in the U.S. Navy where he proudly served his country. However his zeal for the barber industry continued to gnaw at him and he spent his nights working hard for his diploma in cosmetology. One step at a time, Roa put forth the time and energy to invest in his dreams which led to his first secured job working as a barber. Roa would spend countless nights seamlessly weaving through nightclubs, striking up conversations with potential clients and handing out his card to everyone he could. The tactic in turn lent towards not only a solid clientele base being built, but a clientele base so extensive he had lines out the door. As Pacinos The Barber honed his craft, heads turned and he began to achieve immense recognition. Continuing his passion for the industry, Roa toured around the U.S. and Internationally as a Platform Artist & Educator for WAHL Clippers, a leader in the professional and home grooming industry. Throughout his career, Roa has hosted a variety of top name clients, most famously including Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, Sean “Jay Z” Carter, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Kevin Hart, and others. As Pacinos The Barber’s fame grew, he began to notice an absence of quality men’s grooming products accessible for the everyday man. This observation propelled Roa to shift ventures into what would become Pacinos Signature Line.

Pacinos Signature Line has radicalized the men’s grooming industry for the absolute better. Pacinos The Barber strategically has cultivated a brand centered around encouraging men to invest in their own self-care through the thoughtfully crafted, barber approved products. Of their products Roa offers, “We have great quality formulas, some even water-based, which are easiest to apply and wash off without leaving any residues or damaging the hair. We also try to introduce new products that are not seen in the male industry as often, for instance, our latest launch (the beard pencil filler) was the first product of its type in the industry.” His dedication to constantly offering products the consumer will be able to utilize first and foremost at a base level and onward, while sitting at a cost that does not break the bank for the average person, all helps to solidify their place in the industry. Roa goes on to say, “Generally there’s a great reaction to our product, we have a lot of customers that end up buying the product because barbers use it on them. Men’s personal care “trends” are just now starting to get more popular so it’s great to be a brand they can trust, coming from a barber to their hands.” And with a mass presence in some of the largest retail chains in the United States, such as CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens, and Target, Pacinos has certainly become one of the fastest growing men’s grooming line thus far. In addition to his immense success across the U.S., Roa also expanded internationally to Brazil, Italy, Netherlands, Iraq, Mexico, Colombia, Australia, Japan and more, helping him close contracts with recognized international retailers such as Superdrug (United Kingdom), Manor (Switzerland), Watsons (UAE), among others.

For Roa, the success was not overnight. His success is the emblematic result directly correlating to the persistence, resilience, and hard work he invested into not only Pacinos as a brand, but into himself as an artist. The melding of Pacinos The Barber and his brand are essential in properly exemplifying the authenticity between Pacinos Products and the everyday man. When asked about what qualities Roa would look for in a potential new hire he expresses, “Self starters and willingness to go the extra mile.. We are a small team and sometimes have to wear different hats, for someone to be a good fit they have to be open to learn and be able to adapt.” Certainly suggestive in comparison to how Pacinos was built, Roa offers inspiration to anyone that the key ingredient to success is working hard.