Steve Jaimes grew up on the streets of Chicago, close to drugs, gangs and gun violence.
"I was always a follower of the wrong things. I would never say I was actively in a gang, I was just always around it," Jaimes said.
When he was 17, he saw his friend die after their car was shot at.
"I saw a hole in my friend's neck. I saw a hole in his side. I tried applying pressure, but it was of no good use," Jaimes said. "In the blink of an eye, his life was gone."
That moment changed his life. He joined the Marine Corps the next year, which ultimately led him to Southern California.
Jaimes said he found lots of love and structure in the military, but not the healing he was looking for. But he did find healing in barbering.
"A haircut is like medicine. It heals you. It uplifts you," Jaimes said. "A lot of men, this is the only thing they look forward to when it comes to their physical appearance and feeling better about themselves."
He started barbering when he was 13 years old, and now he’s passing the skill on to other youth through a grassroots program he calls Humanity Barbers.
"This is where everybody learns the skill of cutting hair. They network with each other. They build camaraderie. They build community," Jaimes said.
The group is made up of youth and some adults from different neighborhoods in North County, such as Jayden Garcia, a freshman in high school.
"I wanted to cut hair. I was going through stuff," Garcia said.
Before he started cutting hair, he wanted to follow in his dad’s footsteps and join a gang. But his father died. Three years ago, Garcia met Jaimes.
"He just told me not to be doing that stupid s---, it's not cool," Garcia said. "He was like, 'You want to learn to cut hair?'"
Garcia became part of what’s now the Humanity Barbers workshop. Then there’s 18-year-old Nicolas Burabano from Colombia. He had looked into lessons, but found them too expensive.
"I was looking for places where they teach but they charge," Burabano said in Spanish. "I saw a video from Steve where he was offering free classes at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays, so I gave it a try,"
He said the workshop offers more than just classes.
"What I’ve liked the most is that they’re not just classes. They're like family," Burabano said. "You look forward to going to the group and seeing your new friends."
The group meets every Tuesday at CaliClips Deluxe Barbershop in Vista to learn and practice cutting hair. But the space also keeps many of the boys out of trouble.
"I just let him (Jaimes) do his thing," said Ramiro Diaz, the owner of the barbershop. "I know how hard it is to grow up here ... be low income. Try to have a good opportunity in life, you know. It's hard to go to school and go to college ... this is a good start for them."
And the lessons go beyond learning barbering skills. They also pay it forward by cutting the hair of unhoused individuals on Wednesday mornings at the Humanity Showers outreach event for people in need.
"They learn a skill. They build stronger morals and values to be a better barber, but more so a better human," Jaimes said. "Leading with love, leading with compassion, with empathy for others."
Jaimes said he hopes his students gain a better understanding of what they’re already accomplishing,
"Because you don't hear about young individuals looking to help other people, they're sometimes focused on themselves."
And their vision extends beyond their own community. They’d like to eventually unite different neighborhoods, visit foster care homes, juvenile facilities, or go on mission trips.
"These guys come from all these different neighborhoods. And sometimes there's differences," Jaimes said. "But because of the energy that is built in this room, they understand what it is to let go of a lot of those things that were possibly hindering you from creating relationships with the guys right (on the) next block."
For now, they are taking their skills on the road to barbering showcases and more outreach events.
Jaimes said he hopes to raise money to help with transportation and more programs for the more than 40 youth he is currently mentoring.
"Once they get to that age where they can truly fly and be their greatest purpose, then they're going to fly real, real high," Jaimes said. "So high that they're probably going to make me look like the smallest bird. And I'll be so happy and so proud to see that happen."
