Stylist Spends Every Sunday Giving Haircuts to the Homeless

Every Sunday, hair stylist Mark Bustos ventures through New York City in search of his next client. Although he works at an upscale salon, he's actually looking for someone less fortunate who'd appreciate a haircut. He approaches these people and opens with the same simple phrase: “I want to do something nice for you today.”

Bustos began cutting hair for the homeless in May 2012 after a visit to family members in the Philippines. There, he paid the owner of a barbershop to rent a chair and provide haircuts to impoverished children. The feeling was so rewarding that he brought the practice home. Since then, he's performed this service to the needy in Jamaica, Costa Rica, Los Angeles, and of course, New York.

All of Bustos' styling sessions are completed in open areas like street corners and sidewalks so that the public can watch. He's hoping that the passersby will find inspiration in the good deed and be kind to those who are less fortunate. “Every human life is worth the same,” Bustos wrote in a caption on his Instagram. “We all deserve a second chance.”

Mark Bustos Instagram
via [Neatorama and Huffington Post]

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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