Name: Josue Abdiel Navarro “Sway”
Age: 24
What they do: Barber

A lot of people take a different approach on what Allergic II Average looks like. What does living Allergic II Average look like for you? For me, it means living that 1% lifestyle. A lot of people are living their life day to day, paycheck to paycheck. At the end of day, though they may seem happy doing that, deep down they’d rather be doing something else. I have found that the people who have really found their passion to be living in the 1% Club as I like to call it. Only 1% of people are living their passion and being successful. Success looks so different for a lot of different people but I feel like once you’re living your dream, your passion, waking up and not dreading life- that’s living Allergic II Average.

What was one of the most difficult skills you had to learn to master to get you where you are? That skill set would definitely be being self aware, bro. It’s mainly just recognizing what you’re good at, what you’re great at. With that being said, some people have a great skill in life but it’s probably not what they love to do– people tend to run away from that. One thing that causes a lot of people to fail, to quit on their dream, is they’re not using what they have to seek and get what they want. For me, personally, being self aware was something I struggled with but I had just enough of that knowledge to overcome it. So each and every day, I make the choice to continue to work on that.

Allergic II Average really believes that sometimes certain things have to be abandoned in order to get to that “next level”– whatever that may look like for you. In saying that, what was something you had to leave behind in order to move forward? Man, I think everything. When I was out in Amarillo, TX I was good, I was young, I had a full clientele, I was taking care of my mom, financially I was good, but I knew I wanted to advance. And I knew that next level was not in Amarillo. So just like with anything in life, you gotta be able to, especially in those moments where you’re good– to go from good to great. You have to be willing to sacrifice who you are for who you want to become. I had to sacrifice where I was and comfortable in just to come to a new city in order to level up. In the middle of making these sacrifices, you have to keep the mindset that you’re making these sacrifices for something greater.

Can you name a person who helped you get where you are? Nick Castellanos. He’s very well known for being Lebron’s barber. He has definitely been a huge mentor for me. He’s said a lot of words that I needed to hear. He doesn’t sugar coat things, he just straight up tells me how the game goes. He told me I could get whatever I wanted if I wanted it badly enough. I met him personally about two years ago and I put my ego down as a young, humble individual and told him that I had been watching him grind. I see those things and at the end, he is who he says he is and when I met him, everything he presented on social media was true. I met him one week and the very next week he got me a NBA client, Mike Miller. He saw the ambition in me even though I had only known him for a week. He saw the sacrifices I had made. That just goes to show that as long as you’re making moves, doors will open for you.

I’m actually moving out to L.A., December 1st. I haven’t told many people that but that’s in just a few weeks. With that being said, through him I’ve learned how to work in silence. Ya know? Enough with the bull shit. Stop telling people what you’re gonna do. You know what I mean? I don’t have to tell anyone. I just make the moves I need to make.

Anytime Nick has the opportunity to bless someone, me especially, he has.

Ya know, he’s been living this lifestyle for awhile– cutting sports professional’s hair. One time, he was busy with Lebron’s haircut and Nike hit him up. Nike was collaborating with Apple and they were working on the new Apple Watch. They were needing someone to cut Kevin Hart’s stunt double’s hair and I get this call from a production company saying I was recommended by Nick. Long story short, they flew me out. I went in, I did a haircut, I flew back. Next thing I know I get a paycheck in the mail for $1500. He allowed me into that circle and now I’m headed to L.A. to work for that production company. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter where you’re from, I will always rep Amarillo. I’m just a guy chasing his dreams.

What motivates you? What gets you up in the morning? On those days you don’t feel like getting up and grinding and you want to sleep in, what gets your out of bed? I tell anyone, who ever comes to me for advice, that you have to have a why. If you have a why for doing what you’re doing, that’s really all you need. So for me, personally, my “why” is my mom.

My mom has done a lot for me. She was a single mother who brought us here from Mexico. I was only five years old when I came to the states. She took that risk to bring us here and give us a better life. There were rough times and she never had any help from the government.

She’s definitely my number one. My why. She always talked about how she doesn’t have a retirement plan or a 401k. After I heard that, my whole plan was to be her retirement plan. At the end of the day, I’m not trying to be a millionaire. I’m just trying to make sure my mom is taken care of. I don’t have to be a millionaire to do that.

My next why would have to be the people who invest in me, the people who believe in me. The people who gave me strength and words when I needed it. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t do anything with all the things these people have invested in me. I can’t let them down. I have to keep going.

And my last one, my fans. To some people, it’s their haters. At the end of the day, those haters are going to become fans and t’s all love on my end.

You know, Allergic II Average really believes in giving of yourself. Whether that’s loving or serving others or your time and talents. We believe in the approach of giving ourselves to others. What is your gift or talent that you offer to others? I would definitely say knowledge. God has truly blessed me with the ambition I have and I try to push that onto others. Especially those that are seeking it. That’s something I love about being a barber, I’m with people for forty five minutes at a time and it’s almost like a therapy session for them and I can give to them. I serve people in the way of encouragement, business moves. But most importantly, I give knowledge instead of just keeping it to myself. There’s not a lot of people that do that. You know, you can give $100 to someone but are you teaching them knowledge that they can keep and use for the rest of their life? When people are not giving of the knowledge they have, they’ve peaked. That’s why their fearful to share that with others. If you’re seeking for more, you’ll always help others succeed.

Is there a book or podcast that has played a large component in your success? Man, I tell people all the time that YouTube was my everything. Anything I had questions about, I went to YouTube. I still do that to this day. There is an endless amount of information available on there. We’re so blessed in 2017 and everything is on YouTube. If you struggle with anything that’s on you because the information is out there. It’s been a huge resource for me.

How do you cope with failure? Me, personally, again it’s that proper mindset. It’s always an opportunity for a great come back story. It’s just another way to learn and gain knowledge. And with each new try, you know how to do it better. You kind of have to learn how to love failure and not view it as a loss. It’s just another step to the next level.

If you could go back and tell your fifteen year old self anything, what would it be? Back to the whole failure thing, as a young child I was definitely afraid of failure. I’m so OCD and I wanted everything to be right. I wanted things perfect. Growing up as an artist and someone who truly loves art, I was a perfectionist about things and I think a lot of artists are like me in the way that they’re precise. With that being said, I was definitely one of those dudes afraid of failure. If I could go back, I’d tell myself to not be so afraid of that.

Not only that but being from another country, I didn’t speak English well. I was afraid to ask questions and afraid people would make fun of me. I was scared to learn. I’m 24 years old now and it took me being 21 before I started this journey of striving for greatness, wanting to be more and not letting fear get in my way.

If I was to change anything, I’d encourage my younger self to ask more questions and be fearless.