WACO, Texas — Some would say barbershops aren't what they used to be. Gone are the days where you can get a haircut and talk about what's happening in your community.
Well, if your barber is Santos "Tito" Martinez you actually do get that full experience. He's been cutting hair since the 1950s and his connection with his customers (young or older) has never faded away.
"We've got kids that come in our shop, and I've been cutting their grandfather's hair, their father's hair and now their hair," Tito said.
He's known as "Tito" in the community. It's a fitting name that holds such high regard and has created quite the buzz in the local barber business.
Phillip Hurtado is an up and coming barber and he considers working in the Downtown Barbershop with Tito an honor.
"To be cutting hair for that long it's amazing," Hurtado told 25 News. "He's very, very inspiring for sure."
Years ago, before getting his own shop, it was Tito who was inspired by another well-known Hispanic barber and businessman.
"Well, I was laid off from work and Joey Gutierrez was driving around town and I was walking and he says 'get in you can learn something'," Tito explained.
Tito eventually worked his way up, renting out his first booth, before moving into his own shop: Tito's Downtown Barbershop.
"I moved here in '69," Tito said.
In 1969, times were much different for minority business owners. When approached about the business opportunity, Tito said he had some concern about it.
"I said, 'I would like to talk to the owner of the building that owns the square footage here. I mean maybe he didn't want a Hispanic person here'," Tito reminisced.
"But he was nice, and he was like 'no, come on', and you know ... I took the shop over!"
The hairstyles might have changed over the years.
"Everybody wore a flat top," Tito joked. "Then Elvis Presley made it famous with his ducktail. So then everybody wanted ducktails. But, even Hispanic people were wearing ducktails before him."
One thing that never changed over the years is Tito's address. Whether you're one of his regulars or a walk in, if you sit in Tito's chair you're not just a customer you're apart of his familia.
"I think they keep coming because they like my work," Tito laughed.
