"Running From God" - Interview w/ Vinny De Leon

In this podcast episode, I interview Vinny, from "Vinny's Barbershop" in Houston, Texas. He shares what life was like growing up with Pastors as parents. At a young age he feels like he is missing out on life which leads him down a path of experimenting with alcohol and all types of drugs. He finds himself slipping deeper and deeper into darkness, all while he tries to drown out the voice of his parents and ultimately the voice of God, who is calling him near.

https://vinnysbarbershop.net
Instagram: @vinnydeleon3
https://getwrapped.tv

Transcript

Omar 0:15

Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of Bronx to Strong Chicago. My name's Omar Calvio, uh, and I'm just glad that you, you guys are able to join us tonight and you guys are in for a treat. Uh, tonight we're gonna be taking a trip down to Houston, Texas. we're gonna be interviewing, uh, this brother I just met recently. I was able to connect with him through, uh, JC from Ron Armstrong. Uh, so I'd like to welcome Vinny DeLeon to the podcast.

Vinny 0:40

Thank you, brother. I appreciate you having me, man. It's a, it's an honor and a blessing to be able to share this podcast with you guys, man. I'm, I'm excited to see how it all unfolds, brother.

Omar 0:50

Amen. Amen. Uh, yeah, I, I think, uh, JC was down there in, uh, Houston, Texas, I think maybe like two, three months ago, right?

Vinny 0:58

Yes, sir. Yep. JC was down and, uh, I believe he did a podcast with my pastor, uh, pastor Juan Martinez Rap Church. And, um, yeah. And he was down there, caught up, uh, listening to, to their, their, their podcast and, and watching it and stuff. And I seen him and I, and uh, man, we just reached out and connect. It's kind of a funny story. Uh, I'm a barber, so he, he thought I was in Arizona and I thought he was here in Houston, And he, he was looking for a haircut man. And, and uh, we finally linked up on the phone and he's like, man, I'm over here street such and such, such said, man, I, where that's at? I don't, I've never of that hearing in Houston, man. He says, oh man, you're in Texas. I said, yeah, I'm in Texas. Where you at? He says, I'm in Arizona. I said, oh, well, heck, we ain't never gonna cut So we're still waiting on the haircut, man. Ok. Gotcha, gotcha. Sorry, JC

Omar 1:52

Right, right, right. Yeah. Well one day, one day, man. No, that, that's, that's awesome, man. Hey, you know what, man, I, I'm just excited cuz uh, I'm, uh, through jc we've been able to connect with a lot of different brothers in different states and everything and man, just able to, to share their stories, you know, so uh, hope we get a chance to do that

Vinny 2:07

tonight with you. Yeah, it's cool, man. Uh, I'm excited to share it, man. And you know, our glory be God, bro.

Omar 2:13

Amen. Avin, you, you, you wanna tell us, uh, what part of Texas you grew up in, maybe, uh, yeah. Could, can you tell us what the neighborhood was like and, uh, describe it for those that are not

Vinny 2:22

from that area? Yeah. So, so I grew up, uh, I was born and city Texas, and, uh, I, and I grew up in Freeport, Texas. So we're right along the coast, all the way on the bottom, uh, of Texas. And, uh, you know, in, in, in the neighborhood in Freeport where, where I grew up, it was, uh, it was, uh, very, um, it's a lot of refineries, chemical refineries, plants around here. And,-you know, that's what tends to drive, uh, the city and oil and, and gas and whatnot. And, uh, so Freeport was a, a very. Uh, just, I, I, I wanna use the word and, and I say this lightly, but it was very limited. Ok. It was very limited. So if you weren't in refineries and, and you weren't working around there, you know, you were, you were really limited on, on funds. Um, and so typically, you know, uh, because you're limited on funds, you find stuff to do and before you know it, you know, there's, there's, uh, the drug activities that are around there, and then you start to tap into the gangs and, and, you know, the, the alcoholism and, and, and like I said, just a number of drugs that, that were presenting itself. And, and so, but on the side, you also had a lot of hard workers too, you know, was a blue collar town, you know what I mean? And, and so, yeah. And, and that, that was pretty much in a nutshell where, you know, where I grew up, man, and it was, it was, um, you know, a doggy dog world out there, man.

Omar 3:45

Okay. Alright. Right. You could, could I ask you this? Uh, how were things like in inside of the home, like h how was your, uh, f family like.

Vinny 3:54

So, you know, uh, my, my parents are pastors and currently still are pastors. And so, um, when, when I was growing up, we didn't really see, mom and dad were very careful to, uh, uh, watch what they were exposing us to. And so we grew up in church, uh, Omar, we, we were, we were in church all the time, man, you know, uh, Monday you had prayer, prayer meetings, and then, uh, Wednesday you had service, and then Friday you had, uh, another, uh, service, you know, and then Sunday you had Sunday school in the mornings, and then you had, uh, uh, you know, your regular service and then, you know, you would do it all over again. And so all I grew up in was church. And so my grandparents were pastors, uh, you know, um, my, my parents were pastors, my aunts and uncles were in church and whatnot. And so, you know, that was my mother's side and my father's side. Um, you know, they were, they were Catholics and, and so they were, You know, uh, they, they were into to having a good time, you know, partying and, and, and family gatherings and stuff. And so Dad, not that, that he kept us away from that. He was just didn't want us to be exposed to, to those type of. Of things and of that nature, you know? And so dad was very protective and mom was very protective of us, of, of how we were coming up and they didn't want us to go down the path that, that they were on. So, um, you know, we weren't really exposed to things like that. However, yeah, faith was a big, big cornerstone in our, in our family. you know, God was, was constantly being spoken to about us and, and, and the ways of God and who God is and how He's and what he, what he stands for, and what we believe and what we stand for. And, and so, you know, uh, scripture says you raise your children up the ways the Lord and they'll never, you know, right. And, and you plant those seeds. And, and so that's, that's what our family was, man. We're big on faith. Dad was a hard worker. Still is currently, you know, um, my mother, you know, God bless her man, you know, she finally made it to heaven, brother. My mother went to heaven. Uh, actually, uh, on the 19th Man makes one year that, uh, we lost my mother. But she's in heaven, man. She's in glory. Thank God. So, so Mom. Mom was a prayer warrior, man. You know, my mother loved to pray. My mother loved to worship. She would love to sing. And so in our household, man, you know, I have two sisters. Uh, I'm the baby. I'm the only boy. And so in our household, man, it was, it was all about faith, bro. It was all about faith. And so dad would work, mom would, would support dad. And then, uh, my father was one of 12 children. And early in, in dad's life, uh, his father, my grandpa passed away at the age of 32. So dad had to do a lot of the work bringing up, uh, his brothers and sisters. And so my dad blew out his back at an early age, man. And, uh, so dad started to become very limited on work. So that being said, we started to struggle with, with money. However, we still had all of our faith in God though, you know what I mean? So our house was, was very faith driven. Uh, if, if, if I'll say that, Right

Omar 7:08

man, man. That it sounds like it is. And, and, um, I know you mentioned church, uh, four days a week, right. And then and, and, and then, but uh, on these other days were was like faith still being shared. Like is wasn't just the four days of church. Like I know you mentioned inside the house, man, faith was, seems like faith was

Vinny 7:25

like throughout the whole week, right? Yeah, it was it and it was, it was, um, you know, it, it was, it was shared all the time. You know, um, the, the flip side of, of this, yeah. Uh, of my testimony, Omar, what I share with people is, you know, I had pastors as parents. Yeah. And they were very limited on how to parent. Gotcha. And it's not from a bad place that I say that, but, you know, uh, I, I'm the flip side, you know what I mean? Um, so I, I had the parents and so I would always hear, uh, problems and I would always hear, um, the, the back of Ministry of churches and, and what it entails and, and, uh, the, the gossip or the lying and the, the cheating and the issues of, of church and, and what, what all comes with it. So my parents were always there for us, but they were always there for people too. Yes. So I had, I had pastors as par more than what I had parents. Gotcha. You know what I'm saying? Yes. And so Faith was practiced as, as, as we were, um, uh, growing up in, in those days that we weren't in church, it was still faith-based, but then at the same time we were still trying to live a childhood. Yeah. You know, uh, how do we have a childhood when all we hear is is church? And, and so it was very, um, I don't wanna say the word difficult, but it was very challenging, I feel for mom and dad to still raise three children, still have the church still be trying to pay the bills. And, and, and I seen that side of, of church, but, you know, uh, we had, we had each other and we were there for each other. And then, uh, you know, we would do what we had to do to, to get by and survive, you know? And, and so as time went, My sisters and I, you know, they would, they would play, uh, with each other. And so I was just kinda, kinda like on my own, if you'll, you know, I just kinda wandered around on my own and just kinda, I would just go outside and play by myself. I play drums, know drums. I was eight years old. I would find sticks and I would find razors and I would start on pots and pans by myself and I found some razors dude in my dad's razors, and I took them out. I'll never forget this. And I, I was on the front porch and I took one's pot and I started banging. That was not knowing that I actually had razors was Oh, Yeah. I, I was a, I was a wild child, man was kinda on my own and always did what we had to do, but, you know, uh, I would, I would just wander around. I was very hyper. I had lot of energy. I believe they call it now, you know, but back then we didn't, we didn't take medicine. Right, right, right. Didn't need it, man. No, you didn't need it. They said go outside. So we went outside and Gotcha, gotcha. But, but yeah, man, it was, you know, that's pretty much, uh, that's the way we would handle our weeks outside of church, you know what I mean? Gotcha. Okay.

Omar 10:23

Yeah. So, as you're becoming like a young man, maybe heading into a teenager, uh, do, do you still stay, stay on this path or do things begin

Vinny 10:30

to change for you? Yeah. You know, so it's funny man, because as, um, it's almost like when you're told not to do something for so long, you almost kinda wonder why. Gotcha. You know, even though they tell us why, and, and you see why, and you hear why, but at some point I felt this is me. This is not cause of mom and dad or anything. This was just my choice. Yeah. I said, you know what, well, what's wrong with drinking? What's wrong with smoking? What's wrong with drugs? What's wrong with, with, uh, women and, and sleeping around and, and, and so for me, I felt, and this may sound bad, but I know that a lot of people can relate to this man, but I felt like I was missing something else. Gotcha. You know what I mean? I just felt like there was something out there that I wanted to experience. And so what I started to do, bro, is um, you know, dad, dad was hurt and, and, uh, he was limited on work. So I started working at an early age. Um, I was working two jobs throughout school, intermediate high school, you know, I would work at a tire shop and my cousin's tire shop on the weekends, and I would see them drinking and, and doing things of that nature. And, and then, um, I was working at a grocery store and I'll never forget it, man, this guy, I seen him smoking a cigarette and I was, I was intrigued by the cigarette and he says, uh, Hey man, you want a cigarette? And I was like, yeah, dude. And knowing I shouldn't do it. Yeah. Yeah. but that's what started everything, man was that cigarette. And, and he says, man, if you smoke, if you take a drag of the cigarette, he said, and you lean your head back and you blow it out real slow. you're gonna catch a, I was like, what's So, I was like, a buzz. And he was like, yeah. And I was like, gimme one And I went for the kill, bro. And, and I took this long, I started coughing. I'll never forget it, bro. I started, I started coughing, but needless to say to right. And I wanted more. And so at that point, I started lying. And I started, started lying to mom and dad and I, Hey, I'll be back. I'm gonna go to my friend's house and I'll do this and I'll do that. You know, and I'm, we're gonna stay the night. And, and then I, I started tapping into weed, man. Ok. You know? And then I started drinking at 14 years old, bro. I started drinking. All right. Yeah. I started drinking and we started, we started smoking weed and then, you know, we started to figure out what girls were, and I started, you know, I lost my virginity at 14 and I went and started going down this crazy path before know, bro. I'm like, I'm for more lifestyle man. And, and it progressed and, and these are in my teenage years, you know what I mean? Right. And, and here I, I'm making some money now, you know, I'm kinda giving mom and dad money, you know, and I'm becoming man already. You know, you know how man of gentlemen, I'm sure you just start to build up that type of, uh, demeanor about yourself and you feel you're bigger than what you really are, you know? Yeah. And, and, and man, that, that's, whenever it really started, things really started to. To go dark in my life, bro. You know, it was, it was

Omar 13:47

at crazy. At, at that age, at 14. Did your parents like, uh, figure this out or were you able like to hide it? They able to get away with it?

Vinny 13:55

I, I got away with it for years, bro. Okay. Alright. For years. So, um, I, like I said, I play the drums and so I was in band and I had a full ride scholarship going into, my high school years, right? Going into my my freshman year. And, and I was in band and the teacher was like, man, dude, you know, you got scholarships, man. Like there's, there's people that are writing scholarships for you. And when I started to get letters in the mail and, but what I started to do, Omar, was I, I took that talent that the Lord had gave. and I started to take it to the clubs and I started to play the drums in, in TE band. Ok. And, uh, we started to go to Houston and I was starting to figure out that there's more outside of this small town. Right. And, you know, I, I started to meet, I was meeting Los Palo Lafia Beso. We, we had a, this, the manager of, of this group of Beso was, was actually gonna start a, a band. And he wanted to do it with. Teenagers. Okay. And so they took me backstage to go and meet the guys of, long story short man, we, Omar, Hey, I'm over here. I'm over there. And, and they never figured this stuff out, bro. Oh man. Never figured it out. Right. And so they're here, they're thinking, I'm just down the street at my friend's house, you know, and, and I'm over there in Houston, in, in the clubs at 15, 16, 17 years old. You know, I'm, I'm, I'm wilding out now. Right, right. man. I'm thinking I got it, man. So, gotcha. This whole time, all this is going on. And they're clueless to everything, bro. I mean, absolutely clueless. And I'm, and I just continue to keep lying to them, man. And, and it was, it was pretty wild, bro. It was pretty wild, man. And before you know it, You know, we go to, um, I start tapping into to drugs. Mm-hmm. uh, hard, hardcore drug. You know, I'm doing cocaine now and, and I'm drinking. And then, uh, you know, I graduate high school. That was one thing that I made sure that I wanted to do. I said I graduate high school. Ok. I don't know why I was so driven to graduate high school, but I knew I had to graduate high school. And I'll never forget a man when I walked across the stage at, at my high school ceremony, they, they, uh, the, one of the principals came up to me, the assistant principal, and he says, Minnie, I can't believe you did it. And I said, excuse me? He said, I can't believe you didn't. He said, we had bets on you that you wouldn't graduate. What? I, I said, you serious? He said, yeah, we had bets on you that you wouldn't graduate. I said, well, why didn't you tell me, man? I could got in on too. I could won some money.

Omar 16:37

Yes. Ten one. Ten one. Gotcha.

Vinny 16:42

Yeah, man. He started laughing. He said, man, I'm proud of you. And I felt like for once in my life I was actually, I actually did something that was worth sharing ok. That I didn't have to about, you know what I mean? Now, years, bro. Years Tapp drugs, still doing drugs that time. I'm fee for alcohol. I, I'm, I'm starting to go into my stages of alcoholism now. Ok. You know, and, and I'm drinking a lot, man. And then I start getting exposed to. the gangs. And I started seeing, you know, that's when all the, the gang life was, was really hitting hard over here in Houston and, and, and in Freeport, you know what I mean? And, and, and it was starting to get really, really bad man. And I started to see gangs and I would see people get shot and I would see, you know, I started to hang around it, you know, I had friends then cause they knew I played music. And so the music led to that. And then now I'm hanging around people and I'm, you know, now I'm hanging out with the drug dealers and, and now there's just, uh, you know, access to, to, to all types of drugs now. Right. And now, now I'm just really wild out now. You know, I mean, I'm seeing crackhead walk in the house and, and, and trying to sell their daughters. You know, I get outta here. Yeah, man. And her son. Yeah. Like, I, I'll never forget it, bro. Like I, we were one house and literally a lady walks up and she has her little baby there. Six, six years old. Little, little girl. And, and she was like, here, y'all can have her man. You can have her Just gimme some, gimme some, gimme some, some dope, man. And I was like, nah, man, are you kidding me? Like, like, get at him, man. Take, take your kid home. Like, what are you doing? Wow. And then I started to realize like how it almost felt like I was in so deep. Now it's like, where, where's, where's the light? Right? Like this, this is crazy. Like that was kinda another wake up call for me. Like, this is crazy. Yeah, this is crazy. It's, bro, that's wild man. With the six year old girl, I'll never forget the little girl's face looking at all of dudes. And it's like, you know, this smoke, you know of drugs and, and then there's, there's this cocaine on the table and there's, there's alcohol, there's needles. You know what I mean? You're shooting up and. And, and I'll never forget it, man. And I was like, wow, that, that's, that's insane. Yeah. That's insane. Yes. It's, and I started to really realize, man, how the devil starts to work. And so the whole time while I'm doing this, I never forget, bro. Like I keep hearing my dad's voice, you know, I would hear scripture and I would hear him say, man, you know how good God is and, and how faithful God is. And, and I was like, oh, I don't wanna hear that. So, so I would, I would do more drugs and I, I I never wanted to hear it, bro. Gotcha. I never wanted to hear that, you know, and battle head bro. Right. Was just my man and my head. You're

Omar 19:43

like trying to drown out not only your dad's voice, but but the voice of, of your heavenly father. Right.

Vinny 19:48

Shit man. Yeah. I was comment bro. Man. I was torment. I'll never, I'll never forget that feeling, bro. I was, every day was like torment me. I would've wake up knowing I'm doing wrong, right? Go to sleep knowing I'm doing wrong. Knowing, knowing that if I were to die in hell, I would, I would wake up man and lift my eyes. I knew that. Right? I knew that. And that was the scarier part, bro, is that I knew where I was gonna spend eternity. If, if something to me, man, and yet, like you said, man, I would still try to drown it out and so every day up and bro, wow, man,

Omar 20:32

that's so, so like how, how deep or how bad, like, did it get like, or,

Vinny 20:38

so I got to a point where, uh, at 19 years old, I got married. Uh, and I should never got married, to be honest with you. I was 19 years old. Yeah, right. That's kinda young, right? I was stupid, bro. So I think I'm a man now. Know I've all this stuff from the age's. Cousin, my cousin asked me if he wants, if I wanna go work, and I said, yeah, let's go bro. So I thought we was just gonna go work like around the corner and he was like, all man, the truck we're load up tool. He was pipe, my cousin was pipe, my was a rig welder. And, uh, cousin we're going and he says, We're gonna go to Wyoming. I said, Wyoming, what the heck am I gonna do in Wyoming? Yeah. And he was like, we're gonna go work. He said, you wanna go work? I, I'll never forget this. I said, I thought we going around. Go Wyoming. He's why in Wyoming? Right? I'm going Wyoming. So I called mom and I was like, Hey, I'm gonna, I'm gonna Wyoming. My dad's like, well just be careful time some money. My was like, Wyoming And so, uh, I said, mom, I'm not gonna go wild loud. I'm just gonna go over there and go work.

Omar 22:10

Could I ask you this? Did your uncle and then the, cousin that invited you. Did they know, the things you were involved in?

Vinny 22:15

So they started to, to know that I was, was drinking and smoking. And it's funny, my cousin. Actually plays the bass. We both grew up in church and he played the bass. I would play the drums and my cousin was with me that was gonna go on tour with us. Okay. Uh, as so he understood, he knew that was, and but in Wyoming, so whenever we got to Wyoming, man, they, they started my, didn't have any clue, right. He was, he was clueless. Uh, but we gotta Wyoming and we started working and that's whenever everything really started to like, I mean, as a, as a young man now, uh, as a young adult, I would say, I, I really start, I put the, the foot on the gas bro. And, and, and I went crazy I went crazy. So I got started in, in construction. Um, the whole time I would always cut, cut hair. I would cut my own hair and whatnot. and, uh, fast forward, um, I, I switched jobs and I got into safety and I, I started to work, uh, in construction as a safety manager. And so, man, I would build hospitals, I would build high rises, I would build, uh, any, anything and everything. Bro had hand football fields, uh, the Trump Towers in, in Chicago, we built those. Um, you know, I was in, I was in Louisiana, I, California, I was everywhere, bro. Everywhere was, was like maybe 23 to 25, man, I started getting houses, you know, I was making money. They gave me the company card. And they would say, Hey, Vinny, take out the clients. You know, we need to make sure that they're happy. They gimme the company credit card, they gimme the, the company truck. They gimme cell phones and computer and I'm making good money giving sign bonuses, job bonuses throughout the projects. And I had a number of projects going on at the same time. And that's whenever it got really crazy my life, bro, because now I had money to, at any, any way I wanted to. Right. You know, and so would use company. And then I started tapping bro. And, and I started to, to get high all the time. I was high all the time. Like literally those. Omar, I can literally tell you it was a blur in my life. You know, I, I, I can't even tell you like, addresses where I used to live, bro. That's how, that's how bad it was. Wow. And the whole time, the whole time, bro, I would still keep my mother and my father and my head would, and this is a crazy part, man, is that, you know, the gospel stands true, bro. The gospel stands true. You plant a seed eventually, man, that seed will grow. Amen. It has to grow. Amen. Whether you, you, whoever's watering it or whatever the case may be at this particular time, was bad seed. The same, the, the, the gospel of Jesus Christ was always in my heart, always in my mind, always in my spirit, and never left me. And that's what made it even worse. Cause I, I didn't wanna call mom and dad, you know what I'm saying? Yeah. I didn't wanna hear them. And when I did my dad go, Hey son, how you doing? Doing alright, dad. It's going good, man. How's working? You know, it's good. And that's all we would talk about is work, right? And uh, he's like, man, you know, Lord loves you son. I was know dad, think man, right? And, and he would just say so calm. He be like, you know, God loves you son. You know, I'm praying for you, but God's favor and grace was still on my life. I would get promoted in these projects. I was, I was meeting millionaires. And, and, and God showed me all types of favor in my life, bro. Crazy favor in my life. And, and, uh, before you know it, man, I'm helping, uh, in, in big projects and we're making a lot of money. And, uh, needless to say, we moved back over here to Houston. Ok. So we fast forward, right? Right. Come back over here to Houston in. Could I ask you this

Omar 26:37

at this time? Are, are you still married? Yes, sir. Are you keeping like a long distance relationship? Yes, sir. Is she traveling with you

Vinny 26:44

or what? How does that look? Uh, no, no. There, there, I shouldn't even been married. I'm, you know, iwhenever, iwhenever, you know, and, and you know, it was, it, like you said, long distance and wasn't, it just wasn't healthy. Yeah. And when I was there, it wasn't, you know, I didn't wanna be there, you know, I was 19 growing up. I see world out there, don't wanna responsibilities, you know? Right, right. But, but you know, now I come back. When I come back, you know, uh, I started catching jobs and in, in apartments and, and as maintenance managers, supervisors. And then I finally land the gig where, where we're building a high rise. Okay. Uh, when I built the high rise in oh eight, the recession hits. Oh, right. When the recession hits. Yeah, when the recession hits, bro, I, I, uh, I lost my job, right? And that's, that's whenever the wake up call happened, it started to happen, bro. Um, I had electrical license, plumbing license, H V C license, OSHA 500 license. I mean, you name it. I, I, I got it, bro. I got all types of licenses. My mo uh, my wife now, she tells me, you know, I thought you were lying whenever you told me all that's too much for, you know, and, and as the three, I started early. But anyway, uh, fast forward, uh, we, we winded up, I lost my job. My wife at that time, the same one, she, she had, um, she left me. You know, uh, we, we left each other rather. Right? Right. Uh, and, and, uh, she kept my daughter away from me. Okay? I lost the house, I lost the cars. I had foreclosures. Now, my credit, I couldn't get, couldn't find a job. I couldn't land job anywhere. I mean, I just literally, I lost everything within like, months. Wow. Months. And I'm not talking six months. I'm talking like two, three months. Gone. Everything gone man. And now I'm homeless, bro. No way. 2010. 2010. I'm homeless. From,

Omar 28:55

from all that, uh, being on top, all that money, all the success. And two, three months gone. Huh?

Vinny 29:01

Gone man. And a blinker gone. So, Mom and dad don't even know that I'm homeless. I can't find a job. Like I said, I got back into apartment maintenance and, and doing things of that nature. And, and I was able to, to, to get unemployment for a little while. Now, child support's coming on me. They're hitting me in the mouth I got that's mad at get divorced. They don't let me see my daughter. You know, my daughter was one years old, bro. Whenever, whenever I left ok. I didn't even like Yeah. I didn't even get to be in her, in her life. Right. And so now, you know, I've always loved to cut hair. And I say, well, you know what, I guess barber school. So I went to Barber in Houston. And, um, the last six months of barber school, bro, I was, I was sleeping in my truck. Wow. And mom and dad had no idea that I was sleeping in my truck. I lost my apartment. That I had unemployment right now. I mean, you name it bro. Everything, everything that could go wrong. It went wrong, man. And yeah. And so now I, I'm sleeping in my truck, sleeping in my truck, in barber school, and finally they allow me to see my daughter. Okay. And my daughter always known me to, you know, have a home or, you know, a dog or whatnot, you know? And so now she's, she's probably like six, maybe. Okay. Six, something like that, six or seven years old. And, and so I finally pick her up. I'm sleeping in my truck and I pick her up and I took her to barber school with me, and it was her birthday. Omar, never forget this man. It was, it was her birthday. And I, his one still hits, bro. This one still hits. We finished school that, that day at Barber school and. she was with me and she was just in awe like, man, dad, this is cool, daddy, this is cool, right? Daddy, you cut hair, you know, she's the innocence of a child, right? Yeah. And, and, uh, I said, yeah, baby. And so put in the truck. I didn't no money. I didn't, I didn't have nothing, bro. And was a Kroger. And I walked inside of that Kroger and I stole a cupcake and I, I walked outta the store with a cupcake and there was a dollar store next door. And I went in there, I took a candle and I stole that, and I put it on, put the candle on a cupcake, and I lit up, sang happy. Were just full of love. Yeah. She, she just, it, it was the best time of her life. You know, her daddy singing happy birthday to her. Yeah. And so I started driving around town, bro. I just keep driving right. And she goes, dad, when can we go home to your house? Dad, I wanna go see Dudley. I had a dog named Dudley Bulldog. I wanna go see Dudley dad. I wanna see Dudley. Where's Duley? Where's when? And, and I'm looking at her and I'm telling myself, this baby doesn't even realize that she is at home, man. This, this is her home. Right? And right then Omar, I told myself, said, what if you become, what did you do? How could you do this to, how could you do this to yourself? Look at you. And, and right then and there, bro, that was my wake up call. And I was finally able to, to drop off my daughter, uh, after the weekend had passed and I dropped her off and. And uh, my dad called me up and he said, son, he said, yeah, pop. He said, I just got a phone call. He said, yes, sir. And he said, from another pastor. And the pastor told me, tell, tell me. Called me to tell me you're getting ready to come back to the Lord. And I, I, I was on the phone with my dad and I said, dad, I'm tired. I said, I'm tired. I can't, I can't do this. No. It was like the love God father, he said, he said, someone just come back home to God. I said, ok, Dan. I said, it's gonna happen. I hung up the phone and I started crying like a baby. Mm-hmm. it, it like, I'm now Right. It it still hits me, bro. Yeah. And um, at that time there was a song No More. It was called, uh, that Ranch Allen and Kirk, something about the name Jesus. Okay. And I went into barber school and you know, that's whenever they used to have CDs, you know Yeah, yeah. I know that Sound foreign. Now. Know, they, we had the CDs stuff. Was a gentleman there. He would always burn cdd ID, bro, you need said want, I want one with all the gospel hits. It was all the old school gospel songs that we grew up on, you know? Ok. And I said, I want one with all of these songs, but the other cd, I only want one song. He's like, what's that? So, and he was like, And so he made it for me and I would put it in my truck. And when I would play that CD, bro, I would feel like a, a blanket of love would just, just cover me, bro. And it felt like it was piece I had for years, bro. And I was like, I would just let it play and play and play for hours and hours and hours. I would just sit there and listen to that while I was sleeping in my truck. Mm-hmm. And, uh, man, I finished barber school, whatnot, and, and I went to a barbershop and uh, I said, Hey man, I'm looking for a job. They said, you got one here. It's like, cool. And the lady, right as I'm walking out the lady, she says, Hey, by the. We're pastors, and I, and I was like, cool man. You know, my parents are pastors and I'm thinking'em inside, like, oh no, I don't wanna be around no Hey,

Omar 35:44

like, like the Godfather. I, I keep trying to get out and they keep pulling me back in. Huh?

Vinny 35:49

They keep pulling me back in, bro. I'm thinking to myself, man, I finally got a break. And then she tell pastor and I'm like, oh crap. Literally, that's how I felt. Yeah. Yeah. The funny part is that set prayer to the Lord I, Lord, put me where you want me to be. Not really realizing that he may have heard me maybe. Right, right. Gotcha. Maybe. Yeah. And so fast forward man, and that's whenever I went to that barber shop. And, and that's whenever, uh, I met my pastor, pastor Juan. Oh, no way. Yeah, man. I met him in the barbershop not knowing Pastor had literally just got outta prison himself. Wow. And was going on his journey and he was attending the same church, but when he walked in into the barbershop, I knew he was real, bro. Okay. It was just so, it was something that it quickened my spirit and I said, that's the same God that I grew up on. Okay. I knew it was real man. Right. When he spoke, I knew there was something about it that was real. Now, fast forward, I didn't really realize, actually rewind a little bit. I didn't realize that I could hear God's voice the way that I hear it. Okay. So the whole time I was on drugs, I'm thinking like, I'm just tripping. Right? Like I'm hearing these, these voices and stuff and, but not knowing I was literally hearing God speak to me bro. So fast forward back to when I pastor in the barber. Um, I told him, I said, Hey man, um, I feel like I heard something and the Lord told me that I'm supposed to be with you and stick with you, help protect your anointing. I didn't know what that meant at all. I didn't know what that meant. Went to church. Uh, and when I went to church, pastor Juan, my pastor, he was gonna, he was evangelist before that and he was speaking at the church. And that night I gave my life to the Lord. Mm-hmm. and, and that was what, 13 years ago, bro? Okay. How,

Omar 38:02

how old were you at

Vinny 38:03

this point? I was, I believe I was, nine, eight, something like that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I gave, I gave my, yeah, I gave my life to Lord, uh, in. 2010, I met my wife, my, my current wife now. Right. And the Lord had told me then, now I know it was the Lord. Ok. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But then I, I heard something tell me, Omar don't treat her like the rest of them. Wow. And, and, and I could not treat her like the rest of, come to find out, I didn't know this, but later on, uh, I found out that my wife's father is a pastor, And I said, you have kidding bro. Right. And so, 20 we met, uh, 20 we got married, bro. Ok. Amen. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. We met, we got married. Ok. Ok. We, uh, we started our business and uh, now we have Vinny's Barbershop and, uh, The Lord has, has just came in and us man. He has graced our business, uh, still currently, uh, serving with pastor, you know? Okay. Uh, the Lord has, has blessed us in abundance man. Um, we're now, uh, opening up potentially three more locations this year in the barbershop. Man. Three more. So how,

Omar 39:37

how

Vinny 39:37

many do you have right now? So, I had two and I sold one. So I currently have one right now. Ok. Ok. And, uh, yeah, it's gonna be five years in business and three years outta the five years, bro. We, we've done a million plus What? One barbershop? Just in, in the hair. Cutting hair? Yep. Yep. Just cutting here. Yes, sir. Yep. The Lord has, has graced me. And show me favor, bro. And the Lord has opened up doors. Uh, last year we did, uh, 1.5 million. Wow. 1.5. Yeah, man. Thank God, man, 1.5 million and, and, and it's steadily growing. Steadily growing. Praise God. Yep. The Lord has given me a favor. We're linked up with Paul Mitchell. Okay. We got a product line. Yeah. We have a product line that's coming out. Uh, our backing with that Isreal. Uh, we have a barbershop that's gonna open up in Dallas, uh, one here in Huntsville, where I currently live, and potentially another one right behind my current location in the Woodland in Houston. Um, in two, uh, I won of the, the year for, for the City of Houston. We, we are now, uh, investors. We buy land, we build houses. Now we have, uh, man, the Lord has just, just redeemed me, restored me, and has shown me a grace. Uh, my in-laws now live with, live with me. Okay? Um, yeah. I was able to build us a house, man. I built in their own master suite that they got. We still got our master suite across the room, man to God, if God has just turned around my life, hundred percent, brother and, and to God be all the glory, bro. Yes, sir.

Omar 41:15

Yes sir. Man, that, that's amazing. Yeah. What a, what

Vinny 41:18

a attempt to turn around, man. Yeah. God is faithful, bro. God is so faithful, man. And, and now, uh, when married my wife, uh, I took on three children. Okay. And, uh, uh, my daughter is still currently involved in my life now, thank God. Okay. Uh, my daughter has seen a complete, uh, Different person. You know, my daughter has has, she's seen God's hand in my life. Uh, our oldest daughter, who is four years old, Anastasia, she just graduated college, bro. And she, uh, she, she works with special needs children. She got her degree and uh, she's working for one of the highest sought after, uh, school districts. And, uh, she's actually gonna be getting married this year too, man. So the Lord is, yeah, God has moved in my life, man. It's still moving. My two, our two boys, they graduated May and then my daughter graduates in in two more years, man. So we went from, I went from not having my daughter in my life to having. Two girls and two boys in my life, man. I see. That's,

Omar 42:25

you know, who, what story came to my mind job. Right? He, he blessed

Vinny 42:28

him. All right. Yeah. Come on, bro. Yeah. Yeah, man. It's a beautiful, it's a beautiful thing, Omar. It's a beautiful thing, man. And like I said, you know, God, will he get your attention? Yes. And, and, and the, the biggest lesson that I always share and I tell people is it's not what I have now. Ok. It's just not, it's just not what I, it's not what my love for God is not my materialistic things. Okay? It's, it's the obedience to God that I thrive for. Amen. I thrive and I obedient promise, Lord. The lady walking into that house wanting to give up her daughter, and, and seeing all this, just this corruptness man, I, I told the Lord, I said, everywhere that I go, I would be sure to, to show them you now, you know? And, and that's my whole, that's my purpose in life, Omar. Amen. That's, that's my purpose in life, bro, is to show people the love of Jesus Christ, man. And, and when I with pastor one, you know, we're really big on, on the love of Jesus Christ, man. Ok. And, and that's our, our goal is to make God show God's love everywhere we go, man.

Omar 43:44

Yes, sir. Man, that, that's awesome. Hey, hey. We were talking on the phone, I, I believe on Sunday you, you mentioned soba about the, the experience that's one of the services you offer. You wanna tell us like a little bit about

Vinny 43:54

that? Yeah, man. So, so I have, uh, uh, an experience. It's called the experience in my barber. And what its is, is I go into detail as far as like the skin. I love shave, straight, shaving. Uh, so, so what I do is, is, um, I have the experience, and then I go and I take you in the little room, uh, and then I play some Frank Sinatra in the background. We have a facial that we put on you, and we just start to really go into, into the shaving aspect of it. And the question that get man is, uh, what is the experience like? How did you come up with this? Who, who, who taught you how to do this? And the, the clients think the experience is a service, which it is, right? But the real experience man, is exactly what I just shared with you. That's what I get to share with them. I get to share them, the gospel of Jesus Christ, man. And I share with them the experience of who Jesus is and what he's able to do a person's life. And lemme tell you, bro, when they, they're in that room, they start opening up, man. Yes. And they start crying and we're able to. And we're able to, you know, just to talk and, and, and just gain their trust and just let them know that they're in a safe place, you know, and they're, they're very vulnerable. They're open. And so, you know, uh, we have made connections, bro. The Lord has, has blessed me with so many connections, man, where I've, some of my clients, you know, I, I've got to see them give their lives to Christ. Mm. Um, we, we've, we've seen their parents, we've seen them where men will come in and say, Hey, you know, I need you to pray with me, Vinny, you know, um, man, we can't have children. And man, we, we lay hands on them. We pray for them, bro. And, and now they can't stop having babies know, praise God.

Omar 45:34

Hallelujah.

Vinny 45:36

God is good, man. So, yeah, he's good, man. So, the real experience in my barbershop is not the service for me, it's the love of Jesus Christ that I get to share with him. Man, that's the real experience. And, and, and it's cool, bro. It's so cool, man. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Hey, hey, hey. Do,

Omar 45:53

do, do you wanna share also, I, I know you mentioned. About you getting there early, man, you, you wanna share it with the listeners? Why, why is it you get there early and what is it that,

Vinny 46:02

you do? Yeah. So, so when, uh, um, a lot of people ask me, they're like, you know, they, number one, they, they, they tend to take a step back when they realize that you can make millions of dollars in, in the barber shop. Wrong business, but business man, Hey man, it's great. It's great So, so they, um, they, they always ask me, they're morning. And I said, yeah, and, and so we don't open the shop until 9:00 AM but I start cutting here at 7:00 AM And so, um, they say, man, why did you get there so early? You? And I said, listen, you know, when you own your own business, if God gives you something, it's your job to steward it. Amen. And so when, when, when God gave me this business, He gave it to me because he seen that I was able to steward the idea. When he gave me the business, the idea of the business, I was able to steward that idea and it, it came into fruition that now I actually have the business. So now that I have the business, it's my job to steward my time and what I do for the business. Yes. So I tell them, I said, man, I gotta get there early for my cause my boss is watching me. And they said, but you're the boss. I said, oh, no, I'm not the boss. Oh no. I said, look man, my boss watches me everywhere I go. He's checking in with me all the time. My boss is always looking at me. So when I show up at four, five o'clock in the morning, that's my way of showing the Lord. Lord, you can trust me, not only with this, but you can trust me with more. You can trust me with the people that come into this place. You can trust me with this city. You can trust me with this state. Lord. I'm showing you that I'm faithful to what you have given me. And when I show up, man, and I get there, I pray over my place. I ask the angels to encamp around us, man. I ask for the protection. I pray over the chairs. I, I turn in my worship music. I read my Bible and I spend at least an hour before I even get started, man. Just, just in, in, in worshiping my one-on-one time with the Lord man. And so, come seven o'clock, I have created an environment that, that the Lord is welcoming, but most of all man, that, that, that when people walk in, that they feel the experience. Yes. And so I have a slogan that says it's not haircut, it's an experience. So when I go in, man, I'm checking in with my boss. Hey man, praise God. Hey,

Omar 48:27

could I ask you this? What? Uh, yeah. Cause you know, there, there could be like a lot of people, you know, they, they pray, you know, they fast, they see God. Yeah. And sometimes, you know, the blessings come right. Uh, cuz God definitely, I believe blesses us. But then sometimes those blessings. Tend to bring a lot of people like to stop doing what they were doing. So I guess my question is, man, you, you've shared all the success that you're having, you know, what keeps you like, I guess, grounded and rooted to, to keep doing what you were doing, even though the success or the blessings of God have, have come in, into your life?

Vinny 49:00

You know, I, that, that's a great question, man. And I wanna share with you, uh, before I got what I got the barbershop, I was seeking God nonstop. Nonstop for like eight years, bro. Eight years. And, and when I was there every single day at church, literally, Reading, studying, praying, setting up tents, breaking down tents, setting up chair. No matter what it took, I wanted to show the Lord, Lord, even if you don't give me a blessing anymore, I want you to know that I'm grateful for what you have done for me, just so I can breathe. Amen. And so I always remain at the Lord's feet, bro. I always remain at his feet and I always have a heart to serve God. And so, um, if that yet not seen, I didn't have to see it to believe it. And, and what I'm sharing and trying to tell you guys, that, that it will come when God sees fit for you, it does not mean that you're not fit for, it's when he sees fit for you. You know what I'm saying? Yes. And so, so there's blessings that are there that are ready for us. A lot of the times, the biggest, the biggest thing, Omar, that helped me, that I could say that would potentially help somebody is I would always hold God accountable to his word. Whoa. I think sometimes what we do is we go in there kind of like a wishful thinking, okay, no, I went to God and I said, Lord, you told me in your word. And I quote his scripture back to him. Amen. And I quote it cause the Bible says that God is looking to and fro over the land to see, waiting for someone to speak his word. Yes. So that means if he's looking for it, there's not enough us doing it. Yeah. So I hold him I hold him accountable. You know, I always tell pastor, always tell you're and prophet speak over and so many true. You know what I'm saying? Yes. And so, so, so what I do man, is, is I give God his word back. Amen. And I say, Lord, when you see shit for me to have this, let's do it and tell you, bro, a lot of times we think we're ready for these things. If I did not spend as much time as I was doing in the church, I would never know how to run this business. Gotcha. Because this business is literally my church, ie. I got 11 people that ie. Jesus had 12, statistically statistically, Omar, A person cannot have no more, should not have no more than 12 people that are close to him in his circle. Cause it's just way too much for that person. Ok? And it's funny how Jesus had 12 disciples, bro. Yeah. And so, you know, line those two up. And so I have 11 barbers and now what I have to do is have to up managers. But I didn't know how to serve God's people. I would never know how to serve my employees, right? So I don't look for my employees to serve me. I'm serving them. And by default, they start to grab a hold of the culture in the dna. And now we have successful disciples. Yes. That's what Jesus did. Yes. So, man, if you're the one waiting and, and saying, it's not happening yet, man, look, don't look at time. God doesn't know time when you can get time outta your. And you just say, Lord, I'm here to serve you and love you and worship you, and, and I'm gonna obey you in spirit and in truth, those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth, yes, this isn't Lord, come and come and give me so I can have. This is me saying, Lord, I love you and whether you choose to give it to me now or later, I want you to know that you're the priority in my life. Amen. And that's when God started to bless me, man. Yes. That's when God started to bless me, bro. And, and lemme tell you this, it hasn't stopped. Mm-hmm. It's the overflow of blessings. Yes. And, and, and that's not why I serve God though. Right. My main objective is to be obedient to what he, he's given me. Amen. And so, so he, he's my boss, man. That's the one I check in, and then my wife's my other boss, Hey, yes sir, yes sir. Man,

Omar 53:31

hey, hey, that, hey. But, but she's, uh, the blessing of the Lord, uh, help me. Two shall become one man.

Vinny 53:37

Yes, sir. Man, my wife is, she's just an incredible person, man. She, she's just absolutely amazing and I love it with all my heart, man. And, you know, thank God that he fit for her. I, now, I understand why God said, don't you treat her like the rest of them. Gotcha. Amen. Amen. Yeah. It, it's so fun though. God. God is awesome, man. Man,

Omar 53:58

that's, uh, that's amazing. Hey, brother, I thank God for, for what he's, uh, doing in you and through you, man, and using you to minister, not just like the business, like you mentioned the experiences, man sharing the gospel and discipling and all that. Is there anything, anything else like on your heart, anything else that, that you won't wanna share with the listeners? You know, we got some guys that, maybe grew up in the streets. Uh, yeah. Maybe, you know, they're, maybe they're still in it, maybe they're, you know, you're still bound by alcoholism, drug addiction Yeah. Or anything, any, any word that, you wanna share.

Vinny 54:29

Yeah. You know, I kind of tapped into it a little bit, Omar. Ok. Uh, with stewarding what God has given you. Um, you know, this, this is the beauty of who God is. Uh, like you said, my story reminds you of Job, but there's a lot of people out there that have my life. There's a lot of people that lived some experiences in my life. The beauty of who God is, is that he doesn't have a respected person. Yeah. God doesn't love me anymore than what he loves. The one that may be shooting up or the one that may drinking or sniffing, trying to sell. God does not love me anymore than that person. And, and the beauty of what God is and who he is, is that God will give you something and he'll place it in your heart. And whether you believe it or not, if it's God or not, or if someone put that idea in your head or I read this book or whatever the. However you got that idea. When God gives you something, your job is just biggest thing. Year man is intentional. Everything you're doing, everything that you're doing. So, so if you're the person brother that's, that's out there, or sister that's out there and then saying, man, well you know what? It's easy for you. And I didn't, I grew, I didn't grow up in church and you know, my circumstances are different. I understand and I'm not taking away anything from what you may be dealing with. But what I do wanna share with you is the same God that came into my life and that is able to work in my life. I'm proof that he's the same God yesterday, today, and forever. And he changes not. And if you're hope, I hope. That this testimony may stir something up in your spirit. I hope that if you're drinking alcohol, I'm not gonna tell you to stop. I'm gonna tell you that I hope that it becomes so nasty that you don't even wanna do it. No more Yeah, I'm gonna tell you that, that I hope that cigarette burns every time you smoke it. I hope that something will happen in your life that it'll cause you to say that I have never been the same since the time that I heard this gentleman speak. Amen. Or every time I hear this podcast, I know that God is working in my life. And lemme tell you, man, if you can just hold on what God has given, whether it was your grandmother telling you something that never left you steward that scripture. If it was your parents that told you something, steward what they've told you if you heard it in church, steward, everything that you heard. What do I mean by. Hold on it, cherish it, care for it, love it. Spend time with it. Be intentional with it. That very thing that God has put in you, that comes from God. And that's the growth man that can change your life forever. That is the thing, sister, that can change your life. So man, I wanna encourage you guys, if you're listening to this, know that there is hope. Know that God is still real man, and if you seek him, the Bible says, and he'll answer, seek, and you'll find that you're the you're to be above and not beneath the head and not to tell, not made hope. Jesus name and amen. That's, that's the beauty, the God that serve man. And I hope, I really do. I hope that this encourages you. And if you guys ever need me, man, you can contact me. You can find me on Instagram, you can find me on Facebook. My Instagram is Vinny V N N Y. And then you can find me, Vinny Barbershop. That's our barbershop page. You can find me on Facebook, Vinny, and, uh, you can, our website, Vinny Barbershop Instagram station contact in contact with

Omar 58:25

you man. Amen, brother. Hey, uh, I'll tell you this much, man. You're, you're encouraging me, man. And I know everybody, that comes across this podcast is gonna be blessed by it as well, brother. And, uh, hey. Hey, brother. Could you say a prayer man, even in what you were saying right now was like a prayer already, but could, you, could Hey, could you close us out in a, in a, in a prayer man? Yes.

Vinny 58:44

Amen. Yes, man. I will, I would love to. So, father, we thank you Lord. I thank you for, I thank you for your grace. I thank you for your mercy. Father, I thank you that you have never given up on us. I thank you, God, that the one that may be listening to this father, that you touch them in the manner that they need to be touched. God, comfort them wherever they're at, whether it's in their, whether it's in the, whether it's in, whether in their Father I, that the angels would around them. Father, that you would touch from the top of their head to the soul of feet. Father, give them the love that you, that you died on, on the cross for Father. Let experience the love of who youre Father. We thank you Father purpose. God thank purpose lives. Father thank place. Father, we thank you for this, this podcast, and JC and Omar, father from wrong and strong. Father, we thank you God, that we stand in agreement with them, that that favor will continue to follow them. Father, that that blessings will come to their family, father, that no weapon against them will prosper. And everybody that's listening, no weapon formed against us will prosper. We stand in agreement. We link up with the angels in heaven, and we say, uh, Lord, let your will be done, father, and we just, we continue to bless you, father, with everything that we have, all the money, we have, all the family. We have all our children, father, all our thoughts, our, our, our mind, our ideas. Father, we give it all to you. We know everything belongs to you. Father and Father, we just love you. We thank you, we honor you. But most of all, God, we cherish you and aor you. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen.

Omar 1:00:19

Amen. Brother, man. Hey. Hey Benny, man, I just wanna thank you very much for your time. Man, your testimony, sir, and just your love and your passion for God. I mean, it comes out very clearly, man. And oh man, keep, Hey, keep doing what you're doing brother. Man. I, I'm, man, man, I'm blessed. I was able to, to connect with you, man. And uh, God, Willie man, if I'm ever out that way, man, cuz I, I, I have a brother-in-law. He's in a humbled Texas, I think it's like right outside of Houston. Yeah, man. That's right around the corner for oh, is okay, alright. Right. Say hey, well one year if I, if I'm out there again, man, definitely go over there, get a haircut. Even though I ain't got no hair though, you know, baby. Just put the razor on there,

Vinny 1:00:54

We'll put the experience on you,

Omar 1:00:56

Hey man, brother, man. Hey, hey. Trust me, I, I, I feel like I've already been in the experience man. Just in this hour that we've been talking, man. Uh, definitely. You bless me. And I like, I, like I mentioned before, man, a lot of listeners are gonna be blessed by this brother, but man, keep doing what you're doing man. And with that, we're gonna get ready to, to, to wrap up. Uh, man, once again, uh, thank you for joining us in another episode of Wrong to Strong Chicago, Matthew four 16 Reeds. The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawn. My name is Omar Calvio. I am wrong to strong.