Nahuel García is building a good reputation among the young people of Lanzarote, who come to his shop in Costa Teguise to get their hair cut, trusting in the barber's work and judgment.
However, this 26-year-old Uruguayan, who has lived in Lanzarote since he was a child, has managed to diversify his horizons and embark on new challenges that he successfully combines, such as music and the creation of a clothing brand. He has even made time to finish an Ironman.
“I have always been very versatile in many things, I have always had many concerns,” explains Nahuel. “My life philosophy is not to be the best at anything, but to be very good at everything.”
The barbershop, a job that was born out of necessity
His adventures in the world of barbering began when he was just a child, and it could be said that his profession arose more from a situation of need than from a personal choice.
“When I lived in Uruguay as a child, I did think about what I wanted to be when I grew up, the typical thing, a firefighter or a soccer player, but when I came to Lanzarote at the age of 7, there was a lot of fear in my head and I couldn't think about what I wanted to be, because I was worried about my family's economic situation,” says Nahuel. “The barber shop was the first thing that came up.”
At just 13 years old, Nahuel began to earn a living cutting hair in his home salon. “I started cutting hair for friends and family for three euros,” he explains. “I never thought I would end up dedicating myself professionally to it.”
While finishing high school, he worked in a neighborhood establishment on the island, but after finishing and faced with the impossibility of pursuing a university degree due to the money involved, he decided to study barbering professionally. “I didn't want to be simply “the barber on the corner of the neighborhood”, says Nahuel. So after saving for a few months, he packed his bags and went to train in Tenerife.
Upon returning to Lanzarote, he managed to get in touch with a hairdresser who had a shop in Costa Teguise and she allowed him to have his own space within the establishment. A place where he began to cut hair for his portfolio of clients and where he ended up taking root in a business that he is passionate about.
“Before leaving for Tenerife I already had a name in that world, I already had an agenda that supported me, so when I returned to Lanzarote the word spread and my old clients didn't think twice,” says the young man. “The rest was working hard day by day.”
“Music allows me to express myself as I want”
However, despite the fact that barbering filled him professionally, with the outbreak of the pandemic, Nahuel began to take up one of the passions that he had put aside since he was a child: music.
“I started thinking about rapping since I went to see a Red Bull battle of roosters in Madrid, because I realized that I had the ability to do what they did,” explains the young man. But it wasn't until the confinement when he took the step of composing, since “he had nothing to lose.”
Since then he began to dedicate himself to rap in a more professional way, creating a YouTube channel under the name Nahuel XGS and writing his own lyrics. Now he has 7 of his own songs and several collaborations with other artists from Lanzarote, such as Farray.
“My goal is to put Lanzarote on the map, to be known and respected for the music I make,” he explains. However, not everyone values or understands the work behind each of Nahuel's songs, especially on the island, or at least that's how he sees it.
“They are always going to attack and criticize you for doing something different,” says the singer. “When I started in the world of music, people came to the barbershop and told me that I was the rapper barber and you had to laugh, because you understand that they are not going to be able to understand it.”
“They are always going to laugh, the difference is that when they see that you start playing at events and filling venues, they start taking you more seriously and laugh less,” he adds.
Nexis, its most ecological and exclusive creation
However, Nahuel did not want to limit his artistic and entrepreneurial side to music, so he decided to create a clothing brand in Lanzarote two years ago, together with his two friends and partners, Brais and Víctor.
This is how Nexis was born, with 100% ecological unisex garments, limited t-shirts, caps and sweatshirts that seek versatility, that is, to serve both to go out partying and to go to the cinema or to class.
“I always knew that I wanted to make limited units because we live on an island where people are quite basic when it comes to dressing,” explains Nahuel. “If I make a brand that anyone can have, it won't attract attention, because everyone will have it, this is a small place.”
In addition, he affirms that “the people of Lanzarote are always looking for exclusivity, to feel special” and many are willing to pay a little more for it.
Right now, the brand is at a point where it “makes money”, because they sell all the units, but those profits are reinvested to “make the brand bigger.”
“I could make volume, save money and make a lot of t-shirts, but I prefer to work on the detail for a little more price and give an exclusive service,” adds the young man. “We will grow little by little.”
The Ironman, a sacrifice that he would not repeat
Despite being focused on the barbershop, his music and Nexis, Nahuel did not take long to consider a new challenge. After practicing CrossFit for years and immersing himself fully in the world of triathlons, the young man decided to jump into the pool this year and face one of the toughest tests in the world: the Ironman Lanzarote.
With only six months of preparation, Nahuel dedicated himself body and soul in his spare time to training for this competition, combining it with his other passions and businesses.
“I would get up at 6 in the morning and get home at 12 at night,” says the athlete. “I can tell you in capital letters that the Ironman training sessions have been harder than the Ironman itself.”
The young man admits that with those schedules he ended up dedicating “very little time to everything”, so he had to leave many things aside to achieve his goal. “Doing the Ironman meant a lot of sacrifice for me, especially at the family level, so I am not willing to go through it again,” he adds. “In the end it is just a whim.”
“Crossing the finish line is worth it, but in my case only once,” says Nahuel.
“I would like to dedicate myself to music, but I will never stop cutting hair”
For many, this busy routine may seem exhausting, always with several fronts open, but for Nahuel it is one of the reasons that makes him get up every morning, since he hates “wasting time.” “I see myself involved in many things for the rest of my life, but I would like to be able to dedicate myself to music,” he says.
“For me, barbering is everything, but there comes a point where you are limited artistically, because in the end people ask you to do what they want, and I get that point in music, I can express myself as I want, that's why I think it's winning a bit over barbering,” explains the young man.
However, despite the fact that he would like to be able to live from music, he insists that he will “never” stop cutting hair, because it is what he really likes.
In any case, the young man is considering opening new businesses in the future, but these are projects that, for the moment, will have to wait, since right now he points out that he is not “accompanied by capital.”
The key to success is “having good ideas”
The entrepreneur explains that there will always be many people who do similar things or who have similar businesses, which even goes through stages. In that line, he maintains that the key is to look for “something that differentiates you.”
“People are always looking for things to have added value, and in my case I consider it to be my professionalism,” he adds. “You don't need a lot of money to start a business, you have to save a little, yes, but the important thing is to have good ideas,” insists the young man. “You can have very good ideas with very little money.”
Therefore, Nahuel encourages anyone who wants to embark on this adventure of entrepreneurship, even from an island as small as Lanzarote, since today the opportunities are endless thanks to the internet.
“Don't be afraid, neither of opinions, nor of criticism, nor of what they may say about you,” he insists. “Always have many more desires than excuses.”
