I was born in Santo Domingo, the capital of the DR. I grew up in Piedra Blanca which is a small town in the DR and then I moved to Haina where I spent most of my life growing up. From there, my extensive baseball experience had me passionate about the sport and I always wanted to become a professional baseball player. I came to the US in 2006 with my mother where I began American life as a middle schooler in Hialeah, where I still reside to this day. I went to Polk State College where I played baseball before graduating and then transferred to Lindsey Wilson College to play baseball again. I transferred again to Florida Memorial University to play baseball for them as well.

In the DR, you either had the streets or baseball. Baseball is the biggest sport in our culture. Baseball was a means to stay out of the streets and keep me on a positive path to success. College and baseball have taught me excellent communication skills as well as how to effectively work with team members. I wanted to bring joy to others through baseball but found that I connected to more people through barbering. I got into barbering through my cousin Jelfy who had a local barbershop in the DR I used to go to as a kid growing up and it’s still there to this day. This was my initial exposure to the world of barbering. Jelfy was a popular local barber not only because of his skills, but also because of the environment he created. The culture he curated allowed the community to connect with others in the barbershop which popularized him. This is the very culture I want to recreate with LaraClipz.