A SAD DAY
(to see the video i posted in honor of my friend, click here.)
The idea for Sharp Scissors: Mental Health in Professional Beauty was inspired by conversations with my brother @markinstabarber after the death of the barber and educator, Sam Wall. A bunch of folks gathered to share stories about Sam and I was struck with how people said he was the guy that would call and check in on them — he was the glue that kept so many of them together. The hope is that the book would help beauty professionals struggling find ways to talk openly and honestly about their feelings.
I just found out that my Sam Wall died as a result of the injuries from his suicide. My friend Savage was the dude that organized the meetups, updated our group chat on what’s app, and made sure everyone in the crew was good. He had reached out to me while I was in Utah as I was escaping a snowstorm to check in; three days later he was hospitalized from his injuries of his suicide. None of our crew knew and we are all devastated.
I expected today to be a day of relaxation and recovery after presenting the Sharp Scissors book and sharing my personal mental health journey to stylists and salon owners the past two days. Now I know that we cannot waste another day, another minute, another second as people are alone and struggling and dying. I. won’t work less, I will grind harder. I will fight so that another father won’t have to bury his father as Savage’s son will have to do.
Savage was someone with whom I shared all of my writing and was one of the first people to read my first full book, Shackles Lost: The Poetry Mixtape. He called me crying and said “this book could change lives.” In his memory, I will be giving away e-book copies of my book to anyone that wants. Like this post or send me your email in my DM’s and I got you.
If you are suffering in silence, please reach out to someone you love. If you are alone and you have no one, you have me. My email address is ralphbryantwriter@gmail.com or you can DM me.
I see you. I feel you. I love you.
