Birmingham barber cuts his way into Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 set
By Chanda Temple
When West End native Tommy “TJ” Dudley Jr. was 22 years old, he told a barber shop owner that he wanted to be a barber.
Dudley’s interest in being a barber was met with doubt and discouragement with the owner telling him, “Naw, this ain’t for you’’ and that Dudley had waited too late in life to start a new career.
But Dudley didn’t let the negativity cloud his vision. The next day, he enrolled in barbering school at Lawson State Community College in Birmingham.
“I don’t know if (what the shop owner said) was motivation. But I do know that I don’t like people telling me what I can’t do,’’ said Dudley. “So, it was just like, ‘Let me prove to you I can do this.’ ’’
Today, the 38-year-old Dudley owns two, local barber shops, King’s Grooming Lounge and has been in demand to cut hair in Hollywood.