If you're like me, you probably spend no more than $20 when you go to get your haircut. I see no problem going to Sport Clips and letting some college kid attempt to cut what's left of my head of hair partly because I have the luxury of not being in the public eye every second of my life.
Members of the 2016 World Champion Chicago Cubs however, are under public scrutiny from the minute they wake up until the second they go to sleep so they can't run the risk of walking out in public with a jacked up hair cut.
Cubs players have found a much better option to get their hair cut during Spring Training and his name is Ray Zuniga, better known as Lil' Ray.
Ray sat down and spoke with me recently about life cutting the World Champion Chicago Cubs.
SM: Ray, first off thanks for doing this. I'm sure our fans will appreciate getting a chance to hear about a pretty unique perspective of their favorite players.
Ray: Not a problem brother! Happy to help out.
SM: So tell us how you got into cutting hair.
Ray: I know this is going to sound creepy but I used to dream about cutting hair. Kids used to make fun of me because all I wanted to do was cut people's hair and they'd constantly clown me when I was at school. My parents saw my passion for being a barber and decided to enroll me in barber school when I was 14 so that's when I started to officially cut hair on my own.
SM: Who was your first client?
Ray: Besides myself?! I convinced one of my friends that I really knew what I was doing and he finally agreed to let me cut his hair in 8th grade. I'll be honest with you -- I messed his hair up really bad! But eventually I got better and I'd start to bring my clippers to school and cut the football and baseball team's hair before their games.
SM: So you cutting your high school baseball team's hair must feel like a bit of deja vu when you cut the Cubs players before their games huh?
Ray: A little bit actually. I'm 25-years-old right now and have only been cutting full-time for the past three years. I had my first child when I was 18-years-old so I had to stop cutting to try and find something with better pay. This is actually only my second year as the official Spring Training barber of the Cubs.
SM: How the hell does one land a job as the official barber of the Cubs?
Ray: Well I live in Scottsdale now so about 3 years ago, I cut Pedro Strop and Hector Rondon's hair. They found my work on my Instagram page and contacted me to see if I'd be interested in cutting their hair. Some of the other guys on the team must have liked my work and asked Stropy and Rondon where they got their hair cut. They passed my phone number around because not long after that, Javier Baez called me up to come to his house to cut his hair.
SM: How's Javy? I have to ask -- Did you have anything to do with him dying his hair blonde?
Ray: (laughs) Not at all, that was all him! Javy's my boy, we're like brothers. We get along great and he treats my like I'm family. He's actually the one who introduced me to the rest of the guys on the team and kind of set me up as the official Spring Training barber of the Chicago Cubs. https://www.instagram.com/p/BL-Jo8XFJvB/?taken-by=lilraythebarber13 SM: Take me through a day cutting the Cubs. Ray: They want me to be there before the players arrive and hang out until they leave for the day. I set up my area in the bathroom of the clubhouse and players pretty much come and go whenever the chair is open. https://www.instagram.com/p/BMVf13ZlM9Z/?taken-by=lilraythebarber13 They're a real cool group of guys. All of them are very humble and have always made me feel like I'm part of the team. Just a few days ago, they gave me my own jersey to be part of the Cubs family. https://www.instagram.com/p/BRofXJoDKJY/?taken-by=lilraythebarber13 SM: Thanks Ray. Now I'm jealous. Who's your favorite Cub to cut? Ray: To be honest, I like cutting them all. Like I said, they are all down to Earth guys and make me feel at home. Jake Arrieta, Jason Heyward and Javy all have me as their personal barber when they're in Arizona so if I had to pick, it'd probably be those three. https://www.instagram.com/p/BM8HDqql5jK/?taken-by=lilraythebarber13 https://www.instagram.com/p/BMSzCCSFnTh/?taken-by=lilraythebarber13 https://www.instagram.com/p/BK3T1nAj6EU/?taken-by=lilraythebarber13 SM: Who's the most high maintenance with their hair? It's got to be Kris Bryant right? Ray: (laughs) Not at all! They're all pretty chill man. I was cutting Jon Jay's hair a few days ago and Jason Heyward was giving me a bunch of shit for taking so long. Granted, it took me about 45 minutes to cut Jay's hair so I guess I understand (laughs). Also, even though he's not with the Cubs anymore, Dexter Fowler would always bust my balls when I was cutting his hair last year. It was all in fun though. SM: Last question. Besides the Cubs, what other celebrities have you cut? Ray: I've cut all the Cubs besides Joe Maddon, Eric Hosmer, Yonder Alonso, Cameron Maybin, Jarrod Dyson, Brittan Golden, Robinson Cano, Carlos Gomez, Lorenzo Cain, Francisco Lindor, John Brown, David Johnson, Timothy Bradley, Diego Chavez, just off the top of my head. SM: That's awesome man. Where can our readers find you on social media? Ray: My Instagram is Lilraythebarber13. SM: Good stuff. Thanks again for your time and now I'll know who to thank when I see the Cubs rocking a nice hair cut! Ray: No problem man. Go Cubs!
