Meet Malik Wyatt of The Grain Grooming Studio in West Midtown

Today we’d like to introduce you to Malik Wyatt.

Malik, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Hey, how are you? I was referenced to follow this page to tell my story in hopes of motivating and inspiring my brothers & sisters who sometimes feel like trials they go through in life discourages them and holds them back or as if God just doesn’t see them no matter what they try to do, nothing seems to work out for them. When I was growing up, I never knew what I wanted to be and always juggled with different ideas of the path I wanted to take my life on. When I was 14, my father put a pair of clippers in my hands and I would practice cutting my own hair. I became in love with making myself look good and the guys in the neighborhood would always compliment me and ask who cut my hair, of course, that felt good saying me but I never had the confidence or believed in myself because it was something I was just doing on myself to make me look at how I wanted the world to perceive me. That was just at 16.

Over the years, I would occasionally cut people’s hair on my parent’s porch, whoever I connected with that inquired on who cut my hair. Society tells us that we either have to go to college to work a 9-5 and my mother always pushed for me to work somewhere so I worked at the Mcdonald’s, party city & even became a school bus driver… I tried to go to college but it just didn’t work out for me. After becoming a bus driver, I realized that I liked the job but I wanted more money to do the things I needed so that I could help support my parents who needed all hands on deck to handle the household.

I then went to trucking school and became a truck driver.

Trucking was fun in the beginning, I would work hard & drive long hours, I was able to see almost every state and the best part about it, I was making bank just at 22 years old, I’m bringing in 1300-1500 a week… but there was still something missing in my spirit. I was becoming unhappy with driving all the time and it became stressful because I would be away from family. I would work so much that I wasn’t social with much of anybody and overall, I wasn’t able to take care of myself the way I wanted to, but nothing would ever make me quit or voluntarily switch careers.

I believe God does things in your life to put you on the path you belong on and with me saying that, last year, in February, He did so. One morning around 5 am, I was hauling a load of beer that I had bought down from Massachusetts, I was tired from overworking and ended up flipping over the tractor-trailer & almost losing my life, knowing how bad flipping a big truck like that could be. Thank God, I made it out unharmed but I was traumatized. I became afraid to drive. I would have flashbacks of flipping again but I ended up jumping right back in the truck because of my hustler mentality two days after the accident. Few months go by and I’m working for a new company, more and more, I realized I was again becoming unhappy so I quit the job in hopes of finding something better, but no job I found could generate enough money that could handle my bills I had that I could afford when I do trucking.

I went into a deep depression, I was losing everything, my house, my car, my lover, at the time, all because of one downfall. After a week of being in the house, I went through suicidal thoughts & emotional breakdowns. My life felt like it was crumbling. I prayed and prayed and at the end of the week, a thought a feeling popped in my mind that I wasn’t happy in Philadelphia where I grew up. The city is really crab in a barrel and I wasn’t motivated by anything or anyone there. So, I said Ima move to Atl and start over. I ran it passed my parents, who have always supported whatever I did and they gave me the ok. With nothing in my pockets, I put my pride aside and reached out to a friend of mine who paid for me a flight. I found a trucking job and worked one week and quit which gave me a $1000 & with just 1 suitcase of clothes, I was up and out.

I moved to Atl last year in June, I tried getting a regular job, going to interviews, got back into trucking again and my mind told me NO, that chapter is closed. God was saying something, he was trying to push me to what I was destined to do. I was destined to create & make my people feel and look good. I’ve had this talent all along but I never believed in myself or believed barbers made money.

I started out cutting at my friend’s house who let me stay with him. I cut heads and braided hair for discounted prices and sometimes, for free just to have work to post. A year later, I thank God for everything I’ve been through in life from being screwed over with trucking companies when I almost paid off my truck and started a trucking business, but they fired me after putting 25k in payments to the truck which was to be paid off at 30k. Which left me discouraged & S.O.L., to flipping my truck and almost dying, doing something that didn’t make my spirit happy, alive and free. I can say now that life is not about chasing money. When you’re doing something you love, enjoy and talented & passionate about; the money will come along as a bonus with the freedom to make your own schedule and run your own business the way you desire to. I’m alot happier now and my craft has gotten a lot better with proven reviews since I have moved here to Atl.

My clientele has grown & they support and believe in my work and I just want other guys to recognize their talents, to ask God what did He send them here to do, what can we create or what service can we offer our people, and I want them to believe in themselves. I wish I had pushed my craft when I was younger and not doubted my abilities to win.

I’m now making what I made in pay as a truck driver as a barber but with more freedom, happiness and im able to be social and make connections with great people. The time is now. Time is against us. There are so many young guys who don’t recognize their talents because they think quick money or working a 9-5 or doing something illegal because their not making enough money will get them where they want to be. Following your heart and pushing your craft, your wage depends solely on your strive & hustle to be successful in doing something completely legal. Thank you for reading, I hope to inspire my people to continue to push and never give up no matter how hard times get, there’s always a way out of the darkness, you just have to push through it and keep telling yourself, things will get better because this is not my end! Much love! 💪🏽❤️

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
We all wish life was easy, but there are struggles and obstacles each and every day we will face. But that’s what makes you appreciate where you are set out to get to in your future. I struggled the most with the pressure each and every set back came with. When I flipped my truck, I began losing everything I once could afford. I struggled with depression, I struggled with my ego. I went from being the man to feeling low about myself. I then realized how important having a backup hustle and also a savings was to give myself a cushion in the future if I was to ever lose it all again. I’d be prepared this time for sure.

The Grain Grooming Studio – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I specialize in Braiding hair, and also a mean fade and line up. A lot of my customers leave reviews about loving my customer service, how impatient and very detail-oriented in my work and I take the most pride in perfection. Libras have a knack and keen eye for beauty and want it to be shown in everything we do. I think what sets me apart is that I’m not out here trying to hustle people my prices are reasonable for my clients, my work is never rushed because I take pride in my passion and just generally want to make my clients look and feel good after getting out of my chair.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I would define success as your burning gut desire to make something happen in your life and to do it to a T. It’s what wakes you up and gets you out of bed each and every morning knowing you have to make something out of yourself. Whatever that may be. I feel your level of success is dependent on your drive and hustle. I’m always on top of myself. Pushing myself and always critiquing myself and also allowing others to critique my work. I love reviews, good and bad reviews because that allows me to know where I can apply more of my attention to so that I can continue to satisfy each and every client.

Pricing:

• Haircuts range from $25-$40
• A $40 cut would get you a cut w/wash any design w/ enhancements
• Braids with fades or two-strand twist range from $70-$85 with cut

Contact Info:

• Address: 1735 Defoor pl nw Atlanta, Ga inside of (Salon Ramsey Suites)
• Phone: 865-484-6113
• Email: mwyattbarber@gmail.com
• Instagram: @cutzbywyatt_

Image Credit:
@itsmathieu

Suggest a story: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.