A number of people might have had unkind things to say when Laurence Johnson started barbering at 20 years old, but the deaf man obviously couldn't hear his critics.
Now nearly 25 years later, Johnson is revered as the most sought after barber in the cool rural community of Cascade, St Ann, and one of the most skilled in Christiana, Manchester, where he practises on weekdays.
“When I was growing, from about age 14, I used to sit and watch the barber cut people's hair, so I watched and learned,” Johnson, who was born deaf, told the Jamaica Observer in an interview via text message.
Johnson said his favourite thing about being a barber is seeing the smiles on his customers' faces when they get out of his chair and look in the mirror.
Johnson attended St Christopher's School for the Deaf in Brown's Town, St Ann, until he was 12 years old, then moved to St Andrew where he attended Lister Mair/Gilby High School for the Deaf in Papine.
