Jonathan Leitzel grew up in the Lebanon County area and attended Millersville University where he studied art education. After spending some time living in Tokyo and teaching English, he came home wanting to follow a different career path. He was constantly plagued with the frustration of not being satisfied with haircuts he was receiving. No one used a straight razor, or felt comfortable using scissors, as opposed to clippers. He longed for the precision, quality and expertise that seemed to be a thing of the past. He decided to take charge, and attended a local barber school and hone in on the lost art of straight razor shaving and traditional cuts. His mixed clientele has allowed him to become experienced with all hair types and styles. Previously, Jon has gained experience in multiple barber shops, in addition to working for The Art of Shaving.
Jonathan loves downtown Lancaster, so it made perfect sense to setup shop on Orange Street. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his wife The Pink Lady, his daughter Mia and their three pets, as well as live music and collecting tattoos.
Patrick Hatt, a Lancaster County native, happened to stumble upon his love for barbering. After attending Harrisburg Area Community College, he decided to take a break from school and take on music full time. He spent the next couple of years in and out of bands, writing, touring and working as a part-time server at a local French cafe. Realizing he couldn’t maintain this lifestyle forever, he started looking into different trades. When he discovered the art of barbering, he immediately found his passion. Deeply committed to quality and tradition, Patrick has studied and honed his skills while attending American Beauty Academy. He specializes in straight razor shaving and haircuts for men varying from traditional pompadours and high n’ tights to today’s modern styles.
With a love for Lancaster and a similar vision as Jon, it only made sense for him to join The Black Comb. When not cutting hair, Pat enjoys writing music, drinking beer, getting tattooed and spending time with his border collie Guthrie.
Santiago Herrera grew up in Sinking Spring, PA where he found a lack of shops that offered a traditional haircut experience. After hearing about the Black Comb from a friend, it only took one haircut to convince him it was worth the drive. After getting his haircut at the shop for two years, he was inspired to pursue a career in barbering.
When he’s not in the shop, you can find him racing around in his STI and playing video games. Mention these hot topics and you may actually get him to talk while he’s cutting your hair.
Cameron Arabi aka “Cam the Barber Man” was born and raised in York county and started cutting his own hair at age 15. Playing in bands, he was particular about his hairstyle. After years of experimenting and cutting his own hair every other week he became comfortable with the clippers and staring cutting his bothers hair as well. He graduated high school and couldn’t find a passion or interest in anything quick enough for college in the fall. He signed up for general education and a week before classes would start, not being content with his decision, he researched barbering and fell in love with the idea. That same week he started school at Barber Styling Institute to follow his dreams of cutting hair and never looked back. He finds great joy in the trade and is always working his hardest to better his craft.
When not behind the chair, Cameron enjoys spending time with his girlfriend Emily, drinking La Croix, playing music, Subaru things, hiking, tennis and quoting cheesy movies.
Timothy Forrester was born in Baltimore City and spent the majority of his life living in Bel Air MD with his younger brother and being raised by their mother. Tim spent his summers visiting his father and step mother in Florida and even lived in Jacksonville Florida with them for two years during high school. After graduating C. Milton Wright High school in 2008 Tim spent the next 6 years fronting various bands in Maryland’s local heavy music scene, playing many shows in and out of the state and putting out a few full length albums. In 2014 at age 24 he left his last band to attend Avaras Academy of Hair Design in Dundalk MD to pursue a career in barbering. Tim spent three and a half years cutting hair in a fast paced barbershop before connecting with Jon and deciding to make the move to work in Lancaster. Since commuting to the area, Tim has fallen in love with Lancaster and is looking forward to settling in at the Black Comb.
When he is not working, Tim enjoys spending time with his wife Skyler and their cats Finn and Bean, getting tattooed, catching up on the newest Star Wars or Marvel movies, collecting vinyl records and going to live professional wrestling shows with his brother.
Eddie Rivera was born in Newark NJ. He was raised with his three brothers in Lancaster city. He was later enrolled into Milton Hershey School, where he developed an interest in barbering. He was hired at the Spartan styles barbershop within campus where he gave under-privileged children haircuts that they could brag about. Shortly after attending HACC for business, he realized he has no business there and attended barber school. Becoming a licensed barber was a career he could be proud of. He has been cutting professionally for 9 years, and with a diverse clientele, he’s well educated with all hair styles and textures.
When Eddie isn’t working, he’s spending time with his family, eating snacks, & watching sports. But most of his days are spent on the basketball court.
Chris Black – Dynamic Services Coordinator has been a Lancaster county native his entire life. He attended Millersville University and received a degree in Secondary Education, and graduated Cum Laude. Chris was a customer of the Black Comb for years before he convinced the guys to hire him as The Dynamic Services Coordinator. Once on board, Chris excelled in the art of customer satisfaction, cleaning up hair, shop talk, cracking well-timed jokes, and his true passion in life: giving the best shoe shines in Lancaster City. Chris’s shine box has been a part of his family since the Eisenhower administration, and he takes great pride in breathing new life into your beat up kicks.
When not shining shoes Chris enjoys reading books about the American Civil War, playing Xbox, watching Professional Wrestling, exercising, and writing his own Broadway Musical: “Have Shoes, Will Shine,” starring himself. Oh, also in the not shining shoes part, spending time with his wife, Colleen.