Turning his life around, one haircut at a time

Rich Palzewic

Staff

September 2, 2024

RHINELANDER – “When you hit rock bottom, there’s no place to go but up.”

Those are the words of Josh Newman, a Rhinelander man who said he has seen his fair share of troubles during the last decade due to substance abuse.

But the important thing, Newman said, “I’m now using my past to better my future and help those around me.”

In and out of prison for the better part of the last 10 years, Newman said he now spends his days as a barber and motivational speaker – helping those who might be going down the same path he once did – focused on helping them improve their lives.

“It’s how you use your past to make improvements in your future,” he said. “I was a troubled kid, but now I can say I learned from it.”

Newman said he was expelled from Rhinelander High School during his sophomore year and then attended Wisconsin Challenge Academy – an alternate education military program school at Fort McCoy designed to help at-risk youth reclaim their lives and produce graduates with the values, skills, education and self-discipline necessary to succeed as adults.

“I was there for like six months and was able to get my high school diploma and graduate,” Newman said. “I graduated early, so that was cool, but after I returned home, it didn’t take much time for me to get back into trouble. A lot of my friends were still in school, and I found myself hanging out with an older crowd.”

From there, Newman said smoking marijuana and drinking too much alcohol eventually led to him using harder drugs.

“When the party would stop for other people, it really wouldn’t stop for me,” he said. “I was never able to hold down any job or anything, but then I met my kid’s mom. I have an eight-year-old son – he was born in 2015. I was able to get my life together at that point, and everything was pretty good.”

With his life seemingly turning around a bit, Newman said he got his first DUI ticket in 2015 – which led to more troubles.

“That caused me to get back into the legal system again,” he said. “It affected my job, and I started having financial problems. I turned to more alcohol and partying and then got into heavier drugs.”

Newman said he also began committing crimes to fund his bad habits.

“In 2017, I got into a fight and got charged with battery and went to jail,” he said. “When I got out, I got another DUI. Throughout this time, I was not taking care of my kid, and I lost my apartment. I just wasn’t a good guy. My family was fed up – little did they know there would be another five years of spiraling downhill.”

Meeting his future

Back in prison for another time, Newman said he always had this thought about turning his life around and doing something better.

“I never had any hobbies and never applied myself – whether it was in school or anything,” he said. “I met a barber in prison, and I felt like it was something I could be a part of, but I couldn’t do much about it at the time.”

But that thought, Newman said, didn’t last long once he was released.

“When I got released, some close friends passed away from addictions, and I turned right back to the same (drugs) again,” he said. “It didn’t take long and I started selling meth.”

That was right about the time the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the world, Newman said.

“I didn’t fight the charges I was facing – I accepted them and wanted to serve my time and get it over with because I knew I (messed up),” he said. “I was sentenced to four years – two in and two out (on parole). I can say I was scared during the pandemic. There was no movement at all, and things were completely shut down.”

During this time, Newman said he gained a new perspective on life.

“That might have been my lowest point through all of this,” he said. “It felt like my whole world was crumbling around me. Yes, I still used after I got out, but that seemed to be a turning point.”

The whole barber scenario, Newman said, kept popping up again.

“I’d get my haircut every few months (while incarcerated) and found out I wanted to do this,” he said. “I started asking questions to the barber and shadowing him. It gave me the idea to become a barber. I was offered to get out of prison early if I agreed to do a six-month drug program in Chippewa Falls, and as part of that, I had to come up with a plan to get released back into society.”

Cosmetology school

Newman said he knew Rhinelander’s Nicolet College had a cosmetology program.

“I put a lot of effort into my recovery program,” he said. “I was super transparent with my counselor for the first time… I started cosmetology school at Nicolet around the same time.”

Newman said that was not an easy time for him.

“I just got into prison, I’m a big guy (6-foot-5), I have face tattoos, and I had a huge beard at the time,” he laughed. “I’m the only guy in the class with all these young women. I was super real right away. I was like, ‘hey, I just got out of prison. This is what I’m doing. This is where I’m at. This is where I want to be, and this is what I want to do.’ I made myself vulnerable and uncomfortable and made a new life for myself, knowing that if I was uncomfortable all the time, I would eventually be comfortable in my new life.”

Newman said before he knew it, the drug cravings were replaced with a passion for cutting hair.

“I never used a blow dryer, a curling iron or applied makeup in my life,” he laughed. “After I was clean for about six months, I started sharing my story on social media through TikTok and Facebook and got a following. That made me nervous because I didn’t even know how to cut hair yet. I started hearing from people in Rhinelander and all over the country.”

It was at this time, Newman said, that he reached out to his son’s mom.

“She moved to South Dakota and got married, and so I FaceTime my son every week,” he said. “I’ve been building that relationship back up with him.”

Motivational speaking

Hoping his story or redemption could help others, Newman said he applied to be a student speaker at Nicolet College.

“After hearing my story, Nicolet was onboard with it,” he said. “I told my story in front of like 1,000 people, and then the news got a hold of it.”

A week later, Newman said he attended a barbering competition in Madison.

“I won,” he said. “I was the ‘Barber of Wisconsin’ two years ago for technical schools. Then I went to Atlanta (at the national competition) and placed seventh in the nation. I got sought out by different groups throughout the country and was able to get professional tools and products. I also started working at Fantastic Sams as a receptionist. I finally obtained my (barber) license at the beginning of the year.”

Newman said he now speaks at schools, jails and other institutions.

“I love chatting to groups about my story,” he said. “My life lately has been all about obtaining small goals – getting my driver’s license, getting a vehicle and living in my own studio apartment.”

Cutz With Connection

Wanting to do more, Newman said he came up with a program called Cutz With Connection.

“It’s kind of ironic, but the same school I got expelled from, now I’ve done some mentoring at in Rhinelander,” he said. “I also got in contact with the Laona School District and shared my story there. While speaking, I give a student a haircut at the same time. My goal is to open my own barber shop someday.”

One day while cutting a walk-in client’s hair, Newman said he learned the man’s name was Bill Weiss – which just so happened to be the Vilas County jail administrator.

“I told him my story,” he said. “Bill was amazed and said, ‘I would love for you to come speak with our inmates.’ I asked my parole officer and she said ‘yes.’  Bill had a meeting with the sheriff, and they said they wanted me to be a facilitator for this program and be part of it, so they hired my business to be a barber there. Once a week I go there and cut hair. I get paid through the county. I will also be cutting hair in Wittenberg at the Homme House. It’s like a boys’ home for troubled youth.”

Newman said he sometimes has to pinch himself when thinking about how his past has led to him building a new life for himself.

“It’s crazy how everything has happened – there’s been a lot of full-circle moments,” he said. “A lot of teachers from high school and middle school have popped back into my life and seen where I’m at, which is cool. A lot never thought I would ever be able to come out of the rut I was in.”

‘It’s still difficult’

Like many former addicts will tell you, Newman said, “life can still be a struggle.”

“I was recently thinking about that,” he said. “For me, it’s all about setting up boundaries with a lot of different people. Even if it’s a situation where it might not be harmful to me, I have to realize what it could lead to. I have to be mindful of my surroundings because I know that if I’m around certain people, it can be like poison. I know it’s going to be there forever, but I have a new outlook on big crowds, concerts and bars. I want to always make sure I have an escape plan.”

Newman said he simply has to work harder than he did before.

“A lot of people go through different things, and it’s a part of life,” he said. “Some days are harder than others, but I have different ways to cope with my things now.”

Newman said, quite frankly, he’s worked hard to get his life back – “and I don’t want to (throw) it away.”

“I think people are now looking up to me,” he said. “Sometimes that pressure gets to me a little, but it’s like my new normal. I’ve developed a new routine in my life, and I’m a different person than I used to be. My superpower is that I’m able to communicate with others.”

Combining his love of cutting hair and the want to help others, Newman said he wouldn’t have his life any other way.

To learn more about Cutz With Connection, visit Facebook.