Interview by Abernathy Cochran intern and Gainesville High School senior Donagelo Marshall
Meet Davon Ivey! Davon is the Head Barber at Randolph’s Barber Shop and was born and raised in Gainesville. He went to East Hall High School and graduated in 1993. His is married Monica, and has four children. He has two older daughters, a son who plays football at Flowery Branch, and his youngest daughter is 11.
We want to thank Davon for spending time with us recently and telling us more about his life and love of Hall County.
Question: What inspired you or led you to your current career?
Answer: “It was just something that I picked up when I was young, my sister gave me a pair of clippers, and I just started cutting hair from there. I started cutting everyone’s hair from school, and it was just a God-given talent.”
Q: What is your favorite restaurant in Hall County?
A: “I love a good steak, so I go to Longhorn a lot.”
Q: How long have you lived or worked in Hall County?
A: “I have lived here my whole life; I did a couple of years at Gainesville College, but I’ve been at the shop since I graduated, so I’ve been here since about 1995.”
Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in Hall County?
A: “An older guy, his name is Mr. Clyde; he’s got some interesting stories, and he’s been around here for a really long time.”
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be? And why?
A: “Probably, Hawaii. It’s always been somewhere I really wanted to go, and I haven’t gotten the chance to do that yet, so yeah, I would love to do something like that. I would go sightsee the pretty water and just have a good time with my wife.”
Q: What is your favorite movie? What is the first movie you remember seeing in a theater?
A: “’Breakin.’” It’s about break dancing; it’s an old hip hop movie. It’s probably one of the first movies I went to see.”
Q: What advice would you give a crowd of people?
A: “Treat people the way you wanted to be treated.”
Q: What is something on your bucket list?
A: “To meet President Barack Obama, I would love to talk to him.”
Q: What is your favorite music or three bands that you would like to see (dead or alive)?
A: “I’d like to catch another 2PAC. I love Goodie Mob as a group, OutKast, but I would love to see that whole thing redone. Michael Jackson, everyone would love to see him perform again in person.”
Q: What current/former local business makes you the most nostalgic about Hall County?
A: “One reason I became a barber is that when I used to go to the barbershop, I would just sit in there and watch the old barbers who used to work here like Bud and Randolph. You also hadWright and Robert Hopkins, and I used to go to their barbershop and watch them. Those were some of the places I enjoyed that you probably wouldn’t think about, but it influenced my life a lot.”
Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about Hall County?
A: “Just the people in general. You can run into anybody and have a good time. It is easy to meet people.”
Q: Where do you see yourself in five or 10 years?
A: “Opening my own shop.”
Q: (Even for friends or family), what is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
A: “I don’t know what they don’t know about me; I wear my heart on my sleeve.”
Q: What two words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
A: “Family and friends. I mean… I’m just home at work, I’m just doing what I do, like I said, I’ve been cutting hair since I was 13, and I’m now 46, so I’ve been cutting hair just about forever.”
Q: If you have a full-time staff member that is fully paid for, who would you choose? Chef, housekeeper, driver, coach, personal fitness trainer, or nanny?
A: “Housekeeper or a Chef. They would save me time and help me keep everything together.”
