Renay BOSSY Graham shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi Renay BOSSY , thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
Hikey-hello I’m bossy -Reney is my first name but.. everyone calls me bossy the nickname my father gave me.
Being an entrepreneur a license cosmetologist salon Suite owner is definitely not for the faint of heart.
My day starts off checking orders making sure everything went out making sure the back bar is fully stocked everything is clean towels are folded.
I found something to keep my interest content creating that everyone around me told me to start doing. So I started my YouTube channel I’m almost at 200kviews if you read this please subscribe shameless plug. My channel is
Insidehikeylife323 I found my joy.
We’re a little bit of everything just like my salon a One-Stop shop.
We talk sports politics a little bit of tea. We do product reviews in store product views. TV movie and book reviews. It has been so much fun learning , editing everything and I have big plans for my channel to travel Day in the Life type of things so yeah I found my joyful content creating outside of hair..
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hikey-hello gorgeous….
I’m RENAY BOSSY GRAHAM
IM A LICENSE COSMETOLOGIST
OWNER OF EVERYTHING THAT IS HIKEY YA GORGEOUS LLC.
I’M A MULTICULTURAL STYLIST MY BIGGEST INFLUENCES -BECOMING A HAIR STYLIST WAS MY AUNTIE MONIQUE AND ELGIN CHARLES OF BEVERLY HILLS ELLEN LAVAR JUST TO NAME A FEW AND A FEW HOMETOWN HEROES LOIS AND T-BIRD FROM WATTS CALIFORNIA I’M A UNICORN I’M A BROWN GIRL THAT DOES AMAZING VANILLA HAIR…LOL.. MY SPECIALTY AREAS ARE EXTENSIONS CUSTOM COLOR LONG LAYER CUTS CURLY CUTS PROTECTIVE STYLES AND I HAVE SOMETHING very CLOSE TO MY HEART I MAKE WIGS FOR CANCER RECOVERY PATIENTS WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT I DEEPLY LOVE SO CHECK ME OUT AND SUPPORT AND OH I Sale LASHES LIP GLOSS AND OF COURSE HAIR AND WIGS VIEW MY WEBSITE.WWW.HIKEYYAGORGEOUSLLC.COM
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
My relationship with my dad is extremely special to me he is hashtag a girl dad before it was a thing. Michael my dad is extremely supportive he actually built my first salon in the second garage at his house I was doing hair at 12 years old right under my mom’s nose she never knew until one of her friends ratted me out lol .. some kids have lemonade stands I was an entrepreneur from the start I had a hair salon . We did any style for $65 and $75 all we did was braids . we did hair Friday Saturday and Sunday . I provided food and the hair… My relationship with my great-grandmother Mrs ANN Ashton she shaped me as a entrepreneur. SHE WAS A FAMOUS SEAMSTRESS AROUND THE WEST COAST she taught me Independence .she showed me I can do anything that I put my mind to. The world would say step grandmother but we don’t use that in my community but my granny Brenda gave me my relationship with God and my relationship with my inner self. She made sure that I was self-aware. Extremely special to me she was a radiologist and a strong independent beautiful chocolate woman. My relationship with my favorite Aunt Joyce my dad’s sister who means the world to me she taught me patience. always believe in myself that I was special and different from other people and my talent would always make room for me she believed in me from the beginning. She sees my dreams the same way I do. I just love her. My great aunt Blanche she taught me to be a lady she taught me about everything high in Rich wealth side of life she’s the reason that I love to travel. I Had a lot of strong independent women pour into me .early in life THEY ALL HELPED shaped me to be as strong as I am now. of course I have a girl dad so I had a better start than some I believe.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
This is such a good question OMG
Actually last year I went through a horrible situation I had a really terrible lawyer that basically tried to take everything from me my career my financial stability everything. He definitely didn’t win I had to pivot . I ended up going back to what I know .I started traveling doing hair again. I started doing hair on different sets for other content creators. What happened to me with this bad lawyer could have broken a weaker person. I’m grateful that I’m built west coast strong and my father taught me to stand up for myself . there isn’t a soul alive that can break me. I was okay with moving out of my salon for a little while and going back to traveling doing hair .I realized that actually, I was suffering from burnout. didn’t even know it…. I just kept going . I sat still for about 2 weeks after my incident with my lawyer last year it really brought me to a place of peace .the time , gave me time to adjust and pay attention to my inner voice. I didn’t know if I wanted to do hair again. But I remembered how much I loved it and that hair is ,something that is art for me it’s like breathing. So I had to pivot..I adjusted my complete business the way I run it and I move forward. Never allow a person to take you from you or to remove your dreams from you. I TRULY HOPE THIS HELPS THE GIRL READING THIS GOING THROUGH THIS BEING A WOMAN AND A MAN’S WORLD AND EXISTING AND BEING SUCCESSFUL I HOPE THIS HELPS GORGEOUS , BOSSY
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
These are good questions
The biggest lie that my industry .the cosmetology industry tells itself
That is fair….lol… Brands have a false sense of representation. they say that they want inclusion ,everybody is equal . that its fair.HELL no it’s not it’s the furthest thing from the truth .We know that with the world that we live in today. The hard ugly truth is black stylist have to work a million times harder than our white counterparts we are not paid or compensated the same way. There’s no such thing as equal pay between the two groups of women. the two groups of people DEFINITELY DON’T GET FAIR TREATMENT AND THEY DEFINITELY DON’T GET THE SAME CACHE SHALL WE SAY. I’m not ashamed or afraid to say it FACTS.we have to start speaking out about it. What brands will pay Black content creators a million times less, THEN OUR WHITE COUNTERPARTS WHO DEFINITELY DON’T HAVE THE SAME TALENT LEVEL AS A BLACK STYLIST A LOT OF TIMES MOST OF THE TIME.. There’s a thread on Twitter that’s still there with all the A-list black actresses talking about it there’s a documentary that issa Raye just did talking about it. That’s the biggest lie that it’s fair in our industry and it’s not our ideas are taken from us and rebranded. Case in point boxer braids what a joke. That’s the biggest lie. WE WANT INCLUSIVITY WE WANT EVERYONE TO FEEL SAFE TO FEEL APPRECIATED AND TO BE COMPENSATED EQUALLY IT’S A LIE. THESE BRANDS WILL STEP OVER 55 TALENTED BLACK WOMEN TO HIRE ONE WOMAN WHO APPEARS THE WAY THAT THEY APPEAR IN COMPLEXION THAT DON’T HAVE NOWHERE NEAR THE TALENT LEVEL OF THE BLACK HAIRSTYLIST REALITY. CASE IN POINT BEAUTIFUL HAIR STYLIST THAT DOES ARE FOREVER FIRST LADIES HAIR WAS ONLINE CAMPAIGNING TO BECOME A PART OF A BRAND’S DESIGN TEAM SHE SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAD TO DO THAT HER RESUME SPEAKS FOR ITSELF HER TALENT SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. NOW THE SAME LEVEL OF HAIR STYLIST I WOULD SAY ARE NOT THE SAME LEVEL BECAUSE THAT’S THE FIRST LADY OF AMERICA YOU UNDERSTAND BUT., A WHITE HAIR STYLIST CAN DO HAIR FOR TAYLOR SWIFT AND THEY DON’T HAVE TO GET ONLINE AND DO ALL TYPES OF EMBARRASSING CIRCUS ACTS AND CAMPAIGN TO BE A PART OF A DESIGN TEAM THEY’RE PUT ON THE DESIGN TEAM CASE IN POINT END OF DISCUSSION.. I’M JUST NEVER AFRAID TO TALK ABOUT IT. AND WE HAVE TO SPEAK OUT TO GET EQUALITY OUR WORK OUR CREATIVITY IS UNMATCHED AND WE ARE WORTH IT AS A HAIR STYLIST COMMUNITY OF LICENSE COSMETOLOGIST HEAVY ON THE LICENSE.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. When do you feel most at peace?
Another great question I feel most at peace when I am in the Homeland for my culture which is Ethiopia commercially known as Africa. It’s my peaceful happy place it is the the pace of the country it is the peace that I’m filled with when I’m there. I’ve had several trips to Ghana Nigeria Tanzania ,MALI,SOUTH AFRICA. I just love going home cuz it’s peace for my culture for people who are melanin rich black its the safest most peaceful place on Earth .when you go home there is nothing like it it’s a sense of relaxation. A sense of safety that I have never felt or had in the US, LIKE EVER. IT DEFINITELY FULFILLS MY NEED OF TRAVEL AND IT FEELS MY SOUL MY SPIRIT WITH HAPPINESS IS MY PEACE.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hikeyyagorgeousllc.com
- Instagram: @hikeyysalon314
- Yelp: Hikey YA GORGEOUS LLC salon
- Youtube: Insidehikeylife323
- Other: For any collaborations with brands or content creators I can be reached through email
hikeyyagorgeous@gmail.com
Image Credits
All images owned by HIKEY YA GORGEOUS LLC salon
