Today we’d like to introduce you to Marshall Hatley.
Marshall, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started doing my mom’s hair when I was in elementary school, putting it in crazy buns or ten ponytails. My dad would come home, look at my mom bug-eyed, then look at me and say, “wow how pretty!” Trying not to giggle. I always knew I wanted to work in the beauty industry but in high school, my passion drew me to hair.
I graduated early and went straight into Cosmetology school have to go back months later to prom and then walk the stage at my graduation. I found my job at Tangerine salon in Coppell the first week they opened. After the owner costed my school I went to the salon to apply as their first receptionist at lunch and was hired that night. Since then the salon has grown to five locations all over the metroplex, we have been the sponsored salon of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders for four years now and were previously the sponsors for Dallas Stars Ice Girls. This August marked my 14th year with my company and I’ve since moved to the Preston Hollow Tangerine location.
They’ve become like family and a second home. Last year, I decided I was ready to enter a new phase on my life and become a father. After a few years of deciding how to go about building my family, I looked into adoption, surrogacy, and chose foster-to- adopt. I trained for five months and after tons of paperwork, training, certifications, bloodwork, agency visits, and home visits, I was officially licensed right before Christmas 2018. This past year I’ve had the honor of fostering two little girls, one infant and a toddler. Unfortunately, circumstances didn’t allow me to adopt each time and they are now with family members. After a break from fostering I made the very tough decision to take some time to heal from the hardships of Cps protocols and regulations and the loss of two children and move into private adoption next year. I look forward to my forever child and I know they are just waiting for the perfect moment to come I to my life.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road has been far from smooth! Starting my career so young and back in 2005, I was already detouring from the collage path my parents had hoped for me. I went from living at home to moving out supporting myself at 19 with my best friend Kevin Walsh who also was hired as a stylist at Tangerine a year after me. We are Raman noodles and tuna helper a LOT that year while working 48-50 hour weeks and each paying $300 a month in rent. I made TONs of learning mistakes. I turned clients’ hair green, purple, pink, and violently orange, all not on purpose mind you. But those kinds of mistakes became learning opportunities that changed and shaped my career. I broke my wrist and worked in the call center booking appts for three months while in a full arms cast. I’ve cut chunks out of my knuckles. I’ve ruined more good clothes from bleach stains and color and I can remember.
And I’ve learned that when your job is so hands-on, I have to take care of my body better. We really take our abilities for granted when we’re younger. As the face of the sponsorship with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, I was thrust into a spotlight, becoming a judge or the audition process on DCC Making the Team and lee the makeover day for all the rookies. Having your every look and word analyzed, edited, and cut for time on the show really push my boundaries as a stylist and honestly as a person. I would have an almost panic attack before major filming days just getting over my nerves. What truly got me through was the ladies in the team themselves. They were flying from literally all over the world to fight for the chance to live their dream.
That kind of perspective gave me the confidence to do my job and be a positive support system for them. I’m still not sure if they know how much they changed my ability to push past my insecurities and find the courage to follow my dreams. This past year has probably been the biggest struggle as a foster parent. Parenting from the perspective of hopeful adoption with probable family reunification was torturous at times. The system makes it really hard for foster parents in Texas to adopt as they are seen as an absolute last resort after sometimes years of back and forths. I feel lucky to have two amazing little girls in my life, and I miss them every day. I even felt like reconsidering Whether I had the strength the be a single dad anymore. Rarely do people get the opportunity to “test drive” parenthood and still get the chance to decide if they still want to keep going. I know a lot of parents may initially be taken aback by that statement, but if they are being honest, I bet it’s something they’ve at some point considered.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Tangerine started out as a small family-owned business in a Dallas suburb and had grown to a five location business With its open corporate system and contracts to sponsor two different dance teams on the NHL and NFL. In the past, I’ve specialized in color, cuts, updos, extensions, and now I’m a mentor in the salon education program. We as a company truly believe in building talented, practiced, passionate hairstylists. We done just hire people, we create them. That’s what we’re known for in this industry, building a company from the inside out.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up I was a very curious child. I always wanted to know the “why” of things. it drove my parents crazy and I almost never shut up, but that constant wanting to learn about interesting things pushed me to try new experiences and it pushed my parents as well. At 14 I came out to my mother in the middle of a commercial break of Mad TV and she started crying. when I asked her if she was upset, she said, “I’m just so glad you finally told me!” and that was that. It took time as a family to get used to the idea of me being gay, but I’m extremely lucky to have grown up in such a supportive family. I dated just like any other high schooler. I had my first boyfriend at 16, and just like any other first boyfriend, my parents hated him. (HAHAHA) I learned a lot from him though, like that my parents were right. I was the first male student in my school to bring another guy as my date to prom, and I’m so happy to see that as times changed, I wasn’t the last.
Contact Info:
- Address: 7949 walnut hill ln
dallas TX 75230 - Website: tangerinesalon.net
- Phone: 9723939200
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tangerinesalons/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tangerinesalondallas/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/tangerinesalons
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/tangerine-salon-dallas?osq=tangerine+salon
Suggest a story: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
