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DOWNEY – A Ford feature airing during the World Cup brought one of Downtown Downey’s most community-based small business owners into the global spotlight.
The story of Lloyd Vernis, owner of The Pride Barbershop, is unfamiliar to Downey.
Having grown up in the rough MacArthur Park neighborhood, Vernis defies the odds of his environment; graduated high school in 2004 and quickly joined the Marines. His eight years of military service saw him deployed to Afghanistan and throughout Southeast Asia. Along the way, he would find a talent for cutting hair, eventually leading him to open Pride on Firestone Boulevard a few years after his honorable discharge in 2012. He became one of Downey’s leading faces for philanthropy and volunteerism, especially regarding military veterans.
It was a story that caught Ford’s attention.
“Ford was actually reaching out to do the Hispanic Heritage Month campaign with me, but we ran out of time,” Vernis said. “So, they said, ‘You know what, let’s do something bigger. Let’s do something for the World Cup.’”
The following commercial – which can be viewed on Ford Latino’s YouTube channel – tells the story of how Vernis uses his skills as a barber and his background as a veteran to serve the community.
“I am absolutely honored to be considered,” Vernis said. “I just told them what I was doing around the community; something I’m sure they already know. But, still, they reached out and were like, ‘Hey, you know what, we love your story, we love what you represent, and we really want to have a campaign that revolves around your life and what you really do.
“They don’t want to go with the whole existence of a group of artists; they want a real, real story.”
While filming, Vernis said he didn’t want to be “too Hollywood.”
“I told them, not in an egotistical way, right, but I’m pretty well known around the community, so whatever we do, if we’re going to ‘Hollywood,’ let’s not go too Hollywood because I have to be honest. in my community,” said Vernis. “That’s important to me, to have a commercial, but it’s reflective of what I really do. I don’t want it to be something completely out of context or out of reality; it must be real.”
Vernis said it was an honor to represent Downey.
“There are so many stories like mine, actually, and maybe even more touching,” Vernis said. “What I get from this whole movement is how God has entrusted me to be on a platform this big, and to trust me with that and say, ‘You’re going to be okay.’”
He added that he wanted to be “an empty vessel” for God.
“That’s what kind of stirred my stomach, more than anything else…When God really started entrusting me with this project, that was something I always wanted, an empty vessel, you know what I’m saying? A pillar in my community, an empty vessel for Him to work through me, and for me to bring forth his work,” Vernis said. “I’ve been through a lot; you know what I mean? Situations in life and death, battle, where I grew up. If He just wants to use me as an example, I’ll be His example.”
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