Leathernecks Barbershop: Marine Veteran Hub in LA
THE VINTAGE VETERAN BARBER OF L.A.
Esgar Reynega knew he was no ordinary “barracks barber” when, while deployed on the USS Cleveland with the 13th MEU in 2005, his tonsorial skills were so renowned that his Battalion Commander flew weekly from the USS Tarawa for a haircut. Reynega cut all of the officers’ hair while underway, and his Commanding Officer even asked him, “What are you going to call the barbershop you’re going to build someday?”
Eighteen years later, Leathernecks Barbershop in the Canoga Park district of Los Angeles is not only a shop where active and veteran L.A. Marines keep themselves looking sharp but also a veritable Devil Dog sanctuary showcasing Reynega’s amazing collection of historical Marine Corps memorabilia.
Reynega, now 42, a veteran Corporal who served as a mortarman in the Operation Iraqi Freedom era, opened his shop in 2017, with the idea that it would be more than a barbershop that specializes in military haircuts. “My business philosophy is that my shop is a place where veterans feel at home when they’re here,” he says.
Growing up in the San Fernando Valley, Reynega participated in Devil Pups as a boy and Junior NROTC in high school, and he says, “Like most Marines my age, I was inspired to join the Marine Corps after 9/11.” He enlisted on an open contract and served in 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, where they deployed to Hit and Al-Qa’im in Iraq, as well as Egypt, Guam and Okinawa. After honorably separating in 2008, he worked as a medic, attended college, and considered a career in law enforcement, but Reynega missed the camaraderie of the Marine Corps.
“It was my wife who convinced me to use the haircutting skills I taught myself in the Corps to graduate from barber school and become an entrepreneur and be my own boss,” he says. Reynega’s and his wife, Jennifer, an elementary school teacher and daughter of a Navy Captain, are proud parents of a three-year-old daughter, Abigail.
With his clientele ranging from recruiters and their teenage poolees to retired Colonels in their nineties, Reynega’s shop is frequented by veterans of all military branches, but the ambiance is decidedly gyrene. Leathernecks Barbershop houses a mini-museum of authentic Marine collectibles, and some of Reynega’s favorites include as an original Korean War-era guidon, a set of World War II-era bunks, and dozens of recruiting posters going all the way back to the Spanish-American War.
Perhaps the most eye-catching item on display is a ten-by-seven foot Marine Corps flag from World War II, which cost more to frame than to purchase. His most expensive item is the famous 1917 World War I Howard Chandler Christy recruiting poster depicting a “Christy Girl” (a successor to the “Gibson Girl” illustrations) in dress blues with the slogan, “If You Want to Fight, Join the Marines.”
Reynega began his Marine Corps collection while working at a veterans’ homeless shelter in Hollywood, where he noticed a vintage movie poster for sale from the 1951 World War II film Halls of Montezumafor twenty dollars. Since that first acquisition, Reynega has amassed hundreds of genuine Marine Corps items. “I have only about half of my collection on display in the shop. The rest is at home,” he says of his collection. He also has a Navy ship door in his business office, an authentic Zodiac inflatable boat, vintage copies of Leatherneck, and he recently acquired a huge Vietnam-era recruiting poster of near-billboard size that he plans to adorn the entire back wall of the shop.
Cpl. Reyenga has always been skilled at finding whatever he is looking for and one of his Gunnys joked, “Only you could find ice in Egypt,” when he did exactly that while on a deployment to relieve Marines’ swollen feet. But Reyenga’s collection is far from complete, and he scours websites and flea markets constantly for heirlooms for his ever-growing menagerie.
“What interests me most are Marine Corps historical items from World War II and earlier. My goal is to collect an original of every Marine Corps recruiting poster ever made. I have around 200 so far.” He’s always on the lookout for rarities like signed items by the legendary LtCol. Lewis “Chesty” Puller and GySgt. John Basilone, the latter of which he recently narrowly lost an online auction for a signed letter.
Besides the Marine Corps memorabilia, all of the furnishings at Leathernecks are authentic relics. “All of my barber chairs are at least 100 years old that have been restored. I have an antique cash register and a saloon bar that are also over 100 years old,” he says of the old-west tavern furnishings that serve beverages to all customers with a cut. Reynega, who is also a competitive shooter, a woodworker, and an artist, designed the barbershop logo himself, inspired by the blackjack and the crossed-rifles insignia of 2/1 and prominently displayed on its storefront.
Reynega estimates that ninety-percent of his barbershop patrons are either active duty, veterans, or retired military, and that an equal percentage of his clients maintains military regulation haircuts. A few of his clients faithfully get a haircut every week, just as they did in their Marine Corps days. All of the barbers at Leathernecks are former Marines, and, through word of mouth, Leathernecks’ clientele has grown to include civilians and even celebrities like Mayans M. C. television and movie actor J. D. Pardo and Cooking Channel celebrity chef Bradley Miller.
After business hours, Leathernecks Barbershop has grown to become a gathering place for area Marines. “We sometimes use the shop as a meeting place for our detachment of the Marine Corps League. We’ve hosted holiday parties and fundraisers for disabled veterans here in the barbershop,” Reynega says of the San Fernando Valley’s Detachment #1490 of which he is a founding member.
“I want my barbershop to be part of the veteran community in the Valley,” Reynega says, “It’s not just a business for me. I want to give back to veterans. Vets don’t trust just anybody, and I want my shop to be a place of comfort for them. A place where they feel at home.” Judging by his loyal following, for many Los Angeles Marines, Leathernecks Barbershop is just that place.
–Article submission by Leatherneck Magazine
