Meet Phillip Gavin, posting his casual loc bun in the private Natural Hair Facebook group got him nearly 3k likes, a host of comments including three marriage proposals. The ATT technician from queens shares his loc-story.
Phillip Gavin, an AT &T technician who resides in Arlington, TX but grew up in Queens, New York, never expected the responses he would get after posting his casual loc bun style in the private Natural Hair group on Facebook. Brother got nearly 3k likes and three marriage proposals. Needles to say, it was time for an interview with this brother whose dreadlocks only got him love.
How important is your hair as a man? Have you ever had a relaxer or Jheri curl and why do you choose to wear your hair this way now? My hair is important, almost symbolic to who I am as a man at this point in my life.
When I was younger I did have a relaxer. At the time I was in college, I was wearing braids. My family is Jamaican and my hair is super thick. My hair got so thick that it started to become a hassle to find someone to consistently braid my hair. That is when I put a relaxer in my hair but I started losing my hair and had to cut some. Locs were really my last stop and seven years later I have my mane.
So, I chose to wear my hair in locs because I was on the brink of not having hair.
What does your hair mean to you? Is it just an accessory that compliments your personality and style or is it deeper than that?
My hair to me is part of my strength as a man just as it was to Samson. Not literally but it just holds so much value as to who my character is as a man.
Can you please elaborate? Who are you as a man?
As a man firstly I am strong like my hair, I am bold and I stand out. I have endured hard times like my hair but I continue to push forward to achieve my goals and desires. As a man I have my own opinion and I do not just accept what people tell me stuff without fact finding for myself.
I am determined, it was nothing but determination and focus to allow my hair to get to the point it is at now. I can look back at photos of myself with different lengths of my locs and know exactly what I was going through at the point in time. My hair is an ongoing time capsule if that makes sense.
These are only a few of 237 comments. And the comments are screened.
Were you ever ashamed of your hair or believed that guys with a curly or weavvy texture had a better chance with women?
I have never been ashamed of my hair. I believe your spirit, confidence, and overall appearance is what gives you better chances with women. It’s all about presentation.
How important is a woman’s hair to you? Does it matter whether she wears a weave, relaxes her hair or is a natural head? Do you have a preference for either of these styles?
At this point in my life I have seen many hair styles on women and it is of little importance to me as long as it is something that makes her happy then I’m happy. I don’t have a preference on hairstyles I would just like for it to be decent lol.
And by decent you mean, looks, values other things?
By decent I just mean controlled in a certain sense. I feel some people use the excuse of their hair being natural that they don’t even attempt to do it at times. I don’t feel that that it Is right. Now I do know at times natural hair can be wild and bold in its own style but people should know the difference.
My readers asked me to include this specific question so here I go: Is the texture of a woman’s hair important to you? And length?
Texture of a woman’s hair isn’t important to me because it isn’t something they can control anyway. The length is no longer a concern although I will admit when I was in my teens I was shallow and length did matter.
One of the main reasons Black women hesitate to go natural is because they profoundly believe that Black men don’t like natural hair. What do you think? If you don’t agree where do you think women got this idea?
I don’t think it’s black men, I think its society’s outlook on natural hair combined with the fact that not enough black men stand up and tell their queens that they love their hair so it comes back to us rather than society.
Quite often I hear men say that they didn’t like natural hair when they grew up. It’s only later on in live that they started to appreciate natural hair. Do you share that experience?
I will admit I was blinded by societies views of natural hair growing up and only came to appreciate the spirit within through forming my own opinion and seeing how much healthier natural hair is.
Do you think black hair is an issue? Why or why not?
I think black hair is an issue because when our women wear certain styles it is overlooked and then the “culture” gets a hold of these same styles we have had for years and claim its new when it’s been around.
Are you talking about cultural appropriation?
Yes, that is what I’m referring to! I didn’t know there was a term for what I was saying but that’s exactly what I mean.
What do you think of this natural hair movement and what would be your message to Black women when it comes to hair?
I think this natural hair movement is amazing and didn’t even know it existed. My message to black women is to stand strong in your decision to go natural and be confident in it. At the end of the day your hair is like a mental representation of your spirit. Protect it and take care of it well. I support the movement as I myself clearly am I product of it.
You got over nearly 3k likes on your picture. I enjoyed reading the comments and see the responds myself. How did it make you feel? Did you have a favorite comment?
Honestly it did make me feel great. I’ve been shown love in the group before but never that much. The most likes I’ve gotten before was about 1500. It made me feel very appreciated as a man. I got many compliments. It’s always interesting to see the way people view me. I don’t really pay attention to my eyes, eyebrows, or lips for that matter. My favorite comment was probably the few times I was proposed to on the post.
LOL, you were proposed to? Did you make a choice yet?
None are my type, LOL.
If you are a brother who wants to be interviewed about his hair or you know one, please get in touch with us! We love to hear your story.
For more of Phillips photos see his Facebook gallery.
In case you are wondering, Phillps’ stylist is Alanah. He visits her every month n a half to two months. Alanah then washes and styles his hair. Great job Alana.
