Faroh
When Faroh was growing up in Thailand he felt like no one noticed him. While he waited for the train people would run into him. He asked himself, “I’m a person, why would you run into me?” That’s when the idea of dressing uniquely came to him. “I had to show them I exist,” he explained.
Influenced by punk rock, bands like Kiss, and movies like Edward Scissorhands (1990), Faroh began dying his hair in multiple colors, styling it in spikes, and wearing a pirate-like tailcoat decorated with crystal encrusted pins of hairstyling tools. Faroh studied hairstyling after leaving the military in his early 20s, and it was during this time that he got serious about hair as a career that could one day make him famous.
He won various freestyle hairstyling competitions in his home country, and eventually started competing at an international level. But his dream was to make it to Hollywood. He felt like only in Hollywood could he truly be himself. In 1992, he finally made his move, settling first in a Thai enclave of North Hollywood before making the move to Thai Town, where he lives and works to this day.
Community
Faroh opened “Faroh’s Hair Design” on the corner of Harvard and Hollywood Boulevard 10 years ago. It’s here that he’s become both a part of Hollywood and Thai Town.
Despite his love for punk rock culture and Hollywood, it’s important for Faroh to stay connected to his Thai culture which is why he participates at most events in Thai Town, particularly, the Thai New Years Festival where he dresses in traditional Thai costume and performs songs and folkloric dances. Even when wearing traditional garb, it’s important for him to stand out, which is why he’ll always wear his handmade bejeweled five-inch platform boots.
“I act as a face for Thai Town. It’s very meaningful to me that I am a part of Thai Town,” he explains. “I want the whole world to know that this is Thai Town and it has this one weird person who walks around here.”
- Folk Arts
- Dance
- Music
- Heritage
