Today we’d like to introduce you to Jazz Gonsalves.
Hi Jazz, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’ve been in the hair industry for well over a decade, starting my career in Santa Cruz, California, where I studied in a multi-year apprenticeship under a salon owner who had been in the industry longer than I’ve been alive. It gave me a strong foundation not only in the craft of doing hair, but in understanding how a salon operates and the kind of environment I eventually wanted to create.
From there, hair became a way for me to experience different places, people and perspectives. I worked and continued my education in the Bay Area where I fell madly in love with cutting hair with a straight razor (I blame Pony education and Edo salon). I love the patience it requires and the way it can be used almost like a paintbrush to carve and shape hair. It completely changed the way I approached cutting and eventually became my specialty.
In 2020, life took me to Nashville, where I became licensed and continued working and pursuing education throughout the South. When I eventually moved to Portland early 2023, I became a licensed barber and was focused on what I wanted the next chapter of my career to look like. I kept getting flashes of this space I wanted to create until it became a bit of an obsession. That vision eventually became The Hideout Hair Studio.
The original Hideout was a cozy two-chair studio tucked away on the third floor of an old office building in downtown Portland across from Powells—It was quite literally a little hideout from the city, filled with plants and an unexpected calm. I wanted to create something that didn’t feel too much like a traditional salon or barbershop, but a place where people could exhale, slow down and get a haircut and haircare that feels like their best self. Hair is incredibly personal, and I hold that in the highest regard. Hair can change a persons whole identity. At The Hideout services are never gendered, there is no predetermined beauty standard, things are never rushed, the products are clean/ natural and the space is ultimately a space for self. Theres no judgement or pretense.
In 2026, I took a leap of faith and expanded The Hideout into a larger space on Hawthorne Boulevard and with the help of a lot of espresso, my go-to playlist and deep rooted stubbornness, I transformed a former retail space into a working hair studio within two weeks of getting the keys. I’ve put a lot of love into the details and am excited for it to evolve further with time. As it grows, I want The Hideout to retain that same feeling of being a little sanctuary from the outside world— especially in these weird ass times were living in, a moment of self care and human connection can do a lot.
My goal now is to grow a community of stylists who have a meaningful connection to the art of cutting hair, value continued education, clean products and creativity, and want to continue growing within their craft and as people. The Hideout host rotating art and will be a space for education and community events as well, it’s a honor to be apart of such a lovely community is SE Portland. The Hideout Hair Studio will always be evolving and think that’s part of what keeps me so excited about what comes next.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. The beauty industry isn’t always beautiful. I’ve worked for some difficult people, met plenty of difficult personalities, had some complexes and have learned that working so closely with people every day requires an incredible amount of patience, resilience, and empathy.
It took me years to truly feel confident, especially with cutting hair with a straight razor. When you watch someone who has been doing something for a long time, it can look effortless, but you don’t see the thousands of mistakes, awkward moments, long days, and repetition it took to eventually reach that flow state where your hands know what to do.
covid was another milestone for sure. Working in the hair industry in San Francisco and then moving to Nashville during that time was incredibly uncertain and a lot to absorb, and like a lot of people in this industry, I’ve experienced periods of serious burnout and questioned whether I wanted to keep doing hair at all.
Now moving to Portland and building The Hideout within just a few years has probably been the most challenging things of my career, but I do love a challenge. Sometimes it genuinely brings me to tears when I realize that it’s working—that people are walking through the doors and happily coming back, this little idea I had in my head became a real place. I think the challenges have made those moments mean that much more.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a hairstylist and salon owner, but cutting hair is really where my heart is. I specialize in razor cutting and love creating hair that feels lived-in, effortless and specific to the person wearing it. I’m much more interested in working with someone’s natural texture and individuality than making everyone fit into the same mold or standard.
I think what sets me apart is how personal I am about my work. Hair holds a lot of energy, and I really care about people feeling comfortable, understood and like themselves in my chair. Opening The Hideout has been an extension of that—creating the kind of creative, welcoming space I always wanted to work in and spend my time myself.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that you’re never really going to feel completely ready and you have to show up anyway. So much of my career has been learning by doing, fucking up, trying again and eventually realizing that the things that once felt impossible become second nature when you keep showing up. I’ve learned to trust my gut more, stop expecting myself to have everything figured out, laugh at myself and the industry from time to time and just keep going. Most of the best things I’ve done in my life started with me being scared and doing it anyway.
Pricing:
- Genderless
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thehideoutpdx.com
- Instagram: The hideout.pdx
- Other: https://www.vagaro.com/thehideoutpdx
