Episodes of The Sport Clips Haircuts Hall of Fame Podcast - Haircuts with Heart featuring Shamaila Taj

This episode is with Shamaila Taj, the Marketing Director for the Taj Team Leader group in Southern California. In this interview, Shamaila explains what inspired her to coordinate a Shave-A-Thon, the process for becoming a Volunteer Event Organizer with the St. Baldrick's Foundation Child with the St. Baldrick's Foundation and the emotional impact of also participating as a shavee. In 2016, Sport Clips Haircuts proudly signed on as St. Baldrick’s’ first National Partner, committing to give more than $1 million in support of childhood cancer research over the next three years. In 2019, we recommitted our efforts and will donate another $1 million to the organization over the next 3 years. For more information, visit: Sport Clips and St. Baldrick's Team Up to Fight Childhood Cancer

Each episode of the Podcast is also available on iTunes and the Google Play store. 

Transcription:

Chad Jordan:
All right, hey everybody. This is Chad Jordan from Sport Clips. This is another edition of our Hall of Fame podcast and this is going to be a special one.

Chad Jordan:
We just... the calendar flipped to October, September is childhood cancer awareness month and everyone out there hopefully knows that Sport Clips is a national partner with the St. Baldrick's Foundation that raises funds for childhood cancer research. And so we do a lot of stuff throughout the year. And my guest today is part of a team leader group, one of the best in the country as a matter of fact. And she helped organize Brace the Shave, I think it's called, what you guys called it, event. And so we're going to go walk through the details of how they did it.

Chad Jordan:
If you're watching on YouTube, hello, you can see, not only did she organize that, she participated in it, and so we've talked about how her head feels now and if she's... does the cold air hit her at night. She's got quite a story to tell us.

Chad Jordan:
So we're sitting down with... why don't you tell me... by the way, this is a two time podcaster with the Sport Clips Hall of Fame podcast. She was on one of the first ones we ever recorded, but why don't you tell me your name,, your kind of stores you're associated with all that kind of... get a little bit of background for you.

Shamaila Taj:
Yes. Hi Shamaila Taj, team leader/marketing support for Sport Clips in Southern California. We have five locations. Our flagship is Glendora. That was about 11 years ago, I think 2007/2008. And we have Sport Clips Upland, Laverne, Fontana and Redlands.

Chad Jordan:
And Upland, for those who may know, it was the former home of an artistic team member, Dorian Corey, hurricane Dorian. So Dorie's from there. So this is one of the premier team leader groups in the country. In fact, they were team leaders of the year in 2018, they got named that. So they certainly have enough on your... you guys have enough on your plate without organizing an event, like what you did for the Saint Baldrick's Foundation. But I know the culture that your family has in this area, for the stores, the passion that you have for your team members in the community is unrivaled.

Chad Jordan:
So why don't you tell me with everything on your plate, what inspired you to organize your Saint Balderick's event? Let's start there because I think that is an important part of why you tapped into this mission to go out and sit and do the event that we're going to talk about today. What started it all?

Shamaila Taj:
Yeah, so we've known that as Sport Clips, part of the Sport Clips family that were associated with Saint Baldrick's for the last couple of years. It's always been connected to us. We've seen the great work that they've done and been around it and exposed to it, but I didn't tend to know how to take that to the next level as a store owner, as a team.

Shamaila Taj:
So that's always been kind of a thought in our head. And then huddle came around this past year in April. And I remember seeing that there was a breakout session for Saint Baldrick's. And immediately I was parked, I was like, "Yes, I want to learn more about this. This is perfect." And so I ended up jumping into the breakout session. And immediately it was one of those things that we ended up having immediate exposure to what they were, what they were about. And they had a chance to explain how the history of Saint Baldrick's, why it started and what the work that they were doing. So when they were speaking about it, a lady named Robin-

Chad Jordan:
Robin Raphael, who was also on the podcast.

Shamaila Taj:
Yes, yeah.

Chad Jordan:
Director of Corporate Relations or family related or something like that. She's a Saint Baldrick's foundation employee. So she was there.

Shamaila Taj:
Yeah. She was there with the group of others speaking about Saint Baldrick's. And she had started her story and posted this beautiful, beautiful photo of her holding her son's eyes or holding her son's hands and looking into his eyes. And it was just this beautiful photo. She started telling her story about all these different things that had happened and the experiences and then we were listening and she got to the end of it and it wasn't a happy ending.

Chad Jordan:
Oh, she hadn't yet explained-

Shamaila Taj:
No, no.

Chad Jordan:
That he ended up passing? Oh wow. Wow.

Shamaila Taj:
She just was sharing.

Chad Jordan:
Yeah.

Shamaila Taj:
And we, it hit me. Right then and there it was like seeing it so real, seeing someone, seeing a mother share that and her grief consumed the room even though it was so long ago.

Chad Jordan:
Yeah, it was 15-20 years ago.

Shamaila Taj:
Yeah. You could feel it. We felt it, we felt what that felt like and that moved me.

Shamaila Taj:
It was instant. It was one of those things where I was like, "Oh, Saint Baldrick's has been doing all this sport clothes has been connected to them. We have haircuts with heart. We all have this passion to give and here it is right in front of us and here's an opportunity." And they shared what, how to do it. They were like, "Step one, go on our website. Say you want to host an event. Step two, find a venue."

Shamaila Taj:
And then all these different things that came along and it was just kind of like my question was why not?

Chad Jordan:
So that happens. Do you get with Arrif and Susan, your mom and dad, dad and mom, I guess. Do you get with them there at huddle, is this something that you guys immediately agreed to that when you come back home you're going to hit the ground running or?

Shamaila Taj:
Actually, so it's funny because during the presentation I got a text from my dad and it was like come to the Trustwave meeting and I was like...

Chad Jordan:
No, you come to the Saint Baldrick's meeting.

Shamaila Taj:
Yeah, I was like... I wrote him right back. I go, "No this is really important, I want to stick around for this." So, and I told him where I was and then at the end, I met up with our team that evening and we all talked, our managers were there and this was a special year because we got to bring some other members from our team to the huddle. So we had a little bit bigger of a group there. My parents, our little Taj team last year and we're all sitting around and we're having brunch on our way out, we were leaving. And it just, the conversation just struck and we said, let's do this. Let's make this happen.

Chad Jordan:
So not only do you put it out to the universe, but you put it out to your team and you got immediate buy in.

Shamaila Taj:
Immediate. They were like, yes. And it was almost as if they'd been kind of waiting to do something, to be involved in something. And so they were shouting out ideas and one of them was, it was actually our manager of the Upland store, Arielle. She was like, "Oh my dad is a manager of a band. Maybe they can play it." And then someone else was like, "Oh, you know, this happens." And we were like, "Well what about this restaurant?" And it just kind of... it was so easy for it to come together because the cause is so important. And we knew what we could do with what we were given.

Chad Jordan:
So you get home. And then I know you checked a website out and you saw the steps, but what really kind of proactively did you have to get done?

Shamaila Taj:
So the first thing we knew is we wanted... so timeline, we figured on average it was about three months or so was the average time it could take to put an event together. And so we had a little bit more time because we thought about September, being childhood cancer awareness month that we could gain that exposure media wise to the community.

Shamaila Taj:
And so we picked September, it ended up being exactly six months from the date we thought about.

Chad Jordan:
Oh cool.

Shamaila Taj:
Yeah, it kind of worked out. And so we knew step one was to find a time. So we found a time and then a venue, a place and it was encouraged from the Saint Baldrick's representatives that doing it at a bar or a restaurant kind of brings that vibe in from the community. And you know, people can eat and they can hang out and then you're even having people who didn't come specific.

Chad Jordan:
Because it's not supposed to be... obviously childhood cancer is such a heavy topic.

Shamaila Taj:
Yes.

Chad Jordan:
But it's supposed to be a fun event, right? Like with people cheering on. Yes, there's some honoring and some memories and all that kind of stuff. But we are celebrating life right now and the ability for our lives to impact other people. So I'm sure that's probably why Saint Baldrick's is going for the, "Hey, find a fun event, venue, bar, restaurant." That kind of stuff where people can celebrate, cheer on all that kind of stuff. So what did you decide on?

Shamaila Taj:
So it was called Nuno's Bistro and Bar in Upland, California. And we knew it had this outdoor patio and their owner had hosted events in the past through other things that they had done. So I asked them and they said, "Yes, of course, whatever we can do to help."

Shamaila Taj:
And pieces started coming together. So then we asked the band, the manager, Arielle's dad.

Chad Jordan:
What's the band? Let's give them a shoutout.

Shamaila Taj:
Yeah, Little A and the All Nighters are awesome.

Chad Jordan:
And what kind of music?

Shamaila Taj:
Blues, yeah. So we were like, "Woo, Saint Baldrick's and blues."

Chad Jordan:
Yeah, that's cool.

Shamaila Taj:
That's so fun. It really kind of heightened that and they were pretty much a yes from the beginning too. And it was one of those things that as we started just asking the questions who wanted to be involved. Then I came to the Chamber Of Commerce, the Upland Chamber Of Commerce and asked them too, because I knew having community tie in and support would really escalate our presence with what we were trying to create.

Chad Jordan:
Did you already have a contact at the Chamber Of Commerce or did you have to create...

Shamaila Taj:
Yes.

Chad Jordan:
Okay.

Shamaila Taj:
Yeah, that relationship we've had for a long time. So it was wonderful to be able to ask to be a part of this and it was reciprocated really well.

Chad Jordan:
I'm just thinking of maybe hopefully every store that's listening, either the manager or team leader, a team member. Hopefully that store is involved with the chamber of whatever town they're in already. If you're not, here's another reason why you want to be. So when you can kind of leverage those relationships to impact the community better.

Chad Jordan:
So you are getting buy in, you're getting the venue set, all of that kind of stuff. When did you decide that you were going to shave your head? Was that part of it from the beginning?

Shamaila Taj:
No.

Chad Jordan:
Okay. All right, walk me through. How did that happen? Because like I said earlier, your hair wasn't to the floor long, but you had long, very nice hair, very long hair. So I wouldn't wake up out of bed in the morning and think, "Oh, let me just shave this off." So how did you get to the point where you decided to do it?

Shamaila Taj:
Honestly, it came from learning more about what we were doing and knowing that the statistics are pretty awful. Every two minutes a child is diagnosed, it's the number one child disease killer of all of them combined. And we all are affected by it. And the more I started learning about what exactly happens, what we're doing, what we're trying to convey, and I wasn't... I was getting the message out, but then I felt people would ask, they're like, "Well, what about you?" And I was like, well, and then it just didn't seem like it almost is again, but why not? I remember just standing there, I remember the night I was in the shower, I was washing my hair and I had been thinking about what we were planning to do. And I said, "Well, why not? If I can create an impact from being somebody who participates as a shavee, beyond just being an event organizer, I know that message can carry much further than just what we created in that moment."

Shamaila Taj:
And once I thought about it that way and thought about, I think the kids who have to deal with it, not by choice, it kind of became an easy choice to make. And I think it's very personal.

Chad Jordan:
Well, it legitimizes too when you do this, I assume you're going to do this in future years, you've been there, you've walked through it. You don't have to shave your head every year by the night you just said and letting you know. You don't need to feel compelled to do that. And not that you did it this time for that reason, but you have walked a mile in these shoes. You did raise money and get your head shaved and do everything that all these other people that you're asking to do it are going to do. So kudos for that. I'm very impressed.

Shamaila Taj:
Yeah, it was really cool too because the fire really started jumping at that point then.

Chad Jordan:
You're literally skin and hair in the game.

Shamaila Taj:
Exactly. It was kind of like we're doing this, which is awesome, exciting, the fire was there and then it was like, and I'm shaving my head and then it was like more fire and more excitement and more and yeses. I got so many great... every response that people who wanted to be a part of it were enthusiastic to be a part of it. I did get some nos, but I think, and that actually was-

Chad Jordan:
Nos for people that did not want to shave their head or did not want to donate money towards it.

Shamaila Taj:
So in the beginning, early on to explain it, I did get where I would start explaining what it was, that this was the cause and this is what we were trying to achieve. And I think because it was never really... it's something that people can't visually concept until they're there and seeing it and even again, like me and I understood that.

Chad Jordan:
And you hadn't been to one yet, right?

Shamaila Taj:
Exactly. I'd never been to one. So I empathized and understood that even me putting it together with my team and all the people involved, the ones who had never been to one, we all were kind of just like, "Well I guess we'll just see how it goes."

Chad Jordan:
Right. Had any of the stylists ever been to a shave event?

Shamaila Taj:
I think a few of them, I know Dory definitely was a big part of that and a couple of them have been involved, but in the sense of hosting an event that was all foreign to all of us.

Shamaila Taj:
So yeah, the nos kind of came from the, I don't know what this is and so I'm going to just probably say no. So then it's-

Chad Jordan:
This time.

Shamaila Taj:
Yeah, exactly. So that was another thing, and honestly as soon as we got excited, even more so about it, Frankie, the coach of the year, jumped in and more people started jumping in, different people from all over the community.

Chad Jordan:
Yeah. How did you get... I mean Frankie, not our coach of the year, artistic team member. How did that conversation go? Who reached out to who?

Shamaila Taj:
Honestly, I'm trying to think. I think she just dove right in. I feel like it was one of those things that I just shot a message that she's like, "I'm in. Yeah, of course I'm in." So that worked out and I did reach out. So I'll backtrack a tiny bit more back to the timeline. Another important aspect is a barber coordinator, somebody to help you recruit barbers. So Ashley, our coach for our region ended up taking that role too. And that was a really cool piece-

Chad Jordan:
Because you want more than just Sport Clips stylists that are shaving heads or?

Shamaila Taj:
No, we knew that... so because of how we were introduced to Saint Baldrick's as Sport Clips being the barbers normally, it was kind of an easy way to migrate the two. We knew that I wanted somebody who was familiar with the Sport Clips world and who understood the connection between Sport Clips and Saint Baldrick's and then also could extend that out into the community.

Chad Jordan:
All the barbers, stylists, were they all Sport Clips?

Shamaila Taj:
Yes.

Chad Jordan:
Okay. So that was where my little confusion was coming on. Did Ashley have to go out and get other barbers from a local barber shop or whatever, just to say there's not just Sport Clips people there.

Shamaila Taj:
No.

Chad Jordan:
Okay, so you could do it with all Sport Clips folks, which just makes it really nice because I think you know a few of them.

Shamaila Taj:
Yeah, and even team leaders from other stores were offering to help and they did. They came and they, they wore their own logos and they were asking what else can we do?

Chad Jordan:
Because it was four to eight right? On a Saturday.

Shamaila Taj:
Saturday, September 21.

Chad Jordan:
That's kind of a busy time for stylists at Sport Clips and in their stores. So to give that time up and to come do an event like this just speaks to how important it is.

Chad Jordan:
Okay. So you had Ashley doing that, you had Frankie donating, you had you donating and running it, you had Dory cutting. What are some of the other elements that had to come together to really pull this off?

Shamaila Taj:
I would say the most important thing was making sure that our message was clear. Getting important details out because the shave-athon is so unique that to describe it to somebody to get somebody to want to come to it, we really had to share that. So utilizing the fact that we all had... the way I described it was each one of us is actually our own mini fundraiser.

Shamaila Taj:
Even though it kind of started from this beginning idea, everybody was responsible for their own piece of it.

Chad Jordan:
And does everybody have a separate goal that they're trying to raise and it doesn't have to be the same. They could, it could vary.

Shamaila Taj:
Yes. Everybody's goal can be different.

Chad Jordan:
Minimum's what, $100 or something is what you-

Shamaila Taj:
Yeah-

Chad Jordan:
The normal ask?

Shamaila Taj:
Yeah, I think that's the normal ask. But for our first time-

Chad Jordan:
The floor.

Shamaila Taj:
Yeah, for our first time, we were just kind of like, you know, anything, will be really helpful. So that was what was really fun about being a first time too was we just kind of did it how we wanted to do it. And so going back to your question, having everybody be responsible for their own piece gave that pride in we all were contributing towards that same cause. Everybody knew that cancer is such a mountain that's so hard, I think for people to conceptually climb.

Shamaila Taj:
And so this was a way that even if that person who just raised a little bit and shave their head or volunteered or in some other way, there's another option, you can do what you want. Everybody felt like they were doing something and they really were. They were moving that mountain together.

Chad Jordan:
And you, was your hair like pony tailed and cut and donated or-

Shamaila Taj:
Yes.

Chad Jordan:
Okay. Because I saw pictures and the video and... okay, so tell me about that.

Shamaila Taj:
That was a really neat extra bonus. There's so many good things that come out of this. So that was really cool too. Being the fact that I had such long hair, I was able to... I did a little bit of research, picked a foundation called children with hair loss. I think they're based out of Minnesota. They give hair to kids that have all sorts of any hair loss and they don't charge, which is kind of neat.

Shamaila Taj:
And Ashley, who was... this is a crazy story. Like three or four days, three days I think before our event, she wasn't, there was no talk of shaving for our barber coordinator.

Chad Jordan:
Okay.

Shamaila Taj:
And then all of a sudden the numbers weren't really... she was like... she just texted us. She's like, "I'm in, I'm shaving my head."

Shamaila Taj:
And that night she ended up raising, I think in seven hours more than any of us had raised in like the six months we had been doing this. And just like that because she was excited and she knew she how she wanted to carry it. She could and she did.

Chad Jordan:
And she knew people would respond to her energy, to her effort.

Shamaila Taj:
Yeah. And that was so beautiful.

Chad Jordan:
How many shavees did you guys end up with?

Shamaila Taj:
I think total 20.

Chad Jordan:
Oh wow, 20?

Shamaila Taj:
Yeah.

Chad Jordan:
That's amazing.

Shamaila Taj:
Yeah we had people from the restaurant jump in. We had two firefighters show up and they jumped in.

Chad Jordan:
Oh my gosh, yeah, I can see that.

Shamaila Taj:
Friends, family members, my brother, friends from all over. Different friends of other people's friends.

Chad Jordan:
How many females?

Shamaila Taj:
Oh, exact number. One, two, three, four, five six or seven or eight of us.

Chad Jordan:
Wow, nearly half. That is insane.

Shamaila Taj:
Yeah, a lot of girls.

Chad Jordan:
So now do you guys have like this club, this shaved head club-

Shamaila Taj:
I'm feeling so. There's clubs out there. Our little, we have a little group text, we call it three brave babes.

Chad Jordan:
What was that first night after with the... you've been having long hair. I don't know, you're in your 20s but however long you've had long hair, let's say 20 some years.

Shamaila Taj:
My whole life.

Chad Jordan:
Okay. So now you go to bed and your head hits the pillow and there's not that hair there. What was that like, the first day or two living with a shaved head?

Shamaila Taj:
So actually that first night was heck of a ton of fun. That was a blast because we were all just like pumped up on adrenaline-

Chad Jordan:
How late did you stay?

Shamaila Taj:
To the very end. I mean the band was done. The restaurant I think was still on a roll.

Chad Jordan:
You closed the restaurant.

Shamaila Taj:
Yeah, my family, we got a chance to all have dinner and that was really cool and really, really special. And so we stayed till the end. The next day I actually went down to San Diego and volunteered for another group called life rolls on. Think we talked about it before and so I was at the beach all day, wore a hat and a ton of sunscreen. Had a lot of people who kept coming up to me and they're like, "Can I spray you? Can I spray?" I was like, "Yes, sure." So that was day one. So I wore the hat all the time.

Shamaila Taj:
Day two, Monday morning, starting that day I will have to say was probably one of the hardest ever. And the reason I say that is because I felt it was so easy. You know, we get up, we do our thing, we have our normal routine. Life is good you change your look every now and then. But it is what it is. And then that day waking up without my accessory, I felt like I didn't realize, I never really actually put that much into like, Oh it's my hair. And everybody I've met when I told them we were shaving, they're like "But my hair." I'm like, "Really? It's just hair." When it happens to you and then you realize you're there. And then the feeling consumed me of all of the women who go through it, who through all this other trauma way before even getting to this point.

Shamaila Taj:
And then to get to that point, it's almost like how do they do that? And then I thought about the children and then you learned that some children get teased for that.

Chad Jordan:
Yeah.

Shamaila Taj:
But it was just really hard. So that first day was-

Chad Jordan:
I bet.

Shamaila Taj:
It was very difficult because you just don't know what... and people do. They react when people... on their phone, they'll stop and just stop mid sentence and stare, which I get, I totally get the responses. But that first day was hard.

Chad Jordan:
I wonder, because we're in Southern California and you are rocking this, and this is like a look in Southern California that a lot of, you know, famous people or whatever models or whatever. So I'm wondering if maybe some of the people that were staring at you are like, "Wait, where have I seen her? She on Vogue, what, where is she from? Where have I seen her before?" So I think that may have part to do with it as well.

Shamaila Taj:
I think that goes to the sense that they, that first saying that Saint Baldrick's puts out there is rock the bald.

Chad Jordan:
Yeah.

Shamaila Taj:
And that is so powerful because then you realize regardless of how you got there, just rock it and that-

Chad Jordan:
And I mean you're such... just knowing your personality and you're such a feeler anyways, right? So you have this connection with, we were talking about Vinnie Anta Dormy, the little boy from Saint Baldrick's who lives in South Carolina that we got to kind of hang out with Joe Gibbs racing and do some fun stuff with him. And he was a blonde haired, his brothers are brunettes, you know, dark hair, the Italian family. And he was this blonde haired kid. And what cancer has done to him, obviously he's bald now, doesn't have hair. It's completely changed the way he looks. I mean, the effect that chemo has.

Chad Jordan:
And so that Monday morning or would that day when you're going through all that, like you said you were channeling, I think some of that emotion that all these cancer patients and breast cancer patients and ladies that are supporting your hairstyle right now are going through. So I think that's so important that you're connecting with them and their energy as well so that it really speaks to who you are.

Chad Jordan:
So, okay here, here's a question for you. You need to help out all these other people that are going to plan this. What do you know now that you wish you would've known going in? Like after it was all said and done, here's the one lesson that I would've told myself to listen to about, you know, one piece of advice.

Shamaila Taj:
To not be afraid to be annoying.

Chad Jordan:
Okay. All right. How so? In asking for donations and asking for volunteers. Like what?

Shamaila Taj:
Just in general I think because when you realize that if you're doing something with passion and with intention and your reasons are good, that when you ask people to do something that you're... don't be afraid that even if it seems outrageous or extraordinary or super bold, that to take that leap of faith because doing things that are a little bit out of the ordinary and getting people's attention about something so important like this takes a little bit more out there-ness and to be comfortable with that. And I think it applies to a lot of things in anything we do with our work, with our personal lives that it's being comfortable in saying something that if your heart is saying it, just listen to that because that is such a powerful thing. If you can convey, if your intentions are there and you mean what you're meaning is as well and you can share that with anybody and don't be afraid to get it out there.

Chad Jordan:
On the heels of that. One of my favorite sayings that I've heard is a guy named Andy Stanley says, "Pay attention to the tension." So if there's something in your gut that's telling you I got to do that or whatever to pay attention to that, you know? And so that kind of on the heels of what you are saying and I love the fact that don't be scared to be annoying. That's my life philosophy. Like that's worked well. I guess it's worked for me. I don't know.

Chad Jordan:
But like you said you had some early nos, maybe next time around you would be more willing to be annoying and just say, well now let me tell you why this is so important. I hate to bug you, but... now that's, I guess that's one of my last questions is are you going to do this again? Are you going to coordinate this again? Let's put it that way. Something like this.

Shamaila Taj:
We literally in all the conversations I've had with everybody who's been a part of it, it is the next question we have, it's almost kind of you have to. I think you, when you had interviewed Kelly, she said the same thing, another VEO. That you kind of feel like, wow, we're so lucky that we can do this and there's more people who can be involved and there's so many more elements and aspects we could do it because my motto is, you know, go big or go bigger.

Shamaila Taj:
So yeah, I think we will, and I'm hearing chatter from our coaches being at the huddle. There's some chatter around, Amanda's been so great. Kelsey, President of Baldrick's, all these different people. There's a lot of chatter about, yeah, of course. I know many other... there's so many other team leaders who've done this too and I've talked to quite a few of them and learned from them. And I think, yes, definitely. We're looking at doing it and I think actually we're thinking about doing it in March. So we figured we could do this one is six months, so let's do another one in six months. Whether if it's me planning it or other people planning it, I feel like hopefully more Sport Clips want to do it too because then we can kind of help them, if any questions, it's like one of those things like, oh yeah, come and ask us.

Chad Jordan:
That's what I want to point out. I'm going to put your contact information with this stuff so that people can, that's why we're doing this podcast. So other people can be a VEO volunteer event organizer-

Shamaila Taj:
Yeah, and they call it... and Saint Baldrick's calls it fundraiser in a box. Like they coined that. And it really is, we've never really thrown something of this magnitude, but they made it every step of the way to be able to do it.

Chad Jordan:
So my last question, what have you found out about yourself through this process that you might not have known otherwise?

Shamaila Taj:
Oh wow. What have I found out about myself?

Chad Jordan:
Yeah.

Shamaila Taj:
To stay true to who I am. Because I want to see a world where we're all happy and we're all healthy and I think we all want that. And this is our kids and this is one way to do it.

Chad Jordan:
I had a backup answer because she couldn't think of one. It was like I look good with short hair like that, I thought maybe that's what you're going to say.

Shamaila Taj:
Well, thank you.

Chad Jordan:
So, but no, you're amazing. This was, and even for those who don't know, even you getting here today in downtown LA, like you're going to hit traffic on the way home and you're not feeling that good. And I don't know if it's because you know your long hair had been a buffer.

Shamaila Taj:
I feel the cold.

Chad Jordan:
Right? Exactly.

Shamaila Taj:
Instantly.

Chad Jordan:
But no, I mean what you did, I definitely want to capture at some point I hope to get Frankie and Ash. It'd be great to get them on a podcast and get the coaches kind of view of everything and a shavees as well. But I know this is going to help a lot of people, especially if you're planning one in March and this could really be... you know what, I'm going to challenge other stores to plan theirs in March as well.

Shamaila Taj:
Do it.

Chad Jordan:
Let's do some sort of coordinated effort. I will be a resource. You can be a resource. We want to help you. I'll even commit to coming to one or two of them. I almost was able to come to yours. Unfortunately I wasn't.

Shamaila Taj:
Shaving your head.

Chad Jordan:
Yeah, no, no. I will not commit to shaving my head but I will commit to I've helped MC and be a part of these before and I'd love to join some stores across the country as they put theirs on. So thank you very much.

Shamaila Taj:
Thank you.

Chad Jordan:
Your energy I hope is infectious and gets everybody out there excited. Go. Please help us as we're helping Saint Baldrick's help us get and raise funds for childhood cancer research. Do your own shave-athon brave the shave event. You will not be sorry.

Shamaila Taj:
And one quick shout out too, one thing also is we doubled our goal.

Chad Jordan:
Oh, that's... I didn't even ask money. I didn't ask the money because-

Shamaila Taj:
I know. I didn't know if you didn't want to hear.

Chad Jordan:
I didn't want to put you on blast just in case. Okay, that's great. Okay, good. Yeah, so you set a goal and then you doubled it so-

Shamaila Taj:
It can be done. And even if you don't, it can all be done. Every little bit is a lot.

Chad Jordan:
That's amazing. Well, congratulations.

Shamaila Taj:
Thanks.

Chad Jordan:
Thanks again Shamaila. Thanks everybody. We'll have another episode for you next week.

Shamaila Taj:
Bye.

Chad Jordan:
Bye.