Faces of Long Island celebrates the uniqueness of everyday Long Islanders. In their own words, they tell us about their life experiences, challenges and triumphs. Newsday launched this social media journey into the human experience to shine a light on the diverse people of this wonderful place we call home.

‘I really like making people feel comfortable to be whoever they are.’

Glen Cove

“I’ve been cutting hair for 20 years. I started when I was in 11th grade just to make some of the kids want to hang out with me more. I was a very nervous and awkward high school kid.

“It worked, and I found out that I loved cutting hair so much. I think cutting hair is a form of people’s expression. A haircut can really reflect somebody’s personality as well. I really like making people in the barbershop feel comfortable to be whoever they are.

“I opened up a barbershop called Strong Island Styles in 2006. A lot of celebrities have stopped by, including UFC fighters Conor McGregor, Israel Adesanya, Al Iaquinta, WWE wrestling stars Brian Myers and Braun Strowman, Mike “The Situation” from The Jersey Shore, Doc Gooden of the New York Mets, and Rick DiPietro of the New York Islanders.

“When I was younger, my dream would have been to have a celebrity on the front of my page when I was on MySpace. Just getting to cut somebody important made me feel important too.

“Conor’s agents reached out to me because they had some talent in New York, back when he was just becoming the double champ, and it led to a great relationship between me and his entourage, agents, and managers. We all became friends.

“Myspace was my first social media campaign. I actually did it before there were all these rules. Back before people even called it ‘social media marketing.’ I think I might have been an entrepreneur. I started using it before they even knew it was going to be something big.

“In 2015, I won the title on The CW network’s Cedric’s Barber Battle, which was a reality TV competition hosted by Cedric the Entertainer. It was very similar to the show, Ink Master. Barbers would battle to see who gave the best haircut, while a bunch of judges determined who had the most skills and technique.”

“I was the underdog in the competition. Nobody thought I would make it, nonetheless win. It was great just to represent my hometown. Now we are the proud home of my heavyweight barber battle belt.”

I think cutting hair is a form of people’s expression. A haircut can really reflect somebody’s personality as well. I really like making people in the barbershop feel comfortable to be whoever they are.

“I hope that this will be a place that people look forward to going to, where they can all feel equal and all feel important. My biggest thing is making sure everybody is comfortable.

“Hunt’s Hairstyling has been here in Locust Valley for 113 years. It’s a historical barbershop. I bought it in 2020 as a sort of emotional buy.

“The shop’s former owner, Layton Hunt, didn’t want to do it anymore. I had been asking him for almost 10 years to please consider me when he retired because I didn’t want anybody else taking it over. This way I can keep it going for the next hundred years.

“Hunt has been cutting hair in the Locust Valley area for more than the past six decades. He acquired the shop in 1961, a few short years after he returned from the service. Both he and his twin brother are Korean War veterans and members of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.

“Life is too short to not do what you want to do. There are so many miserable people who get jobs and they get good money but imagine doing what you don’t want to do. I could never do that.

“COVID definitely changed things in the barbershop due to space restrictions. I rented extra space next door for six months to be able to keep all of my barbers working and to meet the needs of customers.

“Last year was also supposed to be our 13th straight year working with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, which donates money to childhood cancer research, but COVID put a stop to it. So far, we have raised over $300,000.

“I see myself watching generations grow up here and me being a tradition in their futures as far as the place where they sit down and get a haircut. Even as our lives are changing so much, I want this to be one solid thing that they will always be able to experience a good haircut and personal interactions.”

Interviewed by Dan Offner

‘I wish that people could step into other people’s shoes for just a minute sometimes and understand their inner monologues.’

Deer Park

“I am a singer, actor, teacher and life enthusiast. I’ve used the pandemic as an opportunity to sharpen my ax and get back into the audition world. First, I had to get my mental health in check. I love performing; I did my first play when I was in the sixth grade, and the second I heard the applause, I knew there was no going back.

“Long Island has a huge theater community, so I always had chances to perform. I have depression and have self-sabotaged auditions for two Broadway shows. I could not get out of my own way. With the work I have done on myself, I can now see I didn’t think I deserved them. Many people who don’t suffer from mental health issues don’t realize how debilitating it can be and how we can sabotage the amazing things in our lives because we get in our heads that we don’t deserve them. I have also sabotaged relationships because I didn’t think I deserved love. People will look at me and not realize that it’s an issue because I have worked so hard to overcome it.

I have a job to do with this voice, and I’ve learned to take it seriously.

“I come from an amazing family and a very supportive environment. I was raised with a lot of luxury, and still, I struggled with depression. It is clinical. It’s not in our heads. There’s such a stigma with it. I wish that people could step into other people’s shoes for just a minute sometimes and understand their inner monologues. Actors are really good at hiding the depression and struggles. We smile, and nobody knows the truth. It’s dangerous.

“During the pandemic, I started with a new therapist for trauma therapy because I wanted to face things head-on. I set up a meditation place with crystals, lights and inspirational things. I’ve done more singing for myself rather than for other people, and I’ve started playing the piano again, which is extremely therapeutic. I’ve gone on medication. I’ve learned that I am so much stronger. I’ve let myself see my talent as a gift that I was given and realized it’s because I have something to say and to sing. I posted recordings playing the piano and singing to inspire people and give them a bit of hope. I have a job to do with this voice, and I’ve learned to take it seriously. I’m so excited about what’s to come.”

Interviewed by Iris Wiener

‘A lot of people, including myself, are scared to reach out and get help because of the judgement.’

East Islip

“I grew up in Deer Park. It came down to wanting to fit in. I thought that stuff was cool. All the cool kids cut class, all the cool kids smoked weed and that’s what I wanted to be like. I was the jock who was smoking weed on the weekends and throwing parties.

“It progressed with hard drugs, and I started getting into trouble, but I didn’t see it as a problem because I was young. As I got older, I wouldn’t stop. I’d keep going. If I didn’t have more money, I’d lie, I’d steal, I’d manipulate to keep doing it. I lost a lot of relationships with people. I started attending college and dropped out because I was using and wanted to live the street life.

“I didn’t think I needed a degree to be successful, I thought I was going to be the next Tony Montana from “Scarface.” I ended up in jail numerous times. I should’ve been dead 10 times over, but there’s something that kept me alive. I couldn’t hold on to jobs and if I did, it was because a lot of the people were doing the same things I did.

My three daughters look at me like a superhero and it would crush me to let them down.

“Outsiders reached out to my family and said I needed help. I made a choice and got help. My whole family has always supported me. I was using probably a good 10-12 years and now I’m clean. I’m very fortunate. I see so many people who have nothing. I have so many friends and people I know who aren’t here anymore. They aren’t as lucky as I am. When I hit rock bottom, I reached out to other addicts who were struggling, and now we’re the best friends today.

“Our families know each other, our kids play. My three daughters look at me like a superhero and it would crush me to let them down. I’m a licensed insurance agent and doing well. I’m happily married to a woman who has supported me through everything. I wanted to share my story because I thought it would be selfish to not let people know they can overcome it too.

“Now I’m happier than I’ve ever been, I have real friends, people who love me and support me. I have an amazing life. A lot of people, including myself, are scared to reach out and get help because of the judgement. There’s help available if you want it. There are millions of people who have been through and are still going through what you went through. You’re not alone.”

Interviewed by Rachel O’Brien – Morano

‘I always say I am my happiest when I am surrounded by my family and friends eating great food.’

Massapequa Park

“I always say I am my happiest when I am surrounded by my family and friends eating great food. My mom is from Italy and my dad is from Lebanon. Growing up, I was blessed to have been exposed to two incredible cultures and always cooking and learning recipes from each. I especially love keeping traditions alive like making sauce every summer with my Italian side and baking cookies for Easter with my Lebanese side.

“The kitchen is the heart of our house and being able to share recipes and cook together has always been a big part of my life. I always loved trying new foods around the world, dining at different restaurants, and taking pictures. I decided to start a passion project combining a few of my favorite things into one page: food, photography, restaurants, and travel. That is when I started @travellongisland to create a place where people can learn about great restaurants, activities, and ask me about Long Island and all it has to offer.

Especially after everything we have gone through these past couple of years with COVID, it’s so important to do something that makes you happy.

“At first, some friends poked fun at the idea, but I wasn’t letting that stop me! I was so passionate about it and it showed. I now have almost 50,000 followers and have worked with some incredible businesses. I love when I go to restaurants and they donate part of their proceeds to charities. That’s a great aspect because I’ve always been interested in giving back and will definitely incorporate a service component to my blog going forward. My focus is to display places that I truly believe are the best on Long Island, NYC, and wherever I am traveling.

“I often go back to places to ensure consistency because that is key. I also started a new series sharing recipes with my audience which has been a great way to incorporate my culture as well as various dishes I have enjoyed over the years. Especially after everything we have gone through these past couple of years with COVID, it’s so important to do something that makes you happy. I love being able to experience new places and sharing that with people that follow me. I have also met some of my best friends through this which I am forever grateful for. I am excited to continue expanding my blog and working with different restaurants and companies with social media marketing.”

‘I’ve traveled to Iceland, Ireland, all these really cold remote spots to shoot surfers doing what they love no matter whatever the cost might be.’

Montauk

“I was always a fish. You can ask my parents. They could never get me out of the water, even as a little kid I just always loved being in the ocean. I was never scared. My mom taught me how to swim when I was very little.

“Then my friend Greg Goldberg one day took my boogie board and threw it into the dunes. He was like ‘That’s enough of that. Go get a surfboard.’ And I did; I went and got myself a surfboard. I picked it up pretty easily. I mean I was watching it for so long that I kind of knew what I had to do, so I just had to go and do it.

“Every month we would sit and wait until the surf magazines came out and we would all get together and look through them religiously, page by page, looking at all our favorite pro surfers. We had some pretty good surfers in Montauk at the time. I was like ‘we could do something like this. We could get some good photos of ourselves surfing.’ So, I took it upon myself to go out, get a camera, and just start taking photos and I didn’t know anything about photography.

I started the Cold Water Surf Series, which ended up being an art show with all these surfers around Montauk that would surf through the whole winter.

“Digital just started coming around, but it was still a lot of film. I had this little fanny pack with all the rolls of film around the waist, and I would just sit there at the shoreline holding down the trigger. Boom, boom, boom, boom. Every single wave of every single person. I didn’t know anything about lighting or composition. It was basically just me taking photos of every surfer and then we’d send the rolls away. Then when they came back, we would all pile into my little room and go over all the photos.

“I started the Cold Water Surf Series, which ended up being an art show with all these surfers around Montauk that would surf through the whole winter. That took off because people just weren’t used to seeing floating icebergs or surfers around it.

“I’ve traveled to Iceland, Ireland, all these really cold remote spots to shoot surfers doing what they love no matter whatever the cost might be. The trade-off is that when it’s really sunny and nice, everyone is at the beach. There could be 200 surfers in the water, but in the middle of the dark hours of January, not everyone wants to suit up and go surfing.”

Interviewed by Dan Offner

‘As much as I’ve been in pain, it’s taught me so much.’

Levittown

“I’m a lot of things: Psychic medium, ordained minister, certified personal trainer/sports and nutritionist. I wrote a book, “The Spirit of Hope” in 2019 and I host a TV talk show. I used to be normal. I was a surgical assistant in a hospital. I married the love of my life and always dreamt about getting a house and having children. Less than a month after being married, I had a traumatic accident at work and had a spine injury.

“Life changed instantly. I had my eighth surgery this past June. I was in a wheelchair for about two years, needed help showering, going to the bathroom. I had to learn to walk again, I used a walker and a cane. I dealt with a lot of anxiety and depression. I started to do better and then I was having some pain again and found out my body was rejecting the hardware in my spine, so I had to have more surgeries.

“There were days I just didn’t want to live because I didn’t want to live in pain; I was on a lot of narcotics. Life was hard; we went to marriage counseling and I’m grateful it worked out. What happened to me didn’t just happen to me, it also happened to my husband.

“I learned to meditate and that started the spiritual aspect. I read self-help books for balance. I was doing a lot of soul searching. My stomach was really sick, and I was going back and forth to doctors and finally diagnosed with a rare condition of SMA Syndrome, where my small intestine was compressed between two major arteries, and I was rushed in for emergency surgery. I also found out that I had another rare syndrome called Nutcracker Syndrome, where the left renal vein is compressed between the aorta and superior mesenteric artery; it caused extreme fatigue and flank pain.

I can’t have children, but I gave the miracle of life another way.

“I had to have another surgery for that and had complications. I was told my healthy kidney had to be removed because the vein wasn’t healthy. I asked, ‘Can I donate my kidney?’ New York Presbyterian told me no one had ever asked that before, so I was able to donate to a woman. Here I was with my own condition and very sick and I needed it all to be for something. I was grateful to be able to walk again. I felt it was important to pay it forward.

“I raise awareness with the National Kidney Foundation, and now I hear lots of people donate their kidney due to Nutcracker Syndrome. It’s a way to help our pain and illness and you’re saving a life in the process. I had a little bit of a break to start getting healthy again and got into my mediumship, speaking and writing.

“In 2019, I had my gallbladder removed. I pushed my personal training and tried to be healthy and was doing great. Right before the shutdown started, I met a producer who thought I should have a TV show. I wanted it to be about hope and inspiration, other people sharing their story. On “The LJ Show” on Z Living Network, I interview people with amazing stories that have turned tragedy into triumph. I feel like I’m alive for a reason.

“I started feeling really sick again, I couldn’t eat again, started testing again, going to doctor after doctor. Someone in an online support group suggested it might be median arcuate ligament syndrome, when the band of tissue in the chest presses on the artery that supplies blood to the organs in your upper abdomen. I finally got confirmed I had MALS, and I lived on shakes and IV infusions.

“I just hit my eighth surgery in eight years, eight years married. It doesn’t get easier; illness is still illness. I still have chronic pain from my spine, and I finally feel like I reached another turning point. It’s common for people who have had trauma, like spine injuries, to have these other issues. I have no doubt that my spine surgeries had something to do with it. But with every burden I’ve experienced, I’ve been blessed.

“I’m a minister now, I get to be part of people’s weddings and baby blessings. I use my medium work for helping other people and participating in fundraiser events for all sorts of things like Alzheimer’s and cancer. As much as I’ve been in pain, it has taught me so much. I can’t have children, but I gave the miracle of life another way. Now, my kidney sister can go on and have children. There is a light in the darkness, be open to what the universe has in store for you. My life is so much bigger and meaningful.”

Interviewed by Rachel O’Brien – Morano

‘I think it’s also okay to look for God and reflect on things you’ve done right or wrong. I feel like a lot of the times comedy tends to be rhetorical questions.’

Brentwood

“I think the comedic world where I’m from is very simple and it needs to be reinvented. So, I feel like it’s my obligation to the future of this community on Long Island to give them something to be proud of. And as a Brown person, I think I’m almost there, but I think as long as I have a kind heart and a willingness to learn from others in the process, I think that this community will thrive.

“In my early-to-mid 20s, I was actually a poet. I really loved poetry, so much so that I started sharing tables with poet laureates. I felt it was kind of limited. I wanted more stage time. They were like ‘You can only read two poems at a time.’ Then, one day, I went to this discourse with all these poet laureates, and I just started roasting everyone.

“I think when I first discovered comedy, I was 8 years old and at the time my aunt was my caretaker. One day, I saw the first episode of “The Chappelle Show,” and at the time this dude was a 27-year-old guy who has been in the game since he was 14. He was gifted and there was a certainty that I was hooked. Then I discovered Gabriel Iglesias, Greg Giraldo, and Eddie Murphy. I like the old-timers.

Over the last couple of years, I feel like I was offered a challenge.

“I’m a visual learner. I try to look for silence a lot of the time. I try not to put myself in a loud place when I don’t want to be. I think it’s also okay to look for God and reflect on things you’ve done right or wrong. I feel like a lot of the times comedy tends to be rhetorical questions. This year has been pretty rough for me as a producer.

“Over the last couple of years, I feel like I was offered a challenge. Even more so with everything that has been going on during this pandemic, but I took this challenge truly to heart. I feel as though this year things are sort of changing in the right direction.

“My goal was to find more Black comedians who are not only men but women most importantly. Women who are Latinos, Asians, Middle Eastern, just people in general. I feel white people kind of saturated it. I want to hear people out. I want to listen to different types of stories. I curate the type of shows I personally would want to watch myself.”

‘My dad used to say, ‘just remember this: From something bad, comes something good.’’

Huntington

“My high school guidance counselor told my mother there was no point in applying to good colleges because I wouldn’t get in and if I did, I’d drop out within a year. I had, in my counselor’s words, no scholastic aptitude. I heard her say that.

“After graduating from Boston College, I attended Columbia University, and currently hold five degrees. I’m proof you shouldn’t listen to anyone who doubts you. I got my first job by walking into a radio station in street clothes in 1994—I handed my resume to the receptionist, who asked me what I could do, and I said ‘Anything’ because I had loans due. I was a communications marketing major, but didn’t study journalism or work at the college radio station, so after taking my resume she basically said, ‘great, don’t call us we’ll call you.’ I still managed to get an internship, doing all sorts of jobs, worked crazy hours, and after several months they started to pay me, which to me meant I was hot [stuff].

“I moved into TV news and ended up working in journalism for 10 years, including a technology publishing company where I made friends with John, who is now my husband. After getting out of journalism, I was a corporate suit working for a financial services company in Manhattan. When my father fell ill, his health failed quickly. I always dreamt my parents would walk me down the aisle; you’re not supposed to die until you see your children have children; that’s the natural order of things. John and I were dating for about a year-and-a-half after being friends for many years, and we got married in the hospital because my dad was dying. We got married on Jan. 1. The next day my father went to hospice care and died on the Epiphany, on Jan. 6. He died around 4:30 a.m. and I wasn’t feeling well.

“Around 11 that night, I was convinced something was happening—and then, wait a minute, when’s the last time I got my period? Four pregnancy tests later, I got the same results each time. Some say God takes one, then brings another. I was like ‘Thank God this baby is coming.’ I was also fired from my job while pregnant. I was fired because I was pregnant.”

John rushed me to the hospital, they did all types of diagnostic tests and said ‘you didn’t have a stroke, but you do have Bell’s palsy.’

“There’s a photo my husband took of me when I was due any day with my first child, the night before I came down with Bell’s palsy. You can see the left side of my face starting to droop. The next morning, I took a swig from a water bottle and the water just came out of my mouth onto the floor. I’m now convinced the stress—my father dying, how we got married, my pregnancy, my mother’s now-fading health, losing my job, all happening in fast succession—was the cause, but at the time I thought ‘Oh my God I’m having a stroke.’

“John rushed me to the hospital, they did all types of diagnostic tests and said ‘you didn’t have a stroke, but you do have Bell’s palsy.’ It’s improved since, but I’m in the rare percentage of people that don’t get better. I still can’t smile 100%. The Bell’s palsy caused me so much pain that during the first six months of parenthood I really couldn’t be a mom to my daughter, my first child. My husband had to handle a lot of the responsibilities. My second child, my son, was born via C-section, and they accidentally cut my bladder during the procedure. I had to have a catheter with a urine bag on my side for weeks, while still taking care of my mom and my daughter.

“We were renovating my mom’s house when she died in 2010, and the contractor left us high and dry. I was on my hands and knees in front of my dog, with my babies sleeping in the other room, in a barren house, with wires hanging from the ceiling, no sheet rock, just dust, crying in the bare living room, and thinking of my dad’s words about good from bad, I said out loud ‘Please mom and dad, please tell me what good can come out of this?! Please give me a sign. Please.’

“The next week, we get into a car accident. I’m thinking, ‘This is the sign?’ I had already been out of work, but then my husband lost his job. I went over the edge. I stopped taking care of myself because there was always something. I had just buried my mom a month before the accident. After a hospital stay, I was still in pain from the crash, and it was then someone suggested I get acupuncture. I said three words: “no [f] way,” but ended up thinking, ‘fine, if sticking a needle in my eye will help my back, fine.’

My daughter kept bringing up me doing TikTok, and at that point I had nothing else to do but still didn’t want to, because of my Bell’s palsy. I finally told my daughter the truth, and she said ‘Mom, the only one really worried about your face is you. Nobody cares, move on.’

“I was a skeptic when I walked into the acupuncturist in 2011, about how these tiny needles are going to help me, but after an hour I get off the table, he’s like ‘Can you bend over?’ I bent over and was like ‘huh, what kind of voodoo is this? I don’t feel 100% better, but I am like 40-50% better. What the hell did you do to me?’ While leaving I saw the doctor in the parking lot. I yelled at him, ‘How long does it take to become an acupuncturist,’ he says ‘It’s medical school, that’s years.’ I was 38 years old, but he told me about the great hours and pay, so in 2012 I enrolled in Nassau Community College. At 30 I was a college student again, but now with my husband dropping me off, the kids screaming out the window ‘no don’t leave.’

“After Nassau I went to acupuncturist school, graduated, then started working right away in rented workspaces. In 2018, we purchased a rundown home in Huntington and turned it into an acupuncture facility. Around that time, I also happened to see my daughter’s friends dancing in front of a phone, and she explained they were making a TikTok. She said I should do one about acupuncture or my skin-care line, which I made with herbs I learned about during my Chinese medicine classes. Fast forward to the COVID shutdown, my business is closed and I’m in shock.

“My daughter kept bringing up me doing TikTok, and at that point I had nothing else to do but still didn’t want to, because of my Bell’s palsy. I finally told my daughter the truth, and she said ‘Mom, the only one really worried about your face is you. Nobody cares, move on,’ and so I opened an account last June. At first the videos didn’t really go anywhere, but by December I had about 50,000 followers. I think by being authentic, people liked my videos, and on TikTok, few people made fun of how I look.

“No matter how bad things got, I never gave up on other people but there were times I felt like giving up on myself. Every door was closed, but if I had never got in the accident, I would have never gotten acupuncture and wouldn’t have become an acupuncturist, or put together a skin-care line. Sometimes you have to go so low in your life to see the light, and then climb back out.”

Interviewed by Dan Offner