HOW does a father show his love to a son? He can “count the ways,” as the poem of love goes, and the list will be long. Did “over a haircut” appear on yours?
One man certainly picked a unique way to bond with his child. Who would have thought that grooming could be an activity that can strengthen the ties between father and son.
Cardiologist Elfred Batalla certainly thinks it does, and he chose Rocky’s Barbershop as his venue.
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| Elfred Batalla was looking for an activity were he can bond with my son & would impress on him lasting memories with him before he enters his teen age years. He found having regular haircuts with his son perfect for this purpose |
“It started four years ago, in 2012, when my son was 11 years old,” said the 50-year old physician, “I was looking for an activity where I can have bonding with my son and leave lasting impressions and memories with him before he enters his teen age days.”
Perhaps Elfred had the foresight. He wanted to instill a father and son pastime that will strengthen their bond even before puberty age. It is at adolescence, after all, that kids tend to become independent and become unpredictable. But with a more cohesive parent-child relationship, success manifests on the child in more ways than one.
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| Elfred wanted a father and son pastime that will strengthen their bond before his son reaches his teenage years. |
“I thought going to a cozy, decent and good barbershop together every time we need a haircut would be perfect for this purpose,” he said.
“So I searched for an ideal, decent, and good barber shop in town and then I passed by Rocky’s and was impressed with the place. I said to myself that this is the perfect place. It’s affordable, a nice place with warm, accommodating and polite barbers and staff.”
“Nikko was very happy with his first haircut in Rocky’s because his sister told him he was “guapo” after that first hair cut,” shared the father.
Since then, Rocky’s Barbershop at SM Ecoland, where they are very comfortable at, became the monthly bonding (and grooming) haunt for the Batallas. Both go for the same style— the Barber’s cut, and both don’t have a “suki” as they trust that all the barbers of Rocky’s will deliver a good job.
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| Nikko was very happy with his first haircut at Rocky’s because his sister told him he was 'guapo',” shared the father of his son |
“I make it to a point that we have our hair cut together. Even if my hair is still short or doesn’t need a trim and my son needs one because of school requirement, then I have to have a hair cut with him. This goes the other way around, even if my hair is already long and needs haircut, I have to wait until my son requires one. This way, we always go together for our bonding purposes,” said dad Elfred.
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| As a personal rule, Elfred will only have his haircut when my son goes for one. "This way, we always go together for our bonding purposes" |
And as to their favorite moment, Elfred relates, “One time me and my son had a haircut together and we requested one of the staff to take a picture of us both having a haircut. I posted it in Facebook and earned a lot of likes.”
This year marks Rocky’s Barbershop 20th year in the men’s grooming business. To many Dabawenyos, it has become a tradition passed from generation to the next.
“Keep up the good work and continue to make people "guapo",” is Elfred’s message to Rocky’s Barbershop on its milestone.
If there is one thing Rocky’s doesn’t cut, that is tradition.
For Elfred and Nikko, they made grooming at Rocky’s their bonding tradition. What is your Rocky’s story?
Rocky’s Barbershop is the first barbershop to open in a mall in Davao City in 1986. All its five branches today are conveniently located in malls- Vitoria Plaza, Abreeza Mall, GMall, SM City & SM Lanang Premier.
2016 marks its 20th year in the business.
Elfred and Nikko Batalla are the featured Father and Son personalities for February in the 2016 Traditions calendar of Rocky’s.
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Email me at jinggoysalvador@yahoo.com. For more lifestyle & travel stories, visit http://apples-and-lemons.blogspot.com and http://jeepneyjinggoy.blogspot.com.
Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on February 14, 2016.
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