Meet Audrey Gayle Cuenca: Cutting Specialist – Men, Women, & Children

We had the good fortune of connecting with Audrey Gayle Cuenca and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Audrey, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
“With great risk comes great reward.” Most of my life I had been living in fear and because I lived in fear there was no room to grow. It wasn’t until I started allowing myself to be put in uncomfortable situations that the person I envisioned was coming to light. Life had thrown a lot lemons and with those lemons, I made lemonade, lemon bars, lemon meringue pie, and lemon risotto. The COVID-19 pandemic was essential to my life that I can’t wait or hope for a change. I needed to be the change in my own life. It was scary to become self-employed during the pandemic and lose my health benefits but I’ve learned so much and I’ve gained freedom with my life. I’m surrounded now by motivating and uplifting people who are willing to share their knowledge to ensure my success. I have a work life balance now where initially I was working 45hours a week for the man. Now I am the man so to speak. My quality of life has improved for myself and for my family.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t beat hard work. Every year prior to the pandemic I would constantly take continuing education to add to my arsenal. I’m always striving to be better than myself and I think that sets me apart from everyone else because I don’t think I‘ll ever master my craft. I feel there’s always room to grow, with my career and my well-being. There are times I can be my own worst critic which is natural for us to do because we get in our own head but as long as you are giving your best, its the law of attraction, the universe will naturally give you what you deserve. I’ve been blessed to be able to travel the world for my accomplishments. Attending two World Wide Hair Tours of Davines, in Parma, Italy and Reykjavik, Iceland. Was any of it easy? Absolutely not, it requires dedication when motivation lacks there of. What I’ve learned is that the only person who is holding me back is myself. I cannot depend on anyone to make changes for myself. That if there’s anything in life that I want to accomplish I need to be dedicated to my goals, my ambitions, my surroundings. I cannot compare my journey to someone else’s path. I pave the path that I want to create. What ever it is you exert you will manifest, that is the secret to life. I want people to know that being uncomfortable is a wonderful thing. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable and open to change is where growth lies within. In order for you to succeed you must fail because if you’ve never experienced failure, how could you understand success?

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’d have to say you have to visit my happy place which is Black Swan Yoga of Dallas. It’s a wonderful community that was a positive reinforcement in my life. Every class has its own flavor, where you can find your favorite teacher in almost any and every class. The music, meditation, the energy, and environment has all been so important in my growth and my well-being. I go every morning before work to start my day setting my intentions. It has made a huge impact in my life that it’s actually the next thing I’m working towards. With continuing education being limited because of the pandemic. I decided to take a Yoga Teacher Training course. As a hairdresser I have the ability to make people feel beautiful on the outside. With yoga, I’ll have that same ability to do it within because that’s exactly what its done for me. I love myself after every session. I’m in such gratitude for the positive environment they’ve created. It’s truly something we all need during this pandemic and the great thing is, Black Swan Yoga is donation based so there’s no obligations to a membership. Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My business partner and best friend, Color Specialist Daisy Sanchez. While working together where we first met, I saw how talented and hard working she is. Her ability to have hair last is what us hairdressers call “lived in” you have to be a some what of a hair junkie to really want to accomplish this look. To have hair last where you can go 6 months more or less is truly a talent and skill. She’s passionate and I’ve always told her if she ever decided to leave the salon we were working for, there would be no questions asked and I’d be right behind her. It wasn’t until the pandemic we realized this was our time to shine to come together and become self-employed together. We were being overlooked for accomplishments and now. We are the happiest working alongside supporting and motivating each other to be great. We both have Bret & Alison Chapman for allowing us to be part of their beautiful salon. They’ve made the transition of being self-employed easier. With their support and guidance, I can see myself here for the long run.

Website: www.audreycuenca.com
Instagram: @audreygaylecuenca