Meet Ronnie! our expert behind the chair

My name is Ronald Laconto (Ronnie) I’m a Husband, A Proud Father, and A Barber At Elevate Style Lounge.

Originally I was born in Worcester Ma, and spent the first few years of my life bouncing around towns in the central mass area.

Eventually my family made their way to Killingly Ct where i did the majority of my schooling and growing up.

Killingly was a quiet town, for fun most of the time we would be on the lake or river, fishing, exploring, and camping every summer!

But those who know me best know that I’ve always been an avid athlete.

If I wasn’t on the water, i was on the baseball field, basketball court, or the football field!

I continued my athletic career into college for 2 years after a devastating injury in football. For me it was a miracle to even have the chance to step back onto the field. I played 2 strong seasons on the mound as a pitcher, making it to a championship game my freshman year against Holy Cross College. I had the opportunity to play with some of the greatest guys i know to this day, and be a part of programs that made history. My love for the game never died out as in my post years of college i’m still able to play with my old coach and teammates in a competitive summer league ( NECBA ) where in 2020-2021 Season we were crowned Champions Defeating Mitchell College on their brand new turf field!

Knowing my injury would stop me from continuing playing baseball at a higher level i knew i had to come to a better conclusion on what to do with my life.

College wasn’t working for me and my major Architecture wasn’t the way i was looking to go. I worked about 7 months in an Architecture Firm in Norwich Ct called Design Learned Inc. I knew after the 7 months there that Architecture wasn’t the route I wanted to follow either. As a kid i always got my haircut either from my Mom, and or the hair salon in Killingly from the same lady for 13 years. I never knew what going to the barbershop was like. Until my grandmother one day brought me to the local barber to get my first haircut. The way he cut my hair so quickly, and precisely amazed me at 15. And as soon as I left the barbershop i was instantly interested in becoming a barber. When i expressed the way i felt after my fallout with architecture to my barber at the time he pushed me into going to barber school. Later that year i enrolled into Rob Roy Academy and embarked upon my journey cutting hair!

My journey a a barber was far from easy. From the start I delt with a lot of adversity at school whether it was drugs, gang violence, or toxic relationships i had myself intertwined with, but my teacher Mr. D always kept me close because he seen my love for barbering, and my struggle to get over my childish ways. He guided me to graduating, and even securing me a job at prestigious barbershop in Hudson Ma New Image Barbershop where i felt i had the most growth as a person and Barber. I met amazing people along my journey whether it was competing at barber battles or traveling to barber shows to network with other barbers like myself. Going to these events and competing as well as my social media presence led me to meeting Victor! I was competing for Barberz Vs Tv in Orlando Florida where i met DrewTheBarber of JRL who put me onto Vic who was only a short 90 minute drive from me! After booking an appointment and getting my haircut with Victor the interaction we had planted the seed for Elevate and a few months later he contacted me about opening up the shop. To me Elevate was the next step in my career to continue to learn and grow under an environment that would allow me to do so, and at the highest level possible. The first time i ever met Vic i was shocked to how down to earth of a person he was based off of the fact that in my mind he was a celebrity, especially to a young barber like myself. Having the opportunity to work next to someone with so much experience in life and barbering, who is open to sharing everything he knows to help me, and Elevate grow is exactly what i needed ,and im blessed to have the opportunity to do so. Elevate means everything to me, and has already done things for me i could have never imagined starting out my barbering career. And im thankful that Victor has brought not only me but my family onto the team, we’re all a family and that’s the biggest aspect of our team. WE ARE A TEAM! Everyone works to make sure we’re all growing not just individually but as a core group. No one hesitates to ask or answer questions, or is belittled for doing so which creates the environment to grow as a team. And the information that we have to share with each other is all NEXT LEVEL!

The growth I’ve seen since coming to Elevate has been insane to say the least. In my prior ventures in my career a lot of the demographic i cut was fades and shape ups so I never really learned proper scissor techniques until meeting Victor and starting the ACED Academy with American Crew. The knowledge of hair, and products mixed with having amazing people educating me has brought my game to the next level and I will forever be greatful for the opportunity. I recently accepted an offer from American Crew to come onto the team as a Content Creator! I’m going to continue to learn new things as i go and can hopefully become a part of their Education team and begin to teach Young or Older aspiring barbers like myself!

In 5 years I know I will have opened up my own Elevate somewhere else either in the State or In the Country. With the blueprint we are creating here in Orange all of us will be able to continue to open up new locations all over and spread the way of ELEVATE! Like i said previously i would love to become an educator and in 5 years i 100% see that as a possibility. I have been actively trying to gain the notice of a clipper company i can support and really be behind, JRL being my first choice and i pray that within 5 years i will be able to join the power house team that is JRL USA.

If i could turn back time I wouldn’t do anything different, my path brought to where i am today and molded me into the person and barber that I am so I couldn’t say I would have changed a thing! Barber gives me the outlet to meet new people and do what i love everyday why would i change that!

To any barber student just starting out honestly the only advice i can give is never lose your passion, and drive to be better, learn everyday, even after barber school, and from every individual you meet. Travel to shows, invest in yourself, I don’t mean be the coolest looking barber, but invest in your tools, do your research, invest in education, and always go 110% because you never know what lies ahead in this game.