YOU BUILT
THE CLIENTELE. NOW BUILD
YOUR LEGACY.

1995

The Foundation

Entered cosmetology school and began the professional journey.

From the beginning

1998

Licensed Cosmetologist

Became a licensed cosmetologist and continued developing the professional hair work that would become the foundation of my career.

Early professional work

1999

Locs Find Me

My first loyal loc client pushed me to apply professional hair principles to retwisting — including roller-set logic for longer hold.

2000

First Salon

Partnered to open Growing Hands Salon — my first move beyond my own chair.

2005

Shop Owner

Opened Dreadful Thoughts, my independently owned LOC shop — building clientele while training locticians inside the business to meet my standard.

2008

Published + A Warning

My LocStyling reached magazines and a larger audience. My first ankle break also showed me my career couldn't depend only on my hands.

Published work

2009

From The Book To The Show

At the World Natural Hair Show, people knew me as “Yonni from the book.” I revealed Lil Man and sold my first educational products: a poster and tutorial DVDs.

World Natural Hair Show • Knowledge becomes product

2010

Enter YouTube

My first LocStyling slideshow appeared on a new platform: YouTube — and reached approximately 50,000 views in one week.

2011

The YonniRed Show

Opened The YonniRed Show Salon & Dreadlock Training Center and launched my YonniRed YouTube channel.

2012

Reality TV + #TeamYonniRed

Produced Yonni Red Reality TV. A second ankle break stopped the next show. #TeamYonniRed became my stamp on stylists trained in my LocStyling movement.

2013

The Sensei Era

Hybrid hands-on training let me teach through real appointments and build the 90-day Master Loctician Course. Senseis create masters.

Touring • Hybrid • Master Loctician Course

2014

The Z-Stitch

Released my original Z-Stitch, adding another original technique to the LocStyling work I had been developing, publishing and teaching.

Original technique

2017

RedLoctician Academy

Established RedLoctician Academy, my official online academy, and released my first book, The Art of Retwist.

The Art of Retwist

2019

Hair Beyond The Salon

My LocStyling appeared in J. Cole's MIDDLE CHILD music video on my client Marcus “Drizzle Dollar” Jenkins. That year, my work also appeared in Black Hair Sophisticates and Black Beauty Magazine, and I was flown out to service loc'd members of the Buffalo Bills.

2020

The COVID Effect

COVID changed what I taught. Technique was no longer enough. My education expanded into business, multiple income streams, marketing, pricing and positioning — helping stylists build beyond doing hair.

2021

Locs On The Bigger Screen

Through my client and model Al-Teron Williams, my LOC work was appearing in television, film and national advertising — including P&G's Widen the Screen. At a time when locs were still underrepresented on mainstream screens, my work was helping put them in view.

2023

Replace Your Paycheck

I discovered a different part-time stylist: seasoned professionals asking, “How do I repurpose the career I already built?”

Replace Your Paycheck

2025

Full Circle

On April 16, 2025, my basketball-hoop LocStyling resurfaced and went on to reach approximately 12 million views — another wave of visibility for work I had created years earlier.

Full Circle • 12M Views