Reginald "Champ" Watson
Goode Looke's Barbershop
Interview captured in 2018 - (Published 2022)
Meet Champ
For almost 4 years, Reginald “Champ” Watson is a barber I’ve only been superficially acquainted with. Usually a man of little words, Reginald surprised me when he volunteered to share his personal story for this project. A shy and mild-mannered personality, Reginald surprised me when he enthusiastically agreed to interview with me. This connection was sparked by my curiosity about the old boxing gloves and belt festooned above the mirror behind his barber chair. I wondered how this grizzled and harmless man lived up to his namesake, the “Champ”. Although his age hinders him from being the barber he once was, Champ is well respected by his clients, his colleague barbers, and the community. On any given day, you can see Champ playing Pacman, playing dominoes with his clients, or waiting in his chair for new customers to show up. Behind the smoky mustached smile exists a man who’s fought personal battles outside of the ring,and constantly experiences challenges outside of the barbershop
Champ was born in the Third Ward. He says that his grandmother claimed that he was born under Highway 45 and Scott Street. Although he admits that this tale of his birth is unlikely, it paints an illustration of just how much he’s connected to the Third Ward.In fact, he’s made his home on the very same street of his alleged origin. Growing up without a father, he spent most of his life in this community, fending for himself. I was shocked to discover how young Champ was when he started his boxing career. His interest in the sport took hold at an early age, due in part to inspiration of Muhammad Ali. It also became a necessity for self-defense against neighborhood bullies.
Before you were a barber, you had a career as a boxer. When did that begin?
I started boxing when I was very young; when I was ten years old I liked Muhammad Ali. I used to watch him all the time, and shadow box in the mirror. My mother said, “what are you doing!” and I told her “I’m boxing.” She told me “you can’t box.” I told her that I like the way that Ali boxes, so I’m gonna box. I used to do boxing exercises, running round’ in the street. Kids around the neighborhood would see me practicing, and I actually used to get picked on a lot for it. They’d say, “he thinks he can box, but he still can’t fight!”
One time my neighbor saw how the kids were picking on me and suggested I should test my boxing on them the next time it happens, just to see how it feels. So, the next time the kids tried picking a fight with me, I would use my boxing skills to fend them off. It became easy; it became something for me to do.
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Could you share with me some of your successes in boxing?
Well, I did pretty good. I boxed from age ten to about twenty-one, winning the Golden Gloves, and Open Division Championship. I wonthe Regional Amateur divisionin 1979. I don’t exactly remember my record because I fought in over one hundred fights as an amateur boxer. But I fought about three years of my career in professional boxing, compiling a record of thirteen wins, six losses, and one tie. My biggest accomplishment was winningthe Texas Lightweight Championship in 1983. I retired when I was twenty-one.
Reginald Watson made his semi-professional debut on April 2, 1981 at age eighteen after nearly eightyears and thousands of rounds of boxing in the junior circuit. He was defeated in his first two matches against fellow boxer, Eddie Martin. After experiencing failure during his debut, Champ went on to win his next six matches, four of them via knockout. Champ’s boxing career granted him the opportunity to travel across the state of Texas In Champ’s community, it was almost unheard of for young people to be exposed to towns and cities outside of Houston. In totality, Champ’s sported a career record with a thirteen and six win-loss record and was defeated in his final match on September 13th, 1984.
Spending most of his adolescence in the ring, Champ struggled to find his voice. Trading blows for thousands of rounds during his youth would have lasting effects on his mental and physical health during his late adulthood. Even though Champ earned his high school diploma, finding a career after boxing proved to be almost an impossible task. Without any real direction, Champ was suggested by a friend to join the police academy. After scoring well on all of the exams at the academy, Champ realized that his mild-mannered and kind personality didn’t bode well with his colleagues.
What did you do after your boxing career ended?
After I retired from boxing, I went to the police academy in 1984. I never wanted to be a policeman, but a friend suggested that I should become a cop. In the academy, a lot of my colleagues would pick on me, saying that they were trying to make me tough. “I’m already tough,” and I told them that I used to be a boxer. When I told them, they said that since I was an ex-boxer, I could do very well as a cop. I could use my experience to rough people up on patrol. “You need to show them thugs who you are,” they told me. “you run this city the way that YOU want to run it!” I didn’t agree with this thinking; using and abusing my authority. So, Iresigned from the police academy, and started selling drugs.
After Champ left the police academy, his life took a vicious turn. As a young and unemployed Black man during the 1980s, Champ became a victim and perpetrator of the crack-cocaine epidemic. Initially, Champ was reluctant to share his story of being a dope dealer. Later on, during the interview, he changed his mind, revealing that telling his story helps him to amend his troubled past.
So, you went from the police academy to dealing drugs? What influenced you to make this drastic transition?
An ex-girlfriend of mine told me about a fast way to make money. She loaned me a cut, and I started selling crack-cocaine. I never used drugs. I never sold drugs before. Before selling, the only thing I knew about it was that my brother smoked crack. I felt guilty sometimes about this.
The money was quick, and easy. I started learning how to make more money by cutting up my product, cheating people out of their pay. I was also cheating my girl, whereas I was splitting the cut sixty-forty with her instead of fifty-fifty. People would ask me, “why would you sell drugs, and your brother is on drugs? You’re not even a drug addict!” But I was addicted. Addicted to selling it. Addicted to the power. You can easilyget as addicted to selling drugs than using them. When I sold drugs, it was like being in the ring again. People needed me. It was the same feeling of power that I felt during my boxing career. The crowds, the cheering; I felt that same adrenaline every time I would sell drugs.
One thing that still haunts me is how easy it was for me to use and abuse my power as a drug dealer. For example, women who were on drugs. would do anything for drugs. They’ll do you, they’ll do each other, anything for some drugs. The power was incredible. I felt so guilty sometimes, that I wanted to get caught. To end it all. When I finally got caught during the late 80s, the cops looked up my record and found out I was in the police academy. “You used to be good, and now you wanna join the bad boys,” they joked. I personally knew one of the cops from the academy days. It was kind of embarrassing being in this situation.
Champ’s experience with drug trade presents a more empathetic perspective on participants of the drug industry. We often gloss over the fact that those who fell victim to the crack-cocaine epidemic were ordinary people. Many Black people, like Champ, struggled to find their niche, so turned to the most accessible trades available at the time. Champ shared with me that his childhood goal was to become a professional boxer.
However, like most professional sports careers, the avenue to success is narrow and unlikely for most of its pursuers. This is not an excuse for Champ’s predicament, nor is this an apology for Champ’s decision to sell drugs. Rather, Champ’s uneven match against the drug industry tells the story of a man searching for purpose. As he mentioned in the interview, being a drug dealer granted him a sense of power in his community. This rush was like the confidence he felt in the boxing ring. Just like the audience acknowledging his bravado in the ring, addicts would flock to Champ for their next high. Even though allhis hopes of returning to the ring were over, his addiction to selling drugs reflected his longing to be important again.
Champ’s involvement with crack-cocaine landed a haymaker on his hopes of ever finding a conventional job. Luckily, he had experience cutting hair from his garage when he was teenager. His familiarity with clippers proved advantageous in 1989 when Champ graduated from barber school. After experiencing success in the hair industry, Champ effectively rewrote his narrative. He bought a house and car, and even built a family. On the exterior, Champ’s story could be considered one of the biggest comeback stories ever told. However, as he got older, Champ’s history in the ring caught up with him.
In addition, Parkinson’s and depression affecting his performance in the barbershop, Champ’s family life proved tumultuous. While Champ supported his immediate family, he constantly felt pressure to financial carry his wife’s family. According to Champ, this led to a falling out in his marriage. Caught cold by his health and family life, Champ’s physical strength began to decline.
Champ competes in continuous contender matches against depression, loneliness, and finances. Champ is the headliner of a continuous boxing match against a formidable challenger, Parkinson’s disease. From age eleven to twenty-one, Champ traded blows with dozens of opponents across Texas, boxing in thousands of rounds over the course of his career. His doctor warned him about the onset of Parkinson’s disease that would affect him in the latter years of his life.After ten years of competitive fighting, Champ decided to call it quits.
How severely has your previous boxing career affected your barbering skills today?
Boxing slowed my motors skills. My doctor told me that Parkinson’s wouldn’t take an effect on me until I was older. I feel it now. I used to be quick with everything. When I first started cutting hair, I would cut three or four heads in an hour, and now I can barely manage maybe one to one-and-a-half heads. I’m not upset about it, because I’m older now. Haircuts were also much cheaper back then, going at sixto seven dollars per cut. Now haircuts cost twenty because of inflation.
For the first six years, I worked at seven different barbershops, and sometimes two different shops at the same time. I would also go to group homes and cut hair, wearing myself thin. It was easier to move around like that when I was young, and I kept busy so that I could save money and make life easy for myself. I don’t have the energy that I used to have, but my mind is ok. It’s hard because I live by myself. I have foursons; onefrom a previous relationship and threefrom my ex-wife. I haven’t spoken to my oldest son in three or four years, even though I’ve reached out to him many times… I shouldn’t be living the way I’m living right now. I’m living day to day. I receive social security for my Parkinson’s and cut hair to take care of the remainder of my living expenses.
Champ is not the barber he once was. In addition to surviving on social security checks to support his health bills, Champ’s customer count has shrunk due to Parkinson’s disease. Despite his personal struggles at work and at home, Champ finds solace at Goode Looks. He’s the oldest barber working at this shop, and he rarely misses a day to be amongst his band of brothers. Champ shared with me that the amount of respect and camaraderie that he feels at Goode Looks has helped him to, in his words, “keep on keeping on.” This is a common term frequented by Black people to describe perseverance despite the obstacles that life presents.
What has been the biggest difference in your career today in comparison to the 1990s? How do you like cutting hair at Goode Looks?
When I was younger, I had more consistent customers. I do however have a customer who comes to me for a haircut since 1989. I first cut the father’s hair, and later his son’s hair. They followed me to all nine shops I’ve cut at my entire career.
Goode Looks has been the best shop I’ve cut at my entire career. I don’t as much as I used to, but I help the guys out. They deeply respect me here. They treat me like I’m their grandpa. Sometimes when I need something to eat, they take care of me. Of course, I get discouraged sometimes, because I’m not as good as I used to be. One time I felt like giving up, and the fellas here told me, “don’t give up Champ! We need you here!” Most of my customers are usually old guys now. The younger barbers here encourage me to continue. The brotherhood at this shop… it keeps me going. Cutting hair helps me to deal with my Parkinson’s too. I gotta stay active. Otherwise, I’d be at home, shaking and depressed.
Champ’s daily therapy comes from being amongst the brotherhood at Goode Looks Barbershop. He shared with me that he’s spent more years at Goode Looks than any other shop. As an eyewitness to Champ’s interactions at Goode Looks, I can attest to how he benefits from being there. Multiple times, I’ve seen him laughing and joking with the other barbers. When new customers arrive, his fellow barbers shout, “Champ, you got action,” encouraging them to go to Champ for their haircut. To conclude the interview, I asked Champ how he would define the Black Barbershop, and how it affects the Black community.
In your opinion, what role do barbershops have in the Black community?
Barbershops are where boys grow up to become young men. We encourage them to stick to football and basketball, but most importantly, we encourage them to stay in school.
I try to use myself as an example to them because I myself tried to make it in professional sports. So, if they can’t become successful in sports, they can at least have a career to fall back on. Barbering saved me from the aftermath of my boxing career. Being a professional athlete is not for everyone. I built a life for myself when I became a barber.
©BARBER TALK
NARRATIVES FROM THE BLACK BARBERS OF HOUSTON’S THIRD WARD and 1 Other Unpublished Work
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