Rising Stars: Meet Diego Gordon of West Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Diego Gordon

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born in Ecuador where I first came to realize I was born to make the world around me more beautiful. As a teenager, my family moved to the United States, and that transition opened up new horizons for me, allowing my love for the arts to fully blossom. From an early age, I was drawn to drawing and painting, winning numerous competitions, with the most significant achievement coming in my senior year. I was awarded a partial scholarship and membership to the Artist Guild, which allowed me to exhibit my work alongside seasoned professionals in monthly group shows. It was during these early exhibitions that I began to grasp the hard realities of pursuing a career as an artist.

Though I considered college, I quickly realized I didn’t thrive in the structured education system. I’ve always been a free spirit—go with the flow, follow my instincts—and the only class I truly excelled in was art, where I reached the AP level. My grades weren’t stellar, and I often found myself in trouble for talking too much. Uncertain about my future, a sudden idea sparked: “I’ll go to beauty school!” It felt like the perfect combination of creativity and social connection, a way to help people feel great while also making art in a more tangible, transformative way.

I enrolled in beauty school right away, juggling full-time work while paying for it myself. Living with my parents in South Florida at the time, I discovered that I had a natural talent for doing hair. I loved the process, the creativity, and especially the interactions with my classmates and clients. I even got my first job at a salon as an assistant, eager to learn the ropes. After earning my license, I moved to South Beach, where my career took off. I became a hair color director at one of the top salons in town, worked at Miami Fashion Week every year, did TV appearances, and taught for brands like Goldwell and Cortex.

Meanwhile, my art career was also flourishing. I was booking group shows in galleries, including one during Art Basel, and painting murals for businesses around Miami. But even with all the success in Miami, I had always dreamed of Los Angeles—the mecca of artistry, not just in the U.S., but in the world. I wanted to make LA my home, but after building such a successful career in Miami and having my family there, I came up with another idea: “I’m going to be bicoastal.”

It was a stretch for a hair artist, but I believed in the vision. So, in 2016, I packed my bags and moved to West Hollywood. Since then, I’ve split my time between Los Angeles and Miami, working at top salons and collaborating with some of the people who inspired my career, like Chris McMillan, owner of his namesake salon in Beverly Hills. My work began to appear on celebrities (though I’m bound by NDAs, you can catch glimpses on my Instagram @godiegogordon). My dreams were coming true, but then came COVID.

The pandemic shut down both of my industries, forcing me to completely rethink my approach. I transitioned into becoming an independent artist, offering personalized hair services in my clients’ homes. This shift deepened my relationships with clients and gave me the freedom to shape my work on my own terms. Today, I still travel back and forth between Los Angeles and Miami, creating beautiful hair and art. Both of my careers require dedication and care, but I’ve found a rhythm that allows me to balance them seamlessly.

I’m always open to new clients, so if you’re interested, feel free to reach out. You can find me creating in both cities every month, continuing to make the world a little more beautiful, one client and one piece of art at a time.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Well I think coming from a different country as a teenager and at the same time learning to love myself as I came to terms with my sexuality was a time in my life I struggled. When you’re young all you wanna do is fit in but I was clearly different, I now understand my uniqueness and is what I love most about myself.
I still struggle sometimes hearing noise from the media and the government against immigrants and people who are different than them. But I’m here to prove some of us just wanna make the world a more beautiful place.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
The most unique thing about me is my point of view and my multiple expertises, when it comes to hair I’m great with blondes, brunettes, balayage, highlights, styling for TV sets, music videos, weddings, etc. When it comes to art I specialize mainly in paintings acrylics in canvas with bold colors and shapes that will make your eyes dance around the canvas.
I’m a very curious person and I gotta dig deep into everything that sparks my curiosity which has made me thrive in beauty and art.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Moving to Los Angeles has been an amazing decision, I think it made me take a step back from how I was doing things artistically and it made me learn to become more versatile and open different points of view and learning how things are done elsewhere, all while staying true to my roots.

Pricing:

• All the art available for viewing on my instagram is for sale, I have pieces starting at $500 and going up to $10.000 pricing varies depending on the size of the piece. I also accept commissions and you can inquire about pricing through instagram @catchdiegogordon or email diegogordoncreations@gmail.com
• For any hair appointments or price inquires you can DM me on instagram @godiegogordon or email me diegogordoncreations@gmail.com

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @catchdiegogordon @godiegogordon

Image Credits
Photographer: Rhonny Tufino @rhonnytufino