Yoü By Hü Barber Gallery
Hü Gamit: Showing Love, South of Market
Yoü By Hû Barber Gallery is located next door to the Bayanihan House. In the background are photographs of his grandfather Paulito Gamit, who owned and operated Gamit Barbershop just a few doors down.
Most days in the SoMa you can catch Hü Gamit mobbing his fixie around Sixth Street, and one of the first things you’ll notice is how cleanly and freely he threads through the thick traffic. His ease on these streets comes from his youth: he grew up visiting his grandfather Paulito’s barber shop, on Sixth Street just north of Jessie.
Today, Hü runs the barber gallery Yoü By Hü – located just half a block down from his grandfather’s former storefront. Of course, he’s proud to be carrying on in the family business. And a crucial part of that equation is the space he’s in – to be able to serve the very community that his grandfather helped steward and build.
“I am so grateful for the South of Market community, and I want to affect people in a positive way and help them be themselves. That’s why it’s called Yoü By Hü – I’m helping people feel more comfortable with themselves. Because that’s what my grandfather offered to me. Even though it’s difficult being a person of color in America, I can say that my grandfather’s inspiration has helped keep moving and exploring and finding new ways to help my community and make an impact on the world – just like him. I want to be a light to everyone I encounter, everyone who is open to what I can provide,” Hü says.
Hû’s barber gallery is located just steps from his grandfather Paulito’s former establishment, Gamit Barbershop (now DZ & Y Haircut).
In a sense, the craft of being a barber is secondary to the process: what’s of greatest value to Hü is showing respect and love to individuals and community through his talents. It’s an ethos of care, selflessness, and kapwa that he again credits his grandfather for instilling in him.
“My grandfather really took care of the Filipino community. He set the guidelines and the blueprint for me. And the blueprint is love. It is the one thing that disrupts every negative frequency out here in America. Especially love for yourself. I want to share love, because being in this country, in this society, and these times, there’s not a lot of love being spread … Every day there is something in front of us telling us that we aren’t good enough. Self-love and love is the cure to all of that. If you love your self and are conscious of your growth in that process every day, you are more likely to recognize and respect that process in your neighbor,” Hü says.
Committed to aiding the process of self-love for all the individuals in his community, Hü takes his work extremely seriously. Because he understands that there’s a lot at stake for the people who sit in his chair.
“I don’t just want people to feel good while they’re sitting in my chair – I want people to feel good after people sit in my chair. I want people to feel confident in themselves, so they can pursue what’s meant for them – because feeling good about your self is so important to that. And it reflects in the actions you take, the food you eat, everything. And as people of color, there’s not a lot of messages out there that teach us how to do that. It’s so easy to look at influencers and celebrities, and absorb what they’re putting out, and I think that creates a sense of detachment. I just want to be the one to have a positive impact on people, and open their minds to the possibilities they have within themselves. Because no one else is going to do that for us out here – we have to do it for each other,” Hü says.
Hû often checks in with Tita Tess at JT Restaurant, looking to grab some Filipino favorites and a side of business advice.
Still years shy of his 30th birthday, Hü possesses a notably clear-headed perspective of the stakes for his community, and accordingly considers his role in the community to be a duty as much as a small business.
“We are all here for a purpose. Every person you encounter every day is a chance to be a light to that person. If I lock eyes with you, I am going to say hi. If you don’t say hi, that’s cool, I don’t know what you’re going through. But every moment is a possibility to impact someone’s life. I try to make impactful actions every moment of the day … whether or not I’m working at the shop. I’m just complimenting the Creator’s work – we are all made divine. That’s why I’m on Sixth Street right now. This is where my people put me. And I love it. And that’s something I grew up with in San Francisco in the 90s – a culture of diversity and respect for diversity, and love for people,” Hü says.
That’s why, despite irreversible, perhaps unfortunate shifts in the story of San Francisco and the South of Market, Hü continues to lead with love – his grandfather’s greatest lesson.
“I still love the City. I love Sixth Street. There’s so much negativity, so much chaos in the world, but I am at peace with in my self. And that’s what I try to offer with my chair – an oasis of peace for people to feel at peace with their character and who they are. I always remember my grandfather smiling really passionately about his shop and his life on Sixth Street. You just have to look for and find the positives. It might take some time. But it’s worth it.”
Artwork by ET IV featuring Hü and his grandfather Paulito Gamit.
Catch Hü at his barber gallery, Yoü by Hü, or on the SoMa streets mobbing his bike!