At age 5, Jacob Leatherman got a pair of dance shoes and his first blow dryer for Christmas. He was ready for his future.
Now 34, Leatherman spent 12 years as a professional dancerin Los Angeles, Las Vegas and on board cruise ships.
"As my knees started to give out, I knew it was time to move on to something new," he said, laughing. So, in 2008, Leatherman went to cosmotology school, which lasted about 10 months. "I knew that I wanted to be a hairdresser. One of my best friends at the time was working on [some TV shows] and I was assisting him; he was a makeup artist.
"Moving into this field was a natural progression."
Leatherman has lived in Chicago for about five years and now calls Lake View homeand that's where he now works, too.
In May, after about four months of planning and construction, he opened a new salonBLOWN by bocaj, which is his first name spelled backwardsalong North Clark Street in Wrigleyville.
"I've always known that I've wanted to own a business," said Leatherman, who formerly worked at other area styling centers. "The blow dry caters to my aesthetic, my style. It's in line with what I like, what my passions are."
He also is a makeup artist, "and I wanted a one-stop shop for women for beauty," he said.
BLOWN offers five specific blow dry services, each named after the women who inspired him the most.
A portion of every service goes to charity, he said. And Leatherman is planning a major fall event, including a fashion show and more, which will be a fundraiser to launch a nonprofit he plans to start, ideally to aide women and LGBT youth.
BLOWN encompasses 800 square-feet upstairs and another 400 square-feet downstairs ( for an office and a spray tan facility ). The facility was formerly another salon, but when Leatherman negotiated the space in January, he immediately gutted it. The remodeling took about six weeks to complete.
"I wanted to create something that is classy," said Leatherman, whose facility has six chairs for stylists and he eventually wants to have 10 or 11 stylists on board at the store.
Wednesday nights at BLOWN are men's night, which launched in June, featuring an in-store DJ and a bartender for beer, bourbon and $35 haircuts and $15 straight razor shaves. Men's nights are catered to those from Boystown and Wrigleyville.
BLOWN has a staff of 11, including five full-time. Of the 11, six are openly LGBT.
"This is a dream come true," Leatherman said. "It's been quite a year."
Leatherman said he will host events and parties at the facility, such as girls-night-out parties. Plus, he's planning fun, kitschy events to introduce Boystown to Wrigleyville, such as events with drag queens, he said.