Shiny personality: Skills, gift of gab fuel C

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Larry Hairston will place you on a pedestal. Granted, you’ll have to step up there yourself, but the chair is comfortable.

By the time you step down, Hairston guarantees two things: The first is that your shoes will absolutely glow, looking brand new. And the second:

“If you’re not in a good mood when you get here, you’ll be in a good mood when you leave,” he said.

The owner and operator of Brand New Shine has set up shop in Springfield, working every first and third Tuesday inside Blu Styles, located at 223 E. Commercial St. Hairston, 68, has close to three decades of experience cleaning and shining shoes.

It doesn’t matter what kinds of kicks are on customers’ feet, he’ll shine them — from nubuck to patent leather. He is unafraid of suede, and even seeks out sneakers to make them squeaky clean.

Hairston has established some custom techniques and methods — he applies polish by hand, for one. The natural oils of the skin on Hairston’s hands act as a conditioner for the leather, he said.

Much like a bartender from “Cocktail,” he can spin and toss his brushes during a shine. He spoils his customers with something he calls a “foot massage” — a series of thumps and taps on the top of the feet wearing the shoes being shined.

What really makes Hairston stand out are his stories. Blessed with the gift of gab from his father, he listens to customers and shares stories from his past.

“These ain’t stories, it’s true life stuff,” Hairston said. “I have so much fun with this job, it just shows. I can’t help it.”

A native of Springfield and a graduate of Central High School, Hairston moved to Tulsa after starting work with Burlington Northern Railroad as an electrician. He eventually followed that job to Dallas. About 27 years ago, he got tired of the job, which he said felt more like being a pack horse than an electrician.

That’s when he discovered shining shoes. He invested in the unique platform used for shoe shining and learned everything he could.

Hairston built a career working inside office buildings in downtown Dallas. At first he would work in different buildings, working out deals to operate in the dead spaces of lobbies that didn’t otherwise generate any revenue.

He approached it like a ministry, he said. At the time, he was teaching Sunday school, and started approaching shining shoes the way Jesus washed others’ feet as recounted in the Bible.

Eventually, Hairston got to where companies would hire him and pay for his entire day in order to shine their employees’ shoes, he said.

“It became a ministry,” Hairston said. “I’d be silently praying over them while shining their shoes. It got to the point where I couldn’t wait to go to work.”

He even got his three children involved, including son Travis Johnson and Treanna Giles. His daughter, Kayla Hairston, was particularly skilled at the trade — as Hairston pulled both ends of a polishing cloth in a way that made a thumping sound, he said Kayla could make a popping sound louder than a gym rat snapping a towel in a locker room.

Business was good. Then the COVID-19 pandemic happened.

As offices in Dallas shut down and employees stayed home to work, Hairston’s customers disappeared. Hairston made business work the best he could, and attempted to get some of the business loans offered from the federal government. He was never able to secure one of the loans, however. After a year, with a mortgage pressing and foreclosure looming, he sold his home and moved back to Missouri.

“There were so many questions about whether people would come back, and whether they would be distanced or masked,” Hairston said. “I saw the writing on the wall. I couldn’t wait on them to call me back, so I got out.”

Hairston now lives in Hartville, Missouri, about an hour’s drive east of Springfield. He lives on a farm where he can wake up at 2 o’clock in the morning, light a fire, roast hot dogs and howl at the moon, he said, laughing. He can easily go out to a creek, catch a fish and fry it right there on the bank.

“There’s nothing like a fresh catch,” he said.

He has been getting his shining chops back, as well. His skills went unused for almost two years, he said, but he’s getting back into it. He is also building his business to reach more customers.

In addition to his two Tuesdays at Blu Styles, he is available for special events such as fairs, fundraisers, birthday parties, office promotions and more. He also can help people with minor shoe repairs.

Business is not yet as good as it was in Dallas, he said. Springfield does not have the same kind of economic epicenter, but Hairston wouldn’t trade his current situation for the world now, he said — even with business getting back to normal. He recently hosted a family reunion in Hartville.

“In the big city, all they want to do is get something from you,” Hairston said. “I’m with friends and family here.”

Hairston and Brand New Shine is available by phone at (469) 416-7663.

Joe Hadsall is the education reporter for the Springfield Daily Citizen. Hadsall has more than two decades of experience reporting in the Ozarks with the Joplin Globe, Christian County Headliner News and 417 Magazine. Contact him at (417) 837-3671 or [email protected]. More by Joe Hadsall