Joey is a very passionate person when it comes to his family. Growing up in a small town in eastern NC he learned the value of hard work. At the age of thirteen, during his summer break he was found working in the tobacco fields at five AM. No matter the task he was always willing to work hard and do the best job that he could. His determination opened many doors for him along the way.

After graduating from UNCW with a degree in Marine Biology and Theatre, Joey decided to explore more of the world. He moved to Hollywood and after 6 months realized that the “Hollywood lifestyle” was not for him. He then made the choice to move back to the east coast where he knew he could plant his roots. Once back, he worked several different jobs but nothing would quite satisfy what he looked for in a career. That was until he learned all that the hair industry had to offer.

His future mentor told him “You can do anything in hair, from Research and Development, to working behind the chair, to sales, to management, etc.” and his career in hair began! Going back to school at age 25, Joey was one of the oldest in his class, but that only drove him to move faster and gain as much knowledge as he could. Obtaining his license in record time, he then went on to get his teaching license, another true passion of his that he carries into the business.

Fast forward 13 years Joey has been the successful co-owner and business partner of Atomic Salon LLC, which he helped expand from 7 stylist in 2004 to two locations and 20 employees in 2011. Also during this time he found the love of his life, started a family (he now has 2 beautiful daddy’s girls), obtained his glider pilots license, started riding motorcycles, pursued his passion for bass fishing, learned wakeboarding, flyboarding, snowboarding, and just about any other sport that includes a board.

Being such a busy man was wonderful but also lead to many new challenges and not to mention lack of time with his family. With all that on his plate, Joey made one of the biggest decisions to date for his career. In 2014 he chose to break away from Atomic, and begin a new chapter in his life; a chapter that would afford him more time at home with his family. All of this has lead to the creation of Sky Parlor Salon. A place where family comes first and a strong dedication to the craft of hairstyling is still strong. Thirteen years into his career, Joey has found the tables are turned and now he is the mentor, and that is a lifelong dream to a person who has the heart of a teacher.