Football comes first for LSU senior defensive end Lewis Neal. He gives 100 percent on the playing field and the practice field. But when practice ends at 6 p.m. every night, Neal heads over to his hair salon.
“I come in every time I have a chance to come in throughout my schedule,” Neal said. “Whenever I get a free opportunity to come by, I always stop by.”
Neal gets his hair cut frequently at the Hair Factory, a hair salon he co-owns on Nicholson Drive.
Balancing football and entrepreneurship can be challenging, but he makes it work with his business partner.
A partnership that began after a chance meeting during his freshman year.
“I walked around one day and she saw me,” Neal said.
Neal wasn’t interested in hair styling, but he was interested in creating a business.
So he jumped at this unexpected opportunity.
“That’s how we became friends,” Neal said. “Gaining that relationship to where we can eventually do business together because she found out that I was an entrepreneur and I had that spirit.”
A spirit and drive to succeed off and on the field.
Neal recorded 55 tackles in his final regular season as an LSU Tiger. He registered 5.5 tackles for loss, including 3.5 sacks.
Though his time at LSU is coming to a close, he’s thankful for the opportunity to wear the purple and gold.
“That’s one of the reasons why I came back,” Neal said. “Just to enjoy and cherish the moments. It’s a great feeling to play for a university like LSU.”
Neal and the rest of his teammates will find out their bowl destination on Sunday.
He wants to go out with a bang.
“At the end of the day, that’s my last game in a uniform so I just want to cherish that moment with my teammates,” Neal said.
After the season wraps up, Neal will have more time to manage the hair factory.
His partner intends to let Neal take full ownership when she leaves for Canada in February.
“We’ve been contacting people that we trust, just so we have the right people in the shop,” Neal said.
Though he will have his hands full with the upcoming NFL draft, Neal wants to make sure his business is running smoothly.
Neal plans to keep the Hair Factory open for another 30 years, long after he steps off the football field.
“You’ve got to grind because no matter what, you might be busy, but you have time,” Neal said.