Jose Antonio, 55, had worked as an electrician for years until a battle with depression caused him to lose his way in life. He ended up on the streets of Majorca and has been homeless for the past 25 years.
To earn enough money to buy food, Jose worked as a parking lot attendant, helping drivers find parking spots and watching over their cars while they were gone. Everyone in the neighborhood knew the scruffy, but kind man, calling him by his nickname, Josete.
A local salon worker who knew Jose offered to help him by giving him a makeover, hoping that a fresh look would give him a fresh start in life.
He walked into the salon with long, unkempt gray hair and a scraggly beard. Before they started working on him he asked them to cover the mirror in front of him.
“Leave the doors over the mirror open for the moment so I can see myself for the last time like this,” he told them. “Then close them to see if when they open again, it’s as if something else really opened up in my life, like a symbol.”
A video that has now gone viral shows salon workers dyeing Jose’s hair and beard, giving his hair a stylish cut, and trimming up his beard so he looks more put together. They even plucked his eyebrows to give him a more polished look.
After the salon work was done they gave Jose a crisp white shirt, stylish red pants, and some new shoes to complete the transformation.
When they were finally finished, Jose sat back down in the chair and they uncovered the mirror…
When he saw himself he couldn’t believe his eyes – he barely recognized himself!
“My God, this is incredible! Is this me?” he marveled, trying to hold back tears. “I’m so different, no one’s going to recognize me unless I tell them who I am.”
To try out his new look, Jose stepped out into the square where he spent most of his time. He sat down at the terrace bar to order a beer and was amused when the bar owner didn’t recognize him as he ordered.
Several women even stopped to compliment his look, a refreshing change for a man used to being ignored and overlooked.
People were in disbelief at Jose’s incredible transformation.
“I’m lost for words,” Paola Bocardo said. “Jose helps me to park my car every day. When we saw him after his makeover we didn’t recognize him. He’s a wonderful person.”
The Daily Mail reports that, while Jose has since gone back to his natural gray, he has retained his healthier look and has a whole new outlook on life.
Hair salon owner Salva Garcia revealed that Jose has received some financial assistance from a company that wishes to remain anonymous. Now Jose is working on finding a job so he can support himself.
“It wasn’t just a change of look. It changed my life,” Jose said of his transformation. “What I want now is a proper job.”
You can watch the full video of his transformation by clicking below:
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