Salon owner hasn't forgotten what it's like to be homeless

Debbie Council • Special to The Desert Sun • May 22, 2010

Nov. 17, 1990, will be etched in Michael Ahmeti's memory forever.

The then-17-year-old and two friends escaped communist Albania through a hole in a border fence along the river at 1:30 a.m.

Gunshots were fired. They were chased. They ran for their lives for 45 minutes. The next day they turned themselves in to the Greek police.

Ahmeti, the man with blue eyes who these days can be found behind the chair at Salon Montana in Old Town La Quinta, is thankful to be alive and living in the United States.

"We found out in a two-mile area 23 kids died that night. So we were the only lucky ones to survive, basically," he said.

For four months he was homeless in Greece. He had no money. He didn't speak the language. He stole food from the same market every day, the owner taking pity on him, Ahmeti said. He slept on the streets but would sneak into a hotel to shower.

He looked for work every day and finally found a job picking oranges. For 25 cents an hour, he worked 12-hour days, making just enough money to buy food.

Now whenever Ahmeti sees a homeless person, he can relate.

"I have a sensitive spot for homeless people. I've been there, seen it, done it," he said.

"It just reminds me to appreciate every second of my life. If I see a homeless person that needs help, I bring them in, clean them up and send them home. That's who I am."

On most Thanksgiving mornings, Ahmeti cuts hair for free at the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission in Indio.

A member of the Oasis Life Training Center in Mecca, he has helped the church with donations of food and clothing when he has time.

"Life has been good to me. God has been good to me," he said.

He found his niche cutting hair as a teenager.

He trained in Italy and France. After two years, he moved to Boston and got his license as a stylist.

"It's just one of those things that I got into, to be honest. I guess I love women too much," he said.

He moved to Malibu and obtained his California license and had a successful career for 13 years working in a salon.

He wouldn't name names, but he's trimmed the locks of a lot of celebrities, saying they're just normal people like everyone else.

"To this day, people are still driving down here (for haircuts)," he said.

He got married and left Malibu to move here, wanting more of a family lifestyle. He and Shiloh are expecting their first child Dec. 6, but he's hoping for Dec. 4.

"It's my first day in America. I'm rooting for that day so bad," he said smiling. "That would be huge. That would be so big for me."

His citizenship as an American was the greatest day of his life, he said.

"America, it's the greatest country on the planet. There's not another country like it," Ahmeti said.

On a recent Wednesday he was cutting La Quinta resident Curtis Barlow's hair. The executive vice president and partner of Coldwell Banker Commercial is on his third haircut with Ahmeti.

Barlow said Ahmeti is an easygoing kind of guy, and he does nice work.

"He's very conscientious," Barlow said.

Ahmeti has owned Salon Montana for three years. He admitted to being shy and quiet, something most people wouldn't expect. But once he's behind that chair, he's in his element.

"It's been an amazing year for me. I'm a blessed man," he said. "I love doing what I do. If I can make one person each day make their day, I've completed my day.

"I just love people. That's my happiness."