Stay Planted: Turning Ordinary Work into a Life of Extraordinary Purpose

Barber Victor Fontanez turned a pair of clippers and a garage into a stage that would touch millions. Now he shows readers that greatness doesn’t require a spotlight—it just needs to be rooted in something deeper than yourself.

Victor Fontanez (aka "VicBlends")—renowned barber, entrepreneur, and cultural connector—is known for his viral videos offering free haircuts and deep conversation to strangers. Now, in Stay Planted, Fontanez welcomes readers into his chair and into his life. Through raw stories of lessons learned on his journey from a small town to the world stage, he shares his philosophy and offers inspiration for turning an ordinary career into a life of lasting purpose.

With the same humility and charisma that built his loyal following, Fontanez invites readers to embrace mindsets of resilience, clarity, and drive. Each of his principles come alive through the defining moments of his work and personal life—finding mentors who lit the way, building a platform against the odds, overcoming the mental health challenges that tested his strength, and countless others. At every turn, he emphasizes the power of discipline, faith, accountability, and imagination—and the truth that it’s what you do that matters, not where you start.

More than a blueprint for success, Stay Planted is a call to become someone who can’t be shaken. It’s for anyone who’s ever reached for a dream, questioned their purpose, or searched for what's next. Ultimately, Fontanez shows us that a purposeful career isn’t something you find, it’s something you grow.

Eric Thomas is a loving father to his two children Jalin and Jada, and devout husband to wife DeDe of 24 years. A critically acclaimed author, world-renowned speaker, educator, pastor, and Audie Awards Finalist, ET as he is better known, has taken the world by storm with his creative style and high-energy messages. His words have already impacted millions of people in several hundred countries across the planet! His recent tours in Australia, London, and Africa have truly transformed him into a global phenomenon!

Drawing from his own personal experiences dealing with homelessness, not knowing his biological father, scholastic struggles, and various other obstacles, ET allows his life to be an "open book" from which radiates dynamic and inspiring messages that many people across all barriers relate to.

Not letting his scholastic struggles stop his growth, after 12 years, ET received his Bachelor's degree and in 2005, a Master's Degree from Michigan State University. Having already blazed a trail of community service initiatives such as his award nominated GED program, his critically acclaimed non-profit, Break the Cycle I Dare You, and a multitude of other educational and ministerial endeavors, Michigan State University is where he continued to pursue his passion to remedy the effects of adverse societal influences by developing the Advantage Program, an undergraduate retention program targeting high-risk college students. It is from

this platform that he initiated International Urban Education Consultants, a non-

profit committed to finding solutions to close the achievement gap in urban schools through goal framing and helping students to reform their perception of learning.

ET is currently a dissertation away from receiving his PhD in Education Administration. As a consultant of Michigan State University, ET is the epitome of hustle, drive, determination, and success and when coupled with a vision, millions of others have been able to unlock the secrets revealed in his award nominated autobiography, The Secret to Success, which has scaled the social media charts with over 50 million hits. Trailing closely behind his hit premiere release is his sophomore project, Greatness Is Upon You. Both titles can be found on the label of his publishing company, Eric Thomas and Associates Publications.

As CEO of his Consulting Firm, ETA LLC., Eric has led his team through the doors of dozens of Fortune 500 companies and other reputable organizations such as General Electric, Quicken Loans, AT&T, Nike, Under Armour, New Balance and UPS. He has also consulted for major Universities, sports teams, and affiliates such as the MLB, NBA, NFL, the University of Michigan, Duke, North Carolina, and dozens With Eric's persistence of higher education, along with the knowledge of life's pains, he truly is a living testament that "When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you'll be successful."