DOWNEY - A Ford feature airing during the World Cup has brought one of Downtown Downey’s most community-minded small business owners into the global spotlight.

The story of Lloyd Vernis, owner of The Pride Barbershop, is not one that is unfamiliar within Downey.

Having grown up in the rough MacArthur Park neighborhood, Vernis would defy the odds of his environment; graduating from high school in 2004 and quickly joining the Marines. His eight years of military service would see him deploy to Afghanistan and across Southeast Asia. Along the way, he would find a talent in cutting hair, eventually leading him to open Pride on Firestone Boulevard a few years after his honorable discharge in 2012. He has since become one of Downey’s leading faces for philanthropy and volunteerism, especially with regards to military veterans.

It's a story that caught the attention of Ford.

“Ford was actually reaching out to do the Hispanic Heritage Month campaign with me, but we ran out of time,” said Vernis. “So, they said, ‘You know what, let’s do something bigger. Let’s do something for the World Cup.’”

The subsequent commercial – which can be viewed on Ford Latino’s YouTube channel - tells the story of how Vernis uses his skills as a barber and his background as a veteran to be of service to the community.

“I was completely honored just to be considered,” said Vernis. “I just told them what I do around the community; stuff that I’m sure they already knew. But, nonetheless, they reached out and they were like, ‘Hey, you know what, we love your story, we love what you represent, and we definitely would like to have a campaign revolved around your life and what you really do.”

“They didn’t want to go with the whole having a bunch of actors; they wanted a real, genuine story.”

While filming, Vernis says that he didn’t want things to be “too Hollywood.”

“I told them, not in an egotistical way, right, but I’m kind of known around the community, so whatever we do, if we do go ‘Hollywood,’ let’s not go too ‘Hollywood’ because I need to be honest with my community,” said Vernis. “That was important to me, to have a commercial, but’s reflective about what I really do. I didn’t want it to be something that’s completely out of context or out of reality; it has to be genuine.”

Vernis says that it’s an honor to represent Downey.

“There’s so many stories like mine, to be honest, and probably even more moving,” said Vernis. “What I get out of this whole movement is how God has trusted me to be on a platform this huge, and trust me with that and say, ‘You’re going to be okay.’”

He adds that he wants to be “an empty vessel” for God.

“That’s what kind of made my stomach move, more than anything…When it kicked in that God really trusted me with this project, that’s something I’ve always wanted to be, just an empty vessel, you know what I’m saying? A pillar in my community, an empty vessel for Him to work through me, and for me to just put out his work,” said Vernis. “I’ve gone through so much; you know what I’m saying? Life and death situations, combat, where I grew up. If He just wants to use me as an example, then I’ll be His example.”