HOUSTON — Houston barber Julian Diaz, or JD as he's known, was on the verge of losing everything when last week's deadly storms tore through the city.
"I've never been through anything like that," he said. "These walls were shaking and we thought this roof was going to come off."
Some of his clients include Texans players past and present, including quarterback C.J. Stroud.
After the derecho passed, much of his Spring Branch shop, Empire Barber Studio, was destroyed. He was left without electricity but he still counted his blessings.
"Just for us to be alive, I think, is great. Just for everybody to make it out," Diaz said.
The weather turned an ordinary day into a life-threatening event.
"We were just thinking this thing was ... the top was going to come off and we're just going to have debris flying everywhere," he said.
JD was inside the barber shop when the powerful winds hit, knocking down an awning outside his shop that fell on a car that had pulled over to get out of the blinding rain.
"This whole thing just came down," he said. "Luckily, that guy is alive."
JD said good Samaritans and emergency responders showed up shortly after the debris settled on the ground.
In the aftermath, his customers are pulling together to support him. JD thinks it will take months to get back on his feet, but after cutting hair in the parking lot for several days, his power came back on. He said cutting hair in the heat is nothing new for him.
"It just takes me back to when I used to cut hair in the garage and, you know, it was hot," he said. "It was hot in the garage back then. It was nothing for me."
He wants everyone to know that he's still standing and will rebuild.