When a young Leon Porter was arguing with his mom that local football stars don’t attend cosmetology school, he had no clue that his mother was instilling values in him that would one day put him in the national spotlight.
Today, Porter is the CEO of Healthcare Cosmetology, a group of cosmetologists who travel in the Pee Dee to shampoo and style the hair of people who are confined to a hospital for long periods of time.
Porter’s dedication to the cause of offering a bit of dignity to people who are undergoing a stressful time in their lives recently landed him a spot on the Fox Reality television show, “Real Heroes Among Us.”
“It came about after my wife wrote in to the show,” he said.
Porter said she sent in a letter without letting him know, then a few weeks later he got an unexpected phone call.
“To my surprise, they called me and I had no idea what was going on,” he said. “There’s this guy asking for my wife and I didn’t have any idea what was going on.”
Porter said he hopes his appearance on the show will get the word out about Healthcare Cosmetology and get more people to donate to the cause.
“When patients are incapacitated, our service is there,” he said.
The production crew for the television show arrived Friday morning to follow Porter as he made his rounds through Carolinas Hospital System’s Cedar Tower.
“It’s a half-hour magazine style show hosted by Larry Jones and we profile ordinary people doing extraordinary things,” Carlos Aguilar, segment producer for the show, said.
He said the Porters’ organization was easy to film because they just had to follow them around for the day as they cared for others.
“He is a perfect example of somebody using their abilities to help somebody else,” Aguilar said. “We celebrate everyday heroes because people have an inflated notion of what it means to be a hero.
“You don’t have to run into a building or pull somebody out of a swimming pool. You can just take something you are good at and share it for their benefit. Leon is very good at that.”
Porter said looking back, he is glad his mother convinced him to enter the world of shampoo, cut and curl, because it allows him to make a difference in the lives of others.
“I’m very grateful my mother encouraged me to (go to cosmetology school) because now this is what it has grown into — being a voice for the patient, helping them to get the services they need while they are in the hospital,” he said. “They are receiving the medical care they need, but the hair and scalp has buildup and that takes a toll on them.”
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