June, 2017
O n e M a n ’ s Pa s s i o n : O n e L i f e
OneB
eing passionate about something is like a hunger you cannot settle—it starts with a small idea, then becomes the center of your interest. Until
you achieve it, it grows into something that
Man’s Passion
One Life
| By: JACQUELINE AGUIRRE photography by: JOHN HORTA |
drives you to attain it. Passion sometimes transpires from a dark place, but it allows you to shed the lingering negativity.
Dion J. Castro, whose life shifted in a positive way after graduating from Lady of the Lake in San Antonio, attended school on a sports scholarship for basketball, making it a priority with academics falling to the wayside. Dion received a letter from school announcing a possible academic probation. This, and other struggles caused Dion’s downfall. With time off from school, Dion realized that he needed motivation to get back in control. A blessing in disguise, “a wakeup call” as he described it, was what he explained was needed to overcome the situation. Through this, and the help of a teacher, Dion dedicated himself to school, taking the mandatory 18 hours and graduating in the spring of 2015 with a 3.5 GPA as a new, positive, highly motivated person. “It was the process that I needed to go through to shed that old me or the skin that had been dragging me down. It was the process that allowed me to get the mindset that I have now, where I view struggle as temporary,” says Dion. Returning to El Paso, Dion began his first venture in youth basketball training. He set up shop in an eastside location while maintaining a job at the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce. Dion knew there was something more. He took the plunge and bought a barber studio after a deal was struck with the previous owner. Initially viewing the barber studio as a business that could run on its own, Dion was surprised to find that he was heavily involved in revamping the studio after taking it over. Engaging with his employees to build quality customer service, Dion’s focus is to treat the barber studio as a company. “It was a lot more beneficial than I could have ever anticipated, it was individual growth,” says Dion. Through that individual growth, gained through the studio and his job at the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce, Dion ventured onto a new idea that had been developing in his mind: One Life. Dion explains that while drinking “the competition,” an idea for an energy drink came along. With a desire for a strong
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