A Shining Presence in Stamford

Christian Montanez just wants to make people look good while they're walking down the street.

The 19-year-old can be found on Bank Street, polishing to a shine the shoes of many a pedestrian traveler just out front of Montana For Men on Stamford's Bank Street.

The Norwalk native took up his post at the beginning of summer, operating the independent stand after another job fell through when the shop he was set to work at was perpetually delayed.

"It's just a nice service to offer," said Montana's Michael Warde, who moved to Connecticut form Ireland 25 years ago and has owned the shop for 14 years this past April. "It's not necessarily making me any money, it's just something nice to offer and it lets the person running the stand make their own money."

Montana For Men is a barber shop and salon hybrid. Warde spent a number of years styling hair in Greenwich for both men and women and found both salons and barbershops lacking for the professional men of the area. He wanted to offer services similar to a salon - the appointments and structure with high-end appeal- while offering the skill to specialize in men's hair that a salon might not be able to provide.

Montanez works for his own customers, paying nothing to Warde for his presence, and provides all the goods used for the service, though Warde does supply the chair. Come the fall, Montanez will be focusing on basic courses before applying to the University of Connecticut to attend for digital animation.

"I'm going to [Norwalk Community College] in the fall, and I wanted to get experience and save up some money before I went to school," he said. "Sometimes it can be slow, sometimes it can be really busy."

On his own, Montanez has built up a customer base that sends him approximately 30 visitors a week, he said. When asked if he likes the job, he laughs. He said he enjoys talking to all the people that come to his chair and hearing their stories—and, of course, the money.

"I like the tips," he said. "People tip you for effort. When I first started, I probably wasn't very good. I went home and started watching YouTube videos about techniques and talked to my dad, who was a Marine. He gave me a lot of good tips as he was pretty much an expert at shining shoes."