FACES. | ANTHONY NOGUERA
Anthony Noguera | Culture Control, Another Vintage Expo, The Fairground Flea.
eightonethree. | Culture Control is both a barbershop and a vintage retailer. How did those two worlds come together under one roof? (touch on entrepreneurship)
Anthony Noguera | It really came from my lifestyle, honestly. When I started piecing it together, I was thinking about how to include different parts of myself in a way that could also connect with other people. Fashion was always a big part of that for me. Even before it became a business, I would show up to work wearing unique pieces. Really cool fits and shirts people couldn’t find anywhere. People would always ask me, “Where do you even get that?” or *“I like how you put that together.” That kept happening over and over.
At first, it was just me collecting. I’ve been a barber for about 20 years, and that lifestyle gives you the freedom to be yourself, dress how you want, move how you want, and bring your own energy into what you do. Vintage was just something I genuinely loved. But once people kept asking questions such as where I got things, how much they were and I started to realize it could be more than just a personal interest. That’s when it clicked for me that this could actually be a business. Something I enjoy, and something I could really build and live off if I took it seriously.
eightonethree. | Having lived in Tampa for most of your life, describe how the city has evolved since you first moved here? (Talk about the areas within tampa that have influenced you the most)
Anthony Noguera | I grew up in Town ’n’ Country, which is a heavily Hispanic neighborhood. When I first moved there, there honestly wasn’t much going on just palm trees, sand, small spots for food. But at the same time, it had its own kind of charm. That area ended up having the biggest impact on me because that’s where I went to middle school and high school. As I got older and started exploring more of the city, I realized how rooted I really was there. And as Tampa has grown, I feel like I’ve grown with it. At first, though, I didn’t like it. Moving from New York, from Queens, it was a huge change. It felt slower and just completely different from what I was used to. But over time, I started to fall in love with it through the culture, the music, the parties, the people. I began to see how unique Tampa really is.
I’ve lived all over the city, Town ’n’ Country, West Tampa, South Tampa, Carrollwood, and each area has its own vibe. That’s one of the things I appreciate most about Tampa: it’s made up of all these different pockets that come together to create something special. For me personally, I always gravitate back to what I love, the Hispanic culture, the food, the community. Colombian food, Cuban food, that’s really home to me. That’s a big reason why I don’t see myself leaving.
eightonethree. | At what point did you realize the shop could be more than just a physical space. Talk about another vintage expo building community and the fairground flee.
Anthony Noguera | When I first got into vintage and started thinking beyond just barbering, I felt like I was searching for a different kind of community. I had grown up around hypewear and sneaker culture, and while that was always a part of me, I wanted something that felt more personal, something that really meant something to me. So I started traveling to different cities, going to events just to source and flip pieces. I went to Houston, Miami, Atlanta, New York all before anything like that really existed in Tampa. Through those experiences, I started to see what a real vintage community looked like. When I connected with my partner, J.D. from Hellbilly, we both realized the same thing, there was nothing like that here. We were leaving the state just to find our people. That’s when it clicked for us: Tampa needed to build its own culture. We looked at each other and said, *“If no one else is doing it, it has to be us.”* We knew what we were seeing in other cities, and we knew what Tampa could become. The city deserved its own culture. So we started small. We pulled together about 20–30 vendors we already knew and put them all under one roof. From that first event, we knew we had something, it went better than we expected, and we could feel the energy.
After about a year of doing smaller events and dealing with the challenges of finding locations, we decided to think bigger. We went to the fairgrounds, and that changed everything. It showed that we could not only build something for the city, but also create something big enough to bring people in. For me, it was always important to build from within. A lot of times, cities bring in outside vendors and spend money outward. There’s nothing wrong with that, but my goal was to keep that energy and that money circulating within our own community to grow something that really belongs to Tampa. Since then, we’ve just continued to build. And the biggest thing is, we’ve had a community behind us from day one, people who believed in it and helped it grow into what it is now.
eightonethree. | People see the crowds and the vendors at your events, what’s something behind the scenes that most people don’t realize goes into organizing your events
Anthony Noguera | It’s actually crazy when you think about it, it’s really just a two-man team, but we’ve been able to put together events that bring in thousands of people. Luckily, my partner comes from an events background. He’s worked on hotel events and knows how to structure everything, the layout, spacing, logistics, all of that. On my end, I focus on the other side of things: signage, staffing, promotion, marketing and all the behind-the-scenes work that people don’t really see.
Because at the end of the day, anyone can find a space and set up vendors. The hardest part is getting people through the door and making them care about what you’re building. Right now, vintage is having a moment, so you see pop-ups everywhere. But that wasn’t always the case here. A lot of that growth came from us laying the groundwork early on. One thing that’s helped us is our experience. Between his background in events and me being a business owner, we understand what it takes to actually execute something at a high level. I’ve also been intentional about building a tight team of photographers, graphic designers, staff, security, all people I trust, many of them friends I’ve brought on. I like to keep it close-knit. At the same time, we’ve been focused on growing everything organically. Not just making it a good experience for the people attending, but also for the vendors. They’re really the backbone of everything we do and without them, there is no event. So for us, it’s about taking care of that community and making sure every event runs smoothly for everyone involved.
eightonethree. | How would you describe the current state of Vintage and fashion specifically within Tampa right now?
Anthony Noguera | Within Tampa, it’s an interesting space because the beauty of vintage is that everyone is into something different. You’ve got people into furniture, others into ’60s and ’70s rock, some into workwear or military pieces, and then the younger crowd is really tapped into Y2K right now. There are so many lanes within vintage, and that’s what makes it special. As for Tampa specifically, it’s in a really cool place. Fashion as a whole feels like it’s shifted toward self-expression. People aren’t worried about fitting into one box anymore and they’re mixing vintage with high-end designers, blending eras, and creating their own one-of-one style. Before, it was about wearing a certain brand, and you might show up somewhere and see someone in the same thing. Now, it’s more about individuality and how you put pieces together in a way that reflects you.
Vintage plays a big role in that because it lets people pull from different eras or reinterpret them in their own way. It’s dope to see how people style things and what resonates with them. In Tampa, the vintage scene is still growing. More people are seeing what’s happening and trying to be part of it, and the goal for us is to help push those people forward too. Florida in general has some of the best sourcing right up there with places like Texas and New York. There’s a lot of untapped inventory, especially with older generations who don’t always realize what they have. So the community really gets out there and is digging through garages, hitting rag houses, really putting in the work. There’s definitely an abundance of vintage, but as demand grows, sourcing is getting harder. That’s why Tampa is such an interesting place right now and it’s becoming a real hub. I’d like to think we’ve played a role in that, and it’s dope to see more people contributing and building the community.
As for me personally, I’m a pretty quiet guy. I’ve always been about business. But honestly, my sense of humor has taken me further than people would expect. I’m comfortable being in the background, being the one putting in the work without needing recognition. I do this for myself just as much as I do it for the community; these are dreams I’m actually trying to live out. More than anything, I think people should take the time to learn from others. I keep myself open to everyone and their experiences. I’m a student of whatever I’m into. I like to reverse engineer things, break them down, and build them back up in my own way based on what connects with people. At the end of the day, I love what I do. I’m happy with who I am, and my main goal is to push the culture in this city forward.
eightonethree. | Looking ahead, what are you building toward next that people should be paying attention to?
Anthony Noguera | Right now, I’ve been focused on renovating the shop and expanding the space and really growing the vintage side of things. I’m also trying to elevate the quality across the board, especially when it comes to the pieces we carry. More than anything, I want to build a bigger and better creative space for people. It’s something I wish I had when I was coming up. Everybody knows there are gatekeepers in every scene, and I never wanted to be that person. With Culture Control, the goal has always been to create a space where people can truly do their thing and not just the established names, but the ones on the come-up too. I was in that position before, and I know how hard it is when you don’t have access or support. I had to take the longer route because of that, so now I try to be that resource for others.
On the events side, we’ve got some really exciting things planned. We’re starting to expand beyond just clothing and bring in more elements of culture, music, food, art, and everything. To me, the brand is an extension of who I am, so I want our events to reflect all of that on a bigger scale. We’ve got The Fairgrounds coming up, and we’ve also collaborated with Ink Mania, the tattoo convention. This time, we’re expanding it into a full two-day experience. The goal is to create a full weekend where we’re mixing different crowds. That's always been a big mission for me. I like bringing together things that don’t traditionally make sense and finding a way to make them work. For example it's really important for me to push my latino community forward in Tampa.
We also have three major events planned for this year, along with some smaller, more curated and laid-back ones. Some of those will be at my friend Michael Vahl new art gallery on 7th Avenue in Ybor, so I’m starting to expand more into that area as well.
Overall, I’m trying to tap into every corner of the city. We’re going to keep building both large-scale events and smaller, intimate ones, because not everyone wants the same experience. At the end of the day, it’s all about getting people to support the creatives who are putting in the work and building something real in this city.
