In remembrance of my friend, colleague and competitor

- Wallace "Wally" Roberts, CME from Naples Florida -

Wally Roberts, a big man with a big vision and a big heart.

My business relationship with Wally began over 30 years ago; however our story is one that changed our lives forever.

Both Wally and I thought that there had to be a better way to remove unwanted hair. Wally’s career and mine have had many parallels. We had been in the permanent hair removal business for 30 years, are mothers were electrologists’ and even owned their own schools. We owned clinics and colleges in electrology and laser…and we both wanted to escalate our chosen profession, electrology, to its highest regard.

Wally and I had experimented with lasers as early as 1987, however these types of lasers did not work as well as we would of liked. One did permanently remove the hair, but also permanently remove the pigment, collagen, sweat glands, oil glands, etc...

In the early 1990’s we were both in correlation with the Japanese, the Italians and some physicians in Boston, in regard to laser applications. Wally called me late one night and said he had found a laser that he thought would work for permanent hair removal. He had observed it at Mass General and had them fire the laser on his arm. I immediately had Wally fly out and show me the information that he had found. I believed in Wally because of his dedication to the electrology profession. So much did I believe in him that I flew to Massachusetts and I purchased that laser for $170,000. That purchase and the belief in a fellow professional changed my family and my life from that point on. This purchase literally made us both millionaires.

Wally didn’t have to share his knowledge, his insight or the particulars of the laser. But he unselfishly provided me with what he had found to work. It did not stop there, as throughout the next decade he continued to make available accurate knowledge concerning lasers and their applications.

I know for a fact that I wasn’t the only one in the permanent hair removal profession that benefited from Wally’s loving support. What makes this story even more unusual is that we were each others competition…but he looked beyond that and gave even more.

What separates the men from the boys is that Wally utilized his immeasurable experience, his vast education and his business savvy to get things done. His colleagues, his peers and his competition admired him for his robust attitude.

Thank you Wally and please rest in peace. Lorenzo, his staff and family -