They are each other’s mannequins. They wake up from matching beds, shower, slip on identical outfits and make sure every strand of hair is perfectly in place.
Twins David and Joseph Lee said they are simply embracing their inner twin by maintaining this daily routine. Every day, their jet black hair is styled in a “mo-flare” — in the front, it’s a mohawk made with a generous amount of ultra glue extreme hold product and a touch of hair spray for support; in the back, their hair hangs loose, forming a sort of flare.
However, David and Joseph weren’t able to dress alike while growing up, due to financial problems. They started to dress alike when they started college.
“We were made for a reason,” David said. “We’re twins. We’re on this earth to be doubles. We like to embrace it.”
The sophomore theatre arts performance majors are searching for their break in acting. For as long as they can remember, their dream has been to star in a Disney Channel show.
“We like to inspire little kids,” Joseph said.
“We want to help them go to the right path,” David continued. “Some kids look up to us and they call us the ‘swagger twins.’ Their positive energy keeps us going and motivates us. We want to help them out.”
David and Joseph have had their moment in the limelight. They appeared on “Wipeout” and won $2,000. They were also audience members for “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” and won $250 each for a Best Dressed category.
They are also taking more serious steps toward achieving their goal of being Disney Channel stars. They’re working with actors at the California Repertory Company at Cal State Long Beach.
“[The actors are] really inspirational,” David said. “They’re helping us out right now. They’re putting up a portfolio of our pictures that will help us with finding other agencies.”
The twins hope this will lead them to their “big break” in acting.
However, along their journey to fame, the twins have encountered a few obstacles.
Still, they said every challenge has helped them in learning how to be independent.
When David and Joseph were in the ninth grade, their father left the country. Their mother, distraught, then moved in with their aunt.
They said the absence of parental figures was difficult when they would participate in sporting events or talent shows in grade school, but they remained positive and relished the support of their friends and teachers. They said they still talk to and love their parents despite the physical separation.
They learned to take responsibility for themselves by cooking, cleaning and getting jobs.
Now, David and Joseph work at Church’s Chicken, but they are never assigned the same shift.
Their jobs, and financial aid, have helped them build their wardrobes, buy a car and fund their education, with the hopes of becoming stars.
“We know each other’s emotions and we know when to pick each other back up,” David said. “We’ve been through a lot, but at the end of the day, we’re always going to be there for each other no matter what. Hopefully we can reach our goal and become movie stars.”
Now that they’re in college, the twins can be spotted riding their scooters around campus, but mainly around the Beach Hut and the theatre department.
According to the twins, their scooters help them explore the large CSULB campus.
“We know that a university is a big school,” Joseph said. “And our classes are so far. But if you have your handy-dandy scooters, you just zoom and you’re in class. And you’re never late.”
Even their scooters match.
In addition, they have dreams of living in a “twin house” in the future, and maybe even having a “twin wedding.”
The only times they say they don’t, or wouldn’t, dress alike are when they sleep and when they finally land their own television show.
There are also a number of differences between the twins.
Joseph is right-handed and more athletic. David, who is 15 minutes older, is left-handed and more scholarly.
Joseph has a mole on his stomach, and David has a mole on his back. They said their mom would rely on these distinctive moles to tell them apart when they were babies.
David said he and his brother are always willing to meet new people and network. They said they want to bring a smile to people’s faces, and cheer up anyone who may need it.
David said, wherever he goes with his brother, there is always at least one person who wants to take a picture with them. Joseph agreed, saying that they feed off the positive energy of others to make their day better.
“I think being alike makes us individual,” David said. “It’s not like we always do everything together … we have our own separate life. We go to work, we do this and that, like he’ll hang out with his group of friends, I’ll hang out with mine, but at the end of the day, we’re just twins.
“We just like to embrace it,” he continued. “We’re that one-of-a-kind twin.”
Disclaimer: The Daily 49er is not responsible for Postings made on www.daily49er.wpengine.com. Persons commenting are solely responsible for Postings made on this website. Persons commenting agree to the Terms of Use of the website. If Postings do not abide by the Rules of Conduct or Posting Regulations as listed in the Postings Policy, the Daily 49er has all rights to delete Postings as it deems necessary. The Daily 49er strongly advises individuals to not abuse their First Amendment rights, and to avoid language suggestive of hate speech. This site also encourages users to make Postings relevant to the article or other Postings.