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Transforming Men's Skincare with Pretty Boy and Their NEW Gel Cleanser Launch · Skin Anarchy

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_02: Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of Future Anarchy.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_02: This is your host, Ecta, and I'm really excited about this specific episode because I feel like, as most of you know, we never talk about skincare for men and the male space in this industry enough.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_02: And I know that we there's a lot more awareness now, and people are kind of buzzing a little bit more about it, but I mean, even then, I just never see options.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_02: So when I do, I I try my best to host as many people as I can to come on.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_02: And the brand that we're hosting today is truly stand out in this space.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_02: And I think you guys are gonna really love this episode.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_02: So without further ado, I want to introduce you guys to the founders of Pretty Boy, Ben Faze and Kevin Naoff.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome to the show, Ben.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_02: Kevin, I'm so excited to host you.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for having us.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: We're very excited.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: And you already touched on in the intro, I think there's a lot of unique kind of components to being in the market specifically for guys and what's been going on historically there.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: So we're, you know, very excited to talk about that and what we've been doing and learn more from you.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: We always love talking to people smarter than us and kind of figuring out if you think our approach is good and how you would communicate certain things.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: So super excited.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we're pumped to be here.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: And I think we learned before the call, we're all from Ohio, so we think this is gonna be a good episode.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: Midwest is the best, right?
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_02: Midwest is the absolute best.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_02: I love that you guys are from the Midwest because you know it's such a nice balance.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that we just talk about things in a different way.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm excited about that as well.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_02: But I I want to actually ask you guys to tell us a little bit about the backstory.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_02: You know, what led to the creation of Pretty Boy?
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_02: I know that um it's a very personal story and you guys have personal experiences that led you here.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_02: So if you could share that with us.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: So it's a really, it's a really fun story.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: I think like a lot of different companies, you know, it started out of a personal problem and trying to find a solution for that problem.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: You touched on it.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, you know, we've both had our own journeys with skin.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: Kevin has uh sebreac dermatitis, so a form of eczema.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, that can cause some nasty flare-ups, some discomfort.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, a lot of insecurities can come out of that.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I think for so many people, and myself included, who struggled with acne when I was younger and sensitive skin and harsh, irritating prescriptions.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, your skin is kind of that first thing other people see, your face is that first thing other people see.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: And confidence is such a huge thing, especially, you know, it's cool to see mental health become bigger for the male perspective.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, obviously, you know, got a lot of guys struggle with it early on, especially going through puberty.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: Now this got kicked off.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: So Ben and I, best friends from college, met freshman year at Ohio State.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_01: That's um, actually, Ben mentioned, you know, he grew up with bad acne.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't have any skin issues growing up, fortunately.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_01: So I never really had a skincare routine like most guys outside all the time, you know, wasn't putting on the SPF, wasn't washing the face.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, get to school at Ohio State.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: So I was playing football at Ohio State actually, my freshman year, and started getting some pretty red breakouts all over my face.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: And at first I thought it was just like an infection, you know, not cleaning the pads.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, got so bad, you know.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: I eventually went to my mom and sister, the women in my life, hey, what do I do about my skin?
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: They give me, you know, 10 different products.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, I'm not gonna bring this in the locker room.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not gonna honestly sit with this routine.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: It's too long.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I need something, you know, quickly put it on and go.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_01: And eventually, you know, that didn't really help.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: And I went to the dermatologist, was uh diagnosed with sabriatic dermatitis, like Ben said.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: As you know, not a cure, but you need a really high quality skincare routine.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's kind of what I got behind the curtain of what is skincare all about?
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, let's just get down to the basics, let's keep it simple.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: Use high quality products, that cleanser, that moisturizer, and you know, that SPF.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: Fast forward 10 years, uh, COVID hits.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: You know, Ben and I both moved out to uh Los Angeles doing medical sales.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: We always wanted to start a business together.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, COVID hit.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_01: We I go home, take this online course on how to start an ecom business.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_01: And we're like, you know, we both struggle with our skin issues, both going to dermatologists.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_01: There's not really a skincare brand that kind of speaks to us as individuals, active males, but has the quality that our dermatologists would actually recommend.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of male, you know, it's a hot industry right now.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: People are jumping in, and it's, you know, every male brand I would bring to my derm, they'd be like, I'm not letting you put this on my face.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, maybe there's something here where we can actually build a brand around, you know, something that fits our personality, something that guys want.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: Men and women, you know, skin is skin, as you know, but we're different consumers than women.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we want different things out of skincare.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: So where's that brand that is high quality, you know, has that performance, those high quality ingredients that the clinical community would back, but it's really built and catered around what men specifically want to skincare.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: So we went down that path about four years ago on how to really create that brand that, you know, has the texture that makes guys want to actually wear it every day.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_01: It's not that thick, oily texture.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_01: We did a ton of survey data prior to see how to build a product specifically around guys and what their top concerns are.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, simplicity, less is more.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: Let's get down to the basics.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: You don't need a five to 10 step routine, right?
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: If you have the right multifunctional, you know, ingredients, you can really consolidate these products.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: Guys don't want more than three products.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: And then, you know, it comes down to uh a brand guys can kind of align with.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, we kind of take on that like Nike of skincare.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody wants to be, you know, they say Nike, but you don't think of just shoes, that inspirational, aspirational lifestyle brand that guys align with, but wanted to have some fun with it too.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_01: We took on the name Pretty Boy, what used to be a negative connotation 10 years ago in Ohio.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: We kind of wanted to use that as a feel for our brand.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: Everyone's working out eating healthy.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_01: So um kind of have some fun with it.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: And we're all modern day pretty boys now.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_01: So started four years ago, launched it two years ago with our one product, put a ton of time.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we're keeping it simple, putting a lot of effort into each product, each, you know, every ingredient um when we develop it.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: And uh yeah, it's been uh it's been a ton of fun and you know, fortunate to see some good success uh early on.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's so cool.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_02: No, I love that you guys created this brand the way you did, though, because I think you made a really, really interesting point, you know, Kevin, when you said that you know, guys want a different type of product, you know, and that's a truth that this industry for some reason hasn't really embraced from what I've seen as a consumer.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_02: Because I I have like my even my fiance, my guy friends, my colleagues, they'll tell me straight up, they'll say, I love the idea of protecting my skin and and doing products using products that I need, but I hate the texture of most products.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_02: And that's like genuinely just like I didn't even do the survey, you know, analysis that you guys did.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_02: I just from talking to people, I've understood that there is a a different set of needs, you know, that men have and that, you know, as consumers they're they're looking for if they want to actually, if they're gonna actually stick to a regimen, right?
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_02: So it's like there's so many multifaceted points here when it comes to creating skincare for the male demographic.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I think that there's a lot to be said about, you know, we all want inclusivity in the in the industry, and that's wonderful.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_02: And I think your brand definitely speaks to that because I love it.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_02: You know, as a woman, I love it.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_02: Your products are wonderful, they feel amazing, but also it's like we have to understand what men want before we just start creating brands, right?
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_02: That are like, oh, well, this is a male-friendly brand, which I'm seeing a lot of these days, you know.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_02: I think you touched on that too, Kevin, like how people are kind of jumping on that bandwagon now, you know, where it's like, oh yeah, male-friendly skincare, let's all do it.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_02: But it's have you done the research?
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_02: Like, have you, you know what I mean?
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_02: Like, have you looked into what they want?
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_02: You know, so yeah.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: And it's so funny when you see like all new brands pop up every day.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_01: And credit to Ben here.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: We did so much due diligence.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of people want to build that brand and you know, initially to start and but put these products out exactly on what they want.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we built the brand around all the data.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_01: We did all the data first.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_01: And it was funny, like you said, and this is just from our personal experience.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I don't want to wear thick oily creams or mix up my face feel like a mask every day.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_01: I had to do it because of my you know, skin issues.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: But that was like the number one thing that came up is guys want something lightweight, non-greasy.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_01: They don't want something thick.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_01: And that's why we kind of came out with a gel.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: And it's, you know, our dermatologists have been saying, I'm sure you've been saying it too the best skincare product is the one that you're going to use every day.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_01: And it's all about consistency.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: This is stuff doesn't happen overnight, just like working out and eating healthy.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: And there wasn't a brand that was really taking into consideration what guys want and also having the quality behind it that the clinical community would actually back.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: And we see these brands pop up all the time, and we're just like, oh, are they really asking their customers what they want?
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: Because we see the multi-the-the five or more products in the routine, they're all thick and you know, oily.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_01: The ingredients, you know, Ben always makes the comment like, you've never heard of them.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_01: They look like it's from like extracted from some crazy frog from the rainforest.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: You know, there's no clinical data behind it.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_02: And no, it's just a bunch of fluff, like it's marketing.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_02: Like that's really what it is.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, let's be honest.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, half this industry now has turned into a marketing gimmick, you know what I mean?
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_02: So it's like, I I completely I get behind that 100%, you know, and I first tell our listeners that when you're really, you know, when you're buying a brand or if you're looking for a product for yourself or a specific person in your life, like you do have to understand like what obviously what are their skin needs, but then also like what is that experience gonna be for them, you know?
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that's we've talked about this, but it is a really genuine point to make and to really understand for us as consumers, but also just overall is that, you know, skincare is self-care, obviously, but it's not just about that, it's also about sticking to something, it's about building a habit.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_02: And I feel like so many men fall off this train because they're not being like actually, you know, catered to as consumers, like they're not being addressed correctly.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_02: And I it makes me so sad to see that because even, you know, even when it's with something like a cleanser or a moisturizer, doesn't seem like a lot.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_02: But if it's gonna make someone feel like they're wearing like, you know, something that they don't want to wear on their face, they're never gonna come back to it.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_02: And so their skin is in in the long term, the health of their skin is gonna suffer, you know.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_02: So that's where I feel like there's really a white space that that needs to be addressed here in this industry.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that you guys are really kind of doing it perfectly because, you know, you have the product that needs to be there.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_02: That's that's really what caught my eye with Pretty Boy was that it wasn't like you said earlier, it wasn't like five or six products.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_02: It wasn't, okay, let's go on the website and here's some more confusion for you.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_02: It's just right there what you need.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_02: And also for the women that are listening.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_02: And if you have like, you know, a son or you know, your husband or anything, it's easy for you to shop as well, because then you can say, okay, well, they I know they're gonna stick to this because it's been actually used by men, you know, and they they actually use it, they you stick to it, they like it.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_02: And that's something huge.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_02: And I just don't see that in the industry.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_02: So I want to ask you actually, one of my biggest questions is really about the ingredients and how you guys approach that.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_02: Because I mean, there are definitely physiological differences in the skin of men and women, and especially when it comes to things like acne or you know, any kind of uh pathology, there's an actual difference.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_02: So when you guys were crafting the products, I mean, what was your kind of approach to that?
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, phenomenal question.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: I think it all started with kind of a hypothesis that Kevin already outlined is like, how can we make something that guys will want to use?
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: Let's start there, and then what are the things that guys are most focused on?
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: So, like those top skin concerns, and then going to a clinical team and saying, Hey, this is our desired state.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: So our desired state is that something is very lightweight and blends in immediately because Kevin already covered it.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: Guys have more texture, more texture sensitive than a lot of females.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: From there, we knew that guys wanted simplicity.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: So we had to find ingredients that had a lot of multifunctional benefits.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: And then from there, it was can we put all of these ingredients in one product that is going to lead to an overall simplified formula and simplified routine?
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: So targeting the top concerns that guys face, which we found to be dry skin, sensitivity and irritation, things relating to the beard.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: So beard itch, razor burn.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, 70% of Americans identify as sensitive having sensitive skin.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: So we needed it to be very, very gentle, uh, not only for Kevin and the people that fall into that eczema, rosacea, more like topical skin condition crew, uh, but the people who just overall have more sensitive skin.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: It was very important for us to kind of meet all those needs.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: And so we went to the clinical team and basically just asked that question like, can we can we put together a formula that uses enough of these multifunctional ingredients, some of which we had researched, some we, you know, they brought to us that is going to allow us to confidently make the claims that guys want to see and that guys are looking to target and have impact for, but then do so in a routine and a product that's simpler or more simple than the other ones that exist.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: So reducing the total qual quantity of things you have to put on your face, and then that feels really good.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: And guys want something that's refreshing, they want something that blends in.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: And so uh the short answer was yes, you can do that.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I think you see that reflected um in our ingredient list, things like niacinamide that has many, many different benefits.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, it can, you know, target skin tone, it can target irritation, it can target, you know, bright or uh brightening the skin.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: We look at things like glycerin and panthanol and a bunch and hyaluronic acid, a bunch of very hydrating ingredients that also are gonna provide some anti-aging benefits with how they physiologically interact with the skin and plumping out various different uh wrinkles and fine lines and stuff like that.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: And then ceramides, again, from the anti-aging piece.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: It was, you know, ceramides is a great hydrator, but it's also gonna repair the skin barrier.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna physiologically impact the skin at that level.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: So for us, it was more of this like, how do we get the best ingredients that serve multiple purposes?
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you do that, then you see the way that other brands market things like eye creams and aftershaves, and you go, wait, these are all the same ingredients.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: Like, why do I actually need another product?
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: Is it functionally different or is there a marketing story behind it?
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: And you already touched on that.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that was kind of like the way that we targeted it.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: And like Kevin said, it was less about us saying, Oh, this is the way it has to be done.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's more this is the outcome that we have to have.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: How do we get there?
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, I mean, I feel like that makes so much sense too, because you know, one of the things I really appreciate about your formulation is that it's, you know, it's about just getting the really good ingredients in there, you know.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_02: And I think everything that you listed off, it's just like to me, they're staples, you know, in a good skincare product.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that that's where a lot of times um I see a lot of products and the ingredients don't even make sense scientifically.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_02: Even if you know what they are, it just doesn't add up.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_02: Like you don't need 50 ingredients, you know, on the ankylist.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_02: Like you, there's absolutely no need.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_02: And so I think it's very important to actually kind of uh address that is that you know a lot of the skin concerns that men might want to be targeting, they're gonna be addressed by things like good humectants, niacinamide, like you had said, you know, these are big staples, you know, and they're absolutely phenomenal, like tried, true, you know, tested ingredients.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_02: So I think that's really smart that you guys did that because, you know, sometimes I I often see, I mean, as women, we like I can speak from my viewpoint, we like the extravagant, you know, ingredient lists and stuff.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_02: And we want to have that whatever it is that we're thinking, we just impulsively buy.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_02: Let's be real, you know.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_02: So at the end of the day, like when you see results, I won't lie to you, the results that I see from products are the ones that do stick to the tried and true ingredients.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_02: That's the bottom line.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: That's a phenomenal point because one thing I just want to touch in on that is like in this world, and Kevin and I, you know, sports guys, so we you know often use sports analogies, but it's kind of like the like back to the fundamentals, like the blocking and tackling in football, where it's like you can always try to get more creative.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: You can come up with these proprietary new blends.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: They are gonna take time to study, they may or may not end up working, or you can say, you know, how we're how we're gonna innovate is actually by going back to the fundamentals, by back to the foundation, say we're innovating by meeting the customer where they're at, not by coming up with the newest marketing story to tell you that may or may not work.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: And so for us, it was doing the tried and true.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, why we don't have to go out and find new ingredients.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: There's a bunch of ingredients that dermatologists love and that have, you know, copious amounts of literature and research done on them, and you can actually confidently say that they will live up to the claims you're making.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: And for us, that was more important than going out and developing that marketing story.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: The marketing story comes from the results, like you just said, and guys, as consumers, especially, are not going to buy something that doesn't work.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like we just had we started it, it has to work.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: We have to be able to make these claims with confidence.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: And we've done a ton of post-purchase surveying that shows that we each each new response we get allows us to be more confident, more aggressive in our marketing because it's actually backed by the experience, not just by some fancy words that come on a marketing sheet for like a new ingredient.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_01: And I think on that, too, that's like where we kind of found the white space in the industry.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we're kind of saying this clinically lifestyle brand, you know, there was obviously a lot of male brands coming out and just plopping male marketing on, you know, maybe private label products.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_01: You look at the female industry, there's a ton of different high-quality brands putting out great skincare products, but also have that brand that kind of aligns with, you know, the female's real cool branding.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_01: And we didn't really see that for us.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, taking that heavy focus and trying to set this new standard in men's skincare as it's um blowing up.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: We want more brands to pop in the industry that to give guys more options.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but having those products that you know have high quality ingredients are built the way that men want, and then you know, have that brand that guys can align with.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_01: There's the reason that we chose these ingredients, there's a reason that Cervive and Nutrogene and a lot of these big brands are kind of sticking to the basics using these um tried and true ingredients that you guys mentioned.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah, it's kind of part of the reason we chose those.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we went after the eczema.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_01: We want people to know that we're putting, you know, every ounce of effort into building the highest quality product for our consumers.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_02: No, I think that it's such an interesting space because, you know, with men's needs in terms of skin health, I always like, you know, I remember like even before I started the podcast, you know, people would ask me, you know, just because I'm their friend or something as a girl, you know, they'd be like, hey, can you recommend a product for ingrown hairs for my beard or something, you know, or something like just little things that would pop up right randomly and I would be like, I don't know, you know, I have I don't know.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_02: And it was crazy to me to like now I look back on that and I'm like, how did we not address that for years?
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_02: Like we didn't even like talk about how there are real needs that men have on a daily basis that are very different than what women experience, you know, it's like like we we don't have any products like that.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_02: So to then have a space, like a white space, and then fill it with fluff, it just doesn't make sense to me.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_02: Because at the end of the day, you're not making solutions when you do that.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_02: You have to make solution-oriented products.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_02: And so when I look at the ingredients that you guys mentioned, and you know, I'm I'm thinking about them even from the clinical standpoint, those do make sense for those needs, you know, when it comes to like ingrown hair and or acne or any of these like things that occur, these are basic things that will help clear up that space.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_02: They will clear your pores, they will make sure that the texture is, you know, evened out.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, there's just it's almost like I don't know why this wasn't common sense before.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_02: You know, that's what I'm trying to say.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_02: It's really exciting.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_02: Now you mentioned the eczema seal.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_02: Can you tell me a little bit more about that?
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_02: Like, were you guys very like you knew from the beginning like you wanted to get something on the market that was going to be safe for, you know, like eczema prone skin, or was that something that just you realized like your product is really well suited for that?
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, obviously, the why, you know, me being diagnosed with sabriatic dermatitis, you know, it's kind of a big reason on starting the brand and obviously with benzacne, but not having a product that me as one of the founders couldn't use.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_01: Ben mentioned the 70% of Americans that identify with having sensitive skin.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_01: We we know we needed a product that I need to use.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, a lot of people have sensitive skin, and the goal is to create this product that majority of men have a high chance of being able to use.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_01: Skin is skin.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_01: You know, some people say this is gonna work for everyone.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_01: We're never gonna say that, as you know, that every skin is different.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_01: No product will work for everyone, but we wanted to give ourselves the best chance and also showcase hey, this is um very high quality product.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_01: It's super hard to get to go through a lot of the trials.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you can only use the safest ingredients, you can't use anything that is gonna be harmful for skin, fragrances of that sort.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_01: So um, you know, me struggling growing up, having, you know, kind of losing confidence, having the red breakouts on your face in college and not really knowing how to handle and not knowing which products you go through an aisle.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_01: There's a million different products, it's kind of hard to because guys don't have the knowledge in skincare, and that's something we're trying to build, what products you can use and trust be cool off the shelf.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_01: So it was really uh important for us to go out and get that skill to showcase the trust uh to our consumers that we really put in the time that this is a safe product for your skin.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_02: I love that.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_02: I love that you did that though.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_02: That's why I uh I wanted to actually ask you because I think that that's really important to like, you know, obviously you m you made a great product, but then you have to make sure that people can use it, you know, and eczema is something that right now it's interesting to me as a physician because it's kind of becoming an uh a really big problem.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_02: You know, people are kind of reporting more cases are being reported now more than ever.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_02: And so it's very interesting to see how people are coming out of the woodworks and saying, hey, yeah, I do have really uh serious concerns, you know, and I and I can't shop a lot of products.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_02: So it's very cool that you guys kind of have this inclusivity built in, even though you're a male focused brand.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_02: It's very built in for anyone out there that if you do have you know sensitive skin, eczema prone skin, you can still use the brand.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_02: You don't have to be just a male to use it, you know.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe uh the girlfriends can steal their boyfriend's skincare for once.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_02: So it's it's cool.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: We have seen not only that one, that does happen.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: We actually have a pretty, it's not too substantial, but like an increasing female base.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: Not only they like the texture and it goes really well under makeup, but because the ingredients are so high high quality, because it's so gentle, you know, anyone can really use this.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I think also just the last point on the eczema piece of things is that, or the seal is, I don't know if you're seeing this now, it's like every single brand is going and getting that seal.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: So the market is seeing what you just said, which is that eczema cases are going up.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: And we were seeing that when we went to apply for the seal.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: But I think that people are starting to realize that even outside of it being an eczema specific product, that seal gives a certain level of credibility.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like Kevin said, the process to apply is very stringent.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: You have to go through, you know, multiple different rounds of reviews from a clinical team and make sure ingredient list check the boxes and that your RIPT scores are, you know, in favor of it supporting the masses from like a sensitivity standpoint.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_00: But also it just gives a certain level of credibility to a product, having a clinical designation like that.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, I think one thing we've had to, you know, had to combat at times is people who say, oh, is this only for eczema?
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: And it goes, no, like the story there is like if you have eczema, now you can feel confident it's safe for you.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_00: Even if you don't have eczema, you can feel confident that there is a high likelihood that this is not going to irritate your skin in any way because it's only using some of those most scientifically studied gentle ingredients.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: And so you're you're just kind of stacking the cards in your favor to have a good experience with the product.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, that makes sense.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_02: And and you know, it's interesting because I think that that is a big reason why people are probably also experiencing, and I've thought about this a lot, is they're probably experiencing this because they're overdoing it with their products.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_02: Like, I mean, honestly, like there's so much out here now where there are days where I'm like, I don't want any skincare on my face.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_02: Because as a female consumer, I'll tell you right now, it it's it's like I mean, it's crazy.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_02: Some of the ingredients that we have, you know, in skin in skincare that is targeted towards females.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_02: I'm just looking at it like, why did you put this in this?
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_02: And also like when you're using it so much, it causes extremely sensitive skin.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_02: I've had friends tell me that, you know, my skin was fine before, and then I started using like whatever skincare for however many years, maybe even a year, and then they all of a sudden develop sensitive skin.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_02: So that's probably also contributing to it.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_02: So it's very important to recognize that there is a need, you know, and that we do have to be mindful about that.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_02: That every, you know, people's skin is not meant to be bombarded with like 15 layers of actives and you know, whatever we're putting on there.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_02: Like it's not meant for that.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_02: So it's great that you guys really did your homework and that you went out and said, no, we're gonna get this done and we're gonna make sure it's safe for everybody, and that you know, you can resonate with that.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_02: Like as a consumer, I resonate with the fact that you did that and you got the eczema seal and that you've done your homework there.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_02: That means something to me as a consumer.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_02: So, really hats off to you guys for doing your your work there.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_02: But I want to talk a little bit more about you know what's coming up for the brand because I I believe you have a new launch coming up.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, super excited.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: So, and I think this will be good to talk more on that ingredient story as well.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_00: So, we we launched with the hero product, the moisturizer.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_00: The reason that we did that was because we figure, okay, if we can really make a splash in this area that is gaining more and more traction.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_00: So, guys, you know, a lot of guys use a cleanser, but less were using moisturizer at the time.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_00: We said, let's nail this first product that really solves a problem, like you said.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_00: The next obvious product was to launch um that facial cleanser.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_00: And so we've been working on this for about a year.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna be coming out here first week of July.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: And what we did with that was kind of follow a very similar kind of approach to the moisturizer.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: If we want this to be multifunctional, we did a lot of surveying on what guys wanted.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_00: And the top things that they wanted was something that obviously was going to clean the face, but that was gonna be, you know, very hydrating, not lead to irritation, provide some level of kind of mild exfoliation, something that could be used daily.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_00: And so we took all the characteristics that our guys wanted and then went back to that clinical team.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_00: And it was kind of that same thing of hey, this is what we want to be able to market this as.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_00: How do we back into a formula that's gonna really, really work for us?
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_00: So some of the ingredients that we're using there are really exciting.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I also would love to get your opinion on this from like the concept of kind of not confusing the skin by introducing too many ingredients, also stacking similar ingredients to make sure that you're kind of getting even more additional benefits from them.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: So we kind of took that approach with this.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: And so the hero kind of like main ingredients that we're using in there are going to be uh niacinamide again, and we're including that at 2%, which you know we know is at that kind of right in that sweet spot of where it can you can kind of consider that concentration to be air quotes active or more functional.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: Niacinamide, glycerin, we're including that in a pretty high percentage to be super, super hydrating.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, a couple different good cleansing agents that also multiply as having some humectant properties.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_00: So are going to be like very hydrating cleansing agents that are not going to dry out the skin.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_00: So we're using decyl glucoside, uh gluconolactone, which is uh, as you're I'm sure familiar with, but for the audience, is a PHA, which some are kind of calling that next generation AHA.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: That's gonna give you some of those mild exfoliating anti-aging benefits while also being extremely hydrating.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_00: Sodium PCA, which is gonna be related to those amino acids.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_00: So trying to stack some more acids in this formula, more hydrating and soothing properties.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so again, kind of like an all-star type of ingredient list that we tried to keep as simple as possible and just targeted ones that were going to be able to provide those multi-functional claims that our customers have now come to expect from us uh because of how we deliver the moisturizer, market the moisturizer, and the benefits that they've seen from that.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_00: So very excited for uh this cleanser to launch.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that sounds really solid, actually, though.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_02: That's really cool because I, you know what I think of a lot, and you know, Kevin, you had brought this up with your sports background.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_02: I I was wondering if you guys have partnered with any like like sports teams or anything, because I feel like that's a lot of where a lot of men need like good, you know what I mean, like a good cleanser or good moisturizer, like is right after a workout or right after like a practice, you know, because a lot of times the acne and the problems that people are seeing are happening because they're not able to, you know, properly cleanse their skin, properly take care of it after they've worked out, after they've had this heavy amount of sweat and all of these, you know, electrolytes come out of their skin.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_02: So I have you guys thought about that, like partnering with sports teams and stuff?
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_01: That's definitely down the road.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we have some exciting things hopefully coming in the future with some new players, you know, talking about with some different leagues.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we currently have some people just playing at Ohio State, and you might know if you're a Bengals fan being from Cincinnati, like Hubbard's an active user.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_01: A pretty boy, we have some other people in the league, some other athletes.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think our whole goal though was really, you know, let's nail these products, let's, you know, nail the brand people aligned with.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_01: We're kind of building a lot of these relationships with a lot of these athletes right now.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, obviously we've only been around for two years.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_01: So finding, you know, success early, which has been we're very fortunate for.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of money does go back into the inventory, but we're really building up, you know, these relationships right now to, you know, as this next product comes out and you know, working on the SPF as well, which is the most important um to really expand and kind of grow this kind of active, active male approach and athletes because taking care of your skin, especially for these athletes, are are very important.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm kind of going back to, you know, your explanation, Ben, about the ingredients.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_02: I I really like that you you did stack the ingredients because, you know, one thing that I'm a firm believer in is a great cleanser.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_02: Like I really believe in in the power of a great cleanser.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_02: And a lot of people, I think now are kind of again, you know, hopping on that bandwagon of like cleansing, you know, but like people have like masks and stuff that they like our cleanser is a mask, but it's like even besides that, a great cleansing step is like literally like more than 50% of your routine, if you think about it.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_02: You know, so it's like if you can if you can cleanse your skin well and also not only cleanse it, but the ingredients you listed off to me, like they sound like great priming ingredients, you know.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_02: So like you're not just cleansing it and stripping your skin, you're actually priming it for whatever you're gonna put on next.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_02: And so what you do put on, and even though it does have niacinamide again in the in the moisturizer, it's not your skin is not primed to actually accept that, you know, and and actually physiologically take it in and utilize those ingredients.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_02: And that's very important scientifically that we don't really discuss in this space is that you know the skin is an organ, right?
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_02: So it responds like an organ does.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_02: And with cleansing, uh, unfortunately, a lot of companies for a long time have said, well, just put a bunch of surfactants in there and get all the grime off and get all the sweat off.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_02: No, that's not the whole point of cleansing, it needs to be a priming step where your skin is now ready to receive whatever is going to come next so that can actually the receptors will respond and it will utilize it, you know, throughout the day.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_02: So I think it's it's awesome that you're using those same ingredients in your cleanser.
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_02: It sounds really cool.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_00: No, that's great to hear.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we we are glad that philosophy is stayed true.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_00: And so every time that we hear someone like you kind of support that, again, I think you you were the one who brought it up, which is why I wanted to kind of touch on is that you can even with really good formulas, if those formulas are too different, if you're introducing too many new ingredients, like that can confuse the skin.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_00: And so to your point, and Kevin already talked about this, like this is about habits, it's about daily use, it's about using things that are tried and true and proven to do what they say.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_00: And at the end of the day, you're just trying to give your skin the best chance.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_00: And so for us, that was to stack some of these high, kind of high-powered ingredients, make sure that we maintain that commitment to being super gentle and non-irritating, and then add in, you know, a functionally one to two to three different functional ingredients per product that interact well with the other ones.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why it's really good that we're using kind of the same lab for these products so they understand the entire story, the entire journey, because our goal is just to make sure that we can provide the most results and people will continue to use this every day.
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, that makes sense.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_02: And I I want to actually ask you guys for little uh words of wisdom for all the moms out there that might have like teenage sons or you know, somebody that they're really trying to get on a skincare routine because I feel like it's a struggle, you know, as far as getting um young men on board, you know, with taking care of their skin.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_02: And so, like any advice you guys can offer for anyone out there that's listening that would want to buy your products for their child or their, you know, significant who whoever, you know, try to get them on board.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_01: I would say, and I think it's just kind of you know fundamentally our approach, but just less is more, and that can be anything in life, you know, especially, you know, kids got a lot going on, they're growing up trying to make friends, they're you know, they're playing sports, you know, whatever.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_01: School can is obviously tough as well.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_01: If you're trying to throw a lot of products at them, it's gonna be tough to get them to want to use it.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_01: So less is more, you know, get wake up in the morning if they shower, you can cleanse your face in the shower.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_01: You don't have to be hovering over the sink and making a tsunami mess of water.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_01: Cleanse it in the shower, get them out, pop them on a moisturizer, maybe an SPF moisturizer if they have it, just less is more, and then off you go to school and you know, do the same thing at night.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_01: So just keep it simple, back to the basics, and you know, and if you can remove any resistance, and I think this is just for men in general, the more likely they're gonna adopt.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_01: And obviously, you know, we want to push our, we love our product, the texture, if it feels great too, you know, and meets those needs.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not being oily greasy, you know, they're more likely to use it too, kind of kicking your day off feeling a little refreshed.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_01: So, but less is more would be kind of my feedback.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I think one thing I'd even tie on to that because we didn't really talk about this, is that you know, the men's space, why it's gaining so much traction now.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like obviously, men but trying to target men for skincare is nothing new.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like big brands have done this.
• 33:55
  SPEAKER_00: There have been other brands in the space that have done this for a while, but right now you're really seeing this like willingness to adopt of all demographics of all ages.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I think part of that is that like times are kind of changing.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_00: You know, some of the stereotypes that used to go along with skincare, uh, some of the more gender-specific focus that went into skincare is gone.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's 2024.
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_00: Guys want to look good, feel good, play good.
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think like hats off to Kevin on this, where also to any mom that's out here listening is like just introduce them to the brand.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I think like this is where what's really fun is that we can feel so confident in the quality of our product that we know we're being honest, we're very transparent, we know we're using the right ingredients.
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_00: We have people like you who are very credible and clinical experts saying, like, hey, this is a really rock solid formula.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_00: But then beyond what the product can do is like this is a brand that a guy can be very proud of for interacting with.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_00: So we made it fun.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_00: Like we're introducing you to these concepts in a fun way.
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_00: We're using analogies to things that make sense to you.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_00: So turning it into sports references, entertainment references, like making sure that we're on trend with what's going on in the news and in, you know, just in like the marketing world.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think for a mom listening to this, it's like they know the benefits.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_00: These are things that kids historically might have been a little embarrassed about using, or oh, I don't want something that like looks very, you know, clinical or or looks like I have a prescription on my countertop.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_00: All of a sudden now you've got this brand that's super fun, super playful, but very credible and can speak from a position of authority on what we're trying to do.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that can also like reduce some of the barriers to entry for someone who's a little newer to this stuff because it does become something that you have fun with.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_00: And that again, like Kevin has done a great job.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_00: He does a lot of our branding and our content and the direction of that stuff.
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that it's it's making this world way more approachable for people who in the past may have been a little more resistant for any one of, you know, a bunch of different reasons.
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_02: I love that you said that, Ben, because yeah, there needs to be, it needs to be a safe space, you know, it does.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_02: And I I really I mean, I resonate with that, you know.
• 36:02
  SPEAKER_02: I don't have a son, but I know from my my I have a brother who's 10 years younger than me, and I can't tell you guys the struggle it was to try to get him on even like a daily cleansing routine.
• 36:12
  SPEAKER_02: And I completely understand where you're coming from, both of you, when you with the advice you just gave, because it's for a lot of women, the you know, the men in your lives, especially if you know they're younger, it's really hard to you know give them something that they can connect with.
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_02: It's like you can talk all day and tell them, well, you need to do this and you need to do this, but then they need to also feel like it's a you know, it's a something that they actually connect with as a brand, you know.
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_02: So that's I think that's wonderful, wonderful advice.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you both for sharing that because it's really important for any moms out there, any sisters out there, you know, um, you guys need to understand the psychology of it too.
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_02: I think we all do.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_02: So that's it's very important.
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_01: I'd love to hear it too.
• 36:55
  SPEAKER_01: Just here, I mean, as the industry is changing and more guys are getting into it.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_01: I I would love to hear kind of your approach on how you you know distribute skincare and you know, here's the routine for men versus women, maybe how that's changed over the you know past couple years.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, I mean, thank you for asking.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_02: No, I think that honestly, you know, the simple answer is I would do it exactly what you guys are doing.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_02: I would make it so that it's understandable.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I don't think that skincare needs to be this complicated thing, you know, and it doesn't need to be this like we had talked about the 10-step routine, and it doesn't have to be that.
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_02: It doesn't have to be overwhelming.
• 37:29
  SPEAKER_02: So to distribute skincare, it it's more about finding a way to connect with a person and making them feel like, okay, well, yeah, I can put this in my routine.
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_02: Why not?
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_02: You know, it's an easy thing to add in.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_02: It's not gonna take me extra time or you know, put extra, you know, burden on me and I have to then remember it.
• 37:46
  SPEAKER_02: It's like it's more about, I think, that connection.
• 37:48
  SPEAKER_02: And that's why me personally, I really believe in that brand consumer connection.
• 37:53
  SPEAKER_02: Because oftentimes what I've seen just through the podcast and and interviewing many brands and then seeing like, you know, the the feedback that we get from our listeners, it's really about that personal connection and that personal story and why they end up staying with a certain product over others, you know?
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that's where the space is really evolving because it's not becoming about it's not about the ingredients anymore as much as it is about finding what is right for you, you know, and that means different things for different people.
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_02: And that's where I think a lot of people kind of miss the mark, is they're trying to put everyone in a box and say, this is for everybody, we're super inclusive, we have the white packaging with nothing on it, you know, like gender neutral, everything.
• 38:39
  SPEAKER_02: And I just don't think that's the right approach.
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_02: I think it needs to be where, you know, you do create, like kind of going back to what you know, how Ben was explaining, you need to create a safe space, you know, and it that safe space can mean anything.
• 38:52
  SPEAKER_02: It can mean, you know, you resonate with a packaging or you resonate with the ingredients, but it needs to be something that somebody can connect with, understand fundamentally, and then actually adopt their routine.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_00: So that's what I believe.
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_00: What's interesting about that, and we've we found this to be one of the most fascinating pieces of this whole journey is that by us actually.
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_00: So you said, and we actually we did an interview on this, like right when we came out of like what role does like gender play in skincare, and like should you even have gender-specific brands?
• 39:21
  SPEAKER_00: And our take was that like, yes, skin is skin, and absolutely we think inclusivity and making sure that everyone is very comfortable interacting with the brand is like such a high priority, but that can be achieved by actually leaning in exactly to what we are, and we were trying to solve a problem for initially, like our hypothesis was that initially the biggest problem we'd be solving was for guys who just didn't understand skincare, and we were gonna give them this great introductory point to it.
• 39:48
  SPEAKER_00: We were gonna have a better formula than a lot of brands they might have heard of, and we were just gonna give these guys like a very easy path in.
• 39:55
  SPEAKER_00: What we found is that by being, in a sense, broad, which is just yes, we're gonna focus on men, but we're not gonna lean too hard into any specific sub-characteristic of that.
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_00: We want everyone to just feel very comfortable with resonating with the messaging, the quality, the tone of everything that we do.
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we've actually seen that not only do we have a lot of guys who fall into that kind of skincare noob, have never done anything, but also kind of skincare experts.
• 40:21
  SPEAKER_00: And then also similarly, like even compared to national averages, like we have a very high population of gay customers.
• 40:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that that's super fascinating because these are guys that, and when we talk to them, whether that be influencers or just you know, any customer we speak with, that go, yeah, like I wanted a brand for guys, like that is who I am.
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_00: I wanted to find something super high quality that was actually made for me.
• 40:44
  SPEAKER_00: And so to your point, like we're inclusive in the sense that we make it attainable for anyone.
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_00: We speak in a tone and a messaging that's very broad, but it is still very focused on men.
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_00: And like there is a missing piece in that market.
• 40:56
  SPEAKER_00: And so we've been able to bring in men from all different sides of that spectrum because it's it's just justification that like there really was something truly missing in the way that people were being spoken to and the options that they had in front of them.
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_00: And so we're we're getting customers that fall all over any side of like the social spectrum, the skincare knowledge level spectrum.
• 41:17
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, just people really needed to find a very rock solid brand that was made for them.
• 41:22
  SPEAKER_00: And so we're like very proud that we lean into that as opposed to like trying to play too many of the different games that exist.
• 41:28
  SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
• 41:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, 100%.
• 41:31
  SPEAKER_02: And I love that you guys you own that, you know, that is that's really awesome to me.
• 41:36
  SPEAKER_02: I I completely 100% agree with everything you said.
• 41:39
  SPEAKER_02: And I and I think that that's where um, you know, we have to understand that there is a a very, you know, stark difference between how men and women think and then how and it doesn't matter, you know, what you align with in terms of like your sexual, you know, your sexual preferences or anything.
• 41:55
  SPEAKER_02: It it's more about that mindset, the way we think as human beings.
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_02: And I I really believe that education first is the fundamental.
• 42:02
  SPEAKER_02: So I completely agree with you.
• 42:03
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that's that it's a very important discussion, actually, you know, because I I it we've been kind of missing the mark.
• 42:09
  SPEAKER_02: Again, you know, we the industry is so I feel like we try so hard as a whole industry to make sure everyone fits in.
• 42:17
  SPEAKER_02: But by doing that, sometimes we're excluding a huge demographic of people because of of the fundamental reason of education.
• 42:25
  SPEAKER_02: You know, it's like if you don't know why you're using what you're using, you're not they're not gonna want to buy it.
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_02: It doesn't matter if it comes in white packaging or you know, if it's not pink or whatever.
• 42:36
  SPEAKER_02: It's it has to it has to make sense mentally, you know what I mean?
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_02: And and that's where I think, you know, the education piece is just absolutely the most important piece.
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_02: And so I I completely agree.
• 42:48
  SPEAKER_02: And I think you guys are just nailing it.
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_02: And I really applaud you for doing this and for really expanding your brand and bringing this forward.
• 42:55
  SPEAKER_02: We need more, you know, more of this.
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_02: And I encourage everyone listening, like you guys have to check out the brand.
• 43:01
  SPEAKER_02: If you haven't already, if you if you want to, you can go onto their website, yoprettyboy.com and check it out.
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_02: Definitely vote with your dollars, guys.
• 43:09
  SPEAKER_02: I always say that on this podcast.
• 43:11
  SPEAKER_02: Like, you know, if you really want to support brands that are putting the thought and the real energy into creating meaningful products, you have to vote with your dollars.
• 43:21
  SPEAKER_02: And you can't always nothing against the big, huge conglomerate brands.
• 43:25
  SPEAKER_02: I have nothing against them, but I really believe in a more personalized approach and a more thoughtful approach, and that's where I really encourage our listeners to to buy the the brands that you resonate with.
• 43:35
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, I'm I'm a huge supporter of you guys and you know, really well done.
• 43:40
  SPEAKER_02: So hats off, Kevin and Ben.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 43:43
  SPEAKER_01: We can't thank you not.
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we love learning from people like you.
• 43:45
  SPEAKER_01: Like Ben said, we we try to go and be the dumbest people in the room, and that's how we kind of surrounded our team.
• 43:51
  SPEAKER_01: And obviously, you know, you can only put so much marketing on a product, but if it's not a great product, it's not gonna go far.
• 43:56
  SPEAKER_01: So kind of finding that blend between what consumers want and then obviously leaning into the professionals and trying to really kind of create this cool, like clinically lifestyle product has really just you know been something we've been really focused on and work sided.
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_01: People are uh, you know, loving what we're doing, and hopefully, you know, this continues to grow.
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_02: No, I I really hope it does because it's it's much needed.
• 44:17
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, honestly, it's much needed.
• 44:18
  SPEAKER_02: I interview a lot of brands and not many are doing what you're doing.
• 44:21
  SPEAKER_02: So I, you know, you guys are really on the right track.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_02: And I I really encourage anybody listening out there, if you're mom, if you're a girlfriend, anybody that knows any man in your life that needs skincare and is just you know, it doesn't know where to go to find really good options.
• 44:37
  SPEAKER_02: This is a really great place, you know, to go to and to start, at least.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_02: So thank you so much for everyone tuning in.
• 44:44
  SPEAKER_02: And and Ben and Kevin, thank you so much.
• 44:45
  SPEAKER_02: It was so awesome talking to you both.
• 44:47
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, go buckeyes and go benals.
• 44:50
  SPEAKER_00: And go browns, come on.
• 44:51
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 44:54
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know about the Browns.
• 44:55
  SPEAKER_00: No, thank you.
• 44:56
  SPEAKER_00: It it's it's really been a pleasure.
• 44:58
  SPEAKER_00: And like Kevin said, we just love talking to people like you.
• 45:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's something that for us has always been, you know, imposter syndrome can creep in at all times.
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_00: And for us being two guys who didn't come out of this faith specifically on like the science side, always wanting to make sure that we're being seen as credible, that like what we say checks out to the people who have studied this stuff.
• 45:18
  SPEAKER_00: And so, like to hear you compliment us in that way just goes really far and it means a lot to us, just kind of keeps us staying motivated and knowing like we are doing the right thing.
• 45:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's a journey, but we're gonna get to where we want to be.
• 45:28
  SPEAKER_00: And so endorsements like the one you just gave are are so meaningful to us, and we really, really appreciate it.
• 45:35
  SPEAKER_02: Of course.
• 45:35
  SPEAKER_02: No, it's my honor, and I hope everyone listening, you guys have you know really learned something from this.
• 45:41
  SPEAKER_02: And if you have any questions at all, guys, please chime in, email us.
• 45:44
  SPEAKER_02: If you need to connect with Ben and Kevin's team, shoot us an email about any questions you have and we'll pass them along.
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_02: But yeah, I think you guys, what you guys are doing is really great, and I can't wait to watch the brand grow.
• 45:54
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much.
• 45:55
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 45:56
  unknown: Thank you.
• 45:56
  SPEAKER_02: Hey guys, so I hope you love that episode.
• 45:59
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• 46:04
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• 46:06
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• 46:21
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• 46:42
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• 46:52
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• 46:58
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• 47:03
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.