Latest / Skin Anarchy / E341: Labor Day Special Ft. American Crew Hair Care

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E341: Labor Day Special Ft. American Crew Hair Care · Skin Anarchy

• 0:02
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• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: This is Ekta, as always, and I have a wonderful guest with me.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: I'm very much excited because we don't often get to cover such amazing brands that are geared for men's uh grooming and care and wellness.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: So without further ado, I want to introduce you guys to the founder of American Crew, uh, David Ruglia.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the show, David.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: So excited to have you.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you and welcome.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_02: I'm very happy to be here.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: I, you know, I'm really excited because, like I said, you know, I don't get the opportunity very often to speak to such amazing um, you know, brand founders and uh in the men's category, you know, with when it comes to just wellness overall.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm very much excited to chat with you.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: But before we begin, I want to actually David ask you to give us a little background on yourself and how you got in, you know, into this area of uh, you know just beauty and uh, you know, entrepreneurship in general, and just kind of give us maybe a little walk through memory lane, if you could.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_02: Sure, of course.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I am um uh I grew up in the Midwest in a very small town.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, lovely.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_02: We're in the Midwest.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_02: I'm I'm also a Midwester.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_02: I quite close to Chicago.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_02: I grew up in a little town called LaSalle, Illinois.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, lovely.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_02: And I my father uh was an attorney, and you know, I I really didn't believe that uh I mean, I I just sort of late into my high school years started thinking about a career of being a barber, and uh for for many good reasons.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_02: One, I just thought my barber was the coolest cat that ever walked the planet.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um he not only dressed great, he had stylish hair and he was always smiling, you know.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_02: Not that my dad didn't love his job, but my father was a stressed-out attorney who always seemed to have a very intense daily existence.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_02: And um, you know, I just I I decided that it might be a cool thing to try barbering.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_02: So I ended up going to barber school in the late 70s, which was not a very good time to go to barber school.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_02: It's when uh that wasn't very classic grooming at its finest.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you you think of the late 70s, it was a lot of like, you know, longer hair, and uh men were being a lot more experimental.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_02: It was kind of an androgynous time, you know, bowie and oh yeah.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_02: And I was really, you know, quite into the classic barbering.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, you know, I'm I come from an Italian family, and all my friends or all my my uncles and people that I knew had like really cool classic barber, you know, semi-pompadours, their hair was greased back, and I don't know.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_02: I just kind of was into that that look.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_02: And then after I got into barber school, I just fell in love with the the whole career of hair, and I ended up going to work.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_02: Um, first I went to work for Vidal Sassoons for a while at a salon, and then I ended up went I went to beauty school, and ultimately I moved to London in 1980 and I lived there, you know, London's Mecca for hair, obviously, because Vidal Sassoon um being such an influence, his uh salons and school was there, and there were many offshoots.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_02: So I spent several years in London.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_02: I I was training to be a teacher, and I ultimately got into teaching and I traveled all over the world.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_02: Very lucky guy.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_02: I I in my 20s, I was doing seminars all over the world, teaching and doing hair shows, and and even though I kind of abandoned the the barbering aspect of it, I always loved it, and I always, you know, returned to that whenever I was sort of the the techniques of barbering.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_02: And then, you know, I came back to Chicago from London and I I opened up my first hair salon that was in the late 80s, and I decided one day that I, you know, just after working predominantly in the female category, I decided that I wanted to do a book on men's hair because I loved the techniques and the classics of cutting so much.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_02: So I ended up doing a book on men's grooming, and I became kind of known for having a technical excellence in cutting men's hair.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_02: And then from doing that book, I realized how little options there were in the men's grooming category.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_02: And I used to travel back and forth teaching in Japan, and I found a product there that I really loved.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_02: It was a water-based pomad that gave all of the classic elegance of the old school pomads, except you could wash it right out of your hair.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_02: It wasn't like the heavy-duty pomads that you needed dish soap to get out of your hair.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_02: So I ended up having it made, and the rest is American Crew history from there.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_02: We we started with that was the influential product that got me into the category, and then we kept going and created care and shave and all other aspects with a no, I absolutely love the brand, David.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Honestly, you know, when I think of men's grooming, yours is the first that comes to mind.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: You know, American Crew for me, um, even as a female consumer, you know, just having walked the aisles of your favorite retail store, you know, you've definitely seen the products, you've definitely heard about the products.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I I've always recommended them to my father, to my brother, to my, you know, my boyfriends.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, it's like a no-brainer.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why I feel like it's it's so cool to have you here on the show because I feel like men's grooming obviously doesn't have many options, even still, you know, but more importantly, it's real good options, right?
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: It's not just about like creating options and you know just having a plethora of just redundant products.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's more so about, you know, that innovation side, which is you know something you kind of uh started to dive into here a little bit, which is you know, and and how different men's hairstyles are than women's and what and what that means for styling, for maintenance, you know, um, in terms of just time and needs and and the things that we need to focus on.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, there's just not enough knowledge out there, you know.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: So with that said, I really want to um kind of get your perspective on this the whole industry right now, even in terms of, you know, when you look at um, or if if there's a male consumer out there and they're approaching their own hair health and their hair care, you know, what are some things that you think um are just fundamentals, you know, that everyone needs to know, regardless of gender, you know, when it comes to hair care and hair health.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_02: Well, you know, what's interesting is most of the the information that you can gain on on the right products all begins with the haircut that you're wearing and how much time you're willing to commit to it.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_02: You know, like for instance, most men, I think I've read percentages this high, like in the 90% category, have hair three inches or shorter.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_02: And if you're wearing, you know, if you look at the male groomer in that category, that's gonna cut down the the amount of time that they spend on their hair.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_02: It's you know, it's a short hair is predominant.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_02: However, uh there that's changed drastically.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_02: New generations are wearing their hair much longer, they're much more interested in very idiosyncratic textures.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_02: Like I want my hair to look piecey, I don't want it to look freshly washed, I don't want it fluffy, I want it to have a patina to it, right?
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_02: There's all of these sort of bespoke ways of looking at hair now, and that's so exciting because you know, men over the years were not really that excited about grooming.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_02: They got a haircut, and you know, it's I I used to say this a lot, like they would get a haircut, like they would get a coat.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_02: They might not worry about the style as much, but it was cold.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_02: They got their haircut because it was long.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I don't think though I think those days are gone.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_02: I think most men have a look, a style.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_02: I believe that they're very um it's it's very intentional to look the way that they do, whatever category they are, whether it's blue collar, white collar.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and you know, this whole with gender, I mean, classic haircuts look great on women.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_02: They look great on, you know, there really is uh sort of, you know, this whole short hair or medium length hair or however you do it, there's styling products that just work really well.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_02: And that's what's important, you know.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_02: If if my recommendations to men are always very similar, you know, I say please start with care.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_02: Understand that the shampoo that you use is just as beneficial for it's gotta be of quality that takes care of your scalp.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_02: It can't be harsh.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you want to make sure, even if you put styling products on afterwards, you want to make sure that your scalp is conditioned.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_02: So American Crew uh takes a lot of consideration into their care products in the shampoo category.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_02: And then but the style products are very important.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_02: They're they're really designated to you by your hair texture, by your desired needs.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_02: What you know, what do you want your hair to look like?
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_02: Do you want it to shine?
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_02: Do you want it to be matte finished?
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_02: Do you want it to look natural?
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_02: All of these things are are usually the options that your stylist will give you, you know, and and so going to a professional is very, very important to understand that, right?
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_02: You have to sort of get her get the recommendation bear, you know, it it's has a lot to do with what you're what you want to do to your hair and an end result, if that makes sense.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: It definitely does, yeah.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I think you made a really great point, which is this idea of like, you know, um hair length, you know, really coming into play and just figuring out what your what is the style that you like, and you know, let's go from there.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think that for me it's interesting watching this evolution of um men's grooming, you know, over the last few decades, because, you know, like I said, like I grew up with a very traditional dad, you know, and he had the same haircut he did when I was, you know, five years old that he does now.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's just he has gray hair now.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, just watching that, and then my brother, who's 10 years younger than me, I saw this like, you know, these different generations, right?
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: And of like just how men approach their hair.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: And there are so many similarities, just as women have, you know, I think that's just human beings.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we have these like certain underlying fundamental things when it comes to, you know, major areas of wellness.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: Like, for example, our hair is always, you know, it's important to all genders, it's uh important to all people, you know.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: The way our hair looks defines so much about not only our day, but like our general outlook.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it can really uplift your mood, it can really set you up for success for that day or that week or whatever you're talking about.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I think by you know, considering this aspect, it's very interesting for me in the beauty industry to see this rise in, I guess, like micro brands that are so focused on like, you know, one niche.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: Whereas I look at American Crew and I feel like you know, you've got everything you need here in one brand.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: And so I guess my question for you is how has that been for you, you know, coming from this classic um barber training and this background and and just seeing all these changes in the industry and making sure that you're keeping up with the needs of the modern male consumer, you know, when it comes to just what they want, you know, how has that been?
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_02: It's been great.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, the truth is it's been, it's, you know, I believe that the category has lightened up drastically, you know, like male grooming, you know, men's cutting and all that sort of stuff has really emerged into what's right for you.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_02: It's not necessarily, you know, heavily masculine like it was in the past, you know, you it's just it's which makes it more interesting, you know, the options like you could have uh a man with a shaved head and you could have somebody with one length hair to their shoulders and everything in between, and they're all in style because men have finally celebrated what works for them as opposed to being cookie cut into a certain look.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you go back to the 50s, and if you walked into an office building, side part, their hair greased to the side, white shirt, black tie, like there was a you go into an office building today, and my gosh, you could have anything from hoodies to you know, it's just it's an it it we've come a long way, which makes it obviously very fun to be in a category now that has so many options.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: No, absolutely, and you're still right about that.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, things have definitely changed a lot.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, but I you know, once again, like coming back to the brand, I feel like you've created something so classic here, and I think it really resonates with all consumers.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'll give you an example, David.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: Honestly, I love your detox shampoo.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna tell you right now, I use it, you know, I have my whole family using it.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's a really great product, and I think that's really what it things come down to is just the quality.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, I remember I about like two years ago, this was long before we were you've ever, you know, um even, you know, knowing that you you would even come onto the show is like my brother asked me, Hey, let me find the hair gel.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I need to, he was finally getting into this idea of I need to take care of my hair and I care about the way I look.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I was like, okay, well, let me do some shopping around.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not gonna lie, I had no idea where to start.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: And the first place I went to was American Crew, like, no joke.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I like to know that in my mind, like in the back of my mind, I think that's like one of the biggest accomplishments a brand can have.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like you've really hit that mark, you know.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: And so, um, you know, I want to ask you in terms of like this legacy component, you know, what are like like how is how is that for you like being a male grooming brand and like staying tried and true to that and really kind of pushing that forward instead of like, you know what I mean, just getting uh deviated and going in all sorts of directions.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure that's been hard uh from an entrepreneur side.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: So I would love for you to share that journey.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you know, it it it has and it hasn't.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, American Crew has been a journey that has absorbed like all of what I could have dreamed of in 28 years, you know, even though you know we we we've gone from being a little local brand to a regional brand to a nationwide brand to a global brand.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, it it just keeps platforming to, you know, the internet count comes.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_02: Now you've got a whole new way to market your brand.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_02: You know, it's just been a ride that's all-encompassing and at the same time trying to keep up what's relevant in ingredients and what the, you know, you know, we we've done a lot of renovation on our products when you're 28 years old.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_02: You always want to maintain the absolute best of ingredient base and you want to you have to re-engineer according to times.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it's it's one of those things that it's it in order to stay relevant after long periods of time like this, you just can't, you can't, you got to keep your nose to the grindstone and be paying absolute attention because it's very important to us.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I I know we're number one in the category, and there's so many good brands out there that I'm inspired by a lot of brands that have come out over the years, and they do cool stuff.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, it's it's it's that it's the it's my colleagues, and you know, the professional salon industry has grown.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_02: Now barbershops have become real popular again.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_02: So there's barbershops, you know, are popping up on every corner in America.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it's just truly an awesome time to be in the category.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I think, you know, one thing that you brought up, and I really, really love this about the brand itself, um, is this culture aspect to it.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I think that for us as Americans, you know, barbershops are a very, you know, um important part of the American culture.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, even now, you know, you look around and um, you know, like my friends, you know, my male friends that go to barbershops still, they they love the experience.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's not just about getting your hair cut and whatever, it's more about meeting up with your old friends, you know, seeing people that you haven't seen in a long time.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of things that come into it, you know, with respect to culture.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I would love to get your perspective on that aspect because I think American Crew has really um embedded that, you know, in the whole brand feel and the vibe about it.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, there's definitely this trust that you guys have created, you know, with consumers where it's like, okay, I know I'm gonna get great products, but there's a culture to it too.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's like men can go there and feel, I feel like the website is is it's easy to understand, you know, the options are easy to understand.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's it and I'm not saying men are stupid, but I'm just saying like it's it's comprehensive, you know what I mean?
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like that culture of just knowing, you know, quality and um accessibility, that's that's really been preserved, I feel like, in your brand.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: And especially when I, you know, kind of compare that to going into a barbershop and knowing exactly what you want and knowing that your barber knows what you want, you know, and because he's been cutting your hair for so many years.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: So I want you to comment on that and that per that preservation of culture in the beauty industry as a whole and what you think about it and how that plays a role in just entrepreneurship.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_02: Well, it, you know, you really struck on some very key points to our brand because uh, you know, I'm in my 60s and I was probably the last generation that went to the barbershop with their father to get a haircut.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: Oh wow.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_02: I say that, when I say that, I don't mean anyone in general, but truthfully, you come into the the after the 70s, the 80s, the 90s, it was mostly boys going to the beauty salon with their mothers to get their haircut.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_02: You know, most that culture of the barbershop was sort of took a took a turn.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_02: And there to me, there was absolutely nothing wrong with that because you know it it kept, you know, it it it was the hair salon became more of a unisex, more opportunistic to do many, you know, men and women's hair, and it's still that way.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, today most hair salons are are not as you know pink and feminine as they once were in the 60s and 70s, you know what I'm saying?
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_02: They're very design friendly, they're they're masculine, uh, they have a um uh a look and feel that's a little bit more industrial and it's more practical.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_02: And I and I I think that's because of their catering to a much bigger uh clientele with both male and female, but you know, sociologically, that's a shift.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, bringing back a men's grooming brand in the mid-90s wasn't easy because you know, uh, you know, it's like Virginia Slim cigarettes or something.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_02: It was a little strange, you know.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_02: It's like, well, why are we doing a cigarette that only a woman can smoke?
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I'm saying?
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_02: There was a there was a certain, but it wasn't designed to be that way, it was really the right products that were right for men's hair at that time, fragrances that worked in it that was a little bit more neutral to go with fragrances that they use, you know, the whole aspect of it was really thought through, but I think sociologically the world was ready to have that shift.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_02: And if you go back to 1994, it was and and fast forward to today, the grooming category today has a PhD.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, back then it was like a high school dropout.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_02: You you you have to understand how difficult it was to even get men to admit that they used a hair product.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_02: You know, guys to this day don't sit around at a bar and talk about how fabulous their Pomad is.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, maybe they do.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_02: I hope they do.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_02: I I if they're with me, I'd love to have that conversation with them.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_02: But, you know, the the dialogue uh around grooming has become a real asset.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_02: Men are proud that they groom.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_02: They they're they they're not embarrassed anymore that they're working hard at having the right look for their hair that fits their look.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_02: You know, all of that has come full circle.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_02: And here we sit.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_02: But I understand it if that was kind of a long answer, but I understand that you know, we shifted sociologically from the 50s to the 70s to where we kind of left the barbershop.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_02: Now barbershops are filled with everything that they should be.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_02: You know, there's a there's a ton of great female barbers, there's a ton of, you know, it's it's just Culturally a different place today, and it's really, really a great um environment to get your hair done in.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: No, absolutely.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I think you you really made you know some awesome points there.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I I would like to even say, you know, I think there's a lot of value in this idea of everything doesn't have to be unisex.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: And there's nothing wrong with that.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, um, and when I say that, I'm not saying like, you know, polarize everything and make it blue or pink or, you know, no, I'm saying that there needs to be a level of comfort, you know, for a consumer, regardless of what it is we're talking about.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I think the beauty industry, from the where I'm standing, at least as a consumer, I feel like the beauty industry has focused so hard on this idea of unisex that they've kind of missed the mark in in aspects of like how relatable are you to a male consumer?
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm saying this from the standpoint of like, I've actually had my my friends, my family, people I trust, you know, their opinions.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: I've asked them, I'm like, what do you look for in a brand?
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_00: They look for simplicity.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_00: As a male consumer, that's what I've heard over and over.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: I want a simple, I want a simple answer to my question.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to think 15 days about, you know, what kind of shampoo should I be using or what kind of beard oil should I be using?
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_00: I want the stuff that works and I want it to be, you know, good quality, accessible, and tell me where to go to buy it.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_00: And they'll put in the money, you know, they'll invest the money, they'll put in the money because they do care about how they look and how they feel and all that.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_00: But it's that idea of reimagining what accessibility means to a male consumer versus a female consumer.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's where the argument really kind of shifts into this more sociological perspective, which you're talking about, because, you know, for a man, like, you know, just the normal, like, for example, I'm a millennial, okay?
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: Most of my my friends and my colleagues who are also millennials, to this day, they'll just get whatever shampoo their girlfriend's using or their mom's using.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: They're not, they're not even looking deeper than they should, even though they want to, because they're kind of over stimulated by all the options, you know, and that's where I find American Crew to be extremely and a very, you know, leading brand, even you know, amongst all of this clutter and that we have in the beauty industry, because you are giving options in a straight answer format, you know.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_02: Right, right.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_02: No, that's so true.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_02: But you know, I like to respect my colleagues in the in the women's category very much because they're very, very it's needed.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you look at all of the intensity around getting your hair colored today.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_02: Hair color demands so much care of the right shampoo, the right conditioner, the right colors of the shampoo so it doesn't fade your color.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_02: You know, men just are in a category of simplicity just based on the fact that they don't have all of the options.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_02: You know, they're most men, if they color their hair, it's gray blending.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_02: Sure, some men get blonde hair and they're very fashionable, but if which I think is very cool, and they would fall into the same category of care as women.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_02: They'd have to be concerned about color fading and things like that.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_02: But if you look at the majority and you look at the grooming category as a whole, the needs are a lot simpler.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_02: They want their hair to stay in place, they want it to look healthy, they want it to look thick, they want it to be of a certain look.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_02: And I think the the simplicity is what American Crew focuses on, being the best in class in understanding those cur those needs, you know, in a simple way.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm glad you picked up on that because that's very important to us.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_00: No, absolutely.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that there's a lot of value in simplicity.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna be honest, you know, I'm still the consumer that buys men's hoodies, you know, because I hate female hoodies, they don't sit right on me.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, it's it's little things like that.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I think the little gems that are available that are truly unisex, but then you might not imagine them to me because they're not a whole lot of marketing around it and a lot of buzz about that unisex component.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: And that's really where I was coming from.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_00: But I want to move on actually, David, and ask you, you know, for the modern consumer, for the everyday male audience now, um, what are some hurdles, you know, as a brand in terms of reaching them?
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_00: Because I'm finding it to be very difficult.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I keep trying to tell everybody skin is skin.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_00: You need to take care of your skin, you know, just from my perspective and this podcast.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm still having a problem getting that male consumer to really tune in and be like, okay, hold on, let me think about this stuff for a minute.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_00: So what are some hurdles that you've seen as uh an entrepreneur and a leader in this industry, you know, uh with the male consumer?
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I I sure love the skin category.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, listen, I'm one of those blokes who, you know, I have a hard time, you know, brushing my teeth before I go to bed is a big event for me.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not going to cleanse and mask and pull all that together, you know, late at night, but I've really found that a good skincare regimen is an outstanding thing to have.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_02: You having a good cleanser for your face and the right moisturizer with the right SPF.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_02: These are all anti-aging moves that take a man a second.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_02: They're not long involved processes and you know, eye creams, all those things.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, look, it's it's really important.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_02: The benefits that you get from protecting yourself against the world, the pollution, the sun, you know, all of that is it's simple.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_02: And you know what's interesting about like in in grooming, talking men into spending that extra couple of minutes to get the learning curve together to put the right product in their hair didn't wasn't difficult.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_02: You know, it was it just wasn't presented in the way that American Crew presented.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_02: All of my professional colleagues, the barbers, the hairdressers, all the wonderful people that got behind American Crew and decided to carry our brand, they are the ones who did this for us.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_02: They showed them, look, put this in.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_02: It makes a huge difference in your hair.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_02: If you apply this this way and are willing to put one minute of time, your hair will look the same the majority of the day.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_02: It'll maintain a thickness, it maintains control.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_02: You know, it's it's just sometimes getting people to understand that the the effort is worth, you know, it's it has an end result that's worth it.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_02: And I find that today's men are a lot easier than 28 years ago.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_02: You know, the men today are are are you know very well researched, they spend a lot more time on YouTube.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I'm not ever putting down my my my male counterparts because I think men are great researchers and they are they just they're they're they they do things differently, they're not as open.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_02: Sometimes they close they close down to the idea of something.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_02: And I think for a long time, you know, you you look at what happened, you know, the 60s was when we first started to see long hair infiltrate the male market.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_02: By the 70s, most men had longer hair, they didn't have short haircuts.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_02: In the 80s, it went a little crazy, you know, between hairspray bands and you know, if you look at the eras and how we've gotten back to the classics where we are now, and now we're we're we have a mixture of everything, you know, today I think there's a lot of good decisions being made in the right haircuts and the right grooming products.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I absolutely agree.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's very, you know, it's true.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's how accessible your brand has become because of all the different players.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I and I love that people have been so, you know, receptive to American Crew and that they've carried the brand because that's how I discovered you guys, you know, is just shopping and just seeing the brand over and over again, and it became a staple in my mind so that I knew what to recommend if somebody asked me, you know.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_00: So I I really want to actually ask you some advice and some words of wisdom for all of our listeners who are interested in the hair um industry and they want to go into it, they want to be, you know, on the leading edge when it comes to men's styling and and whatever it is that that the needs are revolving around these days.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_00: Any words of wisdom that you have for either students or just people or professionals in this industry?
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_02: Well, it's a wonderful time to be in this industry.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I unfortunately couldn't cajole my daughters into getting into this category.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_02: Um I tried very hard, both of them, um, uh, who are now adults and went in different paths because it's a it's a really rewarding career, especially if you're willing to commit to learning to be technically excellent.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_02: That's first.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_02: You know, being an average at your at your craft makes you really not, you know, this isn't this is not an easy field to master, but when you do, it's something that you can take anywhere and do anywhere.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_02: And it's just a wonderful career.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_02: And it can go into many different directions.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_02: Let's face it, you could be a session stylist.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_02: I have colleagues of mine that are in the movie industry right now.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_02: They're doing hair behind the scenes in movies, editorials, they're doing for Vogue, L.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, people that I went to school with are some are the movers and shakers in this industry.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_02: And there's it can go that far.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_02: Or like me, I I became a pri uh not only a salon owner, but uh I've been someone who founded a hair product company.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_02: The hair category is as wonderful as just working all day long, talking to people, creating something creative with your hands, making people wildly happy, and you make very good money.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's a great way to make a living.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_02: Or if you want to venture into something more creative and a little bit more, as I said, there's many ways to go from it.
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, it's going to school and finding somebody that you can have as a mentor, looking at someone's career, not where they are today, but finding the finding the path that someone took to get to where they are.
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_02: Where did they stumble?
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_02: How much education did they do?
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_02: You know, and all of this is very important.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_02: And the best place, you know, young people that are thinking about being in the hair industry, I always say to them, you know, talk to your hairdresser, talk to your barber, because they give good advice.
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_02: Like that's how I, every school I went to was a recommendation from someone in the field.
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_02: My barber told me what barber school to go to.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_02: From there I went to beauty school based on, you know, just getting to know the craft.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_02: So it's it is very important.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_02: And this is a this is an industry that really hasn't changed from the the aspect of client and um stylist participation.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_02: It's exactly the same as it's always been.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_02: We still use the same tools.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_02: They might be better, faster, and prettier, but they're exactly the same.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_02: They're, you know, we have clippers and scissors and combs and brushes and blow dryers.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_02: There's no automation, there's no robotics.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_02: You know, this is a this field will never be replaced.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_02: Your your personality, the kindness that you offer to your to your customer, you know, if somebody's having a bad day, you have a little bit of sensitivity, maybe you can make that them feel a little better.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_02: All of this is not going to be replaced by any sort of artificial intelligence.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_02: This is this is chair side manner is the same as it was, you know, w from the beginning of this craft.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_02: And so all of this is just you you put it all together and it's a really great, great career.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_02: And I sure love it.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_00: I love that and I love your advice.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I think, you know, you you said it wonderfully, and it's it's very true.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I I think you tell your the professionals in your life things that you never thought.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's very similar to medicine, where it's like, you know, you tell your doctor things you never you don't need to be telling them.
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_00: Same thing with your stylist or your barber.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I've told my stylist things that I'm sure she never wants to hear or doesn't, you know, she doesn't know about.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_00: But you in you invest in the people that are investing in you.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's really very true what you said about just I think hair care in general.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think that it's a very um it's an industry or it's a part of this industry, what what I call the beauty industry that is much more hands-on than any other that I've noticed.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you're when you sit in someone's chair and you're they're doing your hair, this all of their attention is on you.
• 34:31
  SPEAKER_00: They're putting their craft and their knowledge and their understanding into the style they're creating for you.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_00: And that's a that's a beautiful gift, you know, and it's also a beautiful way to interact with somebody.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that, you know, there's definitely a lot of value here.
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_00: I I'm I'm actually starting to see a lot more people wanting to go back to hair school as they call it.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I know when I was growing up, people were like, yeah, I'm gonna go to beauty school or hair school.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_00: And then it kind of phased out for a while.
• 34:55
  SPEAKER_00: And now I'm starting to hear people say that again.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_00: So I hope that we have a lot more entrepreneurs, you know, in the making right now for that's great.
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_00: So um, David, you know, my last question is, and I always talk about this is really ingredients, and I really want to just get an overview from you about American Crews approach to just how you guys use ingredients, um, how you test them, because I know that a lot of skincare concerns are tied to hair care.
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like that's where, you know, when I was speaking to you about quality, that's really where you guys also stand out to me because for a lot of men that I've met when it comes to skin concerns, a lot of it is tied to their hair, you know, oily hair or greasy hair.
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_00: And it's just it's coming down, it's affecting their overall like facial, you know, appearance.
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_00: And so what are what are some things that you guys really have in place, some some pillars of the company when it comes to standard ingredients that you use or how you um utilize them, you know?
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_02: Well, uh it's interesting because we've just renovated all of our care, our shampoos and conditioners, you know, obviously 28 years ago is a long time ago.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_02: And so we you have to continue to modernize.
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_02: And our products are a very high, the high 80 percentage of natural ingredients, ingredients that um are you know both proper for scalp benefit, hair benefit, conditioning, nurturing, you know, um very simplistic, but yet, you know, free of a lot of a lot of the heavy parabens and all of the other problematic products that go into your scalp and cause problems.
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_02: And and also in our styling products, you know, our gels are alcohol free.
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_02: That's a very important thing.
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_02: You know, alcohol is very, very drying on the scalp.
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, we we have we have taken the best roads that we can.
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_02: You know, our Pomad, you know, we water-based is a very good place to where way to be because it means water can get it completely ridded from your skin, your hair and scalp.
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, American Crew has done a very, very good job of offering a high quality product to their customer that they can count on and and know that they're and use it in in you know, complete confidence.
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_00: No, that makes sense.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, it really comes through in the products, like I said.
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, it's definitely a sure bet.
• 37:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that that's something that you guys have truly perfected.
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_00: And and I'm so happy to see that you're still really leading the way, really trailblazing the way for us, you know, in the male grooming category, because like I said, we don't have nearly enough options, and I think there's a lot more that could be done here.
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it's definitely a huge help, I think, to entrepreneurs for many, many years to come, you know, as a as a hallmark for the industry.
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um, David, I just want to thank you so much for your time.
• 37:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's been truly an honor to host you and to learn from you and your vision.
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_00: I and for everyone listening, you know, I'm sure all of you have heard of American Crew.
• 37:55
  SPEAKER_00: If you have not, then this is there's no better time than to look up the brand now.
• 37:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna tag everything in the concept art for this episode, but um, I really encourage all of you to ask questions and add to this conversation.
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_00: That's really my goal here with this podcast, is just to add to the conversation.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_00: And if you have any questions for David's team, definitely leave them in our comments and we'll pass them along.
• 38:15
  SPEAKER_00: But thank you so much again, David.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_00: This was really lovely hosting you.
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_00: You too.
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_00: It was wonderful talking to you.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you very much.
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_00: Bye.
• 38:22
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• 38:25
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• 39:30
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