MAN

NO1 2016

MAN the magazine reports on the business of men's grooming for the professional barber or men's hairstylist, including popular hairstyles, products and men's grooming services.

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42 I M A N I P R E M I E R E 2 0 1 6 Q & A Asked & Answered: Men's grooming industry leaders give MAN the truth, and nothing but the truth. How did you get started in men's grooming? Gib: We're serial entrepreneurs and longtime business partners who entered the beauty industry fi ve years ago. We started in hair feathers, and realized we were lucky to be at the front of a huge trend—even if it ended as quickly as it began! The experience showed us how cool the industry is, so we continued to meet all its players, shake hands and fi gure out how we could have staying power. Mike: We're also fi shers and hunters: meat- eating Colorado dads usually dressed in work boots and T-shirts. We saw that our fellow 'regular guys' nowadays are spending good money on products, whereas a decade ago they'd own maybe a bar of soap and use whatever shampoo happened to be in the bathroom. Of course, we also have a lot of gentlemen friends who, like us, are bearded. And we realized there was no simple beard oil on the market—sort of like there hadn't been any hair feathers a few years prior. Gib: So, Mike and I went to the lab, fi gured out what we did and didn't like for our own beards, and then hired some pros to help us blend the oil properly. What was your marketing strategy for that fi rst product? Gib: We felt that too many brands were speaking to the stylish 'GQ' guy, and we wanted to take care of regular guys like us. Because even though we're more 'lumbersexual' than 'metrosexual,' we'd be lying if we said we didn't care what we look like, and what our signifi cant others think of us. So we tried to make our packaging accessible and 'dude-ish'—an extension of who we are. Mike: We introduced and sold our fi rst product at a Connecticut Barber Battle in April of 2014. Barber Battles are awesome: an underground brotherhood of thousands of barbers who connect through social media and periodically come together to have competitions and celebrate the art and craft of barbering. The barbers loved our product and style, so they helped us launch the process of becoming a credible brand. How have you branched out since then? Gib: We now have three varieties of beard oil; beard balm; a shave gel; Man Wash BHB, a beard/hair/body wash combo; and three varieties of pomade. We've also had success with our Hitman Texturizing Spray, and a product called Stiffy, which is a 'stache and mohawk glue. Then there's our exfoliating soap, The Handle Bar, and we're about to launch Washbuckler, a moisturizing bar. Mike: We've got eight employees here in Fort Collins, and brand ambassadors/educators out on the streets nationwide, emphasizing why our brand is emerging as the coolest new real men's grooming line. Do you have a formula to success? Mike and Gib (in unison): It's a mosh pit! Gib: That's what we've always said about all our wacky ventures. But really, it's being willing to dive into the organized chaos of constant multitasking. It's jumping whole-heartedly on board with the fast-moving energy of this industry, and staying excited about everything happening quickly. And it's doing it while remaining humble and listening to what professional barbers and stylists say about their needs, and what their clients will really use at home. How did you settle on 'GIBS' as your title? Did y'all fl ip a coin? Gib: Listen, I did not want to call it that! But we have a great marketing guru who convinced us that it worked as an acronym… Mike: Yup. It stands for "Guys Into Beard Stuff." MIKE HOWLAND and BRIAN "GIB" LONG, founders GIBS Grooming (gibsgrooming.com), Fort Collins, CO SHELF STYLING "We made our packaging accessible and 'dude-ish'." BOYS BUY IN " Regular guys are spending good money on products. " by Katie O'Reilly

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