Bennie is bringing diversity to the skincare industry for men!

Bennie Mayberry is taking Los Angeles by storm. He took his love for science and a background in Marketing and created a brand to help Men understand the proper way to take care of their beards and even their skin.  Bennie has traveled from Alabama to California in hopes of changing something that has far too often been ignored, male beard care and skincare.  

“It wasn’t until I started growing a beard, that I would learn about the mechanisms of how a beard grows”

Bennie left his corporate job two years ago to embark on a path to give men an opportunity to take control of their beard and skin health with his business SmartBeard. Why?  Because there had to be a healthy alternative to the many chemicals and long-term negative side effects.

“Why do you use shea butter or need to use argan oil” 

Mayberry said there were so many questions he wanted to educate men on. Too many big brands use these terms in their promotion but without the right understanding you don’t know if the ratio of the mix is substantial or if at all necessary based on your needs. Bennie is a mad scientist in business with five scientists on staff, so he makes sure his product is sound in the name of science. In a market saturated by brands that use keywords and phrases to simply attract customers, he wants to go past the attraction and build trust. 

“It was meant to actually help educate men on proper care”

When creating this business and brand, this was something more than Bennie. “It has to represent the values that I have,” said Mayberry. He wants men to take control of their beards and skincare by learning and educating themselves. His mission is for the average man to understand the difference between certain products when they read the back of the labels. They need to be able to identify buzzwords while having their own tools and understanding to take care of their skin. Some brands which African American men purchase because they are black owned are subsidiaries of large corporations. This usually means they use fillers and fragrances that aren’t necessarily good for our skin, “and cause things like skin cancer and chemical damages to your skin”. They sell to the masses and with each purchase and educational content, Bennie wants to change the norm. 

“It’s actually been difficult for me”

Bennie states, “I have invested $80,000 of my own money into this business.” This is the testament to what it means to believe in your dream. With faith and dedication, he has worked to get his business and brand out there to be noticed. Business is a spiritual practice for Bennie because he says, “it pulls from the very essence of who you are.” This is why his story is one that represents Pride. Pride is something that is from the very core and essence of who a human being is. Bennie demonstrates this as he says,” I’m just a nerd from Alabama who loves science.” He took his truth, lived in it authentically, and created a successful business in a very hyper-masculine marketing and advertising industry.

Pride is freedom to express yourself, be who you are, and be proud about that. He proudly proclaims, “I’m able to say I am gay and not have to worry about someone else’s reaction to that”.