There was no step-by-step on how to build a skincare brand from scratch. So I experimented — over and over again. I melted, whipped, poured, and tested every combination I could think of. Some came out too hard, others melted in the heat.

I ruined pans, wasted ingredients, and made countless messes. But, somewhere in the chaos, I started learning. The formula began to tighten and the vision did too. This was the moment Surfing Cow stopped being an idea and started becoming real.

I majored in business, yet I had no clue what my first step was in actually starting one. So I did the only thing that felt right — I hit record and started documenting everything I was doing, even when it didn’t look impressive.

The experiments. The failures. The nights I questioned if any of this would work. I thought, if I ever figured it out, maybe someone could scroll back one day and see the real step-by-step. Not the polished version — just the truth.

As Surfing Cow started taking shape, I opened a business account, formed an LLC, filed trademarks, talked to manufacturers, and kept experimenting with formulas — but the brand still didn’t have an identity and Canva could only take me so far. So, I made a video and that lead me to the South African legend behind the Surfing Cow design, Chad Laybourne.

He tells the story like this. 

“Mate, I was in bed one night and couldn’t sleep so I chucked on the reels app and stumbled upon your video looking for a brand designer.” 

Amongst the 27 designers I spoke to, Chad was one of them. Funny enough, he couldn’t start right away. Impatient, I hired someone else and put down a $1,500 deposit. Two meetings in, I knew it was wrong.

My gut said Chad was the guy. So I walked away from the $1,500 and called him back.“I’ll wait,” I told him. “You’re the guy for this.”

He was. The rest is history.

I was three months in and still considering the idea of going the OTC route. Let me explain. Sunscreen is considered an “Over The Counter” drug, meaning you need to go through an FDA regulated manufacturer in order to make claims like “SPF 30”, or “water resistant”. The problem with this? I learned that the majority of leading sunscreen brands all use active and inactive synthetic ingredients in them that are extremely harmful. So harmful, they're actually flammable. Here’s a few next time you turn a sunscreen bottle over: Oxybenzone, Octinoxate, Octocrylene, Homosalate, Avobenzone. 

After a call with my friends Hunter, Ben, and Dylan, I decided the time was now! No more waiting, I launched Surfing Cow on April 1st, 2025 with the formula I had.

Since then I haven’t looked back. Surfing Cow sold out of its first drop of 250 units, and again, on drop two and three. 

If you purchased one, thank you! 

Since then, I have continued to refine the formula with over 100 iterations to date.

I'm not building Surfing Cow to launch a bunch of products. This brand isn’t about chasing trends, seasonal drops, or pumping out formulas to hit revenue goals. It’s about doing things the right way— the natural way. Even if it takes longer.

Right now, leading OTC manufacturers still can’t recreate my formula without changing it. They want to add synthetics, stabilizers, and fillers — things that don’t belong on your skin. So I’m not rushing.

We have two products for a reason: they work. They’re real. They’re built from ingredients you can actually pronounce and trust. Progress here is measured in quality, impact, and honesty — not speed.

This won’t be the biggest skincare brand overnight. But it will be one of the most trusted. And that’s exactly how I want it.