Entrepreneur who developed body dysmorphia after he was bullied at school launches male cosmetics brand to 'normalise' make-up for men - and insists nobody will be able to tell you're wearing his products
- Daniel Gray, 34, from Beaconsfield, was bullied from the age of 10 for his big ears
- Claims abuse led to him developing body dysmorphic disorder in his teens
- Began applying make-up age 14 and says it was 'life-changing' for his confidence
- Re-mortgaged his house and used savings to launch make-up brand War Paint
- Launched in November last year and is set to generate revenues of £500,000
- Went on Dragon's Den and won £70K injection from Tej Lalvani and Peter Jones
An entrepreneur who developed body dysmorphic disorder after being bullied for his looks at school has revealed how wearing make-up from the age of 14 gave him to confidence to walk out the door - and he's gone on to launch a male cosmetics brand set to make £500,000.
Daniel Gray, 34, from Beaconsfield, left school at 16 after achieving six GCSEs and dreamed of starting up his own make-up brand designed for men.
This became a reality last year when, after re-mortgaging his house and injecting his life savings of £50,000, he launched War Paint.
Now with the business set to generate revenue of £500,000 in its first year, Daniel wants to take it mainstream - with the help of a further investment of £70,000 from Tej Lalvani and Peter Jones after an appearance on Dragon's Den.
Daniel Gray, 34, from Beaconsfield, has launched a male cosmetics brand set to make £500,000
Speaking to FEMAIL, Daniel said his aspiration is to 'normalise' make-up for men, with his light, weightloss products intended to help wearers feel confident in their skin.
'I want to break down stereotypes by creating a male specific brand that, in turn, makes make-up gender neutral rather than a product,' he said.
'There is a huge audience out there of men who would potentially try make-up, but would never use, and definitely not purchase, a product that has been targeted at women.
'At War Paint we just want there to be an option so men can make up their own mind if its for them. In turn this will break down any stereotype that surrounds men's make-up.'
Daniel developed body dismorphic disorder after being bullied for his ears at primary school (pictured)
Daniel's aim with War Paint is to normalise men wearing make-up and challenge the stereotype. Pictured left with no make-up and right wearing War Paint concealer
Daniel told how he was picked on for his protruding ears from the age of 12, and it continued relentlessly for two years.
'My ears that stuck out at right angles to my head,' he explained. 'Kids would tease me by pulling on their own ears and singing the song "I Believe I Can Fly" by R Kelly while flapping their ears. Until this day I am still not able to listen to any song by R Kelly.
'The impact was massive. By the time I moved to secondary school aged 12 I had already had a procedure to pin my ears back, and then I was part of the 'in crowd' due to being sporty and captain of the school football team.'
Despite him no longer being teased for his looks, Daniel said he remained incredibly self-conscious and went on to have a hair transplant at the age of 30 after becoming obsessive over his hair line.
Daniel told how he was picked on for his protruding ears from the age of 12, and it continued relentlessly for two years until he had them pinned
'Bullying is 100 per cent the reason that I suffer with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD),' he said.
'Before I was bullied I never thought anything of my ears or any of my features. The first day that it was mentioned to me was the day my life changed.
'I went from not having a care in the world to thinking that I was strange and that my ears stuck out. As the years went by, the anxiety and obsessive behaviour became greater and greater until I couldn't handle it anymore.
'BDD has impacted every single part of my life, there is nothing that it hasn't affected.'
In his teens, Daniel began using his sister's cosmetics to cover teenage acne, and described the confidence it gave him as 'life-changing'.
'It simply allowed me to be able to get out the house,' he admitted. 'It was trial and error to start, however I did have my sister who is a little older than me to show me what to do and made it simple to understand.
'She knew how much I struggled with my looks so she wanted to help. There are a lot of men out there now who also struggle like I did, but who don't have a sister like myself.
'This is why I wanted to created War Paint; a safe place men could come and find about about make-up and ask the questions they may not be comfortable to ask anyone else.'
Having started a bouncy castle business while at school, which gave him a taste of running a business, Daniel dreamed of one day launching a male make-up brand of his own.
'Since I was about 20 I've always thought that there should be an option for men,' he said.
Daniel, pictured wearing War Paint make-up, said borrowing his cosmetics as a teenager gave him confidence
'That was around the time men's grooming really started becoming more mainstream, but while I thought make-up should be an option, it was too early.'
Having spoken to his friends about his idea for years, it was while on the golf course one day that he decided to give it a go.
'My best mate told me to stop talking about it and do it,' he said. 'So I got straight off the course and called a few people I knew to help me bring War Paint to life.'
Daniel pumped £50,000 of his own money into the project - his life savings and money he got from re-mortgaging his house.
'My brand started with a basic website, a business plan, then I spoke to UK manufacturers and put the ideas in my head onto paper,' he explained.
Daniel spent some time working on the right logo and tone of voice for his brand before hiring someone to work alongside him while he still had a full-time job.
Daniel said: 'Concealer is our most popular product, but following that it is the full kit (pictured), which shows that men are buying into the brand and want to give everything a go if they have never used make-up before'
'I had a young family so I still needed an income,' he said. 'It was very hard to juggle both a job and a new business.
'I was very honest with my employer at the time that I was starting the venture and they actually loved that I was doing it as long as it didn't affect my work.
'The start was fine, but as we geared towards the launch I was working my full time job while on WhatsApp all day every day about War Paint.
The launch for War Paint took around 15 months of planning. Pictured: the brand's concealer
'It was very stressful, but nothing comes easy in life and there was many times I wanted to give up but I just managed to get by day by day.
'Once I had the concept I went for a round of investment, as I needed this to order my first batch of product.
'It was really important to me that the make-up was produced in the UK. I got the investment, the product was ordered and we launched online on November 1 last year.
'The launch took around 15 months of planning I went full-time at War Paint the month before. I cried when I received my first order and honestly couldn't believe that someone liked my brand, it was a very strange but amazing feeling.'
In order to get his brand into the mainstream, Daniel applied for Dragon's Den.
'Of course I also wanted the exposure that the show brings and to be able to spark the conversation around men and make-up, and I think it has done just that,' he said.
Daniel won investment from Tej Lalvani and Peter Jones, who both agreed a six per cent stake each in the business in return for £70,000.
Now with the business set to generate revenue of £500,000 in its first year, Daniel wants to take it mainstream - with the help of a further investment of £70,000 from Tej Lalvani and Peter Jones after an appearance on Dragon's Den earlier this year (pictured)
The business is growing from strength to strength, with a 30 per cent month on month growth in sales, and Daniel is now in talks with big retailers all over the world.
'I couldn't have asked for anything more,' he admitted in relation to its success.
'Concealer is our most popular product, but following that it is the full kit, which shows that men are buying into the brand and want to give everything a go if they have never used make-up before.
'This is just the start. The shift has changed in the same way it did for men and moisturising.
'Instead of men laughing about it, the response is, "Oh yeah I nick my other half's".
'Hopefully by making this mainstream then it will just become the norm - that's the dream anyway!'
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December 30, 2019 at 04:00PM
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Entrepreneur bullied for his looks launches male make-up brand set to make £500K in year one - Daily Mail
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