Chris Gregory, Founder of ENDURE / High Performance Skincare

There’s no doubt that there’s a major movement happening in men’s skincare. Men are becoming more aware of their skin health and what they can do to keep their skin looking younger, happier, and healthier. Understanding what products to use and why can be confusing enough but combining that with a multitude of new brands emerging just for men, it’s difficult to know where to start. Chris Gregory, ex-Commonwealth & England athlete, nutritionist, and founder of ENDURE, set out to provide the answer and formulate the ultimate, everyday skincare routine, with a scientific approach. To 'Endure' means ‘to last’, and the brand wanted to create a lasting satisfactory routine for lasting results that men could rely on, for enjoyment, their skin health, and desired results. A very real and personal experience travelling and competing all over the world as an international athlete inspired the creation. Chris’ level of exposure to changing warm and cold weather environments throughout his competitive career without consistent protection and recovery, showed on his skin.

In this episode of the MenswearStyle Podcast we interview Chris Gregory, Founder of ENDURE about his background as a professional beach volleyball athlete and how his skincare brand was born.  Our host Peter Brooker and Chris talk about how both the sun and cold weather can damage our skin, the new era plant-derived ingredients, natural formulas, white labelling, nutrition, skincare assessments, and the brand's launch Kickstarter campaign perks.

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Transcript

Unknown: 0:12

Hello and welcome to another episode of the menswear style podcast. I'm your host Pete Brooker. Today I'm talking to the founder of endure skincare, Chris Gregory. Chris had a career as a pro beach volleyball athlete for England. And having travelled the world and visited every continent over years of competing, the impact of exposure to a range of warm and cold weather environments, on his skin condition was evident enough to start this brand and we're going to hear his story now. Here is Chris Gregory to tell us about endure skincare and himself in his own words. Background In a nutshell, I was full time athlete, athlete I played which volleyball for England's for why best part of 10 years? Which was Yeah, incredible. experience incredible time. Went to the Commonwealth Games in 2018, on the Gold Coast in Australia, with teaming London, sort of slowly started to come away from from beach volleyball after that and start to think about kind of what was next and what to do. And, yeah, three years later, here we are. Okay, so how do you now I've done me. I'm 3232. So retired from beach volleyball. And now we're into the next phase of your life, which is in your skincare. So perhaps we can talk about where you got the ideas? And how long have you been thinking about this as a project? Yeah, there are a lot of kind of factors behind like the inspiration for the brand, and to the concept as well. But it's largely stemmed from personal experience. And that time that I had competing and travelling, the world playing beach volleyball, it was a lot of exposure to the sun, a lot of travel. And we also came back to the UK during the winter, for the offseason, which meant we sort of trained in quite cold conditions as well. And I think once I stopped playing, I realised that I quite bad like some damaged skin. And that that exposure and the sort of the stress that came and travelling and things had started to show as well, sort of So what sort of things can show up on your skin to the effects of sun damage? I mean, photo ageing, like sort of UVA UVB exposure, or Yeah, but obviously, especially under the sun will accelerate ageing and break down, sort of elastin and collagen in the lower layers of your skin has been back the structure starts to change. So that I mean, I noticed that and I started to think about like, I kind of take better care of my skin going forwards. I felt like there wasn't a lot out there have a good quality that was completely natural for men. So that was a big part of the inspiration behind it. Definitely. And what kind of ingredients are we looking at within the endure skincare? So what was the USP for this for this brand? I mean, firstly, it's definitely a bit of a an unusual concept, I think that I wanted to make it sort of simple, but effective. And I wanted to structure it around routine, because I think everything from performance sport, a lot of what we did day to day was really structured around routines, if you've been consistent routines for for a result, down to the smallest things like, you know, sleep patterns and nutrition. And I've got background in nutrition, which is another part of inspiration by the brand. hydration and and the way we trained like warm ups and downs just really being consistent. So I wanted to base it around routine for consistency, and then results. So what we've done is created formulas based on conditions. So we've got warm weather creams, for daytime and for night. So there's like protection, and nourishment and recovery. And then also the cold weather as well. So there's a consistent all year round use behind the idea, which is the first thing. And then the second thing is the are the ingredients. I mean, we've got quite a broad spectrum of ingredients. And I think the exciting thing for the formulas is that we've got a lot of natural ingredients that are kind of just emerging, and they're called sort of new era plant derived actives. There's a lot of them, and they're not all and they're not all in every formula that they're sort of allocated to certain formulas based on what properties they've got. Right? How much learning did you have along the way with this so As your you have the idea, first I take it and then you kind of go into the weeds with what can work, what formulas you need, etc, to get the results that you want from the brand. So how long have you kind of in the in the in the research phase for this? Yeah, I mean, it was a huge learning curve. Everything's been a learning curve, and it will continue to be. But that's been a really exciting part of it. I mean, I've been on my own from the beginning, and really knowing nothing about the industry, nothing about the science and yeah, just working very closely with, with labs and reaching out to people or networking to kind of learn as much as possible. Yeah. So Yeah, huge learning curve. And when it came to the formulas and ingredients, I spoke to a number of different labs across Europe, I wanted to keep it within Europe, across the I think, France, Italy, Greece, Belgium was one UK as well. And then Germany. And it's being made in Germany, right, one up on top and this lab in Germany, there are small lab and told them about the project. It was the I knew straightaway, that they were the ones I want to go. And did you find the labs came back to the various different ones came back with research that you could reconcile with other labs? And they kind of go yep, that's right, what they're saying is good. Or did you find that how some labs kind of disagreed with each other and said, Oh, actually, no, this product, and this ingredient does this, and you might want to go in this direction. So when I spoke to all of the labs, about the specs of what I wanted to do in the concept, one thing that I was adamant about is I wanted it to be 100% natural. And some labs came back and said that there are some challenges with that. And it's going to be more costly, it's going to take more time. And for sure, it can be more complex, there's more complex than using synthetic ingredients, but the lab in Germany, they, they liked the project itself. And I think that's part of why they were quite keen to take it on. And they said that they could do it. So that about a lab in Belgium as well said, you know, it'd be no problem for them either. But I think I just knew straight away with the relationship that we kind of had from from the start that they were the right lab. Right. Did you get a chance to go over there was a pandemic, too much of a hindrance? Yeah, I mean, I started this has been in the making for over a year now. So it sort of start to happen in the peak of when COVID hit and the pandemic here. So fortunately, they're obviously they're able to kind of move forward with it and start, like formulation and testing phases. But because of that, yeah, I haven't been over there yet, which is a shame, but definitely planning to go over around the first around the launch. Just in January, next year. Okay. Another huge thing that I learned very quickly about the industry. And the options when it came to the approach of stylists was the difference between white labelling and private labelling. I had no idea at the time what white labelling was, I'm sure many people do. But for those that don't, white labelling is essentially taking a formula that already exists. So it's already been made, it's already out there, sort of in the market, I guess, and putting your brand and your kind of dialogue over that. So when I found out about this, I knew from the beginning that I didn't want to go down the white labelling route. It's not for me to say what's right or wrong. But in my mind, I think what white labelling meant was that you can have a formula that already exists, and someone could be paying 100 pounds for it somewhere. And then they could be paying 20 pounds for the same formula somewhere else, depending on how a brand is positioned, and price, that product. And I really wanted to start from scratch and build something the concepts unique. So for me, the formulas had to be unique and for that purpose. So it's been more costly and taking more time. But I think one thing that we are quite proud of it ensures that our formulas that exist anywhere else. And we own them, so we're quite excited about that as well. Excellent. White labelling is definitely an option. It's an option for a lot of people that want to start a brand and kind of test the waters first with you know, what they're doing. And then they might move on to sort of private labelling later, but white labelling is essentially buying the licence to use a formula that's already out there. So does that mean you have the patent on this formula? Is that or is that something else? I'm not sure patents the right word, but we that we own. We own our formulas. Yeah. So no one else can can legally replicate them and if they wanted to replicate them, they'd have to get like the ratios in the All right, anyway, so if they wanted to use a formula that it would require, buy the licence for it. But again, I don't think that's something that we're gonna consider. So you've already had like the products in your hand, so I take it. So you've already seen it. What was that, like that moment, that first moment of getting the finished article in your hand? Yeah, I mean, I guess the first thing is, whilst I was playing beach volleyball, and through most of my 20s, it wasn't something that I necessarily thought about skincare. We did use sunscreen, sort of basic sunscreen whilst we're out there competing. But I guess because I had nothing of to really compare it to have like great quality to compare it to I was quite, I was blown away really, by the quality of the creams when it came to, like the feel the absorption. And how sort of refreshing it was, like from the get go, which was a bit was nice. And it's taken, yeah, over a year of back and forth of just fine tuning formula. Testing. Yeah, to get to work to get to the finished product. Now, that's been a process. And you mentioned nutrition there, as well, as were there anything that you took from your studies in nutrition that you're still working on at the moment that you could impart into the brand endure? Yeah, definitely. I mean, this Nutrition has always been something that's been a big part of my life, especially like through my playing career. So I'm a big advocate for like health and wellness. And I did used to work with people one to one, right and nutrition programmes. And I've just actually completed a diploma in skincare nutrition, right and really specialising in focusing in that area. But I've studied nutritional therapy and weight loss nutrition. And when setting up this brand, I really wanted to take a more holistic sort of approach to skincare is skin health. So it's not just about the product itself, and the value of the routine, but also taking into account the other sort of lifestyle factors around stress, sleep, what we consume, and what kind of foods and food types can trigger bad skin or unhealthy looking skin and what nutrition can support the skin. So it's kind of looking at taking care of your skin from the inside as well as the outside too. And I think when when you take that approach, that's when you start to see some really great results. And I want to be able to support guys out there with that. And is it different for every person, like you can't write one nutrition regime for? You know, it can't be uniformed for everyone because everyone's got different types of bodies and immune system, etc. And is that the same with skincare as well, my set, you know, you can't pretty much blanket everyone with one product for one particular skin. Yeah, 100%. And for me, since I started studying nutrition science, the one thing that has always stood out, and I'll always believe that is that nutrition is is deeply personal. What works for one won't work for another. So what we've done, there are some of their obviously sort of general rules and general sort of tips that are universal. But when it comes to supporting sort of nutrition around skin and skin health, we've we've put a an assessment, like a personal assessment on the ingest site, which allows individuals to kind of go through a number of criteria to produce a result. And that result has unique recommendations attached to it. As I think one thing that I'd like to do further down the line is if people do have more concerns about their skin health and and how it's looking and whether they want to change it is to offer a more personal one to one, right. support system for that. Yeah, that'd be really handy. That'd be something I'd be very interested in. I mean, I've also got your quiz I'm as will give you my diet right now and you can tell me what's good and what's bad. So I have like a litre of water a day that kind of religiously get through I hate drinking water, but I kind of plough myself for it. And then I can treat myself to a couple of Heineken zeros and a couple of coffees. I also have like one green sludge, what we call a sludge day where I put a lump of kale, ginger and lemon and then put that in the Nutri blender and then visit that up. That's one and then basically just have kind of whatever fish or or bread is knocking around in the evening and because I've got a Russian girlfriend it's normally like Russian rye bread or buckwheat now, how does that sound? Is that okay? Or can I can I get away have a bit more Nice, I think the first thing that I always do is look at, you know, body weight, and then sort of what the goal is. And then also, I want to look good naked. It can be done, I can take it 100%. And then the split between the macros as well. So split between sort of carbs, fats and protein. So what the sources are. One thing that's quite common is people, people think carbs are the devil. And I mean, like I said, it doesn't necessarily work for everyone. Some people love keto, and they and they run really well off that as a fuel. But carbs are a great source of fuel, it just depends on where you get them from. fibre is also essential. But at the same time, you have to consider digestion and digesting while I'm feeling comfortable. So I mean, yeah, all in all sounds good when it comes to smooth when it comes to smoothies and blending. And there's a perception that smoothies are kind of really good for you, I think, with the ingredients that you said there. Like that's, that's great. Your fruit smoothies, I've heard that aren't the best, but we kind of so we have fruit salad. And I know we'll get back to skincare in a minute. But I feel like the nutrition element is actually really important because it's, I do feel like some of this cross pollinates you know, you're, you're eating everything, and you're drinking everything. And that has a reflection on how you look and then come through your skin. And so when we have fruit in the morning, we have like bananas, I chop up bananas, blueberries and strawberries, right, and that's a that's a fruit mix that we eat. But then, if it's on the turn, I'll put it in a blender instead. And, again, fix that up. And then we'll just drink it as a smoothie. Now, is that okay? So, when it comes to fruits, sort of being blended alternative fluid, ultimate, ultimately, no, I mean, like the nutrients are in there. But because you've already gone through that process of turning it into a solid food, which is how it's meant to be consumed into a fluid. When you when you take that in your liver, can't process all of that one guy in one head. So that sugar eventually becomes to look like toxic it becomes toxic in the body. Because you're meant to be a banana, even ovaries eat an apple, sort of as it is, and your body will just supposed to vote okay. It's weird, isn't it? Because you feel like you're just going to mush it up when you eat it anyway into smoothie form in your mouth. And then, but I guess I guess your body figures that out once it gets down into this into the tracks. Yeah, I mean, that's an assumption that if the nutrients exist in any format, and I can do that I'm gonna I'm gonna get the benefit. But it doesn't work like that, unfortunately. And it's the same with x y. So cooking an egg. I can't lose, where's it? I think fright, crying or putting an egg has more benefit. Because when you cook it, it pulls the protein apart, which makes it more sort of bioavailable for your body. So your body can actually can actually utilise that protein better than if it's cooked in a different way. Because the heat pulls the protein apart. Right? So So when rocky gets up in the morning and does like six eggs roar into a glass nexam And then does a lap around Philadelphia? That's no go. Yeah. We're gonna enjoy. Anyway, getting back to skincare. And enjoy skincare. Chris, tell us about the the Kickstarter campaign. So that's just launched in the last couple of days. What can people find over on the campaign? Yeah, so Kickstarter has just launched. And yeah, big milestone really excited about it. And it's because we will be launching in January next year. So we want to give people the chance to kind of find out more about the brand. Find out more about sort of who we are, what we do, why we do it. And if they sort of support us, as with the launch, because this support is going to be essential, it's going to actually allow us to produce the farmers that we've made, and actually make them ready for January. So it's a huge deal. But we want to kind of give back to that support with as big a discount as as we can offer. So we're offering 35% off what we think the final price will be. And that'll be sort of a one time only. So yeah, basically it gives people the chance to pre order ahead ahead of January and hopefully build a bit of noise Round around the brand of what we're what we're doing. Awesome. And you say we how many people are involved in the project now, in the brand itself. They say we, I've been really fortunate to work with some, some great people. I've got a brilliant, I've worked with a brilliant designer, super talented, very creative, we've worked really closely together and for a long time, creating the identity for the brand. And then I've also worked with an amazing cinematographer and Cornwall to produce a video, which kind of captures like the essence of the brand as well. And also the lab, the lab have been incredible. I couldn't be happier with like, what they've done and the commitment that they've kind of had to the project really thorough. And we've fortunately been able to build a really good relationship. So it's really needed all of those components to come together to get it to where it is now. Awesome. Well congratulate on the brand video looks great. People can check that out on the website. Also, we'll put all the show notes and links over where you can check that out over at menswear style at CODIT. UK. Chris, thanks for taking time out. I did have one last question. I remember, we spoke Off mic a while ago and you said you're quite a Tokyo fellow. Right? You're about six, seven, something like that. So it's 10 610 Okay. 610 even bigger. So was it always gonna be beach volleyball for you? I imagine like, you know, someone of your height. I mean, boxing must have come in there at some point. As a as a form of something that you can if you're going to be an athlete, was it always ah, volleyball? Yeah. Different people have made different suggestions about which sport I should have gone into basketball, obviously was one of them. Oh, yeah. But no, I always play tennis. Not particularly high level but standard. But I always enjoyed playing tennis. And when London held the Olympics, or they won the bid to host the Olympics in 2012. That's when UK Sport started like a nationwide search for tall potential athletes to put into rowing volleyball and handle the Olympics. So Steve Redgrave was kind of the ambassador for that programme. And yeah, I went through essentially a year of testing trials to be sort of pushed into one spot, which ended up being beach volleyball. So I joined the universe, I went to university path and joined the programme through the grapevine programme over there. And yeah, wait for some training. And that was, that was back in 2009. Wow. And do you miss it. Um, I definitely miss aspects of it for sure. Myself, my teammate, we did consider, or we started to think about the Commonwealth Games next year. But I'll go I'll go into that, because we kind of decided, I think I'm kind of happy to like really sort of move on that was a great chapter. And I feel now that you're ready for this new challenge and do something different and picked up a tennis racket again, and enjoying playing tennis. So because I want to keep you active and hopefully that competitive as well. Is it hard to so I imagine like being an athlete for a large part of your life, you have to be in what I call like fighting weight, I'd say you'd like the fighters will try and get into a certain way or they're fighting weight prime weight for a certain fight and then outside of that they'll just be in kind of walking around weight you know, they don't have to hit the target until maybe a couple of weeks before the fight or you now kind of in walking around weight or you know holiday weight you know, how does it work for you or do you always try and stay in like fighting weight I think this is actually some this is actually connected to injure and the brand I've when I play beach volleyball full time you can sort of take for granted that you're generally quite unhealthy because you're training a lot so you're active a lot you're in the gym, you're lifting weights, and there was always a motivation to do that and to stay in shape. I've definitely had a period where I've been less consistent in going to the gym and and kind of staying fit but one of kind of like the messages behind endures kind of the value of like persistence and staying consistent and building like healthy routines healthy habits into your day. And staying fit and healthy is one of them so I am trying to like live that message and I am more consistently active now like doing cardio and back in the gym. I think there's I took for granted like the mental benefits of of going to the gym regularly. So yeah, yeah, I'm definitely I'm yeah, definitely trying to stay fit and healthy for the long term. For sure. Good for you. But and the viewers at home won't be able to see or listening to us should say looks like you've just come back from the gym. Even though it's just been raining outside from where you've been, but he's a man of his words, Chris, thanks again for for coming on the podcast and your skincare.com. And make sure you head over to the Kickstarter campaign. Take a look. Sounds like it's a great place to hang it up and see on the next one. Yeah, thank you very much. Thank you. Well, how about that? Thank you, Chris. Thank you for listening once more, enjoy skincare.com the place to go. The website menswear style rocoto. UK is the place to go where we pull the show notes and we have our articles on fashion, lifestyle, grooming, etc. And if you want to come on the show, maybe tell us about your brand and your journey. Email us here at info at menswear style.co.uk And until next time