Beard’s can either be all business or all clusterf*ck, all rough or all soft. There’s not really an in-between – but there is a way to go from all clusterf*ck in the field to all business in a meeting or all rough to all soft for your wife/girlfriend/one-night fling. The answer is Burly Boy Beard Company located right here in Virginia Beach, Virginia. I have the honor of knowing the owner Barry personally and he gave me the option of writing an article because he wanted feedback on one of his new scents – Castro. So I told him if I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t write an article and if I did like the Castro scent I would write one. He just didn’t want me to feel pressured into saying good things, because he knows how I operate. I give credit where it’s due, but would never bash a company in a review or article. Barry is one of those guys that wants the criticism so he can hone in his product. Lucky for him the Castro has been solid as well as the rest of his products. I decided to switch up my articles for a bit and sit down with Barry for an interview and learn some more about Burly Boy Beard Co.
Hey, what’s going on man, thanks for taking the time to sit down with the LoadoutRoom.
No problem man, I’m excited to be able to sit down with such a great website. So you liked the Castro?
Definitely. Without a doubt a great product!
Sweet I’m glad to hear its working out!
So Barry, what’s the backstory behind creating a beard product?
I started out just making beard oil for personal use. I just couldn’t find anything that really appealed to me. I have dry skin and my beard was always itchy – the products I was buying my wife wasn’t a fan of and so on and so forth. It was either too oily or it was a paste. My wife didn’t like that. I ended up creating my own and showing my homemade beard oil to my Barber at Lionshead barbershop in Virginia Beach. He loved it and suggested I slap a label on it and he would help put it out to the customers. So really its all thanks to Lionshead Barbershop. They’re the ones that pushed me to brand Burly Boy Beard Co.
What is your inspiration behind the scents (and the names)?
My Wife helped me out a lot (women have to deal with beards on our faces, so happy wife, happy life) and I wanted a theme for the names of each scent after going back and forth with ideas Bearded public figures was something we could both agree on. We currently have five different Scents “Garcia” being one of them, its a woodsy scent with Pine, Cedarwood and Frankenscence. To come up with these scents was a lot of trial, error, and research to see which essential oils played well with others.
What is your personal favorite Burly Boy Beard Co. Scent?
I would say Hemingway (it’s a light woodsy scent). I like it because it’s a subtle scent and not overpowering. None of my scents are overpowering, but this is the “tamest” woodsy scent I have been able to find or create. It also happens to be my wife’s favorite as well. I am also really liking our newest scent Darwin – it’s a citrus scent and reminds me of being under palm tree’s and sipping mai thai’s in board shorts. Just kidding on the Mai Thai part. I’m a Bourbon man myself, but I love some palm trees and warm weather. This Virginia cold weather is brutal!
Yeah, man its no bueno! So what are some new releases you have coming out in the next 6 months?
We just released the new scent Darwin. It’s that “good vibe” scent, but still manly. We also Released a beard wash that has a nice sea salt scent with little red jojoba beads for deep exfoliation. We are also working on a mustache wax that will be releasing very soon.
Why is Burly Boy so appealing to the “warfighter” or gentleman? Why are they using your products above everyone else?
I can only assume its because I put the time and effort in and I make a product I believe in. From dry desert to an office job or a blue-collar job, Burly Boy keeps your beard feeling soft and looking good. I think people love how personal I am at events and how my products are all handmade, in small quantities. Quality is made in small doses and that’s what I’m all about with Burly Boy Beard Co. I’m out doing events all the time and introducing myself to new customers, allowing people to sample them, etc. I tell people all the time, take a free sample and put the product in your beard, and walk around. I just don’t feel a need to pressure a customer to make a purchase. If they try it out, they will definitely come back to purchase. We’ve even had guys that “don’t exist” make purchases while they were in the sandbox and we’ll ship it to them. It’s pretty cool being able to support everyone from the warfighter to the blue collar guy.
Thanks Barry for sitting down with me man, I really appreciate it. I’m loving “Castro” by the way. It’s keeping my beard nice and soft. My girlfriend loves it!
No worries man! Tell your girl she has amazing taste haha. We done here? I have mai thai’s waiting at home… I mean bourbon hahaha.
You can purchase Burly Boy products directly from their website here.
