Manscaped LLC is a

male grooming Male grooming refers to men paying attention to fashion and enhancing their own appearance. This interest has become increasingly apparent in popular culture. Background and history By location According to Statista, by 2024 the global male ...

company based in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California, United States. It was co-founded in 2016 by Steve King and Paul Tran and produces and distributes male grooming tools and hygiene products under the Manscaped brand.

History

Co-founders Steve King (the original CEO) and Paul Tran (the current CEO) established Manscaped in 2016 to provide

products targeted at pubic

hair removal Hair removal is the deliberate removal of body hair or head hair. This process is also known as epilation or depilation. Hair is a common feature of the human body, exhibiting considerable variation in thickness and length across different po ...

. The company uses the term '' manscaping'', a long-standing

neologism In linguistics, a neologism (; also known as a coinage) is any newly formed word, term, or phrase that has achieved popular or institutional recognition and is becoming accepted into mainstream language. Most definitively, a word can be considered ...

, as the basis of its branding, and is referenced in Merriam-Webster's definition of the word. It has also capitalized on the shock factor of addressing male

hygiene Hygiene is a set of practices performed to preserve health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...

taboos A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

and using

pun A pun, also known as a paronomasia in the context of linguistics, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from t ...

-based

humor Humour ( Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks, which taught that the balance of fluids i ...

and paid

celebrity Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...

appearances to build its name. In October 2018, Manscaped was featured in the 10th series of

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

's "

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," represented by co-founders Steve King and Josh King, who sought $500,000 in funding for the company and accepted a handshake offer for that amount from

Mark Cuban Mark Cuban (born July 31, 1958) is an American businessman and television personality. He is the former principal owner and current minority owner of the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and co-owner of 2929 Entertain ...

and

Lori Greiner Lori Greiner () is an American television personality and entrepreneur. She is known for her QVC show ''Clever & Unique Creations'' (2000–present) for which she has been called the "Queen of QVC", and for being an investor on the reality series ...

in exchange for a 25% stake in the business. However, the deal never materialized after the show, according to Cuban. In late 2020, the company was reported to be exploring its options for further fundraising. At the time, it was backed by investment firms Kaktus Capital, Longley Capital, Rx3 Venture Partners, and Scala Ventures. A prominent advertisement campaign for the company also aired during the same period, featuring the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

Rob Gronkowski Robert James Gronkowski (born May 14, 1989) is an American former professional American football, football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. Nicknamed "Gronk", Gronkowski played nine seasons for the Ne ...

and US sportswear supermodel

Camille Kostek Camille Veronica Kostek (born February 19, 1992) is an American model, television presenter, and actress. She appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit Issue and was featured on the cover of the magazine' ...

. In July 2021, Manscaped was revealed to be in an ongoing merger discussion with Los Angeles-based

special-purpose acquisition company A special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC; ), also known as a blank check company or a blind-pool stock offering, is a shell corporation listed on a stock exchange with the purpose of acquiring (or merging with) a private company, thus taking ...

Bright Lights to create a combined entity worth up to $1.4 billion. Led by Michael Mahan, the former CEO of

Dick Clark Productions Dick Clark Productions, LLC (DCP, stylized in lowercase as dick clark productions or dcp) is an American multinational television production company founded by radio and TV host Dick Clark. The studio primarily produces Awards ceremony, award sh ...

, Bright Lights listed for $230 million on the

Nasdaq The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...

stock market A stock market, equity market, or share market is the aggregation of buyers and sellers of stocks (also called shares), which represent ownership claims on businesses; these may include ''securities'' listed on a public stock exchange a ...

in January 2021 on the promise of finding a merger target in the consumer products or media sectors. In November 2021, it was confirmed that the merger would advance at a valuation of around $1 billion "amid a difficult market." This followed reporting in October that suggested the company was considering a $500 million sale. Reuters noted that the merger was all but guaranteed after being backstopped by the actor

Channing Tatum Channing Matthew Tatum (born April 26, 1980) is an American actor and producer. He made his film debut in the drama ''Coach Carter'' (2005), and had his Breakthrough role, breakthrough with the sports comedy film ''She's the Man'' (2006) and t ...

and two investment firms, Endeavor and Guggenheim Investments. However, the two companies canceled the merger that same year.Business Wire:News:Home: August 18th, 2022:Bright Lights Acquisition and MANSCAPE Agree to Terminate Business Combination Agreement Due to Unfavorable Market Conditions
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References and citations

External links

* {{authority control Male grooming brands Personal care brands Skin care brands Hair removal American companies established in 2016 Companies based in San Diego County, California 2016 establishments in California