The Rebel Rouser, Tolnafoil

Paul and his brother, Michael, started in the salon business in Virginia. It was there that Paul learned about nail fungus and nail polish. With his doctorate background (I never did know if he was a licensed physician), he developed a product to prevent fungus in finger and toe nails, Tolnafoil. It was jojoba-based and contained an ingredient called tolnaftate. He marketing it like crazy, did seminars preaching its benefits and it sold like hotcakes. Everyone thought he was crazy and the product was more of a placebo than anything else. Paul’s response to his naysayers was to spend more money advertising and sell more of it.

The Rebel Rouser, Formula 3

Never content, Paul went on to develop a product that would cure nail fungus and called it Formula 3. He advertised it in trade journals and gave the look of the ads a scientific feel and he was donned in a white lab coat. The icon I remember best was the microscope looking at the fungus. More than anything, he was a schemer and marketer. He learned well. Quickly, nail techs bought Formula 3 and it became a runaway best seller. It brought on a rash of imitators but stayed the leader through his relentless travel doing seminars.

The Rebel Rouser, Seminair

Paul and I had schemed together to create the first seminar on an airplane. We chartered a plane from Detroit to Atlantic City and actually did a seminar on the plane. On the ground, we completed the seminar, had a great dinner for all and went back the following day. Over 100 nail techs participated and it was an event never to be repeated again.

The Rebel Rouser, Peau Fest

By now, distributors were drinking the Kool-Aid and making a lot of money. Paul was never content on his success and he always wanted to share it and better yet, slam his competitors (his continued naysayers). The first Peau Fest was held in Virginia. He paid for all his distributors to come in and he wined and dined them for the entire event. Rumors were always going on how much money he spent on this. For his second Peau Fest, he actually rented a yacht and brought his distributors on board. I will never forget sleeping overnight on this boat and getting sea sick. But it was truly an experience.

The Rebel Rouser, Enamel

The nail polish market was dominated in the early 90’s by Essie, Forsythe, Charni and other $1.00 a bottle brands. Paul decided to get into the business and sell it for $5.00 a bottle. Again, his naysayers were many but Paul did what Paul wanted to do. He came out with a line of polish and I remember that the polish was packed in trays of 108, 648 to a pallet and we couldn’t keep them in stock. Star colors were French Pink and Soft White. While Orly invented the French Manicure, Paul re-invented it. At the same time, OPI came out with their polish and Orly became very competitive in the marketplace. Needless to say, Paul had his fights with both of them but continued to sell tons of polish.

The Rebel Rouser, Trade Shows

Back in the late 80’s and early 90’s nail trade shows were wildly popular and well attended. Paul wasn’t content on taking a booth, no sir. Paul took the equivalent of 8 booths and created a Peau de Peche store. I remember us doing this format at our shows and we would routinely do over $20,000 in sales in two days. Nail techs used shopping baskets and filled them up.

The Rebel Rouser, Dark Days

Like any brazen entrepreneur, Paul had his dark days and they came in the early 2000’s as distribution started changing and OPI became entrenched in the nail polish business. The Peau name was retired and Paul reinvented the company with a new name and a new focus: Tetra Corporation. See the reinvention start here.

The Rebel Rouser, New Horizons

Paul was granted a patent for Formula 3 in 2007 and thus became his crusade and mission to invade podiatrist’s offices. He hired independent contractors who visited podiatrists with his signature product. Slowly but surely, sales started to go up and within a couple years, sales exploded. Formula 3 would become the #1 anti-fungal seller in the podiatrist market. See the trade ad here.

A True Italian In Every Way

Paul loved to eat, drink and have fun. The BUB would refer to him as having a “puppy face”. Short and stocky, Paul had the art of WOO and people either loved him or hated him. He didn’t care. To his friends, he was a loyalist. For my 40th birthday, he and his wife flew in to Detroit, rented a limo, took us to the Whitney (very high end restaurant), bought us Dom and then left the next day. He was one of five guys in my wedding party. He attended my son’s Bar Mitzvah’s. Most recently, he would drive down with his second wife, Marta, just to have lunch and shoot the “s___.” Only a month ago, he held his first annual “Guy’s Feast” at his house. 400 guys attended the wild party in which Paul cooked 200 pounds EACH of Kobe steaks, lamb chops, lobster tails, crab legs, shrimp and deep fried pork belly. He had a 49 gallon oak keg delivered of Jack Daniel’s. Paul loved to be the ultimate host and expense was never an issue.

MSU Spartan

When he and Marta moved to Michigan, he became a huge Spartan fan. He tailgated every game with his Hummers, portable grills and heaters and personally cooked the eggs, hot dogs and other grilled food. Beer, cigars and fun were always free-flowing before and after the games. In fact, I just saw him at the Minnesota game where he was cooking up breakfast sandwiches with left over Kobe beef from his big party.

The Rebel Rouser, Big Dreamer

To his very end, Paul dreamt big. He loved big Hummers, big limos, big cigars and his biggest dream of all was the home he was building with Marta. All I know is that the home was to have an indoor riding track for his horses. If there was someone who lived life large, it was Paul. He experienced life right up to his last moment.

To those that knew him, he will be missed. I know we will miss him. Paul is perhaps my first contemporary that has passed away that was a friend. Steve Jobs too was 56 and died tragic. I will reiterate my stance on life: We each have 1/3 genes, 1/3 luck and 1/3 how we take care of ourselves. Life is short, enjoy each and everyday you get out of bed.

Soulful Monday.

Gilberto is a true example of someone who really did lose 62 pounds and is now a walking testimonial/advertisement to what looking like 62 pounds less looks and feels like.

You see, most people gain weight by putting too much food into their mouth. More calories than needed equals more pounds than needed. The average person will gain 1-2 pounds a year just by drinking a can of soda a day and/or eating a single bag of potato chips (1 oz.). It’s easy to do.

Gilberto would start his day off with breakfast at home. Then around 10AM would be his snack time. No kidding, his wife made the best 12” hoagies stuffed with ham and cheese and oozing with mayo and he would scarf this down every day at his desk. Then came lunch time and dinner time and after dinner time.

Then one day something clicked in Gilberto’s brain and he woke up thinking to himself that he wanted to run a 5K. But first, he had to run a mile. He was inspired by others and once he put his mind to it, he made it happen. Follows are his personal before and after photos (and sorry ladies, Gilberto is happily married):

Gilberto is one proud man. And rightfully so. He has already turned down offers from Men’s Health and Sport’s Illustrated Male Swimsuit issue. He loves his SAP too much. For those truly inspired by this, you can read his own interpretation of how he achieved his goal, maintained his goal and how it changed his life. Congratulations Gilberto!

After I learned how to eat and move more from Weight Watchers, and after I lost those 62 lbs, the difficult part now Is how to maintain the right weight without gaining those extra pounds back.

Today I have up to 5 Lbs I could use to keep myself on the Normal Weight ranges according to my age and height, where I shouldn’t exceed of 173 Lbs.

For it I created my own Personal Loss Weight Protocol:

• Sleep: 7-8 hours per night

• Water: At least drink 2 Liters of water per day  (never tap water since it is loaded of chlorine, fluoride and other contaminates)

• Walk/Run: Minimum goal per week is running 9 miles

• Fruits: At least 3 servings per day

• Dinner before 7:00pm: Salad, Fruits, Small protein portion(100 grams) and water or tea., or ideally 3 hours before sleep.

• Eat Breakfast: increase metabolism and decrease appetite. Never skip it.

• No Trans fats: Avoid Hydrogenated or Partial Hydrogenated oils.

• No Artificial Sweeteners: Splenda, NutraSweet, aspartame, etc.

• Limit Cold Drinks: They Slow metabolism.

• No Carbonated Drinks: They clog the liver and lymphatic system.

• Use Saunas: Sweating increases metabolism (15 minutes 3 times a week)

• Eat Fibers: Reduce appetite, relieve constipation and improve digestion.

• Drugs: Avoid non prescription and prescription drugs.

• Probiotics: eat the friendly bacteria from yogurts (1 per day)

• Multivitamins: One per day

• Try Organic Foods: a little bit more expensive but they are free of hormones, antibiotics, flavor enhancers, herbicides, pesticides, (when I read “All Natural labels” they mean nothing to me).

• Carbohydrates:  I never combine more than 1 Carb at the same time, If I eat Pasta I do not eat Bread, etc.

• Portions: are very important “What It fits in the palm of my hand (Without the fingers)”.

And the last thing I wanted to add if that the dedication and discipline are key to achieve this and/or any goal in your life.

Happy Friday!

P.S. And yes, Gilberto ran his first 5K this year and broke the 30 minute mark!

Food is the one thing we can satisfy ourselves with instantly. Ice cream is America’s favorite dessert by a wide margin (chocolate and vanilla are tied, butter pecan close behind) and no doubt there are those that consume a pint every night watching TV.

But eating too much of the wrong foods can be deadly, hence the phenomenal increase of Type II Diabetes in America. And America has never been fatter which causes even more health care issues. And who pays for health care? We all do.

So it makes sense to eat healthy and splurge once in a while. For me, lean and clean during the week and bring it on for the weekend (still, no butter, crème or desserts). Eat plenty of fruits and veggies (great for lunch and snacks) and focus on seasonal items. We love going to the Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings, best stuff and great prices.

When people come over for dinner, why not prepare some fun, healthy options instead of the typical high fat, easy to make options? Here a few of mine:

Yummy grilled shrimp with fresh chives or green onions. Marinate shrimp with fresh lemon juice, fresh garlic, salt, pepper, spices of choice (I like Emeril’s for this) and olive oil. Let marinate in refrigerator for an hour. Cook on medium grill 2-3 minutes per side. Make more than you think, they go fast. Best place to buy shrimp: Eastern Market, Costco, Kroger

This is everyone’s all-time favorite! Bruschetta platter half with tomatoes, garlic and basil, the other half with guacamole and ahi tuna. Buy loaf of Italian baguette, slice into 3/4” slices. For tomato side, buy freshest tomatoes available, Roma work well. Seed and dice, add fresh garlic, fresh chopped basil, salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil to taste. Let marinate for at least an hour. Serve at room temperature. Sorry, but the other half is a secret. . . .

The perfect salad and so easy. Costco sells the best mozzarella, just make sure to buy buffalo (in water) versus pizza mozzarella. Slice into thin slices. Need good ripe tomatoes, slice thin as well. Arrange on platter. Top with extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh chopped basil.

World’s best breakfast sandwich. 99% of breakfast items are high fat with plenty of cream, butter and oil. This sandwich is low fat and tastes amazing. Perhaps I will post the recipe at another date.

Coming up next, how one TNG Rebel learned not only to eat better, but what it meant for him.

Happy Wednesday!

Popularity is one of those things you don’t think about, yet it is part of daily life. What makes people popular anyway? What makes products popular? What makes a song, app, or video popular? What makes shoes, clothes, the things we eat popular? Why did Five Guys become the fastest growing burger joint when so many others can’t make it in a single location?

The current issue of Business Week is all about this subject and I find it quite fascinating. The issue doesn’t delve into celebrities, sports stars and politicians, it really focuses on brands, people and activities that affect our daily life.

For instance, what is the most popular pro sport? Not football but basketball. Really?

Here are some popular brands that have been popular since marketing was created:

• Marlboro
• Oreo
• Tide (how many loads of laundry per year per person? 400)
• French’s
• M&M’s
• Lays
• Coke
• Honey Nut Cheerios

What is the most popular snack bar? Nature’s Valley Oats

Most popular movie franchise? Harry Potter of course. Is Barry Meyer, Warner Bros. Chairman one of the most brilliant movie guys ever? He paid $2M for the rights in 1998. The 8 movies have already brought over $7B in revenues. Speaking of movies, who are the three most popular guys? Leonardo DiCaprio, John Travolta, and Will Smith.

Most popular business book is Strengthsfinder 2.0 by Tom Rath. YEAH!

OK, this one is ridiculous. What is the most successful celebrity fragrance launch of all time? Someday by Justin Bieber. YIKES! Most popular game on Amazon.com is Story Cubes (very cute).

And finally, since women love to shop, most popular department store is Nordstrom’s.

Interestingly enough, there weren’t any personal care products listed. Hmm, I wonder if there was a special section for this products, what the brands would look like.

Happy Monday!

Why does cottage cheese always gain liquid once you open a new container?

Are you one of those people that leave toilet stalls and head out of the bathroom without washing your hands? While in Vegas, it was astounding how many did that. No wonder I shake hands with closed fists more and more.

The unemployment rate continues over 9% with the real rate closer to 17% if you count those underemployed and those not seeking work. While there are many reasons for the rate not getting better, one of those is the loss of manufacturing jobs to China. Like the immigration issues we are facing, many of the China jobs are a consequence of American companies not wanting to do the work at competitive rates. For instance, do you know anyone that wants to pick fresh fruit on their hands and knees 12-14 hours a day, 6 days a week for minimum wage? China is open 7 days a week and their workers work all hours to get the job done. At 5:00PM at most companies, don’t stand near the exit door in fear of getting crushed. If we are going to be competitive and get jobs back in America, we have to start thinking and acting differently.

Speaking of BS, OPI paid more than $10,000 to have a café’ station at its booth serving up espresso’s and lattes. But alas, they weren’t allowed to serve up coffee or tea due to union contracts at the concession stands. This is the kind of crap that has to go.

Do you have that feeling that Labor Day is already here and that the balance of summer is on the fringe? The days really are getting shorter.

True or False: You have a better chance that your plane will be delayed versus being on time?

Consumer confidence has sunk to new lows. Can anyone be confident about our political system? It appears that “confidence” is the new buzz word and without it, what’s left?

I once wanted to play in the World Series of Poker. But now it’s turned into an Internet poker challenge with 20-year olds competing against each other in a ruthless game of luck. And who else but 20-year olds can endure 8 days of poker, 12-14 hours a day? I don’t even care who wins this year.

No doubt doom and gloom is contagious. How about something happy and fun? This 64-year old poker player was telling me his current state of affairs. He is retired, plays poker 2-3 times a week, has a 29-year old girl friend, eats pastrami Rueben sandwiches with French Fries and is having the time of his life. Only in Vegas.

More happy and fun: Michigan tomatoes are moving into high season. is there anything better than slicing one in half, adding a touch of salt and chomping away?

Happy Friday

Kemon is a unique company founded some 52 years ago in a little town in the beautiful district of Tuscany. Kemon always believed in research and development and to this day, boasts a modern facility with full time scientists developing new technology. Kemon also always believed in manufacturing their own products. Unlike most companies, Kemon makes everything it sells. Kemon also does its own fulfilling, packaging and distribution. Their Academy is outstanding.

For hairdressers and colorists, they make the best products, both hair care and hair color. But they know salon folks want more and that is why they invest millions each year in photography, models, and partner with the best Italian fashion houses including Prada, Armani, Gucci and Louis Vuitton to produce their seasonal collections. To get a better sense of what Kemon does, click here.

At Cosmoprof, Kemon will be showing off its hot new NaYo hair color: Free of ammonia, PPD and odor and contains both organic and natural ingredients. Available in 71 beautiful shades, NaYo lifts up to 5 levels, covers gray 100% and leaves hair soft and shining. Kemon will also be featuring its latest addition to its Actyva Hair Care line also made of organic and natural ingredients.

What’s amazing about all this is the interest level from consumers. They are seeking NaYo and wondering where they can go. Just like Shellac got consumers back to salons, so will NaYo and Actyva (way too many consumers buying hair color at Wal-Mart and doing it themselves).

For now, the new Kemon website is live, kemonusa.com and being updated constantly. New Kemon salons are being added daily. Later this year, an entire new PR campaign will launch and as I wrote about recently, a Kemon Academy in NYC.

Coming up: black 15in1 new products.

Happy Wednesday!

With such shows, there are pre-show rumblings, onsite show rumblings and after show rumblings. With consolidation in our industry almost complete, rumblings have been at a minimum. But as long as you have the likes of Mike Nave writing stuff for his blue paper, Tony Cuccio supporting the Mandalay Bay center bar, and Deborah Carver sporting her latest hat, you know there’s going to be gossip.

What I find most fascinating about this show are the people that show up. People that you haven’t seen in 5, 10 and even 20 years show up. Many are looking for jobs, to switch jobs, to consult for jobs or just keep their face shown. Like any industry, our blood type changes from Type O, A and B to industry blood so it’s hard to move to another industry. I’m also amazed at all the BS handshakes, kisses, hugs and smiles that take place. You would think that you were at a family event and your parents told you to always smile and be on your best behavior (can you imagine Tony even having best behavior?)

Some of the rumblings this year are part true, part rumor and part in-between, you can sort them out:

• Emillani sold out to L’Oreal. They have virtually every brand under the sun.
• Max & Essie will there as invisible spirits wishing the Essie booth great success while smiling at their beach house they no longer have to be in Vegas for the blasted show.
• Scott Hagstrom will take over Art’s spot when Art finally retires from Helen of Troy at the age of 93. Scott will only be 67 and have a good 25 years ahead of him.
• Al Sporn is retiring to Hawaii and letting his kids run the business.
• Marc Spilo will be introducing his hot new product, the blue buffing block.
• TIGI will announce it has partnered with Binney & Smith, makers of Crayola crayons and they will introduce a line in each of 64 different colors.
• John Barth will announce he is moving to Harbor Springs once and for all.
• Alfaparf decided going direct wasn’t the right thing to do and will once again open distribution.
• Keratin Complex drops the “Copolla” name and starts fresh with a new lineup and strategy.
• DS Labs provides before and after photos of Tony Cuccio proving its hair growth formula works.
• The line at Starbuck’s outside the conference center will still be an hour long all day long.
• Moroccanoil will be the place to hit for lunch each day, just have one of those VIP cards. Kosher too!
• George will hand out dividend checks to his top 25 distributors.
• Gary Winterhalter, CEO & President, will wear a baseball cap on the floor celebrating SBH’s recent stock surge.
• Bill Halfacre and I will play heads-up in the poker room to have the first OPI Gel Color collection. How can I lose?

Happy Tuesday!

The NFL lockout continues on with more talks this week. The owners hope to meet next week and have a plan in place. By then, it will already be the end of July and the season is supposed to start a few weeks later. Are we that desperate for football?

The NBA lockout continues on with no new talks scheduled. Heck, their season doesn’t start until later so there is no rush. And they did this before not too long ago. Are we that desperate for basketball?

The Big 3 are in labor contract talks as well. While there has been little news so far, these talks will be very interesting. Now with car sales estimated lower for the rest of the year, there will be continued pressure on wages and benefits. It would be sweet if both sides can agree without too much finger pointing.

The Federal Government is ready to shut down August 2 due to its debt ceiling being maxed out. It appears that $14.2 TRILLION is no longer enough to run the country and we need more money. President Obama is clueless as he continues to spend more and wants to raise taxes while the recently voted-in Republicans have no choice but to cut spending and NOT raise taxes. Who knows where this is going but most likely, it’s 100% propaganda and will be resolved by next week. But right now, both parties are far apart.

Even the economists can’t agree on short-term data. The unemployment data on Friday was awful and one of the most wrongly guessed numbers ever. The economy added only 18,000 net jobs and the unemployment rate moved to 9.2%. Worse, small businesses are now pessimistic about the rest of the year and more than 60% have stated they have no plans to hire until 2012.

Buyers and sellers of homes are having tough times agreeing to price as banks value homes at even lower rates than sellers agree to sell. In Michigan, home values plummeted nearly 6% more last month. Even if someone can sell their home, the buyer can’t get financing. It’s like pay cash or wait.

Mayor Bing made the cover of Forbes magazine and the FEDS are setting up shop in Detroit. It appears even the FEDS are concerned how money is being laundered (or shall I say, accounted for). Can Bing and the City Council agree on anything? And how about the second bridge?

Finally, looks like relationships are being strained due to lack of agreement. Lately there have been a slew of divorces and ugly separations. When two people can’t agree, how can we expect an entire body of people to agree? I love the line that some of my friends use, “I agree to disagree.”

Today is Tuesday, agree?

Happy Tuesday!

One day this stray cat shows up at our back porch, meowing and obviously looking for food.

Mind you, I am severely allergic to cats and only my youngest son has a true love for them (he has two and his apartment is more of a cathouse than bachelor pad).

The cat keeps meowing and then the BUB shows up and then I instantly knew the cat hit pay dirt (I am learning to meow now).

“Kitty, kitty, you must be hungry and thirsty. Let’s feed you,” the BUB was so excited she ran to the pantry, zipped open a can of tuna, put a bowl of water out and before you knew it, the cat was slurping up water and tuna like it never drank or ate in days.

BUB’s code word for the cat became Kitty Cat. Since the cat had to find a new home, she didn’t want to name it. How nice of her. But in the course of less than a week, we became the proud owners of:

• Shelves of wet and dry food. Who knew that there actually are more varieties of cat food than human food? And these cans of wet food are about the size of a hockey puck and cost more than Star-Kist tuna. What a killing there is in cat food.
• Bowls and more bowls. We couldn’t use paper plates and bowls. No, we needed stainless bowls, ceramic bowls, dual bowls, and of course, bowl mats.
• Bed. The cat shouldn’t have to sleep on the floor or in the bushes, the Kitty Cat needs her own bed and
• Blanket. Enough said.
• Brush, comb, sprays and so forth. Oh what the heck, a travel bag too.
• YIKES! Why a travel bag? You know, BUB had to take the cat to the VET for shots, checkup and so forth. We can’t have the Kitty Cat walking around with Leukemia! And we found out Kitty Cat was a 10-12 year old male in good health.
• And just lately, the teething post. Another large contraption that takes up lots of space.
• Should I go on????

Desperately, BUB sought out a new owner. She called the Oakland County Pet whatever in case someone called for a lost cat. The person on the phone said we have more than 1000 lost cats and dogs. Finally today, the hero came through and Mallory decided to take Kitty Cat. Mallory once had a cat and is very excited to adopt Kitty Cat. All I can say is:

THANK YOU MALLORY!

Very Happy Friday!

Like all long summer weekends, there will be plenty of eating and drinking involved. And certainly no steamed veggies and plain salmon will be on my menu. Sorry, time to splurge and have a good time. Hope you do too.

However, I will be racing up my shoes for my favorite 12 mile run on Lakeshore. It’s the best run because there are thousands of walkers, runners, cyclists, in-line skaters and everyone else  you can think of doing something. So in addition to gorging your face, take some time for a little exercise. A good walk after dinner makes sense and can be fun too.

Most importantly, be safe. There are too many Tuesday morning stories that take some of the fun away and Tuesday will be here soon enough.

Enjoy celebrating our independence. There are billions that wish they had theirs.

Happy 4th!