#570 Makeup for Men Who Don’t Wear Makeup | Pontus Frankenstein (OBAYATY) — TheBoldWay

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“Men have changed, but the beauty industry hasn’t in the same capacity.”

Pontus Frankenstein has spent his career exploring what makes people want something: an object, a brand, a place or an experience. In this episode of TheBoldWay, I meet the creative director and co-founder of OBAYATY in Stockholm, inside the historic brick building the brand calls home.

We begin with the creative scene that shaped him. Within the Acne family, designers, filmmakers and musicians worked across disciplines, often without the money to make their ideas happen in conventional ways. Pontus describes the confidence, collaborations and resourcefulness that emerged from that environment, and what he carried into his own practice, Frankenstein Studio.

His work took him through fashion, art, gastronomy and hospitality. He tells me how an unexpected call from a property developer led to five years working on the concept behind Six Senses Ibiza. We discuss how he approaches unfamiliar industries, turns research into a creative vision and brings together people whose expertise goes beyond his own.

That experience eventually led to OBAYATY, the beauty brand he co-founded with his friend, music producer Max Martin. Watching artists prepare to step on stage had prompted a question: how could more men have access to the products and rituals that help people feel confident in their appearance?

Pontus takes me through the answers they developed, from a three-minute routine to refillable packaging designed around the feel, weight and sound of each object. He explains why developing the collection took several years, how promising formulas can fail late in testing, and what the first retail partnerships taught them.

We also discuss the challenge of introducing products that do not fit neatly into a department store’s existing categories. A conversation about creative ambition, changing habits and the work required to turn a vision into something people can use.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

How the Acne creative collective shaped his approach to work.
Why limited resources encouraged unexpected collaborations.
How he approaches a project in an industry he has never worked in.
What developing the concept behind Six Senses Ibiza taught him about building a team.
How his friendship with Max Martin led to OBAYATY.
Why the brand began with men’s habits, concerns and everyday routines.
What several years of formulation, development and testing involved.
How packaging helps communicate the thinking behind a product.
Why creating a new category also means helping retailers understand where it belongs.
How curiosity helps him respond to uncertainty and technological change.

TIMELINE

00:00 : Cold open

01:34 : Meeting Pontus in Stockholm

02:18 : Inside OBAYATY’s historic home

04:17 : Stockholm’s creative scene and the Acne family

08:06 : Growing up in Sweden, magazines and international influences

14:28 : Building a creative agency within Acne

19:03 : Frankenstein Studio and the search for desirability

22:08 : Ambition, hard work and looking beyond Sweden

26:23 : Books and the projects that stay with him

28:02 : The unexpected call behind Six Senses Ibiza

31:03 : Approaching unfamiliar projects and building a concept

33:21 : Finding clients and collaborators who share a vision

36:55 : From agency work to building a beauty brand

38:13 : Max Martin, music and a long friendship

40:26 : The origins of OBAYATY

44:20 : Confidence, beauty and products designed around men

49:36 : Face, eyes and a three-minute routine

55:31 : The collection, refills and packaging choices

58:12 : Years of development and the reality of product testing

1:02:42 : Launching the brand and early retail partnerships

1:05:33 : Creating a category retailers do not know where to place

1:08:09 : Masculinity and differences between markets

1:11:12 : Customer feedback and the importance of a ritual

1:13:34 : First encounters with the products

1:17:52 : Branding and communicating the product experience

1:21:33 : Inside the Essentials collection

1:26:42 : International ambition and finding the right partners

1:31:11 : Looking back and advice for the next generation

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Nb: TheBoldWay ou The Bold Way, anciennement connu sous le nom de Entreprendre dans la mode ou EDLM , est un podcast produit et réalisé par Adrien Garcia.

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