About Smelly Men (and Women, and Boys)

Or: How A Bar Of Soap Started All This

The Gift

A training partner at my jiu jitsu club very kindly gave me a bar of natural soap as a thank you gift. I'd helped him out as a newcomer to jiu jitsu and he appreciated it.

One shower later, I had questions.

Why did this soap feel completely different to everything I'd been using for 30 years? Why did conventional shower gel suddenly feel like washing with engine degreaser? Why was all natural personal care aimed at women or people who meditate?

And the big one: Why is men's personal care in the UK still rubbish?

Same artificial fragrances. Same chemicals that dry your skin. Same plastic bottles ending up in landfill or the ocean. Nothing had evolved since I was a teenager.

I'm James, by the way. I'm 56. I've been training jiu jitsu for 6 years (purple belt, if you're interested). I'm also a dad of three boys and spent 25 years in advertising strategy before starting Smelly Men in September 2024.

That bar of soap started something.

Be Smelly

Being Smelly isn't about body odour. It's about giving a shit.

What you use. What goes on your skin. What ends up in landfill. Whether you question why everyone uses the same stuff without thinking.

Most people smell fine. Their Lynx or Dove does the job. But they could smell better - with products that actually work, don't coat them in synthetic chemicals, and don't trash the planet.

That's what being Smelly means.

If you're reading this, you're probably already Smelly. You just didn't know there was a name for it.

A Family Affair

Smelly Men started as just me, sourcing natural products I'd actually want to use. Soaps and deodorants that work for blokes without the wellness warrior energy.

Then my wife Chara kept asking when I'd launch Smelly Women.

I resisted. Too competitive. Too many natural brands already aimed at women. Why would anyone care?

She pointed out her Instagram community might disagree. Over 10 years she'd built an audience of women over 40 with strong feminist instincts who don't fit into neat categories. They're not looking for serenity and yoga pants. They want honest products without the patronising nonsense.

She was right. Smelly Women launches soon - for women who know what they like and don't need permission to enjoy it.

Our middle son is the face of Smelly Boys. Our other sons use the products too. One of them proved natural deodorant actually works on teenage boys, which frankly is the hardest test of all.

It's quite literally a family business. We're all the faces of our respective brands. No stock photos of perfect humans doing yoga on beaches.

Tested under jiu jitsu conditions.

All Smelly Men products are tested at the jiu-jitsu club I train at. An hour of grappling with sweaty blokes in a hot room is the real test. Your morning commute is nothing by comparison.

My training partners became my official product testers. They didn't complain, which we're taking as a win.

If it works after rolling, it works.

The Honest Bit: We don't make the products ourselves.

We're transparent about this. We work with excellent UK suppliers who are experts at making and certifying natural soaps and deodorants.

We curate the products, create the branding, handle all the marketing and operations. 

Why not make them ourselves? Because making consistently good natural products is difficult, expensive, and requires years of expertise. Our suppliers know what they're doing. We know branding, positioning, and reaching people who might never otherwise consider natural personal care.

Think of us as the record label. They're the artists.

Our relationship with our suppliers is excellent. They're shifting more products, we're bringing natural personal care to new audiences, and we all share the same values around ingredients and sustainability.

Everyone wins.

Why personal care matters

Here's something even the SAS teach their soldiers: when things get tough, brush your teeth.

Small acts of taking care of yourself help you feel better mentally. When you're struggling, personal hygiene is often the first thing to go. Getting it back is how you start climbing out.

We're not saying soap and deodorant cures anything. We're saying showing up for yourself - even in small ways - matters.

As a dad of three boys, I wanted them to understand that taking care of yourself isn't shallow or vain. It's foundational. How you feel physically affects how you feel mentally.

And you might as well use products that work, smell good, and don't harm you or the planet.

Personal care isn't shallow. It's survival.

What we stand for

100% natural ingredients
No SLS, no parabens, no synthetic parfum. Just essential oils, plant butters, and things you can pronounce.

Plastic-free
Recyclable cardboard throughout. No single-use plastic pretending to be eco-friendly because the lid comes off.

Vegan and cruelty-free
All products are vegan. We're not vegan ourselves, so we won't lecture you about it. It's just a product fact.

Handmade in the UK
Supporting skilled makers who know their craft. No mass production. No shipping products thousands of miles.

Honest pricing
We're competitive for all-natural products. Are we cheaper than Tesco shower gel? No. Are we worth it? Ask our customers.

Straightforward subscriptions

Buy once or set up a subscription you can cancel anytime. No dark patterns. No making it difficult to opt-out.

The Collections

We organize products by mood and occasion, not just scent:

Early Doors - For mornings that mean business
Day Off - For weekends and doing nothing
Scrub Up - For going out (possibly regretting it later)
Teen Spirit - For lads getting up and about (Smelly Boys)

Because "sandalwood and bergamot" doesn't tell you when to use it.

What's Next?

Smelly Women launches soon. Chara's leading that. Different audience, different tone, same values.

We'll keep expanding the ranges. More scents. More moods. More options for people who want better products without the performance art.

Maybe we'll commission custom products eventually. Maybe we'll open a physical shop (unlikely - we quite like working from home). Maybe we'll just keep doing what we're doing.

The mission is simple: help people smell and feel better, naturally.

If you're Smelly, you get it.

Get in touch

We pack every order ourselves. We answer emails personally. No anonymous warehouses. No offshore call centres.

Questions? Ideas? Just want to say hello?

Email: james@smellymen.co.uk
Instagram: @smellymenofficial

(I'm also at SBG Haslingden most mornings if you want to come roll and smell the products in action.)

James
Founder, Smelly Men
Slightly obsessed with natural soap and deodorant.