lifestyle

Lather up the Morning Wood

Josh W. Jones, the founder of Liberty Man Soap, is a Brevard native, a rabid libertarian, and in my eyes a local hero. Josh decided to withdraw from the corporate machine and follow his dream of creating handmade soap made from natural ingredients, by and for men. By taking that one small step into the shower with a bar of his own soap that wouldn’t irritate his skin or challenge his masculinity, he’s done men everywhere a great service. One small step for man, one giant leap for equal rights in showers across America.

 You see, women have ruled the world of soap and cleanliness for too long, forcing men to make some very hard decisions. Give up your manhood and use soap that’s designed for and marketed to women (because that’s the good stuff right?) or use some harsh “boy soap” that irritates your skin and leaves you smelling like a nervous teen that went a little heavy on the cologne before junior prom. You know the stuff I’m talking about. The chemically infused goop in a plastic bottle, which promises to clean your face, body, and hair while simultaneously causing every attractive female in a 50-mile radius to stampede into your bathroom in a sex crazed frenzy. Turns out that doesn’t work so I prefer to lather up the morning wood. Here’s an interview with the man himself, Josh W. Jones.

1 So, tell us a little about yourself.

A little about me? Does anyone have a problem telling you a little about themselves? Since I’m on the spot I guess I could try to give you the short version. I’m 33 years old, a Brevard native living in exile in Orlando for the last four and a half years with my beautiful and patient wife, two French bulldogs, and cat. I was born and raised in Melbourne Beach and Mel-High grad. I’m a rabid libertarian, nature lover, clean food and clean living convert, aspiring organic gardener and soon-to-be father. I actually wanted to grow up to be an astronaut but ended up following my second dream of making manly soap.  

 2 Why soap?

 It is a bit random. I suppose it stems back to the day I became violently allergic to the so-called soaps I was using. Turns out they’re full of real bad stuff. Who knew? I spent the better part of 2 years trying to find a good ‘sensitive skin’ product and didn’t have much success. One day a friend of mine who makes his own soap gave me a bar, and voila; it cleared my skin issues up. He tells me all about the process and I get busy researching how to make it for myself. I was unemployed and career wandering with no desire to get back into the corporate machine and it just kind of came to me. I needed to create again. At the time I felt that manly handmade soap was severely underrepresented in the marketplace. Liberty ManSoap was born from that and I got to work. 

 3 Your soaps have these amazing names, where did you get these ideas?

Actually, they just kind of come to me. I figured that I had to make some waves in this market. It’s dominated by women and caters almost exclusively to them. How do I get the attention of people? Shameless pun exploitation and generous use of double entendre! We refuse to take ourselves too seriously. ‘First Amendmint’ is a mint bar and was the first successful scent I created. It plays on my love for freedom and this country. ‘Tea Party’ is made with real brewed green tea and smells like Earl Grey. Good for washing off war paint and for washing hands before eating fancy tiny sandwiches on the good china. The ‘Badass Sassafras’ bar is the manly-man hardcore exfoliator. ‘Morning Wood’ is self-explanatory. What’s that look for? It smells like the forest at dawn!  

 4 have you had any expert feed back about your product?  

Depends on what you consider an expert! Turns out that soapmakers are one of the largest consumers of soap out there. The community has bought quite a few bars and so far I’ve gotten some very encouraging responses. The bulk majority of the feedback I’ve heard is from my customers. They’re paying the bills, so their opinion is the only one I really listen to. People generally know when they are on to something good. No haters yet. I guess I should try harder!  

 5 My favorite is morning wood, do you have a favorite soap?

I’m getting a lot of great reviews on ‘Morning Wood’. I guess I’m partial to ‘First Amendmint’. It may be because it was my first successful soap but it all depends on what catches my attention when I need a new bar for the shower.  

6 I like the no frills manly branding, what was the concept behind it?

I designed the packaging to be simple, clean, and responsible to the environment. The soap is a fresh product and I felt like the packaging should reflect it. We stay away from plastic and use as much recycled material as we can. We men prefer function over form. Liberty ManSoap is built for speed; we don’t get all caught up in trying to be pretty. 

 7 where can people purchase your soap? 

We’re online at libertymansoap.com 24/7. We’re going to start selling at a farmer’s market starting mid-October and we’re starting to look for some retail partners to carry the line, hopefully within the next few months, so keep your eye out. You can join us on Facebook and Twitter too for the most up to date info. 

 8 Any manscaping tips for the masses before you go?

 “Always shave with the grain. Always”.

Alright fellas you head it here first. Lets get to the point badass sassafras style. Get those dead skin cells of your face punk. Break!