Welcome my dude nice to meet you, I'm Lucas: skater, creator, and entrepreneur. When I was 12, my life was all about the usual routine: school, skating, studying, and repeating. But something changed when and decided I wanted to rock some black nail polish. Little did I know, that simple desire would set me on a journey to transform not just my nails, but an entire industry.
Picture this: all I wanted was some sick black polish to express myself. But I found shopping for a simple rad product uncomfortable, confusing, and anything but welcoming. And to top it off, after I'd put in the effort to paint my nails and hit the skatepark, my creation was wrecked. Frustration led to a chat with my amazing Mum, and dude, I had to make it happen.
I knew I wanted something fast drying, super simple (no fiddly base coat or top coat!) that fit into my hands, I knew a fat texta was rad for doodling on my nails, why not a nail polish pen? And upgrade it, cause you and I wanted something that lasted a skate session; and the cult Glossy Boys Gel Polish Pen was born. Fast forward 3 years, and here I am – having gone viral not just once- but loads- cause the Gel Polish Pens are just that rad for DIY on the go manicures. So much has happened! I've spoken on the red dot at TEDx, and Glossy Boys nail polish for lads, has over 20 super rad colors and an awesome community of thousands- our very own ‘Glossy Brigade’ named after the 80’s pioneer skate brigade ‘The Bones Brigade’ cause you and I know it, they were rebels too.
In Year 9, most of my peers are just doing their thing, but I've chosen a slightly different path. I'm not just a student; I'm a dedicated entrepreneur. My days are filled with creativity, developing new nail shades and products and engaging with our awesome and kind community. I go to a rad specialist school that allows me to keep creating rad products for you. Every time you purchase Glossy Boys or leave a comment, I’m here to see it, and I love it, you rock.
And let's talk about you for a moment – yes, you. Because that's what it's all about. I'm here to show you how to inject some rad self-expression and turn up as your best self, my dude.
Imagine a world where self-expression isn't limited by norms, where your style speaks louder than any words ever could. That's the world I'm inviting you to join me in creating. You’ll find you get compliments, and people will find you just a little more interesting.
So join me on this totally rad ride, as we paint the world in colors that refuse to conform, and let's redefine what it means to stand out – and remember, to be rad always, ✌🏼
Founder, Glossy Boys
Forward by Simon Thuijis of Deloitte:
Meet Lucas. He’s 14, and he's the proud Founder of Glossy Boys.
Lucas is a skater, an ideas guy, and just wants everyone to feel comfortable being themselves. So when it came to nail polish, that had to include Lads (‘male-identifying people’) as he calls them, like himself.
Lucas wanted to give nail polish a go, not thinking it a big deal. Only to discover it was a Pink Battlefield! Super overwhelming for a Lad like himself. At the local pharmacy when faced with asking for help, he considered the “quick draw” as he describes it: “do I ask for help and lie? Or am I honest and say it’s for me? Quickly he decided to grab the first black bottle he saw and muddled past miles of pink shelves and headed for the counter. He looked at the label on the bottle, “What’s a base coat?” he queried to himself, thinking he had colour he could paint straight on and would look epic even after a thrashing skate. After surviving that experience he knew there had to be a better way. Like a 3-in1 "paint your colour straight on" nail polish that was easy, strong made his hands look unboring, just like he wanted.
Lucas will tell you why he chose a precision painting pen, why lad’s hands can be bigger so they needed a longer handle and that he felt everyone's comfy with a pen. And Glossy Boys is skate-proof. 'It doesn't come off easily', he'll tell you, 'I know from wearing it every day and I get to speak directly to lads like me who say the product is epic. That matters”.
He has been endorsed by Christian Hull and is mentored by Jeremy Chetty, Ben Trottier and Sam McMahon super rad smart peeps.It is so good it was featured on the 'Guardian Good Gift Guide 2022' and has been on national TV a bunch including Channel Seven Sunrise, Channel 9 News, Channel 7 News, and ABC Radio and featured ABC National 'Australian Stories'.
Lucas manages all the social media, with some of his Instagram Reels and TikTok's have reached over 194K with hundreds of likes and engagement that’s off the charts for a young brand. If you ask him he’ll tell you why: his research and thought into understanding his customers where he’ll proudly share his incredibly crafted deck that goes right into education, community, ‘customer archetypes', Google questions, Answer the Public, and what he doesn’t want Glossy Boys to be: not macho, not exclusive, not political. And what he does: welcoming, retro, fun, and accessible. Clear that it is not pretending to be anything other than what it is: self-expression for all.
You can follow Lucas and his Glossy Boys journey on Instagram (@glossy_boys) and LinkedIn where he amuses himself by being a young Founder with ideas to the shock of the grown-ups.
And Lucas would like to remind you, he's here if you need him, oh, and to be rad always,
Simon T, Deloitte
Intro & Story by Simon Thuijs, Senior Consultant, Deloitte Australia and ally of Glossy Boys
Can you ship to the United States of America, I am in California. My son absolutely wants to have these!
Posted by Briann
Hi
I heard Lucas speak at an Entrepreneurship conference (YES – Australian School of Entrepreneurship) earlier in the year and was wondering if he would consider coming out to talk to our students at Emmanuel Catholic College. I would love to have Lucas talk to some of our students about how he came up with the idea, pitched it and then formed his business.
The details are below:
1. I have another guest speaker booked in for the 21 Feb 2024 from 8.40 am for 1-2 hours. Based on the availability of the other presenters we might be able to do the 28 Feb or 6 March.
2. There might be more than one presenter. Hence the 2 hour time. We are just trying to get everyone lined up.
3. What do we have in mind for the presentation?
a. We have 4 classes (Year 9 and 10 students) that are working on a passion project and potentially adding the entrepreneurship element to their project. We want to inspire students and give them an idea of how they can go about turning a passion into a business.
b. We then have a Year 12 health class who is working on a couple tasks in Term 1 and the info is as follows:
“Students are to identify a prevalent illness or disease that is affecting the Australian population.” They will need to identify the prevalence, the causes and risks, the outcomes if this disease is untreated, and how the population relates this disease to the Health Belief Model.
“Students are to plan a health expo based around the prevalent illness or disease chosen in their previous task.” This health expo will need to cater to a lower school audience, explain their illness or disease in terms their audience can understand, and make their expo stall engaging and interesting.
• We would like you to speak about the reasons for your business as well as the building blocks that went into making it what it is today, as well as understanding how you hope to expand using your platform.
E.g. Why did you start this? How did you begin your journey from the ground up? How do you advertise to the community and wider audience?
4. We are looking at a 1- 2 hour time slot. We would like to have at least one other speaker so might get you to talk for 20-30 min and then be on a panel maybe.
5. Number of students? Approximately 100
6. What would the cost be?
I look forward to having Lucas come out to talk to our students and inspiring them to make a difference by creating their own business.
Regards
Filipa
Posted by Filipa Belo