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44 May 2014 | beautystorebusiness.com Beauty Store Business : Please tell us about your background and how you entered the beauty industry. PORTER: I completed my master's degree at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and then entered the IST [Instructional Systems Technologies] doctoral program at Indiana Univer- sity. While in Bloomington, I met Bill Cook, founder and president of Cook Inc., which is the largest privately held medical-device company in the world. He had a vision of funding the most comprehensive wellness center in the United States. I was selected to lead the development of the facility design, fund- raising, programs and operations. Along with community leaders, we imple- mented the first cardiac, pulmonary and cancer rehab programs of their kind. Soon after opening the doors to the community, a member walked into my office and wanted to share chemistry research her son-in-law, Dr. Keith Ault, was doing at Ball State University. The same weekend I was to meet with Dr. Ault, I met my wife, Deb. Our first date was my invitation to hear about Dr. Ault's research on ascorbic acid, which is the primary component of vitamin C. I participated in research on vitamin C and was most impacted with our findings from tests in the Human Performance Laboratory: 1) Ascorbic acid surrounds every seed in plants and animals, pro- tecting it from oxidation and radiation; and 2) the more vitamin C ingested, the more likely it is passed through human sweat. This was my "aha" moment, real- izing the importance of ascorbic acid in our lives and that nature is attempting to use vitamin C to protect our skin from oxidation in the world around us. After Deb and I married and the new wellness center was in full operation and self-sufficient financially, we moved to Malibu, California, where I worked with leaders in the Pacific Palisades/Malibu community to develop a wellness center much like the one in Bloomington. After negotiating purchase options for where the new facility was going to go, it became clear to me that my next chapter had to be to introduce this technology to the world. How did your company start? It was Bill Cook who encouraged me to get into manufacturing. We started our company, C-Free Enterprises, in 1985, in our guest bedroom and garage with the $5,000 I had saved in my retirement account. Dr. Ault and a lab assistant, Dilip Vyas, blended and filled all of our early products in Indiana. In the late 1980s, we introduced Malibu Tanning Sorbet, which was successful in the indoor-tanning indus- try. Customers remembered "Malibu" bet- ter than "C-Free," so we changed the names of our brands to Malibu C and Malibu 2000. As a wellness company, we were more concerned about protecting the skin from tanning, as opposed to accelerat- ing the radiation to skin. With Dr. Ault and Dilip Vyas' leadership, the Malibu Tanning formulas became the basis for European Tanning Systems' [Trevor Island and Aus- trian Gold] formulas in the late 1980s. Dr. Ault and Bill Cook have since passed away, but Dilip Vyas is now our chief chemistry officer. Our mission is to normalize serious conditions of the hair, scalp and skin using nature's approach of Total Oxidation Management [TOM] for humans around the globe. What are some challenges you have faced since starting? Our biggest challenge has always been that we were undercapitalized. How- ever, as a result, we are one of the few privately held companies in the salon/ spa industry that is still owned and oper- ated by a husband-and-wife team. What are some little-known facts about your company? There are a few: We are a contract manufacturer for other beauty brands. We have cosmetic and micro labs with a compliance and regulatory department. And, the Malibu C brand is available globally with the representation of The Kirschner Group. Would you please elaborate on your private-label business? We produce products for popular national brands as well as obscure niche brands both inside and outside the beauty industry. We have the infrastructure and experience to completely fulfill from concept to finished goods. Our manufacturing includes, but is not limited to, liquid fill, dry fill, packets, bot- tles, tubes, syringes and shrink-wrap. We can often produce small batches to help our partners develop their respective brands. What makes your brand unique? Malibu C was the first brand of products to use vitamin C [ascorbic acid] to solve problems for the hair, scalp and skin. We are still the only brand in the world ÒI [realized] the importance of ascorbic acid and that nature is attempting to use vitamin C to protect our skin from oxidation.Ó Images courtesy of Malibu C Tom and Deb Porter M a l i b u D r e a m s . i n d d 4 4 Malibu Dreams.indd 44 3 / 3 1 / 1 4 2 : 1 8 P M 3/31/14 2:18 PM