From Plasma Donations to Forbes Recognition

John Raushi joined the Marine Corps in 2012 as an Armorer and served four years of active duty. In 2015, while still in the Corps, he noticed his hair was thinning and started reading ingredient labels on his grooming products. What he found alarmed him: synthetic chemicals, plastics, alcohol, and fillers with no real purpose beyond shelf life and cost reduction. He decided those products had to go.

During his last year of active duty, John enrolled in barber school but found himself more interested in researching ingredients and their purposes than in cutting hair. He left barber school to pursue formula creation with only organic ingredients. The process was expensive, and to fund it, John and his wife Rebecca started selling their plasma. After countless failed attempts, he completed the Organic Oil Based Pomade formula in June of 2017. In January of 2018, John and Rebecca met former Marine Nick Koumalatsos and his wife Ali. Six days after trying the products, Nick called to discuss a partnership. On March 6th, 2018, Johnny Slicks Inc. was officially launched.

From Zero to Seven Figures in Two Years

Johnny Slicks became a six-figure business in its first year. By April 24th, 2020, just over two years after launching, it had officially become a seven-figure business. In October of 2021, Forbes called the Johnny Slicks Oil Based Pomade one of the year's best grooming items for men. The brand has been covered by Forbes, MarketWatch, Yahoo News, the Associated Press, and Inc. Magazine. Today, Johnny Slicks is recognized as one of the fastest growing organic grooming companies in the country, with over 15,000 five-star reviews and a community of tens of thousands of loyal Slicksters.

The Slickster Team

Johnny Slicks is run by a real team of real people, most of them veterans or military spouses, all of them genuinely invested in the brand. John Raushi serves as Founder and President. Nick Koumalatsos, a 12-year Special Operations Marine Corps veteran, serves as CEO. Rebecca Raushi manages operations and is, as she puts it, a crazy cat lady who uses Beard Wash as a face wash every day. Ali Capra serves as Director of Content and Marketing. Zach, a retired Marine, is COO. Brendan, a former deputy sheriff, heads manufacturing. Kyle, an eight-year MARSOC Special Operations Officer, is Sales Liaison. The rest of the team spans lab specialists, media creators, fulfillment, customer service, finance, and design, with backgrounds ranging from cosmetology to film school to Army infantry. Several team members are married couples who joined together. It is one of the most human team pages in the brand world.

Only Organic. Every Ingredient Has a Purpose.

Johnny Slicks does not use common formulas. Every product is invented from scratch, with an average development time of eight months per formula. John's research process is exhaustive: every ingredient must have a documented purpose and must be organic. The brand maintains a Research page documenting the science behind its formulas. Too many conventional pomades and grooming products, even premium ones, contain filler ingredients including plastics and alcohol that can damage and thin hair over time. Johnny Slicks sources only American-made organic ingredients and manufactures everything in the United States. That commitment is non-negotiable and is built into the brand's founding identity.