Unlabelled body care was created to celebrate diversity and help tackle youth suicide. Its founders, award-winning skincare professionals, Anthony McDonough and Chris Glebatsas, are donating one hundred percent of profits to charities to improve the mental health of Australian youth.
About Unlabelled Body Care
When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade, right? After facing obstacles in their ‘coming out’ journeys, Anthony and Chris are now proud members of the LGBTQIA+ community. They teamed their personal experiences with their prowess as award-winning skincare professionals to create Unlabelled body care. Inspired by Anthony’s 18-year-old daughter, they turned their backs on successful corporate careers to focus on helping future generations instead. Unlabelled’s focus is on dealing with identity, body image, anti-bullying, depression and LGBTQIA+ issues that can lead to youth suicide.
Unlabelled celebrates diversity and aims to help tackle youth suicide by teaming up with leading charities Black Dog Institute, Headspace, Q Life and Kids Helpline. One hundred percent of profits are donated to these charities.
“Some of the labels we use in society can be divisive and limiting,” explains Chris, “particularly for young people when they’re trying to figure out what it means to be them. Labels can actually make it much harder. So, that’s why we’re saying, ‘just be unlabelled, be you’.”
Unlabelled Body Care Founders and Their Stories
Both Anthony and Chris have their own experience in finding their true identity.
Anthony grew up in a large religious family, without really thinking about his sexuality. He married young, started a family and lived in Europe, enjoying a successful career. His relationship broke down after moving back to Australia and he began to explore his sexuality.
At the early stages of coming out, Anthony confided in friend that he thought he might be bisexual. The friend laughed it off, saying there was no such thing, a common misconception within the Gay community. When he met Chris though, Anthony felt he could have a real relationship with another man and be his authentic self.
Chris also grew up in a conservative religious family. When he was 13, he raised questions about his sexuality with his family. He was sent to a religious doctor who used controversial conversion therapy. The attempt to “pray the gay away” added to Chris’s confusion. So, he moved overseas and explored his sexuality further. After surviving a life-threatening illness, he returned to Australia. He met Anthony, fell in love and came out to his family.
The two began collaborating on how they could use their shared experience to help others. Inspired by Anthony’s biological daughter Grace and her school-age friends, they quickly came up with the idea of Unlabelled. The brand seeks to end the stigma and need to conform to labels, recognising the damaging pressure this can place on young people at the most vulnerable stages of life.
“We want all young people to be able to just be themselves” says Anthony. “That’s why our tagline is, ‘be unlabelled, be you’.”
WorldPride
The duo recently attended a Pride event, presenting Unlabelled body care and explaining what it’s trying to achieve. “We had some amazing mums of transgender kids come up to us afterwards and share how much they absolutely loved the ethos behind our brand,” reveals Anthony. “If we can help kids feel like they fit in and be accepted for being who they are, then we are making a difference. That’s why we do what we do.”
Loud and Proud
Unlabelled Loud and Proud range of will be available in time for Sydney WorldPride 2023. The range comprises three hand washes, three body washes, and two body bar products housed in exclusive packaging with new splashes of colour and Pride messaging.
“The products are natural, made with Tasmanian Sea Kelp Extract (marine collagen),” says Chris. “They have no nasty chemicals and are suitable for sensitive skin. They also really connected with our purpose, to put an end to youth suicide.”
New taglines include the joyous, “love always wins” and the independent, “march to the beat of your own drum”. There’s also a bold tagline that suggests users “be out, be loud, be proud”. On an inclusive level, there is “be brave, be true, be kind”. All incredibly important messages that Chris and Anthony hope the users of Unlabelled body care come to live by.
Unlabelled – The Finer Details
Unlabelled products are natural, vegan, cruelty-free and proudly Australian made. The bottles are made from 100 percent recycled post-consumer waste plastic, helping to reduce landfill and improve our waterways. The boxes are made from sustainably sourced pulp, protecting our forests. All label information is printed directly onto the bottle.
Unlabelled is a loud and proud skincare brand and registered Health Promotion Charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC). All profits from the sale of Unlabelled products are donated to charity partners including Black Dog Institute, QLife, Headspace and Kids Helpline. Each charity shares a vision to improve the mental health of young Australians and help reduce the incidence of youth suicide.
