Jake Paul is only 27 but he’s earned many titles thus far in his career: Vine superstar, YouTube troublemaker, undisputed social media influencer, professional boxer (with a 9-1-0 record), media mogul, venture capitalist, Most Valuable Promotions co-founder and star athlete on the company roster. (He’s also well known as Logan Paul’s brother and will soon to be uncle to his big bro’s first child.)
But a couple of years back, Paul was a regular guy walking into a CVS to buy some men’s products. He was so disappointed with the options waiting for him on store shelves that the experienced inspired him to add another title to his resume: Co-founder of W, a new men’s body care line.
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Launching Wednesday in partnership with Geoffrey Woo and Woodie Hillyard with strategic advisor Nakisa Bidarian, W hits the market exclusively at Walmart stores, Walmart.com and GetW.com. Short for “win,” W features three products to start with body wash, body spray and antiperspirant deodorant (in three scents: original, fresh ice and deep woods) and five more to come (two-in-one shampoo and conditioner, bar soap, face wash, pomade and hair gel). Everything will be under $10 and made in the United States, facts that are important to Paul.
During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter over Zoom, Paul opens up on W’s business philosophy, his grand expansion plans (everything from merchandise to maybe even toilet paper) and how he finds a balance from being a killer in the ring to a thoughtful meditative thinker who regularly partakes in sound baths. Of course, we also talked about his upcoming bout with Mike Tyson that was rescheduled for Nov. 15 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, how he really felt about Tyson’s excuse and whether or not former President Donald Trump will accept his invitation to attend.
I’m looking at the products now and in the note I received, there’s this great sentence: “Are you ready for something that makes you want to f*cking win?” What’s the backstory on your ambition to launch a men’s personal care brand?
Really where this all started was me going to CVS one day to get deodorant. This was a couple of years ago now, but all the options had been the same since I was 8 years old. The shelf space literally hasn’t changed. I saw huge room to come in with a better product with a new wave of marketing that didn’t feel outdated like these legacy, old corporate brands. They’re out of touch. There’s no connection with the audience. People are using those products because it’s all they’ve known and it works and smells pretty good.
But we’ve moved into a health conscious generation and people are more aware of what they’re putting in and on their bodies. That’s why we wanted to make products without weird stuff —no parabens, no sulfates, no dyes. It’s all vitamin infused. When you’re putting it on every single day, your skin is actually absorbing it. We have taken a different approach than the whole industry and we believe that we built a company that stands for something. Hopefully, we can bring confidence to people with a winning spirit and attitude [while also delivering a product] that is better for you.
Speaking of confidence, I read that sweating has been a longtime insecurity of yours. What’s the history there?
My body temperature runs super hot, same with my brother. I think it’s a genetic thing. My nose is always sweating and it can be a little bit awkward when I’m sweating in certain moments, especially normal settings like a basketball game or some place where you’re not supposed to be hot. It’s uncomfortable. That’s why it was important for me to make a deodorant that really works, and to make a body wash that smells really good as well because I train super hard. When I’m sparring, I get my opponents’ blood, sweat and everything else on me all the time. I like to be clean. I work out multiple times a day, so I need to be showering multiple times a day as well. I believe that we’ve made a super, super good product and really put it to the test.
You’re a self-described clean freak. What does that look like in your home?
I just have OCD. I like everything to be perfect, laid out and clean. If there’s one thing in the house that’s off, I freak out, so everything’s always pretty spotless. We’re cleaning the floors every single day. That’s just the way my mind works and I do that with myself as well. I don’t like to be dirty or smelly, and that’s been infused into the brand with this OCD, always-being-clean sort of vibe.
The products all have an American flag on the back with a note that it’s made in the USA. Can you tell me about that decision?
Yes, so, we’re manufactured in the USA, and that was obviously important to us as a way to create as many jobs here [as possible] and keep everything in the United States. That’s something that a lot of the big companies in this space aren’t doing. It was important to us to keep things close to home.
And why Walmart?
Man, I love Walmart. I grew up going to Walmart. When I went to Bentonville to meet with them, they instantly understood the vision and what it was that I was trying to accomplish. They saw the passion, they understood the brand, what W represents and what it means in culture today. They got the importance of encouraging young men to chase Ws by working hard, whether that be in school as valedictorian, in sports as a jock or by giving back as a philanthropist. Those are all Ws in my mind. They instantly saw the vision and were super, super passionate about it. They shared the same sentiments and believed that this could be such a big brand.
I was at a Walmart yesterday and there seems to be a spot for you and the brand in this space. You’re launching with three products — body wash, deodorant and body spray — with two more to come with bars of soap and two-in-one shampoo. Beyond that, where do you see W going? Have you identified other categories for expansion?
The goal is to take over the whole bathroom — toothpaste, towels and who knows, we might even do toilet paper one day. I don’t know. It’s a bizarre idea, but it could be interesting. Really though, we want to be a brand that just has cool products. We can do streetwear clothing, you can put W on a backpack. The logo looks cool for skateboarders to have on their skateboards. We see this as this cultural brand and something that the audience can connect to on a bigger level beyond just a product, it’s a way of life. I think that really comes through in the brand. Once you see the content that we will put out, the ethos and that spirit of the brand will really come alive.
Speaking of Ws, Jake Paul, no conversation with you is complete right now without talking to you about Mike Tyson. The fight has been rescheduled to Nov. 15. What was your initial reaction when you heard that Tyson was too ill to make the original date work?
I was really sad. You get so focused on training super, super hard every single day and it made me so sad. It was also just devastating for everyone on the undercard. I really wanted it to happen so I just had to step back, reset, meditate, collect my thoughts and just be like, alright, patience, we’ll wait for this. We’ll wait for the right moment. I believe the universe doesn’t make mistakes. We’ll see if the answer to why this was pushed back is ever revealed.
Tyson has a birthday later this month. He will turn 58 on June 30. Age is a huge part of this story, do you think it matters he will be a year older by the time you get into the ring?
Yeah, look, age is the neutralizing factor of this fight. It is the reason he has so much more experience than me, but my youth and athleticism is what balances this out and it makes it a 50/50 fight. On paper, he should rip my head off but because of the age, it makes it even.
How has the date change impacted your training?
I’ve stayed focused and stayed in training mode because I’ve had such good momentum. I’m getting better in the gym every single day. It is the sort of thing that messes with your mind, though. I’m committed to the goal of becoming a world champion, and just because a fight isn’t happening at a certain time doesn’t mean I’m going to slow down. I need to use this time to play catch up because all these other fighters have been doing it their whole lives. For me, it’s only been four and a half years and I’m competing at such a high level already. I still have a long way to go to get better to catch up to these guys.
Something else that has gotten a lot of attention in recent weeks is the invite you extended to former President Donald Trump to attend the fight. The Trump campaign responded by saying they were “seriously considering” it. With a new date, the fight will now be after the election on Nov. 5. Have you heard anything more about whether he will show?
I haven’t heard anything since the date being changed, unfortunately. But I guess we’ll wait and see what happens.
Speaking of Nov. 5, will you vote in the election? Would you go as far as to endorse Trump for president?
Yeah, Trump is the right option for the country at this time. That’s just how I feel. I know he ruffles some feathers and says a lot of sh*t on [X, formerly Twitter] or he used to, but we shouldn’t judge someone based off of what they’re doing on [X, formerly Twitter]. We should judge how good a job they did as a president. I think he did a much better job than Biden, at least.
Do you think Biden’s age is a factor?
For sure. I look at it like this: If you were starting a company, would you want an 80-something year-old CEO? No. You would want the younger version, someone who still has got a lot of fire left in their belly to be running your company. America is a company. That’s what people don’t really realize about the United States. It’s literally a company and a business. That’s why I also think Trump is great because he’s such a successful businessman who knows how to run a business.
Speaking of businesses, let’s talk about your venture capital firm, Anti Fund. I looked at your portfolio which spans fintech, crypto, e-commerce, consumer brands, education and more. You have interests in AI, which is a sector that has a lot of eyes on it now. What’s your boldest prediction about the future of AI?
I don’t know if I’m the expert to speak on it, but like every other technology that’s been introduced over the past 100 years, it’s scary at first when these revolutionary technologies come out. Everyone is worried about the future and what will become of it, but I believe that humans have always figured out where to draw the lines and how to manage something that is potentially harmful by turning it into something useful for humanity. I trust humans enough to be able to set laws and parameters around AI so that at the end of the day, it can be a useful and helpful thing for society.
What’s the most lucrative business category right now? Where are you making the most money?
Boxing, for sure. It’s just such a cash business. The pay-per-view business is a very lucrative, lucrative business. I’m fortunate enough to be one of those fighters who can draw a big pay-per-view crowd.
I rewatched your Untold special on Netflix, and I once again was fascinated by the duality of Jake Paul. You’re very spiritual, you meditate regularly and do sound baths. Then there’s this side of you that can jump on stage in the lights and taunt opponents and get extremely physical as a world-class athlete. How do you find balance between the two?
I think it’s through knowing who I truly am through spirituality and meditation. Part of me truly is this crazy entertainer because I thoroughly enjoy that. I don’t like things that are boring. I could sit here and talk to you about business and be super normal and have this conversation, but there is a side of me that loves to perform under the lights. It’s fun. I like to entertain people and I believe I’m good at it so I can turn into that mode and there’s all these different sides of me that I know how to access. People do get confused because they’re like, oh, that kid’s an arrogant asshole doing and saying these crazy things. Yeah, that’s true but would you rather have a fighter who goes up there and is like [speaking quietly with his head down], “I’m really excited. I respect my opponent. I’m going to do my best.” No, I don’t want to watch fighters like that. That’s where the confusion comes in but I know who I really am from all different sides and I can tap into those sides whenever I want.
Interview edited for length and clarity.
