Ryan Lombardo and Mike Bazzi are high school friends from North Carolina with shared values of personal development, health consciousness, (mental, physical and spiritual), and the humility that comes with a lifetime student mentality. From a young age, we connected on the fact that neither of us ever felt we "fit in" with our age peers. However, as introverts keeping to ourselves, we never really made time outside of school to hang out. Typical. So we kept in touch online.
We always knew we would be business partners in an industry we felt intense passion for and we could bring value to the table. With our combined passion for health and wellness, we started with an idea to become, what we now understand, a supplement distributor. We very quickly realized there is little margin in that business, even at scale. Maybe the game is different now, but our hearts go out to anyone struggling in the supplement industry to turn a profit with the margins we saw.
Time passed. Mike's family moved, we both went to college and stayed in touch; focusing on our own journey's. After college, Mike went to work for Microsoft. I moved to California to work for start ups.
Then.. 2020. We all know how that story goes.
Mike had started a separate company but quickly pivoted to help procure and deliver masks where they were needed. Which was basically everywhere. Even here, Mike was focused on the proper way to do things. He sourced tougher to find medical grade masks (N95, KN95 etc.), aiding the medical field to protect their teams while they helped everyone else.
During this same time, I was working for a now well known men's brand. I helped lead the rise of the largest (at the time) facility for in house manufacturing of cold process soap as many people were washing their hands more than ever. Everyone collectively realizing how crappy their current, synthetic soap bar was for their skin. The brand's already meteoric rise boomed again.
At the end of 2021, I opted for a different path and moved back to North Carolina. During the transition, a semi joking Mike says.. and I'm paraphrasing.. "Why don't we start a men's brand??" I had no interest at the time, kind of laughed it off and said back "yeah man let's do it" matching his semi joke with semi seriousness.
BUT THE NAME
One huge reason we focus so heavily on bringing quality and value (other than us not knowing any other way) is our family names are on the chopping block. Lumbazzi, is the mash up of our last names Lombardo and Bazzi. We can't disrespect our families with junk and fluff products and certainly will not disrespect you with the same.
We knew there was only one way for us to build a company together. We will be the goal post. In the Men's Health industry a lot of men are still understanding and learning is important, some companies will come into the fray trying to make a quick buck. We chose to do things our way, which takes longer than many others are willing to sit through.
Lumbazzi is meant to be more than high quality, natural personal care products. It is designed to remind you of your life's vision. Mike and I believe subtle cues, like the feeling of lathering with luxury, knowing your beard is well groomed, or your lips are ready for action, set the tone for your day. Use these cues as reminders of your sense of agency and appreciation for life.
A powerful exercise I've used over the last few years is this: Next time you are in the shower, instead of thinking about what you have to do later today, consider your life's vision. This may be the first time in a while you stop life's momentum and reflect on the direction the wheel is turning. Are you living up to your own potential? Would younger you be proud of current you? Will future you look back on today knowing you were putting in the effort to reach that vision? View this vision without judgements of "should be", "others are", or "too late". Let us know what you came up with in the comments or on social media.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. You gave us your most valuable asset.. your attention and time. We hope we delivered some value here and continue to provide value starting with your next shower.
