​​How Darrell Spencer Is Redefining Men’s Grooming

Before founding Crowned Skin, a fast-growing men’s grooming brand that has already crossed eight figures in revenue, Spencer spent years at the highest levels of big tech. His résumé includes Meta, Google, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, where he worked in digital advertising, helping some of the world’s largest corporations generate millions in ad revenue.

“I loved what I did, but I realized I was making everyone else rich,” Spencer says. “I had so many tangible skills that I could put to the test for myself.”

That realization led him to launch his first company, King’s Crowning, which scaled to seven figures in just a few years. But when cheaper competitors entered the market, Spencer faced a pivotal moment. Instead of giving up, he regrouped. “I fell in love with the solution and not the problem,” he admits. “When I lost market share, I had to re-strategize and pivot.”

That pivot became Crowned Skin. Walking down store aisles, Spencer noticed a glaring void: men’s skincare offerings were uninspired—razors, shaving creams, and little else. “Women had great products, but men didn’t,” he recalls. “I wanted to innovate the market again, and that’s when Crowned Skin was born.”

Spencer describes Crowned Skin as more than skincare. “We offer confidence in a jar,” he explains. The brand’s hero product, body butter cologne, merges luxury fragrance with premium skincare ingredients. “Imagine rubbing your favorite cologne over your body as a moisturizer,” Spencer says. “It’s essentially a two-in-one.”

The results speak for themselves. Customers rave not only about smoother skin but also about the boost in self-assurance the products deliver. “Men tell me their wives are giving them more attention, or women stop them in their tracks to compliment how good they smell,” Spencer shares. “That’s the real impact, helping men feel confident, seen, and celebrated.”

Spencer credits much of his success to the skills he honed in tech. “At Google, I learned search advertising. At Facebook, I mastered retargeting. At LinkedIn and Pinterest, I understood how platforms worked together,” he says. “Those lessons are priceless, they taught me how to generate millions online.”

But entrepreneurship taught him something else: the importance of team and resilience. “You’re only as good as your team,” he says. “In my first company, I wore too many hats. Now, I trust experts to fill those gaps.”

Just as crucial is his mindset around failure. “Failing forward has been everything,” Spencer says. “When competitors shook my first business, I didn’t fold. I pivoted. And that pivot created a company that has surpassed my first one by leaps and bounds.”

Crowned Skin’s rise is not just a business story, it’s cultural. In less than two years, without outside investors, Spencer bootstrapped the brand to over eight figures in revenue. On TikTok Shop, Crowned Skin ranks as the No. 2 men’s grooming brand.

“It’s pretty much unheard of,” Spencer says. “A Black-founded brand, created by Black men, bootstrapped to this level of success, it’s something I’m deeply proud of.”

Looking ahead, Spencer is laser-focused on expansion. The brand is doubling down on its body butter colognes, introducing new fragrances, and preparing additional men’s grooming essentials currently in R&D. Retail partnerships are also on the horizon.

“I want Crowned Skin to be a one-stop shop for men’s grooming,” he says. “Whether you buy online or at your local supermarket, I want convenience and excellence to define the experience.”

For Spencer, the impact goes beyond revenue. “I didn’t have a father who was a CEO or an uncle who could hand me a playbook,” he says. “I had to figure this out myself. My story is about pressing go, even without resources. I want people to see that despite adversity, you can build an eight-figure company, soon a nine-figure one, and truly impact the world.”

At its core, Crowned Skin isn’t just about grooming—it’s about rewriting the narrative of what men’s skincare can be. And for Darrell Spencer, it’s also about leaving a legacy of resilience, innovation, and confidence.

Recently featured on the Tamron Hall Show, where Tamron herself raved, “This is one of the most amazing things I have ever smelled. I want to run home and slather this on my husband.” Crowned Skin continues to cement its place as a force in the beauty industry. The #2 ranked skincare brand on TikTok Shop, Crowned Skin recently unveiled a bold new rebrand and its latest collection, timed perfectly to close out National Skincare Awareness Month.