Fatboy

Fatboy is an American haircare brand based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, specialising in professional-grade styling products for all hair types. The company, formally Fatboy Products, LLC, was established in 2016 by hairstylist and musician Tyson Kennedy together with co-founder Tim Youngson [6]. It remains active, selling directly online and through salons, with documented distribution in several markets outside the United States.

The brand grew out of a single styling product and built its identity around a do-it-yourself origin and an inclusive tagline, "Haircare for all." Its best-known item, Perfect Putty, gained a following among professional hairstylists and anchored an expanding range of styling creams, waxes and pomades.

Fatboy traces its beginnings to Tyson Kennedy, the lead singer of the Grammy-nominated band Steriogram. According to the company, Kennedy spent years performing high-energy shows and could not find a styling product that held up through a full set, so he began making his own, mixing batches of putty on his kitchen stovetop before each tour. He refined the formula in New York City and built the brand around it.

The result was Perfect Putty, which the company says Kennedy first made by hand in his NYC kitchen [6]. Kennedy is described in editorial coverage as a Brooklyn hairdresser and founder of the Cutler Salon, who scaled production from that home kitchen to laboratories in the United States.

The founding date is recorded inconsistently across sources. Fatboy's own About page points to 2009 as the year the Perfect Putty formula was perfected in New York [1], while the company's incorporation as Fatboy Products, LLC is dated to 2016 in a press release and corroborating industry profiles [6]. The 2009 reference describes a formula-development milestone rather than the founding of the company; 2016 marks the establishment of the business and its co-founding by Kennedy and Tim Youngson, formerly of the New Zealand punk band Steriogram.

Fatboy positions itself as professional-grade haircare made accessible to a general audience, summed up on its site as "created by professionals for use by everyone." The company frames its range as unisex and suitable for all hair types, including straight, wavy, curly and textured hair, and states that its products are formulated to be safe for colour-treated hair.

The brand's editorial and self-described appeal centres on textured, undone, "beachy" looks, with several products aimed at longer hair seeking natural movement rather than stiff hold.

The brand began with one styling product and expanded to a fuller range of styling and cleansing items. Alongside Perfect Putty, the line includes the Sea Salt Pomade, Charcoal Fiber Paste, Tough Guy Water Wax and Boss Dog Styling Cream, plus shampoos and conditioners.

The Sea Salt Pomade is positioned as a hybrid product, combining the texture of a sea salt spray with the flexibility of a cream pomade. It is formulated with sea kelp, algae extract, coconut oil and shea butter, ingredients the brand describes as enhancing natural texture while moisturising the hair. Fatboy states that it does not test on animals and describes itself as a cruelty-free brand [3]; product listings for the Sea Salt Pomade also note that it is paraben-free and colour-safe [8].

Perfect Putty is described as an award-winning product that developed a cult following among celebrity hairstylists [7]. The Sea Salt Pomade has drawn editorial attention: in a 2017 review, Refinery29 presented it as a more effective alternative to traditional sea salt sprays, praising a "tousled finish that wasn't dry or crunchy" and describing its scent as "sexy (like California surfer sexy)" [4]. The grooming publication Man For Himself similarly reviewed the pomade, recommending it for longer hairstyles seeking body and natural movement.

After launching in 2016, Fatboy expanded from a single product to a multi-item range and operates a Brooklyn base it calls "the Fatboy Factory," serving as both headquarters and creative space [6]. In early 2018 the company announced a second round of private capital funding, the appointment of beauty-industry veteran Kenny Kahn as chief executive, and plans for domestic and international growth [6]. At that point it reported sales in Norway, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, with further expansion in European and Asian markets pending.

Fatboy remains active. It operates a direct-to-consumer website featuring current product launches, including a Charcoal Fiber Paste marked as new, maintains a salon-focused professional program, and runs active social media accounts. The brand is US-based with documented international distribution.