Talent and Determination ... A Winning Strategy For Michele and Menaji

Michele has always had a niche when it comes to painting.

By Lyn Scarbrough, Lindyssports.com

Michele Probst’s grandmothers on both sides of the family enjoyed painting, so you could say her love for painting came naturally. Maybe, it was in her genes.

“I’ve always been creative and liked to paint,” she recalled. “At three years old, I would paint sitting in a high chair. My mother wouldn’t let me get up until I finished what I started.”

Her inherent talent, coupled with that dedication and perseverance, paid off big time for Michele when she decided to start her own business. Far from working in a high chair, today she works in an office in Nashville or at a product promotion in New York … on the set for a national television interview or at a charity tennis event in California.

She is founder and CEO of Menaji Skincare, a pioneer in development of men’s cosmetics. The company is recognized as a world leader in the development of men’s skin care products.

The client list is a celebrity roll call from sports, entertainment and politics … Eddie George, Al Gore, Chris Hollingsworth, Evander Holyfield, Jay Leno, Chris Matthews, Tim McGraw, Aaron Neville, Barack Obama and Lynn Swann, just to name a few.

Still, in a sense, Michele has never stopped painting.

“The face is a canvas,” she said. “Think about it. What is the first thing people notice about you? It’s your face. You need to take it seriously.”

For sure, Michele and the people at Menaji Skincare take it seriously. But, the path to getting in this position was a long and winding one. It almost didn’t happen at all.

“My first two years in college, I was a student at Ole Miss, a member of Kappa Delta sorority, an SAE little sister” said Michele, a graduate of Harpeth Hall High School in Nashville. “But that changed. I finished at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville with a major in Psychology. But, I had absolutely no clue what I wanted to do.”

She ended up in Chicago working with a modeling agency.

“I had painted as a hobby, but I was too much of a people person to pursue painting on canvas as a full-time career. But I hadn’t realized until then that painting faces was also a career. So, I studied make-up there and ended up back in Nashville.

“Actually, I came to a wedding in Nashville, but it was called off at the last minute. So, I had three days in Nashville and I had my portfolio with me. My uncle, who was a director, asked me to come over.

“What if that wedding hadn’t been cancelled? That might have changed everything.”

Country music provided Michele’s first celebrity exposure … “The first person that actually impressed anyone in my family was Tammy Wynette” … but soon she was being introduced to a wider range of people.

“One time we were doing a music video for a band named Shenandoah,” she remembered. “It was a period piece, so everyone came into make-up dressed like they were from an old western. I was applying make-up to this very good-looking, tall blonde guy and he told me that he played football. I asked him if he played for Vanderbilt.”

Not quite. He was the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.

“I realized that he had an entourage from the Cowboys camp that was now rolling on the floor laughing,” she said. “It was Troy Aikman. Later, I had the privilege of doing the make-up for the Monday Night Football promos.”

As celebrities became more aware of Michele’s expertise, her services became more in demand. Professional businessmen were calling for her help with their skin care and their appearance needs. But, not everyone could pay the upscale rate or allocate the time required for in-person treatment.

The idea for the company was born. She chose the name – Menaji – loosely based on the Scandinavian word “menesse.”

“That’s man plus power,” she said. “So, it means ‘man-power.’”

“Even if every man can’t receive personal attention, they can still benefit from having our products at home and learning how to use them there. We decided to develop and market the products for the end-user. But, back in 1997, it never crossed my mind what would end up happening with these products and this company.”

Product development evolved during three years of extensive research directed by chemists, dermatologists and doctors.

“I was introduced to my chemist by my cousin who is a dermatologist,” Michele recalled. “He (the chemist) is a third generation Arapaho Indian. It took three years to develop the first product and the development of three products before we ever shook hands on the deal.

“And, getting our products into the marketplace definitely wasn’t a high-tech operation. I had to put labels on the bottles with scotch tape for the first salon where our products were sold to the public.”

That all changed quickly. From start-up to world leader in just a few years.

“It has been exciting to be a pioneer in a market that is continually exploding,” Michele said. “When I first started the company, people laughed at me. Now, men are the number one target in the beauty industry.”

According to Michele, men spend $33 billion annually in the United States alone on their appearance. She feels that it’s important to reach that large national audience with information about proper skin care and about her company’s products.

“Men care about the way they look,” she explained. “They put their skin through a lot of different pressures. We’ve always tried to introduce products that were not available in the marketplace. We need to make men aware of the simple formula for our products – easy to use, immediate results, and undetectable. That’s a key for our products – undetectable.”

Michele also stresses the health aspect of skin care treatment.

“Healthy skin is the most important element of a great looking face,” she said. “It’s is not only easy to achieve, it’s critical and you can do it for yourself. It’s important to put your best face forward.”

Customer reaction has been outstanding as evidenced by the company’s growth. Responses have come from unexpected places.

“Thank you for helping with my confidence on my return to civilian life,” wrote a military operations officer returning to the United States after service in the heat, wind and desert conditions of the Middle East. “The transition coming home is always difficult, but you made it so much easier because I look good and feel good about myself.”

Menaji’s emphasis on men’s health doesn’t stop with skin care. The company is the official skin care product for the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF). In conjunction with specific promotions, a percentage of proceeds from product purchases are contributed to the PCF.

“We were approached by Donald Trump’s people to help sponsor the PCF Pro-Am Tennis Tournaments. We have helped raise over $18 million for the cause.”

What about the future for Menaji? Michele’s goal is simple.

“We want to stay at least three steps ahead in developing products for the male market,”says Probst.

That early talent and dedication is still as important today as it was when she was young. It’s those things that will carry Menaji into the future.

Menaji Skincare products are available at retail locations and through e-commerce from all over the globe.