On this episode, Indie chats with Saleam Singleton of The Method Male. Saleam is a Brooklyn based men’s skincare + beauty advocate and content creator. He’s currently a contributing writer for Byrdie.com and represents as part of their Byrdie Boy franchise.
A native of Philadelphia, Saleam grew up expressing himself through acts of beauty and personal style. He also discovered his interest in media early on - and has since combined his passions. His goal is to contribute to the inclusion of Black men’s voices in the beauty industry. He posts content regularly via his instagram feed The Method Male.
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On this episode, Indie chats with Saleam Singleton of The Method Male. Saleam is a Brooklyn based men’s skincare + beauty advocate and content creator. He’s currently a contributing writer for Byrdie.com and represents as part of their Byrdie Boy franchise.
A native of Philadelphia, Saleam grew up expressing himself through acts of beauty and personal style. He also discovered his interest in media early on - and has since combined his passions. His goal is to contribute to the inclusion of Black men’s voices in the beauty industry. He posts content regularly via his instagram feed The Method Male.
Links:
Hey everybody, its indie Lee and welcome back to coming clean with indie Lee. I'm your host. And today I am so excited. I am sitting down with Celine Singleton. Now Celine is a Brooklyn based content creator extraordinaire in my mind. I'm absolutely in love with what he actually is creating in the way he's creating. But what drew me to him was I had this experience where I got to sit
Unknown:Yeah, absolutely. And it's interesting that you say purpose, because when I came up with the idea for the message mail, it was it was because I was taking so much content on YouTube some years ago. And I was loving every from everyone, you know, men, women in between, but I wasn't seeing myself. And it's something that you hear so much, but it was something that I love to take in. And
Indie Lee:I think you definitely did it. I mean, and you're certainly being noticed, I noted that, you know, you are now a contributing writer for birdie, which is incredible. I mean, did they find you through your tiktoks was a YouTube was it Instagram?
Unknown:Um, well, you know, I I started creating for the method mail on Instagram. That idea started in 2014. And I did some videos on YouTube, you know, dabble when I got on Instagram in 2017 is when I started to be consistent and I think I've been exposed to so many really incredible people in the beauty community that somehow My name got around and the editors at birdie they liked what I
Indie Lee:I love Bernie I've always loved their franchise I think that what they're doing has always been spot on and just proves the point. Look, they got you so no, I meet you. I love I really do enjoy all their content. So tell the listeners here a little bit more more about what method mal is and how it came to be.
Unknown:Yeah, well, you know, initially it was an idea that I had, you know, like I mentioned watching YouTube particularly seeing the Michelle Fonz and me to Bethany motors at the time. He campaigns for youtubers on the New York subway. And if you didn't, there was the beginning of people starting careers and beauty, but I don't even want that. But I just wanted to create content. I've always
Indie Lee:You really are beauty junkie.
Unknown:Oh, yes. So you know, it was like something that I thought was so much worse than it was, you know, I thought I was so like, you know, and you go looking for solutions and early age, but I also found it like being in a beauty. I'll also put me next to the magazines, which really gave me a love for beauty, media and fashion and photography. So those things kind of combined, because it give him advice as it pertains to beauty and self care. We all would like to have or could use or you know, is effective when we can see ourselves in beauty media, not just in social media assets or in commercials. But we also want to receive the advice from people like us. Oh, well, that's sorry.
Indie Lee:No, no, I agree with you that goes to the influence. You know, there's and you and I've had this conversation, there's a difference between a content creator and an influencer. And you and at this as somebody who wanted to create content so that others saw themselves when they're going through social media and that they had someone that they can look to, to give them information, which
Unknown:right? Because you know, my thing about influencing is is like, okay, it sounds que topically, but it's like influencing what, because I come from production, NPR, and everything that I do with my art, with the things that I produce are all intention. Even if I'm just washing my face, I'm telling a story, you know, I'm using myself solium Singleton, not to be corny, that third person as
Indie Lee:Oh my gosh, yes,
Unknown:there has always been my goal. You know, I love the GQ news. And you know, and I love even what birdie does with their instinct with their YouTube content. And I you know, I've always been interested in being an on camera personality that that is operating within that men's beauty and skincare lifestyle space. So that's something that I'm still developing and working on but also, you
Indie Lee:well, how can we have an industry that is inclusive if the if all the different parts of the industry or the society aren't inclusive, right? It's very, like I find it interesting when they say, Okay, well, we're going to create things for everybody. Well, how do you know, and this isn't just pertaining to beauty? This is really a larger conversation. I mean, when we're talking about
Unknown:Yeah, and if you know, it's something that's overlooked, because the larger conversation about diversity always pertains to the end user, right? Even if it's like the content, which are things that are created after the product has already been made. So again, there's there were there needs to be presence in chemistry labs, so that we're not we're not having to go back and
Indie Lee:trans. I mean, more like, brands or disabled. Absolutely. And what are we doing to make sure that there's age inclusivity? What are we doing so that there is guilt skin, as you're saying skin tone, but you know, I, my cousin is Tran and he is concerned for his skin are very different than my son's, you know, concerns for his skin? And what are we doing to be able to make sure that
Unknown:you know, and I'm, thank you for saying that. And I and I'm still listening to my heart, and discovering what that could be, and trying not to have too much control and ambition and pushing it or shaping, it was still being available for these different opportunities and being able to use my voice, it's still something that I'm adjusting to, you know, like, I'll be honest, like, I'm not
Indie Lee:I think it's happening. I do, I do think it's happening. I think it's been a long time company coming rather a very long time coming, but I think that between the pandemic and then the civil rights movement within a pandemic. Yeah, I think that it is forced people who didn't want to see it, look at it and be confronted with it and get uncomfortable with themselves.
Unknown:I mean, I think a lot of people have allowed themselves to be and people like yourself, you know, and it's not just something that is for white people to do you know what I mean? We all I'm just excited to have my platform to be a black man to have a voice in this industry so that I'm you know, having access to spaces like Bernie where I can have You know, conversations like I had in my
Indie Lee:Well, I mean, listen, you are speaking my language. As you know, I created Andy Lee not because I want to create beauty products alone, I yes, I want to create cleaner options, healthier options, things that had less risk attached to them. But I really wanted to educate and empower and create a community, that would be part of change. And for me, it that is in so many different ways,
Unknown:do you what do you need? What do you what do you and I'm and I'm very, you know, I see that happening within people releasing products that are not pandering, but just addressing specific issues, you can you can see that and things as subtle as ingredients that are being used, that brands are starting to look at ways to address specific skincare issues. And that's, that's incredible.
Indie Lee:And it's I agree with, you know, I had a conversation yesterday, I was doing a training for one of our stores over in UK. And I was talking about our appeal pads. And I was literally saying and for those who, you know, men out there specifically men of color with ingrown hair, this is a great product to use. And I think they were always they were a little bit taken back then I would
Unknown:Yeah, it's important. Um, you know, what is smart is a very underserved market and is something that through what I've been doing on Instagram isn't not an old conversation. Black men are always going to want to know how to deal with ingrown hairs, specifically in our facial area. Our hair grows differently. That's really all it is it grows back into the skin. And I'm always pleading
Indie Lee:Yeah, but you know, for me, it's not even just about putting the products and selling them. It's how do I solve a problem? How do I help someone feel better about themselves? So how can I have them feel like they they're putting their best face forward to say, you know what I mean, like, and whether or not they're blemishes or not, it's how do they feel confident to be on because when
Unknown:In five years, I the method mail as a as a company, so I don't want to confuse that with myself.
Indie Lee:I know,
Unknown:because I was about to the method mail will be a media company. We will be producing longer form content, we will probably be going into scripted. Because you know, it's always been a goal of mine as a writer from childhood to go into telling stories about black people and about queer black people in cities like New York. And just I see us going into products, maybe not skincare products,
Indie Lee:I just love I told you when I, when we first said, I said, Oh my gosh, you came into my life for a reason you are so right on and you couldn't have fed me the line even better if I tried, because my final question for you was literally about President. So here you are creating a movement, right? And that could be exhausting. I mean, truly exhausting, what your what you are going to not
Unknown:it takes a lot of work, I do the work, I talked to my therapist, it took me a long time to find someone that would listen to me and believe what I had to say about my experiences. And now that I have that person and and also I've honed in on individuals that I can trust that I can be Selene, not the method male, not a content creator, not the beauty guide. So presence for me is about
Indie Lee:So and I think it's incredible that you had the foresight to do that, as you said that we were all in a New York minute and as soon as it's over, we're on to the next it's always on to that next you know proverbial hi of what's going to happen where am I gonna go? Who's gonna see me and instead you said, let me be in this.
Unknown:I wanted two chairs that she she said, I like something like I appreciate what you're doing for black men. I was like what? Like, you know, that wasn't an ego thing. I really had to go home and take that in because when I started doing this, I always imagined that anybody would be receptive to what I was creating. Now here I know I'm super deep I talk a lot but people are supporting me
Indie Lee:are amazing. I don't think I I could have asked for a better time spent. Thank you for your presence. Thank you for what you're doing. Thank you for allowing me in your life because I told you Now you're stuck with me when we first stuck and I was very honest with that, you know? Thank goodness. So how can people find you?
Unknown:Yes, you can find me at what at domestic mail on Instagram. I'm there. Yeah, I think that's where everything is you can even find some links to some of my writing amazing content. Fantastic video.
Indie Lee:All right, and I will make sure to include them in the show notes. Slim. Thank you. Thank you for again, the gift of your time. Thank you. Thank you for letting me be my geek. So factor shipping.