A north-east man who has created a brand which has attracted more than 450 thousand subscribers has won a prestigious award.
Robin James of men’s grooming brand Man For Himself, became the first man to be nominated and win Beauty Influencer of the Year in the Scottish Influencer Awards 2024.
The 36-year-old former Forres Academy and Applegrove Primary pupil scooped the award at a recent ceremony held in Glasgow.
Robin, who began Man For Himself as a hobby in 2012, whilst working in the television industry, has now developed the online business which gains millions of views globally every month.
And last week, he appeared in a prime-time spot on BBC Breakfast to talk about the booming male grooming industry.
Speaking of his win, Robin who now lives in Edinburgh said:
“I am so honoured to win this award.
“It’s truly humbling, especially among such an amazing group of nominees.
“It’s really important that I thank the judging panel, but also my followers and subscribers as it’s their support that has made all this possible.”
He added:
“The very fact that BBC Breakfast covered the male grooming industry in such detail and at length, just shows how over the years, this sector has grown.
“I was delighted to be invited on the show as an expert and to be able to represent my community.”
Robin graduated from Glasgow University in 2009 with a degree in politics and history.
He did a Master’s in Broadcast Journalism at City University in London, and his plan was to pursue this as a career.
However, after landing his first job with Channel 4, working on a new reality TV show, Seven Days, produced by the makers of Gogglebox, he soon found his passion.
“Seven Days was really ahead of its time, and it was here, working on the streets of Notting Hill, producing, shooting and editing content that I really started to enjoy this side of the industry.”
From there, Robin moved to Sky where he produced celebrity, style and TV show multimedia content where he found himself on the red carpet at film premieres and at London Fashion Week.
However, it was after a six-month career break in Australia that Robin launched his blog and YouTube channel.
“When I came back to the UK from Australia, I really wanted to re-engage in what I loved so I set up the blog and YouTube channel.
“Playing with products and filming them was a hobby for me when I started out.
“It wasn’t a career option, but I also saw an opportunity.
“Women were doing it for a female audience, but they were still waiting for someone to do it for the men.
“For a while, I managed the brand and my full-time job managing ITV network’s social channels, but from 2014, as Man For Himself was growing, I found it increasingly hard to juggle my day job so by 2016, I decided to go solo and took Man For Himself as my full-time job.”
Since then, Robin has won a string of awards including InStyle Magazine’s Rising Men’s Style Star (2015), in 2017, he won Men’s Health and Grooming in the New Generation Beauty Influencer Awards and followed this in 2019 by scooping Best Men’s Fashion Blog in the Online Influence Awards.
He has also written a grooming column with the Evening Standard online and appeared as a grooming expert on Steph’s Packed Lunch on Channel 4.
Last year, he launched product brand Anforh with its debut product, the Anforh Texture Volume Spray, selling out in its first run and earning rave reviews, including a plethora of 5-star ratings.
Robin said:
“My career path has been an adventure, filled with highlights that have shaped my journey.
“I am now well on my way to launching three further products for hairstyling and I have just launched an A.I tool on my website where people can upload a selfie to see how they will look with different celebrity hairstyles.”
He added:
“What I’ve experienced over the years, is how my brand helps my community.
“Emails, comments, and direct messages are all lovely to receive and they often talk about how my suggestions have helped people feel good about themselves and that’s a real boost.”
