Mixing the science with nature
Mixing science and nature - Part one
Alchemist, apothecarist or whatever title you want to give them, when you conjure the image of a chemist it is most likely a grey-haired, bespeckled old man in a white lab coat slaving away over test tubes and microscopes.
Breaking Bad’s Walter White may have challenged that perception, but despite his best efforts it’s still not considered one of the 'rock and roll' professions.
Sam Loader doesn’t look like your typical chemist, but he is one of Triumph & Disasters secret weapons. At 24 years of age and with a few days’ growth on his face he looks like a normal Kiwi bloke – he even sounds like one. Sam already has two chemistry degrees behind him and is the man who puts the science into Triumph & Disaster’s products.
Sam leads the team who make sure the natural ingredients in our products work. He also ensures our sometimes left field ideas marry up how we perceive what the customer wants and what unique ingredients we can use to increase the performance of our products and the customer’s experience.
That marriage between science and nature works.
Sam is briefed on a project in terms of performance goals, the feel, look and key ingredients in a product and he then incorporates modern technologies and materials that will achieve (and often surpass) the performance T&D is after.
“We make them work together to give the best function. If Dion wants a non-greasy feel for example we can formulate something to achieve that,” Sam says.
It is easier for Sam to make a product from scratch, but that is not always the way with Triumph and Disaster products.
“The challenge is adapting what Dion wants to our manufacturing procedures. The result is all of the products are unique to Triumph & Disaster, bespoke formulations with uniques combinations of ingredients that deliver a focused performance” Sam says.
"There really is nothing else like it on the market."
"It’s a partnership that has worked well." Dion says. “The importance of Sam and the guys is we come here as the brand owner and we want to be unique in the market place. But we also want to improve the experience of the end user and lead the industry forward, making better performing, safer and gentler products.
When we come to Sam we rely heavily on his teams expertise. There is a bit of back and forth and sometimes we get it close first go. Other times the result is not what we were thinking and we go back to the drawing board. We never settle for its ok or she'll be right, either its great and awesome or it does not get made.”
It may not be seen as a glamorous profession but Sam and his team’s contribution to Triumph and Disaster’s unique range is every bit rock and roll.
