By: Damion Anglin Photographer: Fernandez Barrett
West Indies cricketer Marlon Samuels has ventured onto a new pitch with the launch of his fragrance Sextillion 7th Power. The entrepreneur, who has quite the collection of colognes, shared that he could never find the right scent that he really loved; so, he decided to make it. The fragrance has been a labour of love for the cricketer turned entrepreneur who spent over 18 months carefully crafting the look, feel and smell of this unique fragrance brand.
In creating his fragrance, Samuels wanted the aesthetic of the bottle to complement the international high quality that he envisioned the scent to be. “I know what I want in terms of look, style and scent”. It was as a result of this that he brought to life the unique octagon shaped bottle complemented by its sleek velvety texture and gold accents. The fragrance carries both a male and unisex version worth every cent of its high end cost. In formulating his scent, Samuels benchmarked his product to compete with high end luxury brands like Creed Aventus, and believes Sextillion stands its own in comparison
“I know what I want in terms of look, style and scent”
Marlon Samuels
The name chosen for the collection, Sextillion, is not as provocative as it sounds. When Samuels first heard the word, he was quite taken by it and after researching its meaning discovered that it had nothing to do with what the name suggests, instead, has numerical value being a thousand raised to the seventh power. “To me the name was very powerful”
Having launched his fragrance, Samuels shares that the reception has been quite positive within Jamaica and neighbouring territories. “It’s really buzzing. Jamaicans love it; we are probably the most difficult people to please and they are pleased with what I bring to the table so I am very happy”. The entrepreneur is in talks with a number of distributors to have his product available on the global market; sharing that conversations with Amazon and Cave Shepherd in Barbados have already begun. For Samuels, the Sextillion fragrance is only one of many products that the brand will carry.
Reflecting on the legacy his has created thus far, Samuels shares that he is most proud of the family he has created; not only those by blood and friendship but also his fans and social media following which he refers to as his ICONIC family as he is affectionately referred to by them as ICON. He also shared that he spends most of his days between school drop offs and pickups, engaging with his social media following.
Samuels has given back quite extensively through the work of his foundation and in his general interactions with persons on a daily basis. He believes that he has been blessed with more than enough to be able to give back. He shared that after stabilising his fragrance in the market, he will refocus the work of his foundation to support the fight against breast cancer; having been originally providing support to the blind. The Cricketer and Entrepreneur also has big plans of meeting a Navy Seal; a path he believes he would have taken had he not become a cricketer. With a full journey still ahead of him, Marlon Samuels is ready to create an international buzz is business and merchandising and we can’t wait to see what he does next.