Tasmanian man uses illness caused by mould to create $5 million business Three Warriors

A Tasmanian man was struck down by a mystery illness at just 24, leaving him bed-bound and unable to work. But it led to a life-changing idea.

Corbin Halliday was struck down by a mystery illness at just 24 but it resulted in a life-changing idea. Picture: Supplied

At just 24, Corbin Halliday had been working in the beauty industry for almost a decade, but chronic health problems including daily migraines, nerve pain in his legs, arms and feet, and high blood pressure meant he had to give it all up.

Bed-bound and miserable, he spent a long time trying to find out what was wrong.

After his third hospital visit, his blood pressure had become so high, he was close to a stroke.

Shortly afterwards, he was diagnosed with Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS).

“Basically [it] is overexposure to environmental toxins and I was working in hairdressing, which is pretty toxic, and I was also living in a rental apartment at the time that had mould in it underneath the floor of my bedroom and I was breathing it in at night,” he told news.com.au.

“Still to this day, 10 years later, I still struggle with the condition. I’m hypersensitive to chemicals and can tell if there is mould in a house as I flare up within three seconds and get a massive headache.”

Corbin Halliday has spent $45,000 on treatments to try to help him get better. Picture: Supplied

He said he will suffer from the chronic condition for the rest of his life. Picture: Supplied

“[It takes a] long time to recover from exposure to black mould,” the now-35-year-old said, and over the years he has forked out $45,000 on treatments, including spending 200 hours in a hyperbaric oxygen therapy tank – more commonly used for people involved in diving accidents.

Mr Halliday said the tank therapy helps treat his high levels of inflammation, although it does take it out of him.

“It’s so crazy expensive and I feel so sick when I do it – I have to sleep for a week afterwards as I’m so fatigued and then I start to go a few months and the nerve pain is not as bad and the headaches aren’t happening,” he said.

Other treatments he has sought out include vitamin infusions, massages and visiting naturopaths to deal with the “lifelong” chronic illness.

As a result of his diagnosis, he stopped using skincare with “toxins” and cleaned up his diet. But with red hair and pale skin he found it impossible to find a fake tan that was natural and organic.

With no background in chemistry, he began playing around with formulations in his kitchen. Picture: Supplied

Beginnings of an idea

So in 2014 he began “playing” in his kitchen with local Tassie ingredients to create his own organic, “toxin and cruelty-free” fake tan.

“My mum moved in with me while I was really sick. I had just bought my first house and lost my career in the hair industry. She came in to help pay the mortgage and she used to get angry at me for the mess I made all the time,” he said.

But Mr Halliday’s experiments also produced some wild times – and colours – for his own skin.

“There was some very interesting colours when I used plant-derived colour so it’s not artificial,” he said.

“So I had all sorts of colours and it was a good thing I was at home and I could hide away,” he laughed.

“It took me a while to get it right in terms of the formulation. The last formula, I washed it off and my skin went violet and I thought it was not going to work and then I went to bed and it was the best tan colour ever.”

Mr Halliday said as part of the process he wanted to find a fake tan that gave a warm colour rather than the “orange” that people don’t like.

He also included lime and vanilla in the ingredients to banish that overpowering tanning smell.

And rather than being sticky, his formula settled into the skin in 30 to 40 seconds.

After being diagnosed with CIRS, Corbin Halliday was motivated to adopt a lifestyle free of chemicals, including toxin-free skincare. Picture: Supplied

Global phenomenon

He had finally hit on a winning formula. It was a fake tan that gave him a healthy “glow” – and soon his friends were keen to give it a go as well.

After they loved the fake tan, he “dangled” it in the Tasmanian market, selling it to stores to start to get some brand recognition.

Finally in 2017, he launched his business Three Warriors.

The name of the business is a nod to his dad who he lost 10 years ago in a boating accident. When afterwards he “banded together” with his brother and his sister, his mum began calling them the “three warriors”.

Last year, it was set to make $5 million, his product is now sold around the world, has been in the hands of JLo and Kim Kardashian’s hairdresser and he boasts Sonia Kruger as a brand ambassador.

But back in those early days, the business novice relied mainly on word of mouth.

“I wasn’t doing any marketing, and as I had no background in business, I had no idea what I was doing. But word of mouth made things insane,” he said.

“The business is global now. It’s won over 13 awards and I’ve got a warehouse now. I used to work in the downstairs of my house and dispatch and send orders. Now I’ve got a marketing team, in-house office manager – it’s crazy.

“It’s really weird going into work every day instead of going downstairs.”

Three Warriors’ online store sells a bottle of gradual tan every 30 minutes while his self tan mousse is sold every 40 to 50 minutes, Mr Halliday said.

Around Australia, the brand is stocked in 2000 stores – and he said the company completely sold out of products a month before Christmas.

It doesn’t just sell fake tans. Picture: Supplied

Three Warriors credits itself as a slow beauty brand – spending years on innovation and product development and avoiding jumping on ‘trends’. Picture: Supplied

Last year’s $5 million sales was a staggering 490 per cent up on the previous year.

For someone who never dreamt of owning his own business, the 35-year-old said this was also “insane” considering in his first year he made $46,000.

But the brand is “super close” to his heart – it helped turn things around from the despair of having a chronic illness.

“The best thing about the entire journey is to keep my mind off my health as it has been such a traumatic thing to go through at such a young age – imagine a migraine daily for six years and then having nerve pain,” he said.

“It just never stopped, so it was a distraction for me – that’s what the brand has done. But I had no idea where it would be today. I feel very lucky.

“I feel that the more success I have, it enables me through the brand to educate about the dangers of what people are putting on their skin, what are those chemicals doing long-term and how people can have that healthy glow without toxins.”

Five years on, $45,000 worth of treatment, 200 hours spent in a hyperbaric oxygen therapy tank, and he still isn’t cured, battling constant flare-ups and health issues. Picture: Supplied

The body tan aqua mist has been a bestseller. Picture: Supplied

Sonia Kruger is a brand ambassador. Picture: Supplied

Recently, he also launched a body tan aqua mist made from Tasmanian water, which includes collagen, rose oil and aloe vera and develops over three hours, which he said had gone “gangbusters”.

“Our plans are to keep expanding. We are hoping to have another dispatch centre overseas. We launched in Europe in March and there has been great the demand for anything organic and Australian over there. It’s just crazy,” he said.

“We will look to keep expanding the range and at the forefront focusing on skin health with new products coming this year.”