This story is part of the Digital Equity Local Voices Fellowship lab through News is Out. The lab initiative is made possible with support from Comcast NBCUniversal.
Note: This article contains discussion of mental health issues such as suicidal ideation and attempts.
When speaking with Tyris Manney, a few especially noticeable attributes come to the fore— his brilliant smile, his way with words and his almost literally glowing skin.
The latter is a result not just of his personal skincare line, but of a long journey to combat self-esteem issues. Starting in 2018, Tyris Manney Beauty has been more than just a passion product for the young Chicagoan—it’s been an integral part of his mental health recovery journey.
Manney, 26, grew up on Chicago’s South Side around the Chatham neighborhood. He comes from a big family and was raised by a single mother. His family has continued to be a major form of support for him throughout his adult life and business ventures.
Although Manney’s mother initially tried to get him into baseball, he was never interested in sports. He always had an interest in beauty, fashion, music and other artistic pursuits.
In high school, he and a friend got the idea to start a business combining fashion, makeup and beauty. Once they graduated, Manney ended up starting his own clothing line; he revamped vintage clothes and fabrics to create new pieces, and ran it basically by word-of-mouth for a couple of years.
Around 2018, Manney started to experience more skin-related issues—dark spots, acne, clogged pores, etc.—with no products on the market really working for him physically or financially. He also dealt with serious mental health issues around this time. His skin issues only added onto his already low self-esteem.
That year, Manney attempted suicide. As he worked to recover and get his depression under control, he tried to determine how to improve his skin himself. With nothing currently on the market able to heal these physical and mental issues, he took matters into his own hands.
At the time, he thought skincare was just something chemists could do. But the “do or die situation” of his mental health pushed him to take the leap into creating products.
“I started learning to formulate my own skincare products by taking courses on formulation and the proper way of mixing ingredients,” he said. “I went to YouTube as well. I bought books. I did a whole bunch of stuff to prepare myself.”
While creating products, Manney used simply-formulated, plant-based, organic ingredients—other products often required more professional equipment, or ingredients that were so harsh on the skin only small percentages of them could be used. He wanted his products to be accessible to everyone, helping all skin types on all types of people.
Manney started out with just two initial products for himself, but soon enough he was giving them to others. He was working at Buffalo Exchange at the time, and his first customer was a coworker who asked if he could make her something for her skin—when Manney brought it to her, she slid her money under the table. Before long other coworkers would buy products from him every single week, and then in turn recommend him to more of their friends.
“I’d bring my products to work,” Manney said. “And right after work I would be standing on the corner in Wicker Park giving people their orders.”
Taija Weakley, one of Manney’s friends since childhood, has followed his progress since he began his work. After seeing Manney post photos of his skin on social media, Weakley reached out to find out what products he was using. She’s a personal fan of TMB products such as the Apple Juice serum, face cleanser and shea butter.
Weakley said Manney has always been a very hardworking and determined person, and she’s enjoyed watching him and his brand grow.
“He’s very ambitious, he’s very about his business and he knows what he’s doing,” she said. “He’s a very kind-hearted person. He’s a very strong person.”
Recently, Manney went through Chicago’s LGBT Chamber of Commerce bootcamp. Although it was an intense experience, he said, it taught him about marketing and branding. For 10 weeks, participants needed to be ready to work on their business plans while assessing themselves outside of the boot camp.
The program allowed Manney to learn about his own work ethic and the potential for his business to go to the next level. He also connected with other entrepreneurs and learned from their experiences and skill sets.
Being Black and queer in the beauty space has been difficult, but Manney has received support from his family and boyfriend throughout the process of growing his business. He said he also had felt that same support when he first came out as gay.
“My foundation has always been really solid,” he said. “I’ve always been able to hold my head high with my identity.”
While he’s a minority in his industry, he met lots of Black entrepreneurs through his experience in the boot camp and built community with them. But he’s been acutely aware of the lack of representation within the beauty industry and its lack of resources for folks like him. He knows he has to be the one to breaking barriers and creating welcoming spaces.
About two years ago, Manney did a pop-up shop where he met future recurring customer Trell Winters. Winters said seeing Manney’s products at the event, which was promoting small Black-owned business, was gratifying, and he’s been buying them ever since.
He described Manney’s apple juice product as “liquid gold.”
“It’s not as many steps or processes as the competitors are,” Winters said. “When I think of skincare, I think of having to do this and that and don’t forget this, but his is so simple.”
Manney’s beauty line is a fully self-funded business, and he recently jumped into running it full time, leaving a corporate job behind.
Within the next year, Manney has set a goal for $113,000 in sales. Although it’s a big leap from under $50,000 this year, he said the boot camp gave him the confidence to believe that, if he puts in the work, he can make it happen. Two years from now, he hopes to also outsource the creation of products. Right now, it’s just him and as-needed help from family, along with freelancers for social media and photography. By three years from now, he’s hoping to be able to place products in stores like Ulta.
Manney is also considering a fundraising campaign on his website, to both fund marketing campaigns and continue providing ethical skincare. He also plans to reach out for partnerships with mental health organizations.
Now nearing five years of running his brand, he’s no stranger to positive customer feedback. Throughout his brand’s existence, he’s received messages from folks who are proud he’s continued to pursue his passion for skincare. He’s rebranded a few times as well, and each time he’s felt the excitement from people around him and gotten to see their testimonies about his products.
“People support people that they know, they like, they love, and they trust,” he said. “The fact that I’ve been in it for so long and they personally know someone [running a] skincare line, I’ve gotten so much love.”
If you are in crisis, please call, text or chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.