I want to talk to you about something that’s deeply personal and incredibly urgent—for me, for my business, and for the future of independent makers like LeatherDaddy.
I started LeatherDaddy Skin Co. at a really low point in my life—after 15 years of waiting tables, living paycheck to paycheck, and watching my dreams collect dust while I tried to survive. When the pandemic hit, I lost my job…but I still had an idea, a few ingredients, and the desperate need to make something that felt like me. I poured every ounce of pain, hope, and defiance into that first batch of LeatherDaddy. No safety net. Just a queer kid with bad credit, a big heart, and a deep belief that skincare could be bold, kinky, and healing all at once. LeatherDaddy was born not just out of necessity, but out of rebellion—because no one was making space for people like me. So I made my own.
I’ve put in countless hours, sustained numerous injuries, faced numerous setbacks, spent weeks away from home, hours on my feet, and battled skin cancer, all while running this company single-handedly. Now, all of that is at risk because a wannabe dictator wants to make his billionaire Oligarch friends happy.
Trump just imposed new tariffs—and they’re aimed straight at the lifeline of small businesses like mine. These are not taxes on billionaires or big corporations. These are taxes on ingredients, bottles, labels, and packaging—the building blocks of everything I make for you. Simply put, in May, I'll be forced to raise my prices. Stock up now before that happens.
Let me break it down:
• Shea butter, the heart of many of my products, and 80% of skin care products in the U.S., is only grown in West Africa. We can’t make it here, no matter how hard we try. Even if we planted trees today, they would take 10+ years to grow.
• Candelilla wax, one of my vegan waxes thats in the Beard Balm, Body Scrub, and TastyHole, only comes from Northern Mexico, we don't cultivate it here.
• Coconut oil, aloe, castor oil, and most fragrance oils? All imported. The U.S. just doesn’t grow or produce them at the quality and quantity we need. Some of these things are only available from ONE plant in ONE region of the world.
• Even my glass eau de parfum bottles from Italy for the LeatherDaddy Cologne and labels and packaging from U.S. vendors who import from China are now subject to extra fees. These products are manufactured in the U.S. at a 50% higher cost, and their quality is reduced by ~50% because of the absence of regulations in these industries.
Why not just switch to American-made everything? Because it doesn’t exist. Not at the scale, quality, or price that keeps my products affordable. And starting new manufacturing here? That takes years—not something a small business can just wait on. Billionaires can handle the "temporary hardship" that comes with these tariffs, but small businesses like mine can't. An average well-run business hopes to generate around 30% profit, if prices of their supplies go up 30% that means they are no longer making money to pay for their kids softball uniforms or put food on the table. According to the census bureau, in 2023 36.8 MILLION Americans were living in poverty. The tariffs that trump is selfishly imposing will make that number skyrocket.
These tariffs don’t hurt corporations. They hurt us. They raise our costs. They force us to either raise prices or lose money. And worst of all—they punish the independent, queer, values-driven businesses that care more about community than profit margins.
If you love what I do—if LeatherDaddy Skin Co. has ever made you feel sexy, confident, or seen—please pay attention to what’s happening.
I'm not giving up, but I do need your voice.
Talk about it. Share it. Support small businesses now—because this is about more than politics. It’s about survival.
Thank you for being here,
Chris Wright-Garcia
Founder, LeatherDaddy Skin Co.
