Interviews
Her Hair Broke Off From Ocean Life, So She Built the Beauty Brand She Couldn't Find
How Christina Kuklinski turned years of ocean life into KOOK, an ocean-first beauty brand built for people who live in and around the water.
Interviews
How Christina Kuklinski turned years of ocean life into KOOK, an ocean-first beauty brand built for people who live in and around the water.
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Some founders spot a gap in the market. Christina Kuklinski found it in the mirror.
A scuba diver since she was 17, Christina spent nearly two years living on boats and logged more than 150 dives. The ocean gave her a life she loved. It also broke her hair off in a tuft at the back of her head — the result of constant exposure to salt, sun, and chlorine with no products actually built to handle it.
KOOK is her answer — an ocean-first beauty brand making high-performance, reef-safe products for people who spend their lives in and around the water. We sat down with Christina to talk about testing products with more than 100 surfers and divers before launch, landing Free People as a retail partner, and why becoming a Certified B Corporation mattered more to her than any single sales milestone.
The Product and Audience: What is KOOK and who is it for?
KOOK is an ocean-first beauty brand making high-performance, reef-safe products for people who spend their lives in and around the water. The brand currently makes a Pre-Swim Hair Mask that protects hair from salt, sun, and chlorine, along with a mineral SPF 50 Solar Moisturizer built for long days outside. KOOK is made for surfers, swimmers, divers, beachgoers, and outdoor athletes who want products that perform without compromising the places they love.
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The Spark: When did you launch, and what made you say "I need to build this"?
I've been a scuba diver since I was 17 and have spent a huge part of my life in the ocean. After living on boats for nearly two years and logging more than 150 dives, I saw two problems firsthand. The first was how much damage people are doing to the ocean. The second was how few personal-care products were actually designed for people constantly exposed to salt, sun, and water. My own hair became the proof. After so much time in the elements, my hair was destroyed and actually broke off in a tuft at the back of my head. I kept looking for a brand that understood both sides of the problem. Eventually, I realized I would have to build it myself.
The Launch: When did you launch and how did you create pre-launch buzz?
KOOK launched its first product, the Pre-Swim Hair Mask, on April 1, 2025. Before launching, I focused heavily on community rather than traditional advertising. The product was put into the hands of more than 100 surfers, swimmers, divers, and ocean athletes so they could test it in the exact conditions it was designed for. Those early testers helped KOOK refine the product, validate the idea, and build a community of real people talking about the brand before there was even a product to buy.
The First 100: How did you find your first customers?
There was no magic growth hack. KOOK's first customers came through my immediate community, events, beach cleanups, partnerships, word of mouth, and plenty of one-on-one conversations. I handed people jars, talked to surfers on the beach, sent DMs, showed up at events, and got KOOK in front of people who genuinely lived the lifestyle the brand was built for. It was a lot of founder hustle and getting the product into the right hands.
The Advice: What would you tell a first-time founder in their first 90 days?
Get out of your own way and don't be afraid of a cold email or DM. You never know who will reply and agree to try your product. Your first version doesn't need to be perfect. Your Instagram doesn't need to be perfect. You definitely don't need to have everything figured out. Talk to customers, listen obsessively, and let what you learn shape what you build next.
The Reality Check: What is the hardest part of this journey that people don't see on social media?
The emotional whiplash. A great retailer opportunity can happen in the morning, followed by a manufacturing issue, cash-flow problem, or partnership falling apart that same afternoon. Social media naturally captures the launches, press, events, and wins. It doesn't show the uncertainty, rejection, financial pressure, and problem-solving happening behind the scenes. As a bootstrapped founder, I'm also constantly deciding where an extremely limited amount of time and money will have the greatest impact. Building a company is less about having one brilliant idea and more about solving hundreds of tiny, unglamorous problems without losing sight of why you started.
The Milestone: What has been your biggest "we made it" moment so far?
Seeing KOOK launch with Free People was a huge milestone for me. There was something surreal about creating a product from scratch, testing it with friends and strangers, packing early orders myself, and then seeing that same brand carried by a national retailer. Becoming a Certified B Corporation was another milestone I'm incredibly proud of. It validated something that has been central to KOOK from day one: environmental responsibility isn't a marketing campaign. It's built into how the company operates. Even so, I'm not sure I've had a true "we made it" moment yet. Every milestone mostly makes me think about how much further KOOK can go.
The AI Trend: How have you used AI to help your business grow?
AI has given me leverage I wouldn't otherwise have as a bootstrapped founder. I use it across research, strategy, financial modeling, sales preparation, operations, brainstorming, content development, and pressure-testing decisions. The biggest unlock, however, has been learning not to treat AI as a replacement for thinking. I use it as a thought partner, bringing the context, point of view, customer knowledge, and final judgment while using AI to explore more possibilities and reach stronger answers faster. For a small company competing against brands with much larger teams and budgets, that leverage can be incredibly powerful.
The Horizon: What should we be excited to see from KOOK in the next six months?
KOOK is expanding what "ocean-proof beauty" can mean. We're developing new products for hair, scalp, and skin focused specifically on the problems people experience before, during, and after spending time in the water. At the same time, we're continuing to grow our retail footprint and ocean community. We're also working on our biggest community initiative yet: an attempt to bring thousands of people together in Venice Beach for a record-breaking beach cleanup.
The Recommendations: What are your favorite under-the-radar brands right now?
CPG: Joon
Gear: Ocean Bottle
The Shop: Where can readers find KOOK?
Shop directly at gotkook.com. KOOK is also available through Amazon, Free People, Nordstrom, Garmentory, select stores along the California coast, and a growing group of independent retailers in the U.S. and internationally.
The Connection: Where is the best place to follow along?
Follow along on Instagram at @got.kook, where Christina shares everything from product launches and ocean education to beach cleanups and the very real process of building KOOK.
Reef-safe, ocean-first beauty. Available at gotkook.com and select retailers nationwide.
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