Today we’d like to introduce you to Susan Marozik.
Susan, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I moved to LA from Redding, Connecticut in 1991 to be with my fiancée and pursue a career in the entertainment industry. I started working in production and eventually took a job as a personal assistant to Barbara King of King World Productions. I was married in 1993 and began working at CAA (Creative Artists Agency) three years later. I spent 8 ½ years at CAA, during which time I had two daughters, Madison in 1999 and Jordan in 2002.
I left CAA in 2004 at the request of my then-husband to stay home and raise my girls. I quickly embraced the lifestyle switch, becoming the elementary school yearbook photographer, a room mom, as well as a soccer, dance and softball mom. For over a decade, I was the official Girl Scout photographer and chair of the school’s annual gala fundraiser, as well as a carpool guru. My house has always been active, chaotic and welcoming all at the same time, a place where my daughters’ friends walk right in the door and call me their second mom. Being a mom is my superpower. I love my daughters more than I could ever explain, and they are truly God’s greatest gift to me.
As life often does, it threw me a couple of curveballs right when I was comfortable. A few months after my best friend took her life in 2014, my husband left days after my 50th birthday. I thought I would never recover from my world crashing down when my lifelong commitment ended after 22 years. I immediately started therapy, and it took me a year to believe that I was going to be okay.
Over the next two years, I considered going back to work in the entertainment industry or starting my own business. Ultimately, I wanted to be home for my youngest daughter after my oldest went off to college, and I knew I wanted to do something to make a difference in peoples’ lives. I’m able to do that through spray tanning, even though it may seem trivial to some.
I love the way sunless tanning makes people feel, the confidence they exude as they exit my studio, the sense of empowerment they gain when I enhance their natural beauty. My love goes beyond just bronzing the skin but comes out in candid conversations with my clients as I spray them and build wonderful relationships. While my official title is a luxury spray-tanner, some say I’m a professional hype woman. I want to do everything I can to help people feel good about themselves.
Being a part of two female-founded groups, Association of Sunless Tanning Professionals and The Forward Female connects me with supportive entrepreneurs and reinforces my passion for empowering women. I never dreamt I’d own my own business, but building Beach Bunz has been an integral part of my healing process.
I’ve focused on taking the tools I learned when healing and practicing them every day to change my life and the lives of others for the better. The past five years have made me into the very best version of myself, which gives me the ability to share my joy with others, uplifting and empowering them at every turn.
Has it been a smooth road?
Starting a business at 53 years old came with its unique challenges. It took a lot of hustle to be taken seriously as a mid-life female entrepreneur. I maximized every opportunity presented to me and my business, such as taking over the last three months of a lease at a spa where I built a local client base early on. Like many small businesses, I struggled to purchase equipment and secure a brick and mortar without running capital, but I used my assets and built an amazing 250 square-foot studio in the back half of my oversized garage.
Right as Beach Bunz was in its growth stage and expecting its busiest year yet, COVID hit. I had spent the previous year establishing myself and promoting at local high schools and colleges, but the pandemic shut my studio down for three months. By the time I was allowed to re-open, social distancing mandates canceled major events like weddings, proms, etc. and eradicated summer vacations and travel. While my bookings were slow, I took the extra time to continue perfecting my craft, as well as attending daily Zoom classes to implement strategies for social media, marketing, promotions, and advertising.
I always expect the unexpected and focus on the good through adversity. There are lessons guaranteed to be learned, it just depends if you allow yourself to be open to them. I live by the saying, “Don’t cry over spilled milk.” Wipe it up, and pour yourself another glass.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Beach Bunz Tanning story. Tell us more about the business.
Beach Bunz is a luxury airbrush tanning service located in Los Angeles, CA that specializes in the art of sunless tanning. Our goal is to provide you with a beautiful, natural-looking tan that is customized to your individual skin type and personal preference.
We offer many specials for student and sorority life, as well as happy hour specials Monday from 4 pm – 7 pm. Also, Beach Bunz offers spray tanning parties; our spray tanning parties are great for a girl’s night in, as well as bachelor, bachelorette, birthday, pre-prom, and pre-wedding parties.
We offer the option of tanning in the comfort of your own home in addition to our studio. All of our products are organic-based and cruelty-free. Spray tanning is one of the safest ways to get a natural-looking tan without the risks of skin damage, premature aging, or potential skin cancer. Traditional sun tanning and tanning beds have proven to cause skin damage due to intense UV exposure. Airbrush tanning is a healthy alternative with the most natural-looking outcome. With our custom spray tans, we can provide you with more control over what color you would like, whether it be a deep dark bronze, a soft glow, or somewhere in between.
We carefully assess your skin type, proneness to burning in the sun, and other factors in order to determine the best shade or custom mixture for you. We can help you maintain a gorgeous glow even during seasons when the sun isn’t shining. Our spray tans also provide you with rapid results in comparison to sun tanning and tanning beds which tend to take months to perfect. We offer a traditional spray tan which takes about 8-10 hours to process, and we also offer a rapid tan which takes about 1-5 hours to process. All tans take 24 hours to fully develop.
Every tan includes prep and powder at no extra charge to help you feel comfortable before and after your tan. The powdering sets your tan which reduces tackiness of the skin.
Along with spray tans, we offer many products that are beneficial to the pre- and post-care of your skin to increase the longevity of your tan. We offer skin creams for hydration, body washes, sugar scrubs, exfoliating mitts, paraben and sulfate-free soaps, tan extenders, and hydrating sprays. Our airbrush tanning treatment is applied with the world’s finest equipment exclusively designed to spray on the skin by a certified airbrush-tanning artist to evenly coat the body.
With proper care, our tans will last up to ten days and fade evenly. The treatment is designed to provide clients with a consistent year-round option to achieve their desired complexion. People tend to feel healthier and more confident with a tan, and we help our clients achieve a gorgeous and natural glow without the scary repercussions.
As a company, Beach Bunz aspires to highlight our clients’ beauty and make them feel more confident with all we have to offer. We take your beauty from the inside and put it on the outside.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Sunless tans have become a pillar in the wellness industry. As more and more people adopt wellness as a lifestyle, the sunless tanning industry will continue to boom. Sunless tanning protects against the dangers of skin cancer and is a healthy alternative to achieving sun-kissed skin year-round. All my solutions are made with natural and organic-based ingredients that are healthy for the skin and minimize the need for sun exposure.
People are increasingly realizing that airbrush application is elite to stand-up machines and tanning beds. Mobile spray tanners are also rising in popularity as people prefer to remain in the comfort of their own home. By offering a mobile option and promising a luxury spray tan using only the healthiest products, Beach Bunz is in a great position to continue expanding within the sunless tanning industry.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.beachbunztanning.com
- Phone: 310-502-3367
- Email: [email protected]
Image Credit:
Zsuzsi Photography, flicks.by.kee
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