EVAN KWOK - FOUNDER
Aether was launched in 2022 in the UK by Australian Evan Kwok after 6 years of research & development on a skin health system & line of bio-compatible products for problem skin. Having struggled with chronic dermatitis & mental health since birth, he understood the importance of addressing the root causes of his problems.
After working in consulting for IBM, Deloitte & Staples, he launched Zenzu Skincare. In 2012 he became the exclusive distributor for a herbal cream that he personally used. This was stocked in Australian chemists including Priceline, Amcal & Chemart as well as being sold internationally. He wrote The Problem Skin Bible with diet, lifestyle & skincare advice to accompany the products.
After 3 years, he closed it due to supply consistency issues.
He needed to develop his own formulas & expand the range. He learned cosmetic formulation from one of the top Cosmetic Formulators in Australia, studied a Formulation Course & continued his skin research. During this period, Kevan launched a number of social impact startups globally including foodora across Australia, UberWAV accessible rides in Canada & the Omaze fundraising platform in the UK.
In 2020 while in lockdown in Greenwich London, he cracked the formula he had been working on for 6 years. 297 batches & over 1000 experiments later. He named it Biomime Cream 297 & created the Natraceutical Skincare Category.
Aether is the world's first complete skin health system for sensitive & problem skin comprising of personal & household care products & our skincare, diet, lifestyle, environmental & mental health advice.
Evan was born in Sydney Australia & struggled with chronic eczema, asthma, allergies & fatigue from birth. For the first 18 years of his life his entire body was itchy, raw & often infected.
He saw the top doctors & dermatologists who placed him on topical steroids, antibiotics, antihistamines & generic petrochemical based moisturisers. He used these for the first 15 years of his life before stopping use due to side effects & limited long term effectiveness.
His skin & immune system were highly overactive & he would react to most foods & environmental substances. He was told he would have eczema all his life, that diet had no direct cause & that the best he could hope for was to use steroids to manage the symptoms.
At 18, he hit a mental & physical low. Sitting at the base of the shower in tearful exhaustion, he questioned his will to live. Was his life destined to be an endless cycle of itching, physical pain & mental trauma? He surrendered & decided to take full control of his health. He would forget everything he had been told & understand everything effecting his skin.
So began his journey of healing, research & lifestyle changes to address the root causes of his problems. In the struggle to solve his own problems, he always imagined the day that he would be able to help others if he could overcome his own problems first.
In 2017 he moved to Toronto where he spent 2 fundamental years. He worked with the wheelchair community through Uber to improve their access to on-demand transportation. He experienced the most multiculturally collaborative society he had ever seen.
His housemate was a cognitive scientist with a passion for music & sensory experiences. It sparked in Evan a deep interest in consciousness, philosophy & the brain.
He then joined Mindset, a new type of meditation studio & practiced mindfulness based meditation daily. This changed his perspective of himself & the world & a curiosity in the mind & sound as a healing modality. Meditation allowed him to truly understand the connection between mental, physical & spiritual health.
Having lived in Australia, Canada & the US, he decided to move to London in 2019, to make an even greater impact. Here he launched the UK's first charitable house draw fundraising platform Omaze.
It was an interesting time, with the backdrop of Brexit, Covid & political, social & health instability accelerating the need for systemic change. Despite greater material wealth than ever, society was pressed with issues of mental health, rising allergies & chronic diseases & existential worries effecting life meaning.
In 2020, in the depths of lock down, he took the time to reflect on his purpose. The ticking of time was everpresent in his mind especially as he lived in Greenwich. What did the world need in these times? What was his unique calling? He realised it was time to turn his life experience in to a platform for promoting health, consciousness& spirituality.
The hardship he endured gave him the drive to create a solution for the millions of people struggling with their skin & health globally, current & future. He left his six figure job to pursue his calling.
In the depths of a sound meditation, the word Aether came to Evan. Aether is the Greek primordial God of light & space. The luminiferous aether is a substance believed to fill the universe & was the universal medium for light to propagate. It is what connects & pervades all life, the quintessence or spirit.
He named it Aether as a homage to the spirit & interconnection of all life. A platform for the propagation of health, light & growth in all of areas of life. One inspired by nature, community, science, art, philosophy, consciousness, traditional & modern healing & self realisation. A much needed light for the world in this time and space.
At the end of 2020, after 6 years, 297 batches, reviewing hundreds of academic papers & over 1000 experiments, he finally invented the Biomime Cream 297. Named after the final batch number. The first cream to biomimic the skin's skin surface lipids.
The Aether symbol is an equilateral triangle tetrahedron, representing the balance of the mind, body & soul & the elevation of our physical, mental & spiritual health when we are connected to The Aether. Our mission is to help you realise your highest potential, connect you to the source of life & make the world a more harmonious, interconnected & conscious place.
The 'Aether Green' colour is inspired by the rolling hills, pine trees & wrought iron park benches of Greenwich Park. During lockdown, the park became a daily ritual & oasis. A place to reflect, plan & be. From the home of time, the GMT meridian line, Kevan launched Aether to make a mark in space & time.
Marius Nordström
Thanks to upcoming Stockholm based Swedish designer Marius for his branding, design philosophy & visual identity guidance. Marius suugested the logo fonts & assisted with the branding. He helped to create a visual identity hierarchy, ensure label consistency & elevated our appreciation for typography & design thinking. He influenced the minimal, modernised Scandinavian feel.
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