There are unquestionably smoother routes into the cosmetics industry than colliding with 18-stone forwards for over a decade but Adam Ashe has made the seamless transition by starting one of the UK’s fastest-growing skincare brands.
The former Scotland international has explored various business ventures since retiring in 2022 but he’s firmly hit the jackpot with NX1 Project. Launched in January 2025, the company has enjoyed a stratospheric rise, producing nutrient-rich face and body balms from a combination of grass-fed beef tallow and raw honey.
Ashe established the company using £10,000 from career savings and it’s projected to post revenues of around £6.5 million in its second year of trading after totalling £2.7m in the first year of the business.
The traditional perceptions of the skincare industry is weighted towards women and contrasts the perceptions of a hardened professional rugby player.
That irony isn’t lost on Ashe - moreover it was the inspiration behind his venture - but it also shatters preconceptions of masculinity and the growing importance both men and women place on wellbeing in the modern progressive era.
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In an exclusive interview with Scotland Rugby News, Ashe said: “Honestly, if you'd told me while I was playing rugby that one day I'd own a skincare company, I'd have thought you were mad.
“But life has a funny way of taking you in directions you never expect. You only really connect the dots when you look back.
“One of the biggest problems I had throughout my rugby career was the number of cuts I suffered on my head. I must have had six or seven cuts that were two or three inches long.
“The strange thing is, I never really treated them. I didn't believe skincare made any real difference, so I just left them to heal naturally.”
“It wasn't until I saw how dramatically my diet changed my skin that I started asking deeper questions about what we put on our bodies. That sent me down the rabbit hole of trying to create a skincare product that could have a similar positive impact.
“If you look at the skincare market, you've got one end that's very beauty-focused—bright packaging, luxury branding and the sort of products you see in Sephora.
“Then you've got us at the other end of the spectrum. Our approach is simple: straightforward products that genuinely work. There's no flashy marketing or colourful packaging. It's about using natural ingredients that work with your skin rather than against it.”
After finishing his rugby career, Ashe became obsessed with fitness and wellbeing. Initially, the 33-year-old adopted a carnivore diet around the time of becoming involved with Puresport, the UK’s leading wellness brand, which allowed him to cut his teeth in the unscrupulous world of business.
“It taught me to be careful about who you go into business with, because things can get tough and messy. I was forced out, and there wasn't really anything I could do about it. Did it work out alright for me? Aye, it did.
“Did I get valuable experience from that business? Absolutely. The whole experience, though, from the fallout to the way people treated me and even having close friends cut me off, definitely had an impact. It made me reluctant to go back into business.
"But after building that business and getting it off the ground—which is now reasonably successful—I always knew I had something else in me.”
And that something else? The skincare business with NX1. Ashe is firmly the brand; the former Glasgow Warriors brand hasn’t sought outside investment and oversees manufacturing, advertising and distribution with the help of a growing team.
“I invested just £10,000 of my own money,” adds Ashe. “From that initial investment, we generated near £3 million in revenue in our first year, and we’re on track to exceed £6m this year and we’re profitable.
“We started in a house, then moved into a unit in the Gorbals in Glasgow, then into a unit at my father-in-law's business park, and now we've expanded into two units there. We grew so quickly that we had to keep increasing our capacity.
“We manufacture the products ourselves, fulfil customer orders, run all the marketing, and manage all the advertising. We've got complete control over the business. For people who understand business, that's almost unheard of in the UK right now.
“The government makes it extremely difficult to do business in the UK. Corporation tax has increased. Businesses have to pay VAT, employer National Insurance, and a range of other costs that all reduce margins and make it much harder to succeed.
“I've got friends running the exact same business model in other countries, and it's significantly easier for them to make money. The only reason we've managed it is because we manufacture everything ourselves and have a really strong understanding of advertising and scaling paid marketing.”
The skincare industry is conservatively valued in excess of €200 billion and it’s a hugely competitive market. Whether through world-renowned brands offering traditional products or rivals in the beef tallow market, Ashe is bullish on why people should opt for his product.
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“My biased opinion is that our product is simply better,” insists Ashe. “If you go onto our website and read the customer reviews, I've honestly never seen feedback like that on another skincare website. Maybe you'll find something similar with a few smaller natural brands, but certainly not from the big global companies.
“More broadly, I think people are moving back towards natural ingredients—not just in skincare, but in food and overall health. People are becoming more conscious about what they're putting into and onto their bodies.
“I think consumers are starting to see those benefits too. Our marketing highlights that natural approach, but ultimately the product has to work. When customers experience real results, that's what gives us such a strong position.
“It's definitely going to become a more competitive market over the next few years, but our ambition is to establish ourselves as the UK's leading natural skincare brand.”
Ashe is supported in the business by Scotland’s most famous rugby star, Finn Russell. The duo have been friends since their Stirling County days and the superstar is part of a growing list of sportstars, who love the product.
“Finn is involved, but we've never actually taken investment from anyone,” he added. “His involvement is more from a commercial perspective. Obviously, he's got a big profile, and it's hugely valuable for us that he genuinely loves the product and is happy to promote it.
“I never wanted to take money from him. Instead, I wanted him to be part of what we're building and potentially benefit from its success in the future if we create something really valuable.”
Ashe’s ambition is abundantly clear and he believes the sky is the limit. He spent two years playing in LA and cracking the US market is firmly in his sights next.
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“The immediate focus is expanding into the US market, and that should happen within the next few months,” he said. “I genuinely think we can grow into a business turning over £25 million a year within the next few years. What happens after that, I don't know.
“At the moment, I don't really see any major barriers to scaling into the US. If we can unlock that market, the opportunity is enormous.
“Americans already love Scottish products—whether it's whisky, tartan or other Scottish brands. We make natural skincare in Scotland using ingredients sourced from local farms, so I think there's a strong story to tell there. We'll give it a proper go over the next few years.”
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