Captain Fawcett grooming business in King's Lynn sees record sales after collaborating on new product with Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci

Lynn's gentlemen's grooming business Captain Fawcett is celebrating record sales of a new product launched after an employee recognised his all-time guitar hero's name on a list of customers.

Corey Doades, 27, from Clenchwarton, a keen guitarist himself, was inspired as a teenager by John Petrucci, guitarist, producer, lyricist and founding member of the two-time Grammy nominated progressive metal band Dream Theater.

Corey’s lifelong inspiration and his admiration for the American rock star was the driving force behind him playing guitar for local rock band On the Level.

Corey Doades works in Captain Fawcett’s laboratory mixing and pouring beard balms, beard oils and moustache waxes for despatch from Norfolk to the far flung corners of the globe. One day was astonished when he spotted a familiar name on a new order. It appeared John Petrucci was himself a fan of Captain Fawcett’s grooming products.

Corey immediately alerted Richie Finney, founder of Captain Fawcett, who emailed John Petrucci. In February 2020 Corey at last met his guitar hero at Dream Theater’s show in London and a sequence of co-ordinated social media posts followed.

Corey said: “Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that meeting John Petrucci would be possible, let alone actually working alongside him on a Signature product. Honestly, meeting him was incredibly emotional.”

The result is Nebula, a brand new Signature Series collaboration between Captain Fawcett and John Petrucci.

The new range was launched this month and in the first weekend, Captain Fawcett received a record 300 orders with numbers continuing to climb.

John Petrucci said: "Several years ago I was given Captain Fawcett’s Moustache Wax Cornucopia as a gift from my wife Rena. I was immediately drawn in by the amazing scents, quality of the product, beautiful presentation and whimsical creative lore present throughout the design. I instantly became a die-hard fan and loyal customer.

"Years later I received an email from The Captain. A member of his crew, who happened to be a guitar player and a Dream Theater fan, recognized my name on an order. Through some coordinated social media posts, the beginnings of a new creative relationship took root.

"At the end of February 2020, I finally met Corey at Dream Theater’s show in London and told him that if The Captain was ever interested in developing a signature beard oil with a certain bearded guitarist, I’d be on board in a heartbeat."

Captain Fawcett was established in 2010 by Richie Finney, from his home in Terrington St Clement. Compliments about his own moustache wax, produced for personal use on his kitchen stove, led to an initial run of 100 jars and led to the founding of the gentlemen’s grooming business.

Now selling into over 40 countries from Alaska to New Zealand, the brand has official distributors in over 20 territories including USA, Canada, Italy, Holland, Russia, Norway, Germany, Australia, Ireland, Singapore and Spain.