Episode Transcript
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S1 (00:01):
Olas media.
S2 (00:04):
Attacking the podcast world and based on the true legendary
cult classic. All US media presents. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.
Did somebody mention biscuits? Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. They'll
beat you, bash you, squish you, mash you up for brunch.
(00:25):
How bad is it? You are. So. I definitely don't
think it'll fly again. I'm not talking about that, you wiener.
What about the tomatoes?
S3 (00:32):
Hold on to your beefsteaks. Today's guest is fragrance wizard
Killian Wells, who turns cult movie classics into chic since
he's here to dish on transforming our favorite tomato terrors
into the hottest new perfume, and to let you know
how you can get a bottle of your own. Get
ready to catch a whiff of the madness with your host,
Costa Dillon.
S4 (00:54):
Hi, I'm Costa Dillon, and welcome to this edition of
the Killer Tomatoes podcast. We're talking to killer whales today.
How do I say the name of the company?
S5 (01:05):
Serena. Serena. Serena. I don't really care how people pronounce it,
as long as they're talking about it. As long as.
S4 (01:11):
They find it. Okay. So say, um, your company is
in Texas. Is that right?
S5 (01:16):
We're in Austin.
S4 (01:19):
And Austin. Is that where you're from? Are you from?
S5 (01:21):
I'm from New York, and then I lived in LA
for about ten years before coming here during the pandemic.
Or like about when it started. So.
S4 (01:35):
And what got you started in the fragrance?
S5 (01:37):
Well, originally I was in the music business. I, as
a music artist and, uh, you know, eventually, uh, with
that industry, you, you age out of it and, uh, I,
I was an aging pop pop star wannabe, and, uh,
I but I had acquired a lot of, uh, skills
(01:57):
when it came to licensing and marketing and things of
that nature. So I, you know, I've always loved fragrance,
decided to start that brand and, uh, really applied a
lot of what I had learned from the awful entertainment industry. Xyrena. Uh,
we make a lot of, um, movie inspired fragrances. I've
(02:19):
always been really into, um, films since I was a kid. Originally,
I wanted to be a movie director, and, uh, yeah. So, uh,
sort of combined my love of film with fragrance and, uh,
all of our, all of our fragrances come in, uh,
VHS style cases. And, um, we just did the official, uh,
(02:43):
American Psycho fragrance based on, uh, the Patrick Bateman character. And, um,
I'm currently developing a line of, uh, air fresheners that
turn into trading cards. They have a detachable top. There's
a perforated line. And, um, I was seeking out, you know,
(03:03):
some licenses and, uh, some fun movies for that series and, uh, thought,
you know, attack of the Killer Tomatoes could be perfect
for that. Then I realized, you know what? Tomatoes are
actually trending in the fragrance industry right now. It's been
a thing for, uh, around the past year. And, um.
So I thought, let's just do, you know, an original
(03:25):
fragrance that, uh, that could work for a candle and
a perfume and just do a whole, you know, uh,
slew of killer tomatoes, uh, fragrance products.
S4 (03:37):
Well, I had no idea that tomatoes were trending.
S5 (03:39):
Yeah, it's kind of people are kind of getting into
more like. I mean, gourmand fragrances have been around forever, but, uh,
people have been getting a little more daring with the
types of fragrances that they, they wear or, um, use
around the house, you know, and candles and, uh, so
they're looking for more like, earthy, vegetal type fragrances. And, um,
(04:02):
you know what? Better what better movie to represent that
than attack of the Killer Tomatoes I.
S4 (04:09):
I'm guessing asparagus might not be one of them.
S5 (04:11):
I haven't heard of that. But, you know, honestly wouldn't
surprise me. Our most popular fragrance actually smells like the
Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney. So it smells
like chlorinated water and, like, just mildew and pyrotechnics. Wow. So.
S4 (04:28):
Well, um. Uh, Killian sent me. I can't show you this, uh, obviously,
because we're on a podcast, but he sent me, uh,
some samples of killer tomatoes, the fragrance. And I'm gonna, um,
for the first time, open one up here and see
what it smells like. I have to admit, I am
(04:49):
not the best, uh, person to judge whether or not, uh,
something is is, uh, the right smell? Because I don't
really wear Cologne. Well, but.
S5 (05:00):
You've been around tomatoes enough.
S4 (05:03):
But I have it around tomatoes. It does smell tomatoey.
I must say it does have a tomato. Kind of a, uh, tomato. Uh,
somewhat like like a tomato growing, uh, like a tomato plant. Um,
a tomato. Yeah. Not not just a tomato. Like a
(05:25):
tomato plant growing in the garden.
S5 (05:26):
Yeah, there's a tomato leaf note in there. There's. It's
a bit of a citrusy top to it. And then, uh,
it has, like, an earthy base. Tried to get some
wet soil and, uh, and patchouli in there.
S4 (05:38):
So it does. It does make me wonder. And I
know it might be some proprietary information, but how do you, um,
develop a smell? I mean, what what what does it
take to, um, what do you put together to make
something smell like an earthy tomato?
S5 (05:56):
A lot of different materials all combined into one. Uh, it's, uh,
I am not, I guess, classically trained as a perfumer.
So it's something that I sort of learned, uh, I
say by nose as opposed to by ear. Uh, but, um. Yeah, it's, uh,
(06:17):
I really just have sort of a knack for, for, uh,
recreating certain scents, but, uh, I have a whole bunch
of different, uh, materials, and I typically create a, um,
a creative brief for myself of what I'm trying to
achieve and write the notes, the the scent notes, and, um,
(06:38):
then just build from there. But it's really just chemistry. So,
I mean, it's a combination of, um, essential oils, you know,
naturals and also synthetic materials.
S4 (06:51):
So when you decide, you know, like you said, that
you have some of the Pirates of the Caribbean, that
makes sense. But, um, some of the, some of these others,
I'm thinking, well, what what does, uh, American Psycho smell like?
How do you how do you decide what kind of
smell you would want from a movie like that?
S5 (07:11):
Uh, well, sort of just watching the movie and, uh,
studying the character, uh, to, to sort of gauge, like,
what type of person he is and what he might
smell like in, you know, 20, 24. Um, and, uh,
so that, you know, that fragrance is, is a bit more,
(07:32):
I guess, mainstream, uh, you could say, as opposed to
something like dark Ride that smells like Pirates of the Caribbean. Um,
I think, um. A lot more people would find American
Psycho a sexy fragrance on someone. You're not going to
pick up too many women wearing dark ride. I mean,
(07:52):
unless they're just really big Disney lovers.
S4 (07:56):
Yeah. There you go.
S5 (07:57):
Disney adult. Disney adult, as they call them.
S4 (08:00):
I don't have the vocabulary necessary to fully do justice
to what the aroma is for this fragrance, but we
will have an opportunity for a listener to get a
sample of this. So later in the podcast, I listened
for how you can see if you can, uh, be, uh,
(08:21):
lucky to get a sample of it. Where where do, um, uh,
where can people currently buy these?
S5 (08:27):
Uh, people can find, uh, the fragrance, both the perfume, uh,
which is unisex and the candle, uh, and those will
be on xyrena.com. So x y r e n a.com.
S4 (08:44):
Great. The, um is there is the. I have two
different packages with two different, uh, one sheet, uh, mock
ups on them. Uh, the fragrance is the same or
the same fragrance.
S5 (08:56):
Uh, we just did, um, two different editions for collectors.
So if you want the, the original artwork that's, you know,
the we have that. And then, uh, if you want
the 90s VHS artwork and did that too, I had the, um,
the green VHS when I was a kid. I, I
(09:17):
don't I can't recall where I got it from, but I,
I remember it coming with, uh, a pack of tomato seeds.
And I thought, I thought that was, uh, a genius
marketing at, you know, even as a kid.
S4 (09:32):
Yeah, if I remember right. That was when Disney had
the rights for a while. I think that's, uh. And
we did a, I, um, quote unquote director's edition, which
which was not. We just made, made up something called
the director.
S5 (09:46):
The director's cut.
S6 (09:46):
Yeah.
S4 (09:48):
But it's it's actually I really like that version of
the film, and.
S3 (09:55):
Don't go anywhere. We've got more of this great conversation
coming up right after this. Repeatedly recognized by the San
Diego Press Club, the Times of San Diego delivers timely
and transparent news to, for and about America's finest city.
To learn more on how you can support this trusted
resource of information, visit Times of San diego.com.
S5 (10:20):
This is Killian Wells, the founder and creative director of Xyrena.
You recently heard me on the Killer Tomatoes podcast with
Costa Dillon, and I'm here to tell you how you
can bring the scent of vine ripe adventure into your home.
All you have to do is email Costa at info
at olo's media.com for a chance to win the official
Killer Tomatoes, Unisex perfume or Killer Tomatoes candle. Simply put, a.k.a.
(10:44):
tomato in the subject line and we'll reach out if
you're the lucky winner. The other way to enter is
to visit Olo's Media.com. That's o l a s media.com
and subscribe to the newsletter for more chances to enter.
Be sure to follow or subscribe to the Killer Tomatoes
podcast wherever you listen to your podcast. Good luck!
S3 (11:07):
Hey, let's pick up where we left off. Back to
the show.
S4 (11:11):
Um, how the, um, decision on how to or which, um,
package or which movies and and so forth to do that.
That's your decision. You kind of look around and pick
things you.
S5 (11:26):
Think are right. It's me. So it's, uh, you know,
really just based on my, my love for, for different, uh,
films and, uh, what, you know, inspired me growing up. Um.
And so I you know, I have always been passionate
about all things retro or nostalgic. So, um, I, you know,
(11:49):
grew up in the 90s, but I was I've always
been obsessed with 70s and 80s, and I was also
really into the 50s when I was a kid. Like,
for some reason, I think I was maybe, uh, reincarnated
or something.
S4 (12:07):
Uh, we talked a lot of people about that age.
Did you become familiar with the film from the movie
or from the cartoon show?
S5 (12:15):
Uh, it was it was from the movie. Uh, I
had seen, um, attack of the Killer Tomatoes first, and
then I ended up, um, I also owned, uh, return
of the Killer Tomatoes.
S6 (12:28):
Yeah, I.
S4 (12:29):
Recommend killer tomatoes. Eat France, and you can forget the
other one. So what we what we need is for
George Clooney to, uh, get a get mail. One of
these to George Clooney and, uh, see, see, see if
he has any.
S5 (12:43):
If we can get him to to sign a few copies.
S4 (12:46):
So does the, um, uh, candle smell like the, uh, fragrance?
Here we go. Live. Live on the air. Here. You
can actually hear me. Open it. It does. It. It does.
Even I can. It does smell like the fragrance, a
little more subtle, but I would expect that from a candle. Um, nice. Yeah.
S5 (13:07):
Perfumes tend to have more heavy base notes in it,
and then candles are heavier on the top. Notes. Um.
S4 (13:16):
Okay. Explain to me what a bass note and a
top note is.
S5 (13:20):
Uh, so bass notes are essentially, uh, the stronger notes
that are going to last longer and the top notes
are fleeting. So they, you know, um, dissipate faster.
S4 (13:34):
Right. It certainly isn't. Uh, uh, it's a different niche,
you know. It isn't. I've never seen any any fragrances
like this, you know, that are based on movies and such.
Or if there is, I'm just not aware of it. And, um,
of course I'm prejudiced that killer tomatoes would make the
perfect fragrance. Who wouldn't want to smell like, um, killer tomatoes? Just.
(13:57):
Just so you can tell other people when they ask,
what is that wonderful, um, fragrance you're wearing? And you
can say, that's killer tomato. Who wouldn't want to be
able to give that answer?
S5 (14:07):
It's a great name.
S4 (14:08):
Yeah, I know you talked about aging out. I think
I was 22 or 23 when I thought of that title.
So it's been part of my life for close to
coming on close to 50 years now. Yikes. It's it's amazing.
It's still around. Uh, killer tomatoes live, and they live
(14:30):
as a fragrance. The, um, so are the fragrances actually
made there in Austin?
S5 (14:35):
Yeah, everything's made in the US, with the exception of
some of the components, but everything is, you know, put together.
S4 (14:41):
So, um, tell me about this air freshener idea. Um,
these are the kind of things that hang on your
mirror sort of thing.
S5 (14:48):
Um, so that's something I've been working on for almost
a year, and I hadn't really, um, uh, I can
talk about it now because I have, uh, patents filed
on it. So, uh, I was waiting to get all
of the, the intellectual property going on that before announcing it. So, uh,
(15:09):
this is an exclusive because I actually haven't talked to
anybody about it. I have a handful of licenses, uh,
for the line, but, um, I, you know, I there's
something inherently nostalgic about air fresheners. Like car air fresheners.
I don't know if it's maybe the, um, like, slightly
faded look to them or just like the, uh, you know,
(15:34):
having characters and, uh, things like that on the, on
the air fresheners. But, um, I've never really seen a
line of, of, uh, collectible air fresheners or air fresheners
that are made specifically for collecting. And I thought, what
if there was a way to. When you're done with
the scent, take the string and the top off of
(15:55):
it and it becomes a trading card, something that you
can hold on to. So you're not throwing away the the, uh,
air freshener and you have a reason to collect them.
S4 (16:05):
Sounds like a great idea. You know, as a kid
who grow up, grew up with, uh, top. Bubble gum,
baseball cards. Um, I can remember my baseball card smelled
like gum for weeks afterwards until it stopped smelling like
gum after a while. I used to like to smell
the the gum on the baseball card.
S5 (16:23):
Yeah, I used to. Uh, so I collected Marvel cards
years ago.
S6 (16:29):
Uh huh.
S4 (16:31):
Yeah. The, um, um, I'm trying to imagine, uh, what, uh,
any of our subgenres would smell like whether or not, uh,
puberty love would have a smell. Um, and if it did,
I'm not sure if I wanted to smell that it would.
S5 (16:47):
There are fragrances, believe it or not, on the market,
that that would probably fit the bill for that. That, uh,
there there are some very strange, uh, fragrances with, uh,
you know, bodily sense.
S4 (17:03):
Oh, okay. Oh, great. Wonderful. Well, um, we're not quite
in that realm, so Kelly and I want to make
sure I give you a chance again to, um, mention
the name of the company and the website where people
can go to, uh, buy some of your fragrances.
S5 (17:22):
So, yeah, it's xyrena or xyrena if you want to
be fancy. Uh, and it's at x, y r e
n a.com.
S4 (17:32):
I have to fully endorse the product, because where else
can you get the opportunity to smell like, uh, killer
tomatoes and and, uh, impress your friends, uh, and have
them guess what it is you smell like? Or guess
what movie I smell like, whichever way you want to
do it. Well, Kelly, thanks so much for being here. Um,
(17:55):
appreciate your time. I'm looking forward to the product hitting
the market. And, uh, uh, I'm hoping I pass people
on the street that smell like killer tomatoes. So this
is Costa Dillon. There's another edition of the Killer Tomatoes podcast.
Thanks for listening.
S2 (18:16):
Thanks for listening to attack of the Killer Tomatoes. Be
sure to follow and subscribe whenever you listen to your podcasts.
To read the blog associated with this episode, visit Olas Media.com.
This episode was produced in studios located in San Diego,
California and Tijuana, Baja California. Creative director Ulises Brito. Sound
engineer Alan Glasper. Lina Alvarez is co-producer, serving as executive
(18:39):
producer and co-founder is Jake Pope, and Chad Pease is
president and co-founder. Olas media is an IVC media company.
S1 (18:50):
Alas. Media.
S7 (18:52):
When I wrote my book, The Insider's Guide in 2019,
I set out to demystify digital fundraising. Now, in 2024,
I'm giving you access to some of those insiders and
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Nest with me charity, Jen. Visit Olas Media.com and subscribe
(19:13):
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