From British barbershops to Icelandic internationals, Hairbond’s story has grown through the people who believed in it.
When I look through the old Hairbond Iceland photographs, I see people and relationships stretching back years.
There are footballers holding products, barbers finishing haircuts, basketball players showing their jars on a team coach and an MMA competitor wearing the Hairbond eagle across his back.
Behind much of that activity were Ellert Ágúst Pálsson and Kristin Egilsdottir.
Through their business, Marmik, they helped build Hairbond’s presence in Iceland. Kristin brought her hairdressing expertise. Ellert handled sales. Together, they gave the brand their time, energy and local knowledge.
Alongside that work, they were raising a family and supporting their son, Mikael Egill Ellertsson, as he pursued his ambition to become a professional footballer.
I wanted to recognise what they contributed—to Hairbond and to the family story unfolding around it.
A Partnership Built on Experience
I founded Hairbond in Lancaster in 2008, drawing on my experience as a hairdresser and salon owner.
I knew what I wanted from the products: professional performance, distinctive character and results that customers could recreate at home.
Taking that idea overseas depended on finding people who understood their own market.
Ellert and Kristin brought that understanding to Iceland.
Kristin knew the work behind the chair. She understood hair, styling and the importance of recommending something you could confidently use yourself. Ellert brought the sales work needed to turn introductions into business.
Through Marmik, they connected Hairbond with salons, barbershops, athletes and customers.
That involved far more than supplying boxes. They had to explain the range, build confidence in it and keep developing relationships. Their marketing gave Hairbond a recognisable local presence, backed by people customers could speak to and trust.
Hairbond and Icelandic Football
Football became an important part of the story.
Hairbond’s sponsorship of Bolton Wanderers brought me into contact with Eiður Guðjohnsen. Meeting him remains a memorable part of my own journey with the brand.
In Iceland, the sporting connections grew wider.
Hairbond Iceland’s work featured Aron Gunnarsson, Hörður Magnússon and Arnór Ingvi Traustason, among others. Established internationals appeared alongside younger players building their careers.
The archive goes back to 2014 and captures that involvement developing over the years.
One photograph has always stood out to me: Iceland team clothing prepared for Euro 2016, with a personalised Hairbond wash bag among the belongings.
The bag was marked for Hörður, with his name and Iceland number.
It is a small, personal detail. A brand I had started in Lancaster had found its way into a player’s tournament preparations. Ellert and Kristin’s work helped make connections like that possible.
Father and Son, Years Apart
There is another connection I particularly love.
Years after meeting Eiður, his son Andri Guðjohnsen appeared with Hairbond Moulder, alongside a photograph of him playing for Real Madrid Castilla.
Father and son, supporting Hairbond at different times.
You do not always appreciate those moments while running a business. There are orders to fulfil, stock to organise and problems that need solving before the day ends.
Looking back gives you a different perspective. You realise that the products have travelled through people’s lives and across generations.
The Iceland football story also included Andri Baldursson, Aron Ingason and Mikael Egill Ellertsson, alongside younger footballers who supported the brand as their own journeys developed.
Every photograph and introduction added something. Each person helped Hairbond reach another part of that community.
A Wider Sporting Community
Marmik’s marketing reached well beyond football.
Iceland’s basketball players became part of the story, including a memorable team-coach photograph with players holding Hairbond products together.
In handball, goalkeeper Viktor Hallgrímsson was welcomed into Team Hairbond.
There were fitness connections involving Viktor Berg, support from Nökkvi Fjalar, and a photograph of snowboarder John Jackson holding Hairbond salt spray during a visit to Iceland.
John’s photograph, taken outdoors against the Icelandic landscape, remains one of the most distinctive in the collection.
These people brought different personalities and audiences to Hairbond. Their involvement reflected the breadth of the relationships being built locally.
Taking the Eagle Into MMA
MMA sponsorship added another chapter.
The Hairbond eagle appeared prominently on a competitor’s clothing, with “THOR” across the back, in marketing connected with Mjölnir and IMMAF competition.
It was a clear example of the local team supporting an athlete and giving the brand a presence in another sporting environment.
I appreciate everyone who was willing to wear our name while pursuing an ambition of their own.
The MMA competitors, basketball players, handball players, footballers and other supporters all belong in Hairbond’s Iceland history. Their contribution helped an independent British business reach people it could never have reached alone.
The Barbershops Behind the Brand
The sporting photographs are memorable, but the hairdressers and barbers deserve equal recognition.
They were the people using the products during the working day, finishing haircuts and explaining to customers how to get the same result at home.
RVK Hair, Studio 110 and the professionals reached through Marmik’s hairdressing relationships became part of that foundation.
Kristin’s experience mattered here. She understood the difference between a product that photographs well and one that earns its place on a workstation.
A recommendation from a professional carries their reputation with it. When a customer returns for another jar, it tells you that the product has become useful to them.
Those everyday purchases helped give lasting value to the visibility Hairbond gained through sport.
Supporting Their Son’s Future
Alongside their business, Ellert and Kristin were backing Mikael’s football ambitions.
Supporting a child who wants to become a professional athlete takes sustained commitment. Families give time, energy and resources long before there is certainty about where the journey will lead.
Ellert and Kristin made sacrifices to help their son pursue his future while also putting work into Marmik and Hairbond.
Later, Mikael appeared with Hairbond Shaper, alongside photographs of him playing for SPAL and Iceland.
For me, that brought their two worlds together.
There was the brand they had helped establish, and there was the son they had helped support into professional football.
They have every reason to be proud of both.
I am pleased that Hairbond has a small place in their family’s story. They have an important place in ours.
The Customers Who Keep Coming Back
Marmik no longer distributes Hairbond, but our connection with Iceland continues.
We still receive plenty of orders from Iceland, now supplied directly from the UK. Customers continue to seek out the products.
That continued demand matters to me. It shows why the work of introducing a brand deserves to be remembered long after a distribution arrangement has finished.
Ellert and Kristin helped people discover Hairbond. Those customers then made their own decisions to keep using it.
Their work remains part of the business we serve today.
Thank You, Iceland
To Ellert and Kristin: thank you for believing in Hairbond and putting years of effort behind that belief.
Through Marmik, you brought professional knowledge, sales experience and personal commitment to the brand. You helped introduce it to a country whose support we still value today.
To Eiður and Andri Guðjohnsen, Aron Gunnarsson, Hörður Magnússon, Arnór Ingvi Traustason, Mikael Egill Ellertsson, Andri Baldursson, Aron Ingason, Viktor Hallgrímsson, Viktor Berg, Nökkvi Fjalar and John Jackson: thank you for being part of the story.
To the basketball players, MMA competitors, younger athletes and everyone else who supported Hairbond: your involvement mattered too.
And to the hairdressers, barbers and customers who used the products, recommended them and kept ordering: thank you for helping that work last.
Looking back through these photographs reminded me how many people have contributed to Hairbond.
In Iceland, Ellert, Kristin and Marmik deserve their place at the heart of that history.
Hairbond welcomes conversations with potential distribution partners in countries across the European Union. To introduce yourself and your business, contact business@hairbond.com.
Scott Michaels — Founder, Hairbond