Ditching Gender Labels in Fragrance, with The Phluid Project's Rob Smith (Scent World E42)

They say, “don’t quit your job after your first Burning Man,” but that’s exactly what Rob did. He left behind a successful career as a retail executive and went on a journey to reconnect with himself. It was during a plant ceremony that he gained clarity on a new life purpose: opening a gender-free shopping environment. Less than a year later, in 2018, he launched The Phluid Project, a queer-centric store in New York City, the first of its kind, blending fashion, community, and activism. More recently, this vision has expanded to fragrance with a collection of four scents that blend feminine and masculine notes and break down barriers to self-expression.
In this episode, Rob sits down with Brittney Jackson Mosley, who runs integrated marketing at Scentbird. He talks about his most popular scents (including a bestseller that’s perfect for summer), opens up about his journey embracing his full self, and answers intimate questions from his TikTok community.
Chapters:
[01:05] A life-changing Burning Man experience
[02:52] The plant-based ceremony that “birthed” Phluid
[05:30] Dissolving artificial labels
[06:50] The “third gender” in indigenous wisdom
[08:14] Phluid’s gender-free NYC fashion store
[10:53] Queer centric vs. queer exclusive
[12:05] How Rob learned to embrace his full self
[14:10] Mixing traditionally masculine and feminine notes
[15:53] Transcend: dragon fruit and palo santo
[18:43] Balance: the strongest Phluid scent
[22:45] Intention: the newest (and bestselling) scent
[25:33] Humanity: a great summer vibe
[26:50] A super collaborative way to develop scents
[29:38] Rob answers questions from his TikTok community
[30:49] “Will it be easier to accept that some family will never support me?”
[31:54] “How do you find queer communities in real life?”
[33:24] “How do I express my gender fluidity in the corporate world?”
[39:02] “How do you find the energy to keep going?”
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