Gloss Boss: meet the insomniacs who dreamed up the cult Drowsy sleep mask

One thing you’ll find in bed with singers Sabrina Carpenter, Christina Aguilera and beauty entrepreneur Trinny Woodall? Drowsy’s cult, and much-copied wraparound silk sleep mask. The oversized light-blocking pillowy design has been a runaway success since its launch in 2020 and was co-founded by British insomniac brothers Thom, 38 and Rich Hemelryk, 36.

They worked together in the notoriously sleep-depriving hospitality business, managing hostels, a bar and apartments in Barcelona, where they still live. Often working 20-hour days and with no routine bedtimes, they were tired but wired and teetering on burnout. “I’d turn off the lights and spend hours staring at the ceiling,” recalls Thom. “I was stuck in this awful cycle of not sleeping and coming into work stressed, drinking three coffees, then relaxing with alcohol and Netflix at night.” It was the same for Rich.

Images: Singers Sabrina Carpenter and Christina Aguilera pictured with their Drowsy Silk Sleep Mask [Instagram: @drowsysleepco]

“When you’re tired, your cortisol levels are higher, you get into bad habits.” He found himself eating more junk food and developing gut and skin problems. “I had eczema around my eyes, and it got worse. I was miles from being the best version of myself.”

Both exhausted and unable to think straight, Thom and Rich looked for natural sleep solutions, cutting caffeine and alcohol, taking CBD and magnesium. One thing they couldn’t find was a fully light-blocking sleep mask — so they set about making one.

Images: Drowsy co-founders and brothers, Thom and Rich Hemelryk (left to right); and a Drowsy Silk Sleep Mask in blush [Instagram: @drowsysleepco]

Having said goodbye to the hospitality business, the brothers now work full-time on Drowsy, and their original pillowy sleep mask has become a design classic. Their luxury sleep kit now includes weighted blankets and supplements, and is stocked in high-end stores such as Harrods all over the world.

Now, start-up life doesn’t come at the expense of sleep. Here, Thom reveals their secrets to success without burnout…

My lightbulb moment:

“After another horrendous night’s sleep in 2019, I thought, ‘Hold on, we should be working on this’. To humour me, my business partners [the brothers were already in business with their best friends, Olly Bushnell and Samuel Baron, with whom they co-founded Drowsy] agreed to brainstorm sleep solutions the next day. Eye masks kept coming up, because if I had any light or thoughts, I couldn’t sleep.

Image: Drowsy co-founders, Thom Hemelryk, Samuel Baron, Rich Hemelryk and Olly Bushnell (left to right)

“Back then, I could only find aeroplane-style sleep mask designs with harsh fabric that irritated my skin and let in light. The elastic straps dug in and weren’t adjustable, and the masks just fell off. I used to dread going to bed, so I wanted something ‘extra’ that you’d want to put on: a ritual of feeling safe, comfortable and able to switch off your worries.

“In a few hours, we came up with an eye mask, pillow spray and the name. ‘Drowsy’ was an antidote to fast-paced life, encompassing that slow, luxurious moment at the end of the day.”

How we turned our idea into a reality:

“We spent a year testing prototypes on ourselves, friends and family. It was all small-batch, homemade and self-funded. Samuel made his own clothes, so was a dab hand with a needle and thread!

“Our final design was a pure silk mask, with a blackout strip of black cotton inside and bamboo padding. It had to be all-natural and breathable and keep you cool at night.

Images: Drowsy Sleep SOS Pillow Spray and Silk Sleep Mask in midnight blue

“We sold our hospitality business and launched in February 2022 with a Sleep S.O.S Pillow Spray, £25 and Silk Sleep Mask, £69 in midnight blue (still our best-seller). I’m the one with crazy ideas, Ollie and Samuel manage the logistics and finances respectively and Ritchie is head of product.”

My biggest crisis:

“After six months of low sales, we were hugely unprepared for a call from beauty editor Sarah Jossel. She said she’d be featuring our sleep mask on ITV’s This Morning and to prepare for an uptake in sales. After the show, we sold out in minutes. Our site crashed, and we received thousands of orders we didn’t have stock for. We spent two weeks emailing customers to ask if they’d wait for us to manufacture. Amazingly, most took it well, and we spent three months in overdrive picking up the pieces.

Image: Drowsy’s sleep mask went viral after beauty editor Sarah Jossel featured it on ITV’s This Morning

“This taught us the power of preparation, but that people will forgive a lot if you’re honest. Every month, there’s a new challenge, but luckily, my partners are my best friends, so we put that before anything else: whatever the setback, we regroup and get back to it.”

My productivity hacks

“Mornings are sacred to me. I wake up at 7 am and get up immediately as I always leave my phone alarm outside my room. Other than that, I don’t look at my phone until I start work at 9:30 am. Instead, I spend 15 minutes doing meditation and morning stretches to clear my mind and put me in the right headspace for deep work.

“I know that I have two peaks of productivity, one in the morning and then late afternoon. So, I keep mornings blocked off for deep work until 2 pm, and avoid eating heavy lunches that kill my concentration.

“I also try to have fewer phone apps and reduce screen time, as it overstimulates me and kills concentration. I’ve deleted TikTok and allow myself limited Instagram access — no scrolling until after work.

“I use three lists on Notion [a digital workspace and productivity app]: ‘the never-ending list’, ‘the priority list’ and ‘the today list’. Every morning, I select three tasks to complete from the priority list and drag them onto today’s list. Anything I get done after that is a bonus.”

Manifesting to banish doubt

“The best way to beat the doubts is through collective visualisation. We’re big on manifesting and are very clear about what we want to do early on, then map it out in a Canva vision board.

“Once a year, we plan the year ahead and a five-year plan for the business, as well as our personal goals outside of work. Then we talk about them all the time, probably too much! But your goal becomes so real in your mind that many doubts become irrelevant.

“I remember once reading that Beyoncé has an alter ego, ‘Sasha Fierce’, that she adopts on stage to help her cope. One of my business partners, Ollie, is completely unfazed by anything. So sometimes I’ll pretend to be him to put myself in his zero-worries mindset. The key is to act like the person you want to be in that moment.”

How I live a sleep-first lifestyle

“I stick to a few simple things religiously. I work out at the gym three times weekly; anything else is a win. Weekends are sacred: no emails. My business partners and I decided early on that if we want to avoid burnout, we need to switch off from work.

“I try to live a ‘sleep-first’ lifestyle. If you’re sleeping badly, not eating well, and not exercising, then using a pillow spray won’t fix anything! You need to look at everything and make changes.

“When you’re learning how to sleep well, it’s obvious and simple stuff. I can only have one coffee in the morning, or it affects my sleep, and I don’t drink alcohol now.

“I stop working by 7 pm, and I eat dinner early. I’ll start getting ready for bed before I’m tired, and avoid any screens, keeping the lighting low. I’m in bed by 11 pm latest and have at least eight hours of sleep.”

When your colleagues are also your friends and family

“You hear so many horror stories about people working with loved ones, but it’s our greatest asset. We’ve never argued, because we balance each other out without clashing.

Images: Drowsy co-founder Olly Bushnell at a trade show, and Thom Hemelryk with his wife Carla

“My wife Carla is Drowsy’s Art Director and it would be easy to let work dominate our personal life. We’re serious when we work together, then we’ll switch to fun mode. Our free time is sacred, and Carla has full rein to shut me off if I drift into Drowsy talk!

“The key is having a hard stop. Yes, my business is my passion, but I don’t want to burn out again — I want to keep loving what I do.”

3 things you’d find on my desktop:

“My Sony Flagship Noise Cancelling Over-Ear Headphones, which help me feel like I’m in a little cocoon and block out the world so I can deep focus on work. A screenshot of my Canva vision board as my laptop background. Plus, some photos of my business partners and me in the early days when we had no idea what we were doing!”

My dream boss:

“I’m inspired by Grace Beverly, the founder of Tala activewear, because of how much she’s achieved so young [at 28], as a sole founder. I’d love to build a brand as strong as hers, so I would be more than happy to have her as my boss for a day and see what I can learn!”

My one piece of advice for you:

“You don’t need to be amazing at something to succeed at it. You just need the courage to make it happen. Most successful people are no different to anyone else; they’ve just failed more and been in the game longer without giving up.”

Shop Drowsy sleep masks now