Michael Kassal, Senior Product Marketing Manager of POLY LED ProductsPersonal mantra: Enjoy life today; time goes by too quickly to hesitate.
Favorite movie: The Outlaw Josey Wales
Favorite food: Everything on the Thanksgiving dinner table
Pet peeve: People who recline their airplane seat into my lap—I’m tall and it’s cramped enough!
Can’t leave the house without: My Swiss Army pocket knife
Favorite city: Nashville, Tennessee. I lived there for 5 years after college and loved it.
Scariest thing you’ve ever done: I accidentally got caught in an ocean current undertow in Montauk, Long Island. Scary stuff.
Guilty pleasure: Peanut M&Ms and homemade apple pie!
What makes your brand unique? UVBioTek is a light therapy company with a 25-year history of innovation in the industry. We started as a tanning business, and soon evolved to manufacturing light therapy (UVB) products for medical applications in dermatology. Most recently, we expanded into the medical aesthetics market with our LED light therapy.
Who inspires you? My team here at UVBioTek; they continually go above and beyond to provide amazing service to our customers across all segments of our business. Our executive team, sales, manufacturing and support services groups treat clients like family. You don’t see that level of care very much these days, and we receive a lot of positive feedback for it!
How do you find a work-life balance? Time away to recharge is essential. Everyone is constantly plugged in, so I personally make a point of turning off my email when I can, and I set limits on working during vacations and family time (with varying degrees of success).
What is the company’s hero product and why? The POLY PRO LED Light Therapy Device is our flagship product. Since launching in 2017, POLY has been well received by professionals across multiple segments of the market, including spa owners, estheticians, medical practitioners and others. Its quality and versatility make the POLY PRO ideal for a range of FDA-cleared uses, including skin rejuvenation, antiaging and acne treatments.
RELATED: Potent Protocols for Acne-Prone Skin
Tell us about your hobbies. I like to work in my wood shop, play guitar, and collect antiques and relics. Some of my favorite activities are camping, boating, gardening and, of course, snow removal! I’m an avid outdoors enthusiast, and we have a short summer season here in the northeast, so we pack it in while we can.
What’s your favorite part of the day? At work, I prefer the afternoon. I find that I’m answering emails, going to meetings and getting otherwise caught up in the morning, so I’m more productive and able to address priorities during the second half of the day. Evenings at home with my family are great, too!
If you weren’t in this industry, what would you be doing? If I didn’t pursue a career in marketing, I almost certainly would have been a forest ranger—that would be awesome! Maybe I’ll do something similar in semi-retirement one day.
If you could cross one thing off your to-do list, what would it be? I’m looking forward to reaching certain business milestones; for example, I’m excited to award the honor of being our 1,000th customer to a POLY facility soon!
Who would you most like to meet? Teddy Roosevelt. Talk about an American hero—he led the way in everything he took part in. He was a naturalist and conservationist, and is credited for preserving much of America’s wild lands for future generations. It would be great to hear some of his stories while sitting around a campfire.
This story first appeared in the July issue of DAYSPA Magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
