Deciem founder Brandon Truaxe dead at 40
Toronto-based beauty industry pioneer Brandon Truaxe, founder of Deciem, has reportedly died at the age of 40 after posting a series of bizarre videos to Instagram this weekend.
"I can't believe I am typing these words. Brandon has passed away over the weekend," reads an email from Deciem's acting CEO Nicola Kilner to her staff. "Heartbroken doesn’t come close to how I, and how I know many of you will be feeling."
"All offices, warehouses, factories and stores please close today and take the time to cry with sadness, smile at the good times we had, reflect on what his genius built and hug your loved ones that little harder," continues the message, which was obtained by Vox on Monday.
"We are all in disbelief and shock but I will be in touch again very soon. I love you all incredibly much, as did he."
Truaxe's cause of death has not yet been made public, nor has where or when he died.
The successful yet troubled entrepreneur posted four public videos on Instagram Saturday night in which he addresses U.S. President Donald Trump, talks about drinking Mescal and reveals his full address several times.
"Mr. President, it's Brandon Truaxe," he says in the last video ever posted on his personal account. "You said your country absolutely has to be prioritized first. I'm in my penthouse, uh, you may have seen it, you most likely haven't."
He then goes on to repeat his address, talk about fire alarms in his building and shows footage from the light installations in the Distillery District.
"Donald everything is okay," he says. "If you're worried about something, don't worry... if they suspect something is strange, as the airport authorities say, if it's suspicious, tell someone. I love you."
Truaxe was famously ousted from his role as Deciem's CEO in October of 2018 after posting a series of increasingly cryptic and inflammatory messages via the company's social media accounts.
In one post, Truaxe alleged that people inside the company were comitting "financial crimes," prompting major stakeholder Estee Lauder to file a court application for his removal.
Estee Lauder argued that his "outrageous, disturbing, defamatory, and/or offensive posts" were harming the Deciem brand and a Toronto judge agreed.
All locations of the the "abnormal beauty company" were temporarily shut down in light of the drama, but have since reopened—with the exception of today.
Deciem stores, offices, warehouses and factories are closed today, according to the company, as employees deal with the news of their charasmatic and brilliant one-time leader's passing.
Jimmy Lu
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