Ironman athlete, LGBTQ author debuts skincare line in Aspen

Ironman athlete and author Mark Turnipseed’s path to beauty product creator took an unusual path through a Pentecostal gay-conversion youth camp where he endured a pastor’s unsuccessful exorcism and triumphs over depression, cigarette and heroin addictions and obesity so severe, his doctor diagnosed him with COPD at age 28.

“He wanted to strap an oxygen tank on me right there in his office,” Turnipseed recalled.

He’s now handsome enough to be an advertisement for his own beauty products. It’s a transformation that bemuses him.

“No one in my family has this, um, I guess, chiseled is the word, physique, so I’m not sure where it came from,” he said.

He talked about the hard work that led to his life change during his July 4 visit to deliver Halo 42, a skincare line he co-created, to the Aspen Luxe Med Spa. Halo 42’s key ingredient is copaiba, an anti-inflammatory tree sap sourced from Peru and used for centuries to heal skin stressed from acne, pregnancy and war wounds.

Turnipseed said he used it during grueling workouts after he ballooned to 238 pounds and tried to commit suicide.

“I was going to throw myself off a bridge, but was too drunk and passed out,” he said.

Turnipseed grew up in Georgia. He realized he was gay in elementary school in 1996. When his parents learned his secret, they sent him to a religious gay conversion camp. The pastors decided an exorcism would banish his LGBTQ demon. He said he was strapped to a bed, surrounded by screaming preachers, terrified. No demon emerged and he was finally released, still gay.

“I decided to survive by being the world’s best actor. Drove a big truck, hunted, fished. Other guys saw me as a successful ladies’ man,” Turnipseed said, adding that his act included getting married. “But I was so depressed. All I wanted to do was leave the planet.”

When his doctor diagnosed him with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Turnipseed drove to a bridge but collapsed before he could throw himself off, passing out by his truck.

That week, he began swimming, biking or otherwise exercising, at first for just a few minutes daily. But those minutes were “the dynamite that blew apart my prison,” he said. He believes a physical regimen enhances 12-step programs.

Makeup artist Tim Quinn, whose clients include Glen Close, read Turnipseed’s memoir. (It’s now out in paperback). He contacted Turnipseed to ask how on earth he kept his skin healthy during the transition from chubby, hard-drinking chain-smoker to Ironman athlete.

Quinn is frequently concerned for women who punish their skin with blemish treatments, heavy moisturizers and derm peels.

“What their complexions truly need is soothing and protection from sun, air pollution and wind,” said Quinn, who has helped many female cancer patients whose skin needs especially gentle care.

He was impressed with research into copaiba as a potent anti-inflammatory for treating sunburn. He’s skeptical of CBD beauty products, noting that CBD tends to de-stress muscles rather than skin.

The two men flew to Peru to research the supply chain for Halo 42. Quinn added geranium and rosehip extracts to the formula as antioxidants.

“We have a small lab, a magical place, in Charleston, South Caroling,” Quinn said.

They got Halo 42 onto shelves in Sea Island, Georgia and Palm Beach, Florida spas where customers urged them to expand into a ski town.

Aspen may be a new chapter in Turnipseed’s next book. His memoir, “My Suicide Race,” is available via Amazon. He sees that the struggle to match society’s beauty and sexual norms afflicts the rich and poor. He hopes his book will help those grappling with health problems as well as LGBTQ youth trying to protect their mental health in an era when states are passing so-called Don’t Say Gay legislation.

“Spiritual and physical health are intertwined and they’re both worth the hard work,” Turnipseed said.

To reach Lynda Edwards, email her at ledwards@aspentimes.com.