Jeunes Romantiques/Depot Drula Fabrik,
P.O.Box 415 Station Youville,
Montreal,
QC H2P 2V6

Frantz Vancol was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti but left in 1969 due to the political situation. He joined relatives in Liberia, Africa then moved to the US to study Civil Engineering; in addition, he studied Business Administration and Cosmetology. Soon after, Holiday Magic Cosmetics recruited him as their general distributor and marketing instructor, a position which involved teaching sales techniques worldwide. Besides, he established NYC’s Young Romantic Salons. In 1976, he moved to Canada and launched a chain of three beauty shops: Les Jeunes Romantiques, wherein he introduced the Canadian market to some of the most popular hair and skin care products specifically tailored for Ethnic people. He founded Tropico Inc., a wholesaler of tropical consumer products, and New York-New York, a retailer of food and cosmetics and became the exclusive distributor of many specialized products, such as TCB hair products from Alberto Culver.

Consequently, attributed to his efforts, the Alberto Culver Company of Chicago now has a large operation in Ontario and Raymond Hadley of Spencer, New York has an impressive share of the Canadian food market. With a loan from Mathieu Da Costa BDC, he fulfilled a lifelong dream when he started to manufacture Quisqueya-Boyo, a tropical flavoured soft drink. Vancol’s most ambitious goal was to start the very first radio station managed by Black communities in Canada.

Due to evidence of this giant success, many other ethnic beauty shops – retail stores – tropical soft drinks and radio stations were being created across the country capitalizing on this new and lucrative ethnic market.

This versatile businessman has also found the time to support many community activities, getting involved especially in events which bring closer, Anglophone and francophone Blacks in Montreal. He has tutored students with learning difficulties, taught languages to new immigrants, and organized and spoke at seminars and conferences on hairstyling and cosmetology. A past member of the Organizing Committee of Quebec’s Caribbean Festival, he has regularly supported the Miss Black Quebec Contest. Frantz Vancol was recently Vice President of the Racing Soccer Club of Montreal-North. In 2000 and 2001 he was a member of the Managing Committee for Black History Month.

Frantz Vancol has also dabbled in real estate. He holds diplomas from Century 21 (USA), College Montmorency in Montreal, and the greater Montreal Real Estate Board. He then worked for sometime as a Real Estate agent.

Frantz can proudly say that he largely contributed to the development of the food, communication and broad casting, beauty industry, and of a better ethnic community in Canada.

In 1995, he was honoured by the Montreal Association of Black Business Persons and Professionals (MABBP) with the Jackie Robinson Award as Businessman Of the Year. In September 1996, he received a trophy from Muhammad’s Mosque of Montreal, for his extraordinary contribution to the business world. In 1998 he was honoured by the Mayor of Montreal and he signed the Red Book of the city as award-winner for the Black History Month calendar.

Today, after thirty one years of continuous hard work in business, Frantz is carrying on his original entrepreneurship and introducing to Canada, highly effective, quality products such as Drula Preparations from Germany.

An energetic and conscientious entrepreneur, Frantz maintains friendly honest and profitable relationships with each of his customers.

As Frantz says: “Regardless of circumstances, always work harder and harder to be the very best you can be, to accomplish something great in your life-time.

Education: Cosmetology, Wilfred Academy, NY: Business Administration, Geneva Business School; Civil Engineering, NY Staten Island College, Radio, College Maisonneuve; Radio CIBL, Mtl Contact: Tel: 450-963-9817; Fax: 450-963-9817