Our Story

Who we are, how we got here, and what we value...

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We started out climbing...

Dragon Blood Balm was started by two friends -- Roman and Boris -- who climb a lot.

Our hands (and sometimes feet) were regularly beat up after a long day outdoors.

Boris worked as a massage therapist and acupuncturist, and so he needed to preserve his hand's sensitivity and to be able to work without tendon pain.

Roman worked in marketing and was embarrassed to shake hands with clients when his hands looked like they were mauled by a bear.

"Whatever works"

We tried a number of balms and skin care products, none of which helped with the "full package": pain relief, skin repair, and muscle/tendon recovery.

So we took matters into our own hands.

That meant research and experimentation to figure out what worked, what helped, and why... and then putting it all together into a new product.

We looked at modern and popular products as well as traditional formulas such as Dit Da Jow that have been used for hundreds of years.

That's how we discovered Dragon Blood resin and many of our other unique ingredients.

From climbing to everyone else

Our first batch -- the "OG" balm -- was created in January 2018.

We gave it to some of our friends to try it out, and quickly learned that this was good not just for climbers... martial artists, musicians, and endurance athletes started to reach out. We also saw people with skin and tendon conditions writing in to tell us how it helped.

The feedback was overwhelming positive. So, we went all in. Dragon Blood Balm was born officially in March 2018 in New York City.

Hand Made, Small Batch

In the beginning, we did everything ourselves: finding and grinding ingredients, brewing and pouring, and labeling each batch of balms.

We still do that today. We seek out the finest ingredients, process them ourselves, and still make small batches. This lets us keep the quality high and keep our R&D and production cycles extremely close.

Our Team

  • Boris Bernadsky

    Co-Founder

    An acupuncturist by training, Boris mined the depths of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Herbs, and western medicine to make something that could heal his hands. Tinkerer and experimenter by nature, Boris leads production, R&D, and product evangelism.

  • Roman Kudryashov

    Co-Founder

    A recreational rock climber, designer, marketer, and entrepreneur. Equally good with numbers as with design, Roman leads company operations, marketing and all of the behind-the-scenes stuff that makes a business run.  

What We Prioritize

  • It's Gotta Work Well

    We actively use our own products, and we want to make sure it works for you too.


    Because if it doesn't work way better than anything else out there, why bother making and selling it?

  • No Compromises on Quality

    Quality matters. Freshness matters. It's like the difference between instant coffee versus freshly roasted and ground coffee. Or fresh-picked basil versus the dried flakes that wait around in a shake-top for years.


    Our experience has been that fresh, high-quality ingredients result in a faster healing process, and ultimately help you save time and money in the long run.

  • Slow, Steady, Sustainable

    Sustainable product development means seeking out natural, organic, and exploitation-free materials and ingredients whenever possible.


    It also means we're okay with growing slowly if that means everything we do is high quality and responsive to customer needs.

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