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Curls Poppin' Dolls' Men of Culture Featured on KPBS San Diego News Now
San Diego founder Ashley Head and Manny, the first doll in the all-male Men of Culture line, share the story behind a doll collection built for boys, men, and collectors of every background.
SAN DIEGO, CA — October 5, 2026 — Curls Poppin' Dolls, the San Diego-based hair care and doll company, was featured on KPBS Public Media's San Diego News Now in an October 1 segment reported by KPBS arts reporter Audy McAfee. The segment spotlights founder and CEO Ashley Head, MBA, and Emmanuel "Manny" Rodriguez, the real person behind Manny, the debut doll in the new Men of Culture collection.
Head told KPBS the idea for a doll began while he was living in the Dominican Republic, where he noticed the dolls on shelves looked nothing like the children around him. He launched his first doll, Olivia, in 2018. Curls Poppin' has since earned licenses to sell dolls at historically Black colleges including Spelman and Morehouse.
Men of Culture will include 12 dolls, each based on a real person, with the first release planned for December. Head describes it as the first all-male doll line featuring people of color.
"We have collectors who've collected dolls for over 50 years that are salivating over these dolls," Head told KPBS. "We are a disruption to the doll market and that we are creating boy dolls for the world."
Rodriguez, a model and actor who was once Head's student in the Dominican Republic, said he learned about the doll when Head surprised him with it. "I see this doll with my face and my hair and tattoos," Rodriguez said. "It'd be like having the next best friend… now I have somebody that looks like me."
Head, who co-founded Curls Poppin' Dolls with his wife, Lindsey Head, MBA, says the collection is also a message to their four sons. "This is the vision that I got from God, so I'm following it," he said. "If they ever have a vision, no matter what it is… follow that vision."
Manny is available for presale now at curlspoppindolls.com.
Listen to the full segment: https://www.kpbs.org/podcasts/san-diego-news-now/midway-rising-is-officially-one-step-closer-to-becoming-a-reality
About Curls Poppin' Dolls
Curls Poppin' Dolls is a San Diego-based hair product and toy brand co-founded by Ashley Head, MBA and Lindsey Head, MBA. Its two pillars are Curls Poppin' natural hair care and Curls Poppin' Dolls, the world's first natural hair fashion doll line and first HBCU-licensed doll line. Manny is the debut release in the Men of Culture collection.
Media Contact
Ashley Head, MBA • ashley@curlspoppin.com • 646-570-7566 • curlspoppindolls.com
