• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, December 1, 2025

With the volume of email going out right now, it’s natural that mistakes will occur. But it will be hard to top this one. 

The email subject line states, “grow the f--k up.’

Uh, excuse me?

That singular line was sent last Wednesday by xSuit, a Singapore-based men’s suit marketer, according to The New York Post.

It was followed within hours by this message from xSuit founder Maximilien Perez: “I’m writing to apologize for the email you received earlier today. The subject line was unprofessional, disrespectful, and completely at odds with who we are.”

That line is increasingly being used following such episodes: “It’s not who we are.”

Maybe it is who they are, but let’s let Perez speak for himself. 

“We built xSuit on a promise to be confident without being arrogant. . . . Then we send something crude and try to justify it as edgy.

“You deserve better. . . . Not something designed to shock or offend in the name of getting noticed.”

Unfortunately, that type of crudity is commonplace these days — not in marketing emails, necessarily, but in other areas of life and politics.

But what’s the pitch here? Is it akin to those spots that proclaim real men don’t dress in layers?

Was it intentional, in fact?