Page 62 - AVN April 2018

PLEASURE PRODUCT NEWS
PLEASURE PRODUCTS | NEWS
In the middle of a bustling European trade show,
Richard Almgren is creating a wonder of modern
engineering. He scours his company’s booth for
a solution to fix the display upon which his entire
product demonstration hinges: a minimalistic yet
extremely leaky sink, which is threatening to dump
gallons of water all over his first pleasure industry
venture. Like most native Swedes, there isn’t much
Almgren can’t fix, especially when it’s an IKEA
portable kitchen set.
It doesn’t take long before he realizes the solution
is quite literally dangling in front of his face: strung-
up Dodil dildos that Almgren’s business partner,
Peter Gustavsson, has artistically hung around their
little slice of boxed-in floor space. He heads back to
the kitchenette and pulls a warm, squishy-soft Dodil
from the thermos of warm water where it soaks and
strategically stuffs it into the open end of the leaking
pipe. The Dodil’s stress ball–esque composition
of thermoplastic and silicone begins filling all the
gaps until Almgren’s temporary kitchen is no longer
waterlogged.
Leave it to a Scandinavian to create a sex toy that
not only doubles as a pipe fitting, but also improves
the structural integrity of IKEA furniture. Although
when you consider the rather unsexy origins of this
mint-green plastic marvel, it’s almost surprising that
the Dodil wound up as a sex toy in the first place.
“I love inventing stuff,” says Richard Almgren, COO
and co-founder of The Dodil. “I have piles of drawings
and have been dreaming of solving problems all my
Can-Do Dildo
A duo of unlikely sex toy pioneers transform the concept of plastic pleasure
life.” And that’s just what Almgren, an engineer by
sense that’s rarely found among new businesses
trade, was doing when he discovered what would
in mainstream industries, much less sex toy start-
become his biggest brainchild. After developing a
ups, who often fumble through PR nightmares and
science nerd crush on a meltable, moldable form of
potentially offensive copy writing. Although for
thermoplastic – the same stuff that currently resides
anyone with a working knowledge of Sweden—a
in the Dodil’s core – Richard whipped up a prototype
country whose military marches in the annual LGBTQ
for a shape-shifting fishing lure. However, minds were
Pride parade—the Dodil’s success doesn’t come as
already in the gutter when Almgren debuted his latest
such a surprise.
creation to a fellow designer.
“Richard and I are very Swedish, meaning we
“One day, I brought my prototype—an oblong
strongly believe in equality and diversity,” Gustavsson
piece of this thermoplastic—to a good friend and
says. “Even though we are newbies, we are confident
maker of fishing lures to see if we could brain-storm
in a strong and intriguing product. Nevertheless, we
up something like a ‘DIY-wobbler,’” recalls Almgren.
aim at staying true to our humble selves and approach
“Somewhat puzzled when presented with this
the future with a teachable attitude.”
apparition, my friend says, ‘Hey, this looks like a dildo
Following the company’s major launches at the
to me.’ This kindled the flame and the journey began.”
respective Copenhagen and Stockholm Pride festivals
The Dodil is innocent enough nestled in its
last year, prospective users and potential retailers
color-coordinated thermos. Add hot water, and this
alike all shared a common sentiment of Almgren and
formerly rock-hard, silicone skin dildo turns as soft
Gustavsson. Simply put, they’re a pair of genuinely
and pliable as Stretch Armstrong. Bedroom play time
good humans.
turns into arts and crafts as users become impromptu
“We build relations by just treating everybody with
dildo artists, molding and bending the toy with their
respect as individuals and plausible friends,” remarks
hands or using the included orange vinyl string to
Gustavsson.
create ripples and texture. Its guts are made of a
The team already holds a claim to fame as some
thermoplastic that can handle a seemingly endless
of the most inclusive, sex-positive people to pop
cycle of boiling and cooling, becoming completely stiff
up in the pleasure sector. The Dodil brand presents
again with a splash of cold water.
a completely gender-neutral marketing scheme.
Almgren enlisted longtime family friend and fellow
In fact, you won’t find a single photo of a human
native Swede Peter Gustavsson to accompany him
being anywhere on TheDodil.com. After making the
in this alternative sex toy adventure. Gustavsson,
blog rounds with the industry’s notorious sex toy
who resides in Germany and fills the role of Dodil’s
reviewers, Team Dodil was one of the few companies
director of communications, arrived at his new
to emerged both unscathed and with consecutive
vocation with years of experience doing just about
thumbs-up across the board.
everything except slinging dildos. After heading
For Almgren and Gustavsson, a consumer
up marketing efforts for Systembolaget, Sweden’s
revolution—especially where masturbation is
government-run alcohol dispensary, Peter jetted off
concerned—isn’t built on gimmicky technology, flashy
for the exotic landscape of the East. “After some
social media campaigns, or exaggerated advertising
sales and marketing jobs, I eventually got to build an
claims. At its core, Scandinavian design is all about
accommodation for backpackers in Indonesia,” recalls
clean shapes and simple mechanisms that actually
Gustavsson. “I had just about relocated to city life in
make a better life—or elusive internal orgasms—
Cologne, Germany, when Richard asked me to join the
within easy grasp.
company.”
As Gustavsson concludes, “We are thrilled, proud
Gustavsson and Almgren are a truly unique duo in
and yet humbled to, as men, present a product and a
the pleasure industry for reasons only veterans can
brand that adapts to the user and not the other way
really understand. They’ve approached this sensitive
around.”
and often fickle market with an amount of common
— Colleen Godin
XR Brands Debuts Athena’s Deluxe Sex Machine
XR Brands has unveiled Athena’s Deluxe
Sex Machine, the mechanical
pleasure innovation from Lovebotz
equipped with a customizable
penetration system.
Providing powerful and
steady stroke motions at
multiple angles, this new
machine is built with
special
capability
for
delivering double
penetration in a variety
of positions, making
Athena’s Deluxe is one
of the most versatile
pleasure machines on the
market.
Athena’s Deluxe Sex Machine is built with two
independently controlled thrusting arms and a
powerful motor that lets users choose the perfect
penetration speed, from a smooth 50-strokes-per-
minute all the way up to a pounding 250. When it
comes time to change positions, users can easily
adjust the machine to accommodate 13 different angle
settings—allowing it to point straight up, straight
down, and everywhere in between—and enjoy single
and double penetration with a simple setting switch.
Each dildo is held in place by two solidly constructed
thrusting arms, easily repositionable to allow for a
comfortable distance between them and making it easy
to experience the kind of powerful double penetration
once reserved for fantasies and porn plotlines. Each
thrusting arm is adjustable to drive at a particular
length, and an extension arm can be purchased
separately to add an even longer thrust.
“Athena’s Deluxe Sex Machine is one of our most
industrially advanced sex machines, thanks to the
engineering required for the independent thrusting
arms to operate at optimal capacity,” XR Brands
General Manager Rebecca Weinberg said. “Sex machine
fans love to experiment with mechanized pleasure,
which is what Lovebotz is known for, and we are
proud to offer a new machine that can fulfill so many
more fantasies. The opportunity to customize the user
experience is a huge selling point for this item and we
expect Athena’s Deluxe Sex Machine to be a big seller
in 2018.”
Athena’s Deluxe Sex Machine is made with metal
and ABS plastic and comes equipped with a 7-inch TPR
dildo and a 6.5-inch silicone anal insertable.
For information, email info@xrbrands.com. To view
the full XR Brands lineup, visit XRBrands.com.
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