Page 23 - AVN Intimate fall 2016

By ShARAn STREET
Doc Johnson Celebrates
With Hollywood Soiree
Show Starters Opposite page, the PicoBong booth, which featured LELO’s new Hex condom, and the
new Topco Sales booth at ANME. This page, clockwise from botom: Doc Johnson’s Kink.com branded BDSM
gear; the Okamoto Mega Big Boy condom at the Paradise Marketing booth; Nasstoys co-founder Elliot
Schwartz with a team member; the Braverman family at the 40th anniversary party for Doc Johnson in
Hollywood. Photos by Chris King/ReelSeduction.com
Pleasure products manufacturer Doc Johnson is marking its ruby
anniversary—that’s 40 years for those who don’t keep up on traditions—
and at the end of the ANME Founders Show, company officials and
employees hosted a number of distributors, retailers and more at a
Hollywood party July 20.
The soiree started on the roof of Hollywood toast spot Madame Tussaud’s on
Hollywood Boulevard, where a dance floor with the manufacturer’s logo was
surrounded by tables adorned with floral centerpieces. Attendees mingled as
waitstaff passed through with hors d’oeuvres. Bar stations offered a number of
cocktails, including two drinks themes for the night: Doc’s Orders, a mixture
of bourbon, iced tea and juices; and the American Bombshell, flavored vodkas
mixed with juices and more (named after, of course, one of Doc’s signature
lines).
Before the doors were opened to the three-story museum that features
realistic wax sculptures of various celebrities staged in various settings, Ron
Braverman, who founded the company in 1976, addressed the crowd.
“It’s 40 years, and really, it’s gone by in a blink,” he said.
Braverman talked about how, when he started the business with a
1,300-square-foot facility and eight employees, he believed that was as high
as he could go. There was never the idea, he said, that 40 years later he would
have a crew of more than 500 people, three of whom have been there from the
start.
Braverman, who talked about how he’s given his life to the industry he loves
so much, also thanked others who helped grow the industry in its early days:
Kenneth Guarino, founder of Metro, who operated stores in New England; Bob
Pine Sr., founder of Williams Trading Co. who got his start driving around the
East Coast with stag films in the trunk of his car; Mike Moran of Lion’s Den; and
more.
“I am proud to be in the business and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with
you,” Braverman said. “I also have a great team of people with me every single
day … I don’t really think of them as people who work for me, but people who
work with me.
“You can’t do it without your vendors, you can’t do it without your clients,
you can’t do it without your friends,” he continued.
Before closing out his remarks for the evening, the elder Braverman took
the opportunity to sing the praises of his children: son Chad, who serves COO
for the company, and daughter Erica, who is the business’ marketing manager.
“To be able to do what I do every day and come into my office and have my
children there, getting to see my children every day is one of the real blessings
of life,” he said to rounds of applause. “It’s fabulous to see how they’ve
matured, taken charge and stepped up to the plate to let the old man leave
every day at 1.”
Following the brief remarks, guests were able to wander through the
museum, enjoy a catered dinner from Southern California staple In-N-Out
Burger, pose for pictures with the wax statues, enjoy tunes spun by two DJs and
take home a souvenir 3-D wax mold of their hand.
For more, visit DocJohnson.com.
—Sherri L. Shaulis
FALL 2016 | INTIMATE | 23