Brian Sloan with 3Fap

Brian Sloan on his latest products and contests

Roughly one year ago, Brian Sloan hit the motherlode when one of his products turned into a viral phenomenon. Autoblow 2 achieved international popularity, raking in more than a quarter million dollars via crowdfunding. In the meantime, Brian has added several other toys to his range, and his latest innovation, called 3Fap, is already on its way. We were curious to learn more about this product and about other new ideas that are already in the works, but, of course, we also squeezed in a few questions about the general developments in the erotic market in our interview with Brian Sloan.

 


Hi, Brian. You showcased your products at the Eropartner booth at eroFame. How would you assess the fair in Hanover in general and also for yourself?
Brian Sloan: The fair is becoming more and more competitive for brands, as chain stores and distributors continue to buy direct from Chinese factories. The bigger buyers now only need to stock specialty or complex to manufacture products – the rest they prefer to buy directly in China. This does not affect me at the moment because I only sell specialised products at the show. But I think for brands who offer ordinary styles of adult toys, they are going to see sharply declining interest in the coming years due to the ease for even small buyers of buying direct in China. I still saw a lot of interest in my products, especially Slaphappy+.

Apart from some new innovations, you presented your well-known Autoblow 2. Is there still a lot of interest in your blow job machine?
Yes, we had interest in both Slaphappy, the new Slaphappy+ , 3Fap and Autoblow 2. The Autoblow 2 has only been on the market for a year at this point so there is still a lot of volume to do of this product. We will come out with Autoblow 2+ late this year which adds 3 rows of beads, slightly more up/down motion and is tighter. It’s important that we stay ahead of the copies as a brand and to keep the interest of resellers.

The Autoblow 2
The Autoblow 2

What some people criticised about Autoblow 2 is that it is a bit too chunky to handle well. Your solution has been to introduce a handle for the machine. How did the user community react to this attachment? Will it be included in future batches of Autoblow 2?
People love to criticise. Several people came by the booth and commented that the product is loud or big, etc. I think some buyers are frankly concerned with the wrong thing. The buyers’ only concern should be: Does the market demand this product, is the return rate acceptable, and how much money am I going to make selling this product. Pointing out the obvious, that it is loud or big, is not productive. The market has demonstrated that around $100-$150 is the price ceiling for this style of masturbator, so I have crafted the best one I could that can retail in this price range. A quieter or smaller product’s costs would be much higher. We sell a lot of the handle accessory and I really believe it improves the ease of use. All future versions will also support either this handle or a new handle accessory.

Apart from known products, you also presented your latest invention. It’s also a masturbator, only this time it comes without a motor but with another twist: It features three different orifices. How did you come up with this idea?
One day, I had a problem in China and a visa agency demanded $5,000 from me or I would have to leave the country. After I paid the money to the unscrupulous company, I felt upset. Then suddenly, the idea just came to me after I stopped yelling at the company representative. Anyways, this is a fun product and was a good chance for me to use the 3D scans I took during my vaginal beauty contest.

The 3Fap
The 3Fap inside and out

Will the three orifices be standardised in every product or can the user choose how he wants to combine them? Which different features will they have?
Each sleeve has 3 orifices, so people cannot mix and match individual orifices. They can though swap out sleeves for different sleeves. We will create a number of them for example anus mouth vulva, 3 vulvas, 3 mouths, etc. Each channel will have a different internal texture, and the user will be able to control the suction level independently in each orifice.

Three masturbators in one – naturally, you need a lot of silicone for that and therefore, the product can get quite heavy. Do you have a solution to this problem?
Yes, people said on the internet it was ridiculous how heavy it was. But I disagree. A Fleshlight, for example, weighs 1kg. 3Fap will weigh 2kg. 2kg is not heavy unless you are a small child. That’s the trade-off for having 3 orifices so easily accessible. The world is full of trade-offs, it’s a part of being a person. I accept this.

A big part of the success of Autoblow 2 can be attributed to its online marketing campaign. Which plans do you have for your new product to make it known to the public?
I had a jingle produced for 3Fap which has gone viral. You can find it online by just searching 3Fap jingle. I’ve now had a cartoon created that goes along with the jingle which I’ll release when the product is launched. I have a few other tricks up my sleeve to get the product’s name out there. If you use the internet, you won’t be able to avoid it, soon.

When will your new masturbator hit the market and what will it cost?
3Fap will be ready in February or March. I think it will retail for about 80 Euros.

Where can interested retailers turn to if they want more information about your products or if they need POS materials for their shops?
They can email bsloan@vieci.com or ask Eropartner. Soon, it will also be distributed by Orion and they will also have all of the materials.

Besides your new masturbator, what else are you currently working on and what can we expect from you in 2016?
I’m going to release a pretty cool dildo especially for the gay market in about a month. I won’t tell you the details yet, but as far as I know, it’s a first of its kind. I’m also preparing a new contest similar to my vaginal beauty contest but it will be for testicles. I hope all of your readers will enter. It should be online a few weeks from now at ballscontest.com. I’m going to give away about $10,000 in prize money and then turn a few men’s balls into decorative items to sell on Amazon.

This interview was first published in EAN 12/2015. EAN is free for retailers and other members of the erotic industry. To get your printed copy, click here!