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Let’s listen in as The Tongue and Rocketman discuss this historic interview: Rocketman: As we took the drive through rush-hour traffic, Frank and I were chatting the possibilities of what we were going to see at Doc Johnson, and the chance to meet one of our personal heros, Ron Braverman; the man who has made Rabbit Vibrator a household name! The Tongue: Yeah, the drive to the facility was filled with typical rush-hour stop and go on the highways and surface streets, but we didn’t really notice it that morning as we were quite keyed up to see Doc Johnson. As we approached the facility’s main parking lot, we were met by a guard who took our names and checked it against the day’s guest list, waving us in, pointing towards the main administration building.  Rocketman: This place was HUGE! I’ve been to manufacturing facilities before, so I wasn’t surprised to see the forklifts, 50-gallon drums, etc, but I wasn’t expecting Doc Johnson to have such a large complex of buildings. The Tongue: As we approached it, I pointed to the big sign on the side of the main administration building, and uttered something uncharacteristically childish like: “Coooool!”, then I helped Rocketman find a parking spot near the front door and we went in. Rocketman: The entrance foyer was an unassuming 15-foot square area with the required plants and comfortable waiting couches, with a sliding-glass window providing a view into the administrative office, housing the receptionist and a few other employees. She asked our names and again, looking at the day’s prepared paperwork, spotted the SiliconSlave name and smilingly waved us to the couches, letting us know Ron would be with us soon. The Tongue: We were only waiting a few minutes, but during that short time there were three deliveries and two other visitors that came through. Doc Johnson was hopping, and it was only 9:00am! Rocketman: Yeah, they were certainly well caffeinated [Laughs]. Ron appeared a few minutes later, introduced himself, shook our hands, and then led us through a series of art-covered hallways to their main conference room. The Tongue: Conference Room? Hah! That may be what Rocketman wants to call it, but for me, I’m calling it the Shrine-to-all-things-adult! [Laughs] This place was breathtaking in both its size and the sheer number of toys and novelties on display. Three of the four walls were covered from floor to ceiling with Doc Johnson products, each gleaming, clean, and new, as if placed there that morning just for us.  Rocketman: The array of products was surprisingly diverse. I knew Doc Johnson had a large catalog of items covering a variety of audiences and tastes, so I thought I knew what to expect, but this really blew my mind! In fact, there were a few products on the walls that I didn’t even know existed, let alone know how to use. [Laughs]. Don’t get me wrong Rocket fans, the Rocketman knows his toys, as any of the Rocketteers will be happy to tell you, but it’s like being in a toy store – there’s always at least one toy you haven’t seen yet. The Tongue: I have to agree with the Rocketman on this one. And quite honestly, I had a hard time keeping my eyes trained on our host as we interviewed him. I kept glancing at the walls, spying the dozens of colors, shapes, sizes, and different designs of toys. Rocketman: After the initial shock of the dazzling toy display wore off, we got down to business. The Tongue: Ron was wearing a jet-black suit, sans jacket, with a crisp white long sleeved dress shirt, and sharp looking shoes, all accenting his distinguished, graying beard and mustache. His demeanor is reserved, yet friendly as he works through the logistics of the morning with us. Rocketman: He certainly looked the part of a growing adult toy empire, and we were happy to have the chance to talk to him. Now it was time to let him tell his side of the story. Rocketman: Ron, first I’d like to say, on behalf of the SiliconSlave and its readership, Thank You for taking the time to meet with us today. Braverman: Certainly. It’s my pleasure. Rocketman: We are interested in how many products Doc Johnson typically releases in a year. Braverman: Doc Johnson releases somewhere between 275-325 unique items a year; Those may not necessarily be individual toys, but overall releases including different colors, textures, and sizes of the new toys. So, there may be 70 new items in a year, but in all the variations you get 300+ items. Rocketman: Would that include re-launched products or products that were re-executed into the market? Braverman: No, we don't count that. If we are updating a product by changing its material, the packaging, color, or texture, we consider that to be a Re-Release, and we just notify our customers that the product is now available in a new material, a new color, a new texture, or in new packaging. The Tongue: What is your biggest seller or most popular product? Braverman: Well, as you may know, the Pocket Rocket is one of those name-defining products; it’s synonymous with Doc Johnson. It’s extremely popular and certainly our best seller! Also, the Rabbit style vibrator is similar in popularity – women LOVE it. We have several varieties and they seem to enjoy all of them. The Tongue: Because of it’s shape? Braverman: Actually, it’s because it’s a vibrator. The vibrator can do something no human can do; you can move your hand or finger very quickly, though you’ll never come close to creating the unique sensation of a vibrator. Applied to a number of different body parts, the vibrator can deliver an extreme amount pleasure with very little work on the part of the person using it. Rocketman: In how many different countries are Doc Johnson products sold? Braverman: We sell in almost every country around the world. Pleasure is universal. The Tongue: Is there any one product or line of products that are more difficult to manufacture than others? Braverman: [Long, thoughtful pause] Doc Johnson is very, very concerned about quality. Our products pass through a lot of different inspections before they are released. We have an extensive Research and Development department, and a very extensive mold department. When a product leaves here we, it's a Doc Johnson product, and we want to be proud of that product. So I don't know if there is any one particular item that is really more difficult for us to produce than another; are there ones that are 'technically' more difficult? Yes, sure there are. But even for our least technical, least difficult product, we put the same effort and energy into the quality and technology and material of that product as we do for our most technical product. That's what we do for a living: we turn out a quality item. Doc Johnson wants people to go home and have fun! We want them to go home and have a good, and fulfilling experience.  Rocketman: [Gesturing to the almost endless array of products around the room] Do you have a personal favorite in your product line? Braverman: Honestly, I don't think I have an answer for that; I get very involved in almost every single item we come out with. Because I don't take any aspect of a product for granted, I get very involved in the quality and texture of the material, the color and packaging details. So do I have a 'personal favorite'? No. Since I'm intimately involved in every item, I can almost pick any item off the wall and give you a complete report on everything that went into the making of the item, including the design issues, the material and texture, the production and the packaging of the product, so I have trouble picking out a single item. [At this point, the CFO of Doc Johnson walked into the room with some questions for Ron. Without missing a beat, Ron introduced us. His laid-back, but professional raport with his executive staff is clearly genuine; he obviously enjoys his job and surrounds himself with people who do the same.] The Tongue: What do you consider to be the best part of your job? Braverman: [Smiles broadly] The best part of my job is the fact that I love getting up every morning and coming to work and I love being here! I think that's the best thing anyone can hope to get out of a job. I enjoy the fact that our only job here, ultimately, is to bring pleasure to other people. We are in the pleasure business. Rocketman: How long does it typically take to bring a product from concept to release? Braverman: It can take anywhere between 90 days to a year and a half. There are many steps to creating a product, from design to prototyping, testing, and manufacture, and any one of those areas can require more re-work or more effort from one product to another. For example, if we don't get the exact texture we are looking for, or the material isn't working the way it's supposed to work, it will take a period of time to get it exactly the way we want it, and make sure the item has the integrity Doc Johnson is famous for. In fact, many times in the past we've run into technical problems with a material where we can't get it to react the way we want it to react, and therefore we've shelved it until we can design a material that will react the way we need it to for a particular product. Rocketman: It's interesting that you run into such technical issues with materials. Braverman: Well, take for example the Ultra Realistic (UR3) material was close to five years in the making. Rocketman: That's a Doc Johnson exclusive, right? Braverman: Yes. Coming up with the concept of the material is relatively easy. The material has to go through heating processes and cooling processes, poured into molds, and it needs to react to all of those elements the way we need it to react. Rocketman: Like hypoallergenic, for example? Braverman: Exactly. The Tongue: Do you see any significant or new trends in the market place? Braverman: The adult toy industry, as a whole, is becoming more women and couples friendly. Adult toy stores are no longer the dark backroom hiding places for horny men in long rain coats. The lights have been turned on, and women and couples are finding that there is a huge range of pleasureable experiences waiting for them, and we're ready to help them achieve it. Rocketman: You and your team at Doc Johnson have clearly spent years building significant name recognition and market share. This is no small feat given the very uphill battle of the 'dark' persona of the industry. Now, as the adult toy market as a whole is becoming much more open to women and couples in general, due in part to your own company's efforts, you find yourself in a very envious position of having your product in most every adult toy store in America, ready to please the skyrocketing demand from women and couples for high-quality, name brand toys. Braverman: [Smiles] Yes, it's a great place to be. Our hard work and determination is starting to show some returns. But we will not relax since we realize our competition is right being us. We'll continue to develop new toys and bring new concepts to the market. The Tongue: What about computer-based toys, like toys that interface to the PC, or more like the cyber-erotic toys, do you see that taking off?  Braverman: Well, our brand new toy the High Joy Enabled Rabbit. Many of these products in the past have been either PC-based, or DVD-based, were in your own home, you had to run them through your PC, there alot of hook-up and such. I'm not sure there's necessarily alot of results from all that work. Our product, on the other hand, is our tried and true Rabbit vibrator. The new toy allows you to ‘share’ your pleasure experience with a partner who may also have an High Joy Enabled toy from Doc Johnson. I'm not talking about sharing just in the same room, I'm talking about that if you are traveling and you are in Amsterdam and your partner is at home in L.A., you can log into the Doc Johnson High Joy website, your toy is already registered, and through that you can connect up to the person you want to control the toy with. And by the way, they have the ability to control the toy that you have and they have the ability to control the toy that they have. So it works both ways. And whatever item you have, the actual control comes up on their screen, and the control they have shows up on your screen. Each of you can control the speed, the vibration, and the rotation of each other’s toy. And depending on how sophisticated your own computer system is, this can have voice activation, this can have webcam, this can go as far as you want it to go. Another interesting aspect of this is that the High Joy website (http://www.highjoy.com) also works as an online community like MySpace of Friendster, where you have the ability to look up people's profiles, go into chat rooms, and meet other people that have Doc Johnson High Joy Enabled toys that you can use with them. Rocketman: Talk about REMOTE! The Tongue: What kind of fan mail does Doc Johnson receive? Braverman: Tons! We receive a lot of mail from people asking for catalogs, some looking for announcements of new products. We get several a month praising our products for its quality, the feel of the material, and the like. Some are from distributors looking for how they can start offering Doc Johnson products to their customers. Rocketman: Is there a final thought you would like to leave with our SiliconSlave website readers? Braverman: Understand that the words Doc Johnson stand for Quality and Reliability, and we do our utmost to bring our customers the pleasure they desire at a reasonable price. Conclusion Ron Braverman is a serious marketer and businessman. He's able to talk about the industry in generalities, but also get into the details. For example, how the new High Joy Enabled Doc Johnson iVibe Rabbit hooks into your PC and logging into the High Joy website. These smooth transitions would appear to most as well rehearsed showmanship, but our interview was anything but a stage show. Ron clearly knew his stuff and rolled with the punches as the two interviewers came after him with a serious set of questions about his company and the adult toy industry. We applaud Ron for his work to make Adult toys more mainstream, and for his efforts to make them dramatically more female friendly. Well done! |
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