Adam Lewis: quick interview at Thaifest

Adam Lewis (Hot Octopuss)

Questions asked by: Marina Chicheva
Posted by: Adam Lewis (Hot Octopuss)
Photo: Aliona Ryne

Please, name your favorite products: of your brand and that of another brand.

That is a good question. Well, I think, Pulse would be my favorite product of ours. It took a long time to develop, it has now been on the market for 8 years, it has never been copied. Not only is it a great sex toy, it is a lot of good within the disability space. It is nice to create a product that is not just a good toy but it actually makes people’s life better. Our Pulse has definitely done that. And in terms of best. I usually have so many ideas of other completely great toys, there are so many up there.

Toys, lubricants… any product.

You know, I am a big fan of Shunga, their massage candles, I love them.

I understand you.

Of different kinds. A huge fan of those. I buy them myself all the time. I would say I love ID lube, I do not know if that is available in Russia. It is a great, great lubricant. The best lube, the glide is amazing. And there are so many great toys up there. I am a fan of Fun Factory, those done especially in the male space. You know, they created the Manta which is another great toy, I did a great job with it, really innovative! It is so nice to see the other brands being innovative in the "penis"-in the male space. So, with a lot of respect to them. A great toy. I could go on, there are a lot of great toys on the market at the moment.

Do you visit adult stores?

Yes, well, not so much lately because you cannot leave the house. But previously, not only to look up for things and how they are displayed, but it is nice to go and see the stores, especially visiting the staff, and you know, I like to go and train them or just to go around and see what their knowledge is, not just for our own products-everything else on the market. You know, it is pretty nice to go and visit some stores. They are really progressive. What I mean by that: they do not look like sex shops anymore. You go in and it looks like a boutique, you know: beautifully designed and beautifully displayed products, with their staff knowing exactly what they are talking about. It is a real pleasure to go into these stores. Just to see how the industry has developed over the years, fr om being these, you know, CD-kind-of-sex shop, to these adult lifestyle, sexual health boutiques. And it is so nice to see these stores have a really kind of pushing, they seek to afford in the retail space among everyday customers to see that. These are lifestyle products and they are acceptable in day-to-day. I love going visiting shops, especially the really beautiful ones, where you can see the people really care about their stores and how that is presented. And they care about the products they sell, with knowledgeable, educated sales people. I love that. It is like the front line of our business, right? And to see those people doing really well is great for the whole industry because this is the first what people see first and foremost: they go into a shop and it sets the tone. Yes, I love going visiting stores.

Next question. What is the most unusual usage of an 18+ product that you know or heard of?

I am not sure that is ever an 18+product. But quite recently, someone was asking about the warranty on what are the Pulse products, and they were asking strange questions. And they we realized what they were asking: if they could go scuba diving with the product, could they use it scuba diving. Well, it is waterproof, but only to three meters. So, we said: ‘Yes, I guess as long as you do not go deeper than three meters for 30 minutes, it is within warranty. But if you go any deeper, it is out of warranty. I mean, to use the product scuba diving, come on! This is the strangest thing I have ever heard! We did say to take a picture and even if it is broken, we would replace it because this is a ridiculous idea and we would love to see a photograph of someone using Pulse for scuba diving. We have not got the pictures back yet.

Let’s fantasize! What functions will the ideal toys have in future?

I think we are seeing it now, I think there is going to be two types of toys: the analogue toys-toys that you use on your own, they have buttons, the old-school stuff as we know them in your cupboard: you pick them up, turn them on and use them. But everything is going interactive. So, toys are getting cleverer and cleverer. And many interactive toys are coming up. I mean by ‘interactive’? It means it has an interactive chip, a Blue-tooth chip that communicates with contact for example. So, what you are seeing now is toys for when you are watching content, porn, for example, where the toy will react to what you are seeing on the screen. At this stage you can use VR porn, not only is the toy reacting but you are completely amidst, so no longer you are using your toy-you feel like you are in the environment. And the same is with the interactive toys within long-distance relationships when you can feel, to some extent, the other person’s actions. No toys feel like the other person feels but you can feel they can have an effect on your experience with these interactive toys. So, I do think toys are going to get cleverer and cleverer. You know, there are discussions about things like sex rebirth and so on. But I think for me this is a little bit too far ahead, I do not think technologies are quite there yet. But certainly, smarter toys wh ere you can become much more immersed in the experience, you can look up content, you watch videos, you can play games with people on the other side of the world you are sexually interacting with thanks to these products. That is why I see, we are already there but I see it developing and getting much more sophisticated in future. I do not think that is that far away.

It sounds very interesting.

It is happening. We actually are coming up with the Pulse interactive. And our Pulse will react to the content you are seeing on the screen.

And the last question, the traditional one: what can you wish to our readers?

That they buy lots of Hot Octopuss toys! Well, if they want the best thing, they need to do))

Thank you very much!

My pleasure. Thank you.