LAS VEGAS—Around the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo exhibit halls, some folks had little red backpacks filled with merch from Bad Dragon. The products inside are interesting, but no more so than the story of how the company came into existence.
“Bad Dragon originally started when one of our founders decided to take up sculpting while bored of 14-hour days at university in Scotland, and discovered the only thing he could sculpt with any degree of competency was dragon dicks,” said Michael Sullivan, general manager for Bad Dragon. “After being repeatedly asked ‘So when can I buy one?’ he decided to learn silicone casting, quickly became overwhelmed by demand, and in 2008, with a bunch of friends, set up Bad Dragon, in Phoenix, Arizona. After growing out of the garage, the business has outgrown several increasingly large manufacturing facilities, currently employing 60-plus full-time staff in its 24,000-square-foot facility in Phoenix.”
The first product Bad Dragon sold was the Ridgeback. An intense-looking ridged toy modeled after a male dragon, the Ridgeback was unique at the time in that the spikes, bumps and ridges looked scary but were comfortable to use, due to the soft, squishy silicone materials used to make it. This toy (four design refreshes later) is still for sale at Bad-Dragon.com.
Today, Bad Dragon offers a range of fantasy-based dildos and masturbators—and even wearable toys for couples. With a great variety of shapes, sizes, colors and features as well as highly customizable options, Bad Dragon’s toys fill a void in the adult toy market. By using body-safe materials that are hypoallergenic, nonporous and dishwasher safe, the manufacturer’s focus on healthy and sex-positive products (made in the U.S.) are a breath of fresh air in a marketplace crowded with toys.
“We will be showcasing some of our latest releases at the event, such as our dildos Pearce, Ika, Blaze, our masturbator sleeves Lana, Outstanding Product For Men ‘O’ Award-nominated release Sofia and Most Amazing Toy AVN Awards nominee the Tentacle,” Sullivan said. “We have actually done many shows, and our founders actually had one of their first meetings at a convention. Our company has been fortunate enough to be a part of lots of great events, such as last year’s AVN Awards, Adultcon, Fetish Con, Folsom, and Exxxotica New Jersey, which we were also involved with as a sponsor. We very much enjoy doing events, as it gives us a face-to-face, firsthand experience with our fans and customers that we don’t normally get as an e-commerce adult site.
“It’s surprisingly fun making fantasy dildos for a living, as we have one of the most unique work environments,” Sullivan continued. “We’re always looking for hard-working, interesting people to help us with our mission: to make fantasies real.”
For more information, visit Bad-Dragon.com.
