CHATSWORTH, Calif.—The 10th class of inductees into the AVN Hall of Fame - Pleasure Products Branch have been named, and will be installed during the 2020 AVN Awards Show.
Joe Casella of boutique adult distributor Entrenue, Greg DeLong of njoy Toys and Daniel Quinn of In the Mood adult boutiques will be honored this year during the AVN Awards ceremony, presented by MyFreeCams and slated for Saturday, Jan. 25, in The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Las Vegas. The ceremony caps off the annual AVN Adult Entertainment Expo and AVN Novelty Expo, also at the Hard Rock.
Entrenue started in 1994 as a small book distributor focusing on sexual health. The company soon grew into a specialty adult wholesale distributor with sought-after titles and products. Joe Casella took over in 2006 as CEO and owner and has grown the business to include more than 4,000 wholesale adult novelties and 50 U.S. exclusive brands across a variety of categories. including apothecary, CBD, intimate wellness and books, while holding true to the key principles of the Entrenue business: enhancing intimate lives.
Curating Sexual Wellness: Joe Casella
Casella started in the pleasure products industry in 1996 at Fascinations and was a part of the team for more than a decade before taking over Entrenue, moving from retail to distribution.
“I grew up in a traditional environment where sex was not discussed beyond the basics, and being in this industry has encouraged me to start that conversation with the important people around me,” Casella has said.
Entrenue celebrated its 25th year in business in 2019 with a social calendar/catalog and specials for registered clients.
Heavy Metal Master: Greg DeLong
Greg DeLong co-founded njoy Toys—a company known for sleek, stainless steel sex toys—in 2005, though he has been designing sex toys in one form or another since his early teen years. Prior to his career in pleasure products, DeLong was using his mechanical engineering degree to design bikes and kitchen products. njoy Toys aims to pleasure more than the obvious senses, and toys are designed to work with the intricacies of the body to heighten sensual response. All njoy Toys items are crafted from medical-grade materials. “If it’s good enough for your grandmother’s hip replacement, it should be good enough for you know what!” the company states.
“When no one had ever heard of metal sex toys, Greg was making legendary ones,” said Kim Airs, founder of Grand Opening boutique, an industry vet and a friend of DeLong’s. “His paramount perfection and design always ceases to amaze me. njoy Toys have always been a great seller at Grand Opening, and his legacy for his toys is equaled to his personal one!”
Spreading Luv: Daniel Quinn
Daniel Quinn has been in the adult retail world since the early 1990s as the owner of the former Dannys World adult store in Hartford, Conn. Now known as the Luv Boutique, it joins various other adult stores Quinn has owned and operated through the years, including the Penthouse Boutique and other adult businesses throughout the state. He also operates the chain of In The Mood stores throughout Connecticut. At various times, Quinn—who also founded Smash Pictures on the video side of the industry in 2001—has found himself engaged in legal battles with local governments on everything from zoning to First Amendment issues. Perhaps the most well-known of his cases was when he and others were sued by Universal Studios over Smash Pictures’ XXX parody of Fifty Shades of Grey. The adult company eventually agreed to stop selling the parody and settled the copyright infringement suit.
The 2020 AVN Awards, presented by MyFreeCams, take place January 25, at The Joint inside Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Las Vegas, and will be hosted by AVN Hall of Famer Nikki Benz and MFC CAMStar Emily Bloom. For tickets, visit AVNAwards.com.
