HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif.—Sportsheets signed on as a Gold Sponsor for the CatalystCon 2013 sexuality conference and spoke at a seminar devoted to the erotica phenomenon sweeping the industry. Seated with several leaders in the adult retail world, company CEO Tom Stewart discussed how erotic fiction has influenced modern adult shopping trends and the myriad ways manufacturers can respond.
Stewart’s panel consisted of Kristen Tribby of sex-positive retailer The Pleasure Chest; Dr. Carol Queen, founding director of The Center for Sex & Culture; and sexuality author Rachel Kramer Bussel. The panelists discussed consumer demand and the unique ways sex toy manufacturers have responded throughout the years, most recently by providing BDSM accessories inspired by those featured in popular erotic fiction.
Sportsheets shares a unique commitment to inspiring discussion and awareness of human sexuality topics with the creators of CatalystCon, and supporting the conference was one of the many steps Stewart and his team take to accomplish this goal. Stewart was particularly honored to be invited to speak to the conference’s hundreds of attendees and exchange insight and information with the biggest names in sexuality research and education.
“At Sportsheets we spark intriguing, exciting and sometimes intimate conversations with our award-winning relationship tools every day among men, women and couples around the world,” Stewart said. “It was a special privilege to share seminar space with so many fundamental figures in the human sexuality world and do our part to support such a special event like CatalystCon.”
Most memorable to Stewart at this year’s conference was when a college senior approached him to inform him that she keeps a Sportsheets Under the Bed Restraint Kit under her dorm room bed.
“She said that she loves using it and keeps it there because it’s so easy to put away when she’s done,” Stewart said. “She simply hides it under her mattress, though she did make a point to mention that everyone in her dorm knows it’s there!”
While there, Stewart also had the opportunity to catch up with author Tristan Taormino, who happened to be broadcasting her radio show—SexOutLoudRadio.com—in front of a live audience.
“We had several product give-away opportunities throughout the conference and at each one of them the crowd was ecstatic!” Stewart said. “They loved it and almost everyone went home with something from Sportsheets.”
CatalystCon attracts speakers and attendees with unique interest in topics not traditionally discussed in the media and beyond, and founder Dee Dennis has a special knack for bringing some of the most innovative minds together under one roof.
"I was thrilled to have Sportsheets as a new sponsor this year as I have always been a fan of their restraints,” Dennis said. “It was wonderful to not only finally meet Tom but to see a sponsor very much embrace this type of conference and be an active participant throughout the weekend."
CatalystCon, considered a “melting pot of sexuality,” unites sex educators, sexologists, sex workers, writers, activists and anyone with a passion for creating change twice each year. With a conference held on the east and west coasts, CatalystCon keeps the conversation going with thanks to sponsors and supporters like Sportsheets.
For more information about Sportsheets, visit Sportsheets.com.
