An Interview With The Man Who Made The Autoblow 2

Brian Sloan is an American expat/genius in China and the inventor of the Autoblow 2—one of the more innovative and ridiculous sex machines ever created. Remember this? For those who haven’t gotten a chance to f**k one of these things, the Autoblow is a blowjob machine that uses electricity, silicone, and plastic to simulate the feeling of fellatio. After such a euphoric first go-round, we wanted to catch up with Brian about his wildly successful invention, future endeavors, and the sex scene in China. Mostly the sex scene in China. 

What inspired you to create the blowjob machine?
I’ll put it this way: I was planning to be a lawyer, but then I didn’t because I didn’t think I’d be the best lawyer. People have to be the best at something, so when I started to make toys and started to understand the sex toy landscape, my goal was to be the very best. I mean, I had to learn—I learned for years—who was making what—and I just thought the best male masturbator would be something automatic. 

How long did it take for the Autoblow 2 to become a finished product?
The process was very long. To make a good sex toy, you need a good engineer. The reason it took me three years was that it was very hard to find someone who knew how to work with these various materials. I wasted a year and a half with a factory in Taiwan who actually made high-tech commercial air-conditioning controllers and WiFi whiteboards. The prototype was terrible. So then these guys who designed cars helped me—I went through the hands of three companies and 10 designers to help the Autoblow end up where it was. 

Sales are going well?
We’ve sold a lot. Basically, we started with one container of the product…there are 5,000 units in a container. We almost finished selling the first container before we even launched the website and we immediately had to make more. Now we’re having to air-ship a bunch into the United States. The demand is very high. 

Which country has ordered the most? 
For some reason Switzerland in particular ordered a ton. It’s a relatively small country of five million people [Fact-check: eight million, actually]. Although we get inquiries for wholesale distribution all over the world, people in Switzerland are particularly hot to get the product there as soon as possible. There are at least 15 emails from Switzerland every single day. I think Swiss people like gadgets and they have a lot of money. 

Why is it that your sex toy is such a hit?
A lot of sex toy companies think they need to put sexual images on the package and I never really saw that. People’s idea of what turns them on is so different; it’s really limiting to make the product about sexual imagery. You have a woman, you have a man…which kind of woman do you have? Blonde? Brunette? My idea was to have the packaging akin to something you’d find in the Apple store.  

We can see that. What’s the next step? Autoblow 3?
Good question. There are a few things. I can’t speak so much about it now, but I’m working on something that’s related to—how to put it—like a virtual sexual experience. It’s more high-tech, like an enhanced-reality way of masturbating. That’s number one. Then, for Autoblow 2, the next step is improving the usability—like adding handles. I have two prototypes coming to me with handles. But, at some point, there are only so many things a person can do to himself.
 

My idea was to have the packaging akin to something you’d find in the Apple store.

Where are you based?
China. I’ve been here for seven years. I used to come here to buy stuff and sell it to the US, and then I just started making friends here. There are so many foreigners living here.


At some point, there are only so many things a person can do to himself.


What’s the main difference between sex here and in China?
There’s a sexual revolution happening in China. People are expressing themselves way more sexually, like they’ve never done before. And there isn’t religion here, so people don’t have to feel guilty about it. You’d think in western countries that sex culture would be more open. In China, it’s surprisingly open for a society, which for so many years, was so closed off.


Jeremy Glass is the Vice editor for Supercompressor and his closet is absolutely jam-packed full of sex toys.