Michael Strobel and his brother Sandro are craftsmen of the truest sense. The attachment (patented) for oscillating tools has its origins in their shop where they conceived, built, tested and perfected the Slubb® Attachment before setting out to patent it across western Europe and the USA. They spent 3 years sourcing the best machine that offered the ideal power setting, weight, look feel, and balance with the preferred range of vibrational settings as their chosen device. Together, these two components make up the Slubb®. I asked Michael to share his story about the creation:
“I remember that day in July 2016 quite clearly. The week before we had been doing woodwork on a wall at one of our construction sites, including the use of an oscillating vibrating saw. My colleague and I held this saw up to our butts for fun, of course without any danger, and marveled at the incredible vibrations and the effect they had on us.
This impression continued to haunt me in the years that followed and drove me to ask how the vibrations could be transmitted to my “best piece” (his penis).
When my colleagues left our workshop one day after work, I started looking for usable materials for my prototype. I took a wide rubber grommet and attached it to a hacksaw blade. You all cannot even begin to imagine how nervous I was as I was about to bring the running saw with the attachment to my manhood.
However, to my surprise, I was amazed when I felt the incredibly gentle, yet powerful vibrations stimulating me in a totally new way. It did not take even 60 seconds and it happened. My first orgasm with a multi-tool, the first ever. Unbelievable!
A week later I made the decision to present this invention to a patent attorney and made an appointment at a law firm. When the time came and I was sitting in the conference room with the lawyer, he started to tell me how many people’s ideas they were trying to register as patents, only to find out later that all their effort was all in vain. He emphasized that private inventors have little success bringing their idea to market without investors.
When he finished talking, I asked him for access to a power outlet and set up my prototype for a demonstration. He was surprised once I started demonstrating my invention. He was immediately over the moon and completely enthusiastic about my idea. He said that “if the patent doesn’t work, we will definitely apply for a Europe-wide design protection.”
During the three years that followed, I made and tested prototypes with a product designer, and once we had settled on an idea, I contacted materials companies which allowed us to test various plastics and rubber compounds. Once I had perfected the components, we needed to think about production.
At that point we needed financing to move forward. So, I arranged a meeting with the loan officer at the local bank. I remember that appointment well. I was like a Hollywood actor auditioning for a film. I explained the whole business to the loan officer with my wife sitting next to me! I’m sure I was the talk of the town at my bank for a week or more following my visit!
With financing established, our attachment could go into production which meant that all of the components and suppliers had been identified and lined up, which left us with the decision of what to name the ‘baby’. There were all sorts of alternatives on the table, and I finally settled on “Slubb®“, derived from “Sling-Rub”. It felt right, and I felt awesome about it.
The trademark was registered in Europe and the USA, and after a long time, the design was also patent protected in Europe and the US. We have obtained and registered patent rights in Switzerland, Germany, Italy, UK, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and the United States.
I took possession of my first order of Slubb® attachments and set about selling. After all this effort, I learned that offering the Slubb attachment as a standalone product was not enough. Rather, the feedback I got from customers informed me that they wanted a complete product including the drive unit. So began the search for a masturbator tool with a battery that worked at low speeds and still runs quietly. Again, many tests, samples, money and loads of patience were needed here.
After 3 years of testing power units, I found the perfect machine so that today, we sell the Slubb® to our customers as the attachment with a perfectly matched machine. Now our customers are incredibly happy. We have universally positive feedback and not one device or attachment has ever been returned to us. The best part is that when someone learns about the Slubb®, they quickly get one for themselves, and then they tell others about it. It’s been fun seeing my machine become part of the community so quickly.”