When the Sexpo founder was forced into a major career change after a debilitating motor accident, Ross moved into PR and marketing, he realised women love hardware, but were not inclined to shop alongside complete strangers. “I was doing a story with a freelance journalist for a client, a chain of adult shops, Club X,” Ross recalls, “and we went to an adult product trade-day lunch. There was a woman standing at a lectern giving a really professional presentation to industry representatives about products and equipment. I looked around at the wine, the white tablecloths, and audience – largely women – and the products, which were laid out on the table for people to pick up and play with, and I thought, 'You know, this is what we have to do, showcase our products in a relaxed environment'.”
“My intention has always been, and remains, to bring all things sex-related out of adult stores and present them in a welcoming, comfortable, educational, entirely entertaining, safe and fun way and including health information has always been a big part of the plan,” Ross adds.
From 20 stands at his inaugural “touch and feel” expo in a hotel conference room 20 years ago, to a global success story, Ross' well-timed initiative took him from an approximate 5 000 curious visitors, to a current worldwide total of 3-million visitors. “To this day, I don't know whether we lost money or made money from the first event in 1996, I didn’t even draw a budget,” he jokes.
Sexpo visitors can expect a long line up of entertainment, including a mix of local and international performers, from all aspects of the adult entertainment industry, including burlesque and male and female exotic dancing.
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