Girls Get Off Co-Founder Viv Conway comes to you from the sex toy trenches in this new column Getting Off where no topic is off the table, no chat is taboo and everything is just a little unhinged. This week, Viv reports on her experience at a sex toy expo – and why are dragons the new horniest thing (no pun intended!)!?
You know your job’s a little unhinged when a chandelier made entirely of dildos feels normal.
I was midway through a Euro vacation (hungover, slightly sunburnt, dreaming about tapas and my next €1 beer), when my friend elbowed me and pointed upward.
There it was, glorious, shimmering, and gently swaying in the air-conditioning: a chandelier made entirely out of dildos. If Gaudí had a horny cousin, this was his legacy and it set the tone perfectly.
The tone being to match one of the adult industry’s biggest calendar events of the year; A sex toy expo where brands pitch to buyers, wholesalers strike deals, and everyone’s vibing over sexy toys. To sum it up in two words, it’s wholesome chaos. Kind of like a Tupperware convention, but instead of containers, it’s thrusting fleshlights, fantasy-themed dildos, powder-activated lube, and vibrating gloves that had me seriously considering whether I should fork out for a pair.
This particular expo took place in Barcelona. It was huge, it was intriguing and it was where it’s completely normal to be comparing clit suction devices one minute and watching a mechanical dildo go to town on a silicone torso the next, all the while wearing a “Make Anal Great Again” hat.
Like I said, wholesome chaos.
At every turn, the expo felt like falling down a very well-lit, very lubed-up rabbit hole. There were booths that looked like fine-dining restaurants, one Spanish lube brand even had their ingredients laid out like fine dining food, minus the wine pairing. There were life-sized flowers sprouting out of massage oil displays. And there were, of course, the more niche setups, like the full stand dedicated to fisting, which thoughtfully included a sachet of powder in our goodie bags that turned into half a litre of lube when mixed with water.
Just when you thought humans had peaked.
One of my favourite parts of the expo, though was a stall that featured a vibrating glove. I’ve seen a lot since co-founding Girls Get Off, and I don’t necessarily get turned on as I see things, but if I ever got my hands on this glove (pun fully intended), I would be blocking out my calendar for the afternoon and dabbling like my life depended on it.
For those that asked (or want to ask), there were no live demos, but I did see someone being walked around on a lead, and when I was mid-yap with two Irish toy shop owners I turned to my right and was met with a mechanical dildo that was relentlessly drilling a silicone torso. Just… in and out, for what I assume was hours.
The consistency was impressive and the lube sheen? She was damn near blinding.
As for what it told me about the sex toys we can expect to see in the coming months (or even years), buckle up my smutty fantasy readers, because it’s all about fantasy toys. Personally, I didn’t leave with a tentacle dildo or an alien egg-laying ovipositor (yes, you can actually birth four silicone larva eggs after being ‘bred’ by an extraterrestrial), but it was comforting to know they were there if I ever did want to dabble, especially with the rise of fantasy smut.
So, if your sexual awakening came from a dragon romance or you’ve ever thought, “I wish my vibrator had lore,” the sex toy world heard and understood the message.
For those less interested in riding mythical creatures and more into ease-of-use, the trend of “lazy toys” is continuing its rise to the top. There are thrusting machines that do all the work for you, moon hoppers that double as sex props (they’re as impressive as they sound), and touch-free tech that delivers orgasms without even requiring full contact.
Beginner-friendly, external-only, and non-intimidating toys are still holding their spot as fan favourites, which felt pretty validating, considering that’s exactly what we focus on at Girls Get Off. Not everyone’s ready to dive into the deep end. Whether you’re unlearning years of sexual shame or just starting to explore what feels good, having access to toys that are soft, simple, cute enough to sit on your bedside table, and still blow your mind, really matter.
And the cool thing is that the industry gets that. What might be most interesting people is how normal it all feels at the expo. There were no creepy vibes, no weirdos, and no shame. Just a bunch of people passionate about pleasure, chatting motor specs, comparing textures, and swapping stories like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Because it is. Yes, most people in the industry have a great sense of humour, but at the end of the day, it’s just like any other tradeshow, only with a lot more lube.
The adult industry might still feel taboo to some, being at that expo felt like peeking into a future where desire is just another part of wellbeing. A place where there is no embarrassment, no secrecy, just people asking, “What do you like?” and then pointing you to the right aisle.
So, while we won’t be adding a dildo chandelier, bouncing moon hoppers, and lube that comes in powder form to the GGO collection just yet, it did give us some great ideas for our next drop.