Womanizer inventor: «I made millions of women happy»
2.8.2021
Support: Natalie Hemengül
Translation: Julia Graham
Michael Lenke is 71-year-old German who spends a lot of time with his wife at his house in Majorca. You could mistake him for a typical pensioner. But he’s the polar opposite. Michael is an inventor. He revolutionised sex toys for women with the Womanizer and now he wants to do the same for men.
Michael Lenke appears tanned on our Zoom call. You’d never guess he was 71. Inventing obviously keeps you young. He readily admits he doesn’t have anything in common with people of his age. A few years ago, he even started producing techno music. But the Womanizer inventor doesn’t seem as though he’s chasing after a lost youth. It’s more like he’s kept his childlike curiosity – even if that sounds corny. As a natural inventor, he’s a trendsetter. And someone who sees the needs of people coming before big companies with budgets in the billion range. The buzzwords his competition have started preaching about in the last few years are things that Michael has been doing his whole life. One thing’s for sure: he’s agile. He invents, launches his product and is then onto the next project. When things don’t always work out as planned, that’s just par for the course.
You’re an inventor. How does someone become an inventor? \
Michael Lenke, Womanizer inventor: Ingenuity is a talent I was born with, and it’s probably something a lot of people have. But you have to do something with it.
You invented Womanizer, which is a sex toy. Have you invented anything else?
Lots of things, as varied as earthquake early warning systems, plant cultivation systems, systems for reducing the size of plants without genetic modification. There were also a few things in medical technology – a type of light therapy, for example. NASA even took it on an Apollo mission. As an inventor, I’m very diversified.
Did you do everything yourself or do you usually need to draw on the expertise of co-inventors?
That’s a good way of putting it. I focus on a topic, study it for one to two years and then call in specialists. I direct them like an orchestra and hope that the finished piece comes together well.
It must have been an absolute cacophony at times.
Many times it was, yes. That’s pretty much the problem with this way of working. You always get major setbacks that you have to deal with and then get back up and carry on. That’s life.
Which inventions weren’t a success?
I developed a highly complex road safety system. It would have been great but there was no law to standardise and authorise this device. In Germany, it takes eight years to pass a law like this, and after that it still has to get through the EU and the European Parliament. That would have been practically unending, and ultimately, I was forced to chuck an invention worth over a million euros down the drain.
Were you not aware that politics would put a spoke in your wheel?
No, I didn’t realise. Even people I work with – the likes of highly qualified patent lawyers – were shocked that the state still manages to prevent inventions and even destroy them. Red tape is often a major stumbling block for progress.
From setbacks to successes: which invention are you particularly proud of?
That’d have to be the Womanizer. Purely because I can proudly say that I’ve made millions of women happy.
Casanova only managed to make a few thousand happy.
(laughs) Yes, that makes me proud and happy because I also get messages from women around the world telling me that they struggled to climax and the Womanizer made it possible. It’s obviously lovely when you hear about experiences like that. For me, it’s not about the money; it’s about helping people. And a lot changed because of that.
Surely an inventor like yourself usually tinkers away on your own in a quiet little room until the invention is market-ready. But a sex toy for women needs to be tested. How do you marry these two concepts?
I can switch between extroverted and introverted. I observe the market and the environment. When it came to the Womanizer, I got my hands on a study from the US that showed that over 50% of women struggled to orgasm. That piece of information hadn’t interested anyone up until this point. It was just accepted. My response was: «Well, that’s something that’s crying out to be changed.» I then immersed myself in the topic, talked to a lot of gynecologists and looked for ways to join the dots. Why and how is this happening? On the strength of this, I got started on design and production.
How much research went into the Womanzier?
At least a year.
And what did you find out? How does the Womanizer work?
It uses a vacuum, which is almost a pressure wave, that pulsates. This allows the clitoris to be stimulated without being touched. I knew I had to start with the clitoris. After all, that’s where thousands of nerve endings come together. There are instances where women hardly feel anything in that area as a result of taking medication or having cancer treatment. The Womanizer works even in these cases.
How long did it take to go from prototype to finished product?
It took over a year. My wife had to act as a guinea pig. That wasn’t always very pleasant for her. At one point, she even said «That’s enough. Go back to inventing other things!» She thought it would never work. Once an invention is finished, everything always looks so simple, but it’s a hard road to get there. I carried on refining the product all the same. One day, she was like «Eh, hello. I think you’ve done it!» After that, she was convinced the Womanizer would be a success. She said that if the device stimulated other women as intensively, it would be a global hit.
And is that when you brought other women on board?
We carried out a proper study with 60 women aged between 18 and 60. This purely involved gynaecology tests that I was also present at. That might sound a bit strange now, but I had to be able to trust 100% that the results weren’t just pandering to a certain outcome. I wanted to be sure for myself. That was the deciding factor. This study was the foundation stone of our success, as it meant we could say «We guarantee an orgasm in over 90% of women.»
So, if it worked in 90%, why wasn’t it a success with the other 10%?
These women usually had psychological issues, which were obstacles we couldn’t overcome. If someone can’t allow themselves to enjoy stimulation or an orgasm, then it’s really difficult. According to the latest surveys, we’re now at a 93% satisfaction rate, and that’s amazing.
**Are there any tricks that help you carry on with a project and not give up? **
I do modern painting, sculpting and I work on artistic projects – that helps me to switch off. Afterwards, I feel grounded and get stuck in again.
Now you’ve also developed a toy for men, which I was allowed to test out. I’ve tried it three times so far, and I have to say I had little success. Holding a thing with two rollers up against my penis doesn’t feel realistic. Did you have the same goal as with the Womanizer, or did you have something else in mind?
No. With men, it’s the case that 90% don’t have a problem reaching climax. Unlike the Womanizer, this toy wasn’t designed to help men orgasm. The aim is to let men discover a new range of sensations and to just have fun. The «Orctan» is a toy for enjoyment, uncovering new sensations and just relaxing.
Which was more difficult to develop?
The sex toy for women.
I imagine that with men’s products you have to factor in different sizes and shapes. Is that correct?
That was indeed the technological problem I had to solve. At the same time, the product had to be quiet. There are so many devices on the market that are unusable because they’re so loud. I certainly couldn’t play with a device like that. It was a challenge. Eventually, we opted for the latest stepper motors in the Orctan. These are normally more at home in the world of robotics. And they make for very high construction costs. But this is what makes the device quiet and yet still have the power that’s needed.
In theory, isn’t it something you could test yourself...
Unfortunately, I was the guinea pig in this case, yes (laughs).
Were you soldering away at the Orctan in a back room or how should we picture this process?
I built the prototype myself. I learnt the technical skills to do that in my training, so I have the expertise required to make prototypes. But prototypes are quite coarse devices, and it’s no fun to play with something like that.
When did you launch the toy for men?
It went on the market in spring. At least, that’s when it launched in Switzerland, as this is the leading country in Europe for sex toys. We’re launching in the European market now and then we’ll expand to the US.
Why is Switzerland top of the charts when it comes to sex toys?
Comparatively speaking, Switzerland is financially well off. In Switzerland, we sold the most Womanizer products per capita. In other words, one in every 400 Swiss women has a Womanizer. That’s a world record.
You sold the Womanizer company and don’t technically have to work any more. You live in Majorca and you’re 71. What keeps you working? Is it an internal desire to invent?
If that were the case, I’d have stopped working aged 26 because I’d already made such huge strides in the sphere of inventions that I’ve been completely financially self-sufficient since that point. Money wasn’t the driving force for me. It’s quite simply this curiosity to always do something different. If that hadn’t been the case, I’d have been lazing on a sun lounger from the age of 26.
That sounds like a dream job. But there must surely be something that you don’t like as much about your work?
What I find annoying is people who just imitate and copy you. It infuriates me these days. No one respects patents. There are no property rights. They say: «Sue me then. And I’ll go bankrupt. I’ve earned my money.» This attitude that a lot of people have annoys me.
Was it always like that?
Yes, it’s always been that way. It’s only a matter of three to six months before the first copycats appear.
I’m sure you must have learnt something from it. When you were 26, it must have been different. Am I right?
Yes, at that time I was very naive. That’s when a patent lawyer took me by the hand. He was an older guy. He seemed to like my inventions and he then briefed me so they got even better. These days, I’m represented by the best patent lawyers. Of course, they also line their pockets nicely. When it came to the Womanizer alone, we ended up doling out millions in disputes. That’s burnt money, which is just lost. I’d rather have put it into development.
How many patents are involved in each product?
There are hundreds of patents with all of the property rights.
What tips do you have for people who want to be inventors?
I advise young people who want to become inventors, and I advise them at no cost. I’m big hearted in that respect, because I’ve been through all the lows of starting out as an inventor myself. First off, what I always say is: don’t tell anyone about your inventions. That’s the number one rule. The second rule is research. These days, I can see what’s already out there at almost all patent offices. It might be work, but it pays off. If it turns out there’s not yet a patent for your invention then you need to register the property right straight away. In short, you want to make sure, as well you can, that your invention isn’t stolen. Companies are unscrupulous. If I show them something, they’ll immediately be thinking how they can make that themselves without me as the inventor. That’s why you should never go to big companies. They’ll stop at nothing and rip you off.
In which case, do you always set up the companies yourself?
Exactly, that’s how it works. I‘m fortunate that I have the funds to do that. Young inventors don’t have that option at their fingertips. I’ve also talked to investors to see if we can take on young inventors. We miss out on so many great inventions just because people get conned and have their work stolen. I envisage something like an inventor pool that we protect and finance. We need creative people now more than ever given the environment and climate crisis we’re facing. There’s so much potential.
What’s your next project?
I obviously won’t talk about that now! (laughs) But after the pandemic, we need innovations that help to ease the situation. I don’t mean medical technology. I’m talking more about mental health. These kinds of illnesses are increasing at a disproportionate rate – especially in children and young people. We need to do something about that urgently.
Simon Balissat
Teamleader Editorial
Simon.Balissat@digitecgalaxus.chWhen I flew the family nest over 15 years ago, I suddenly had to cook for myself. But it wasn’t long until this necessity became a virtue. Today, rattling those pots and pans is a fundamental part of my life. I’m a true foodie and devour everything from junk food to star-awarded cuisine. Literally. I eat way too fast.