About Bathmate

All the way back in 2004, Bathmate inventor John Oakes developed a hydrotherapy pump designed to help out a friend - realising that this pump delivered more than a few results, John got together with some associates to officially launch Bathmate as a company in 2006. Since then, we’ve become the world’s best-selling penis pump brand, with over a million units sold worldwide.

Looking back at the history of the Bathmate hydropump, John recently gave an interview about how everything got started, and what’s happened since:

Q: Tell me a little about yourself.

A: Hello, I’m John Edwin Oakes, Chief Designer at Bathmate. I hold a Higher National Certificate in Mechanical Engineering and have over 35 years experience in all aspects of automated engineering and manufacturing.

Q: When was Bathmate established?

A: Bathmate was conceived around 2004, with 2006 seeing the launch of our initial Bathmate Hercules (now the Hydro7). Since then, our collection has grown to include 2 new ranges, with over 10 powerful options like the Hydromax7 and the world’s largest penis pump, the HydroXtreme11.

Q: What inspired the creation of Bathmate?

A: A good friend of mine, a keen athlete and motorcycle rider, suffered a serious spinal injury which meant he could no longer gain and maintain an erection.

To try and help him I looked at the range of conventional penis pumps on the market. Though some were quite good I was not totally convinced and, being a mechanical engineering designer, I decided there had to be a better means of delivering vacuum technology. Having done a lot of work in the field of hydraulics over the years I began to look at the penis pump from a new angle.

The human penis is, after all, a hydraulically operated organ, so why not surround the penis with warm water and generate a hydro-vacuum, thereby working in harmony with the penis. Putting pencil to drawing board I came up with a few concept designs and over the next few years produced a few trial prototype samples. My friend was delighted with the results when he tested them. So, in effect, I invented the world’s first penis pump designed to be used specifically in water, creating a safe negative hydraulic pressure around the penis.

Q: What inspires you?

A: There’s a lot of sayings which I think back on as real inspirations. One of the most personally important statements I’ve heard was from J F Kennedy’s 1962 speech on the planned mission to the Moon:

“We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do other things not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”

This embodies my attitude to life. I’m a can do, will do type of person and I’m not afraid to think of radical ideas and put those ideas into practical use. If it’s easy everyone will have done it and I don’t do easy.

Another comes from Albert Einstein in 1979:

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”

It is my belief that the best designers and artists are those who produce revolutionary, innovative work, and whilst a certain level of knowledge is essential, it is allowing one’s imagination to take flight that gives birth to such great ideas.

Q: How and where are Bathmate products manufactured? What materials are used to make a Bathmate product?

A: The Bathmate is hand made by passionate and skilled operatives in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, using only the highest quality materials, including skin safe silicone, high strength polycarbonate and quality stainless steels. We also use high precision robots on the injection moulding process to remove and position the complex and difficult mouldings.

My involvement starts in the conception of the part design, right through to the design of the robot attachments and in some cases the basic robot systems. In my distant previous life I was an automations engineer working to design systems for various industries - automotive, industrial washing, and food packaging, to name a few.

Q: What are the benefits of using water during the penis pumping process?

A: There are many benefits to using warm water; the most obvious is increased blood flow to the penis due to the warm water hydraulics and slow negative pressure that the hydropump creates. This makes for great results and generally gives you a greater feeling of sexual wellbeing and confidence.

Another significant factor, the cornerstone of the success of the hydropump, is by using it during washing in the shower or bathtub it becomes part of your daily routine, making it convenient and fun to use.

Q: What should people look for in a penis enlargement device?

A: I would say simplicity should be the first thing. It must be easy to use, without complex parts or multiple operations. It must be easy to clean , which is very important, and the fact you use the Bathmate device in the bathroom and in warm water makes it far easier to clean the pump straight away, rather than just letting it sit.

Q: How often should a person use a Bathmate Hydromax to achieve desired results?

A: I use mine nearly every day and have done so for the last 11 years, but using the Bathmate only a few times a week will help promote better penile health and the feeling of sexual wellbeing. Most people I speak to normally use the device up to 3/5 times per week on average. The feeling you get from the Bathmate is, for me, one of good sexual health and euphoria. I always look forward to my bath time when I take time out to relax and chill, with the added benefit of knowing that I’m greatly improving my sexual health.

Q: Are the results long lasting?

A: This is a question that I often get asked and it is one with no definitive answer. I prefer to look at it from this angle, after use, the results are noticeable for many hours, when either flaccid or erect, but the effect could well disappear if you stop using the Bathmate. It’s very much like going to the gym and weight training, you personally don’t notice your increased strength and size over a few months period.

This is due to the gradual gains over this period and it’s possibly only when someone comments on your bigger build or better performance in the gym do you take notice. This is just like using the hydropump. Each time you use it there are fractional gains in erection hardness and the size of the erection, which like the gym give you the foundation to become stronger and larger, but if you stop going to the Gym your muscle tone and development will fade. This is why I use Bathmate almost daily to maintain my optimum size and hardness.

Q: How have you found the Bathmate has impacted people’s sexual lifestyles?

A: Most certainly; all of my friends who are into body health and fitness use the Bathmate regularly as part of their own personal health regime. The great thing about the hydropump is you need water to use it and most often after a training regime you need to wash, shower or bathe, so using the hydropump becomes part of your washing process without deviating from your normal routine.

Q: What are your best sellers?

A: Our best sellers are the Xtreme range of pumps. These give the maximum allowable negative pressure and can be used without any difficulty for the user, making the hydropump experience truly unique and, to me, very pleasurable.

We’ve recently branched out with the launch of our Better Sex accessories range, including a wide range of penile rings, a specially designed waterproof bullet vibrator, and a few more inventions in the pipeline, as we work to design and build products to the great level of quality Bathmate customers deserve.

Q: Are there any questions or information you would like to add?

A: I would just like to thank you for the opportunity for this interview and finish off by informing all your viewers that the hydropump is, in my opinion, a life changer in many ways. You become more sexually tolerant, more active and more aware of your penile health.

This takes me back to those signs you see over urology clinics, a simple but very important message... Use it or lose it. By incorporating the Bathmate into your daily washing routine I believe you are helping to make yourself a more sexually healthy and happier person. As we all know, good sexual health is just as important a part of our life as members of society as other kinds of health are.