Straight from the Source's Mouth: Frank Talk about Sex and Dating
Are you perpetually single? Do you want longer-lasting relationships? Tired of the miscommunication and misunderstandings? Wish you were better in bed? Advice from experts as well as real talk from real people so that you can see you are not alone in your thoughts and experiences. I talk about sex in my stand-up comedy and people often tell me that I say what they are thinking but are too afraid to say or admit it to their partners; too taboo they think. We'll talk about books we've read on dating, relationships and sex so that you can gain knowledge without having to read all the books yourself. I'll interview people on both sides of an issue: people who are great at dating and unsuccessful at dating...learn from the person who's great and also learn what not to do! We'll do the same with sex and relationships so that you can learn what works so you don't need to repeat others' past mistakes. I'll interview sex coaches and love coaches. We intend this to be a how-to guide. Hit subscribe and join us!
Straight from the Source's Mouth: Frank Talk about Sex and Dating
#80 Solution to condoms that are too big or too small!
Discover the secrets to enhancing your sexual experiences with our special guest, Milla Impola from Global Protection. Learn how the right condom fit can transform your intimate moments, paving the way for both safety and pleasure. Milla introduces the innovative MyOne custom fit line, offering 52 unique sizes to address common challenges like loss of sensation. We'll share the revolutionary journey of getting condoms approved for anal use by the FDA, backed by research with Emory University. This episode promises to break down taboos and misconceptions, empowering you to engage in open conversations about sexual health practices and the importance of finding the perfect condom fit.
Join us as we champion body positivity and explore the often-misunderstood world of lubricants. Shed any lingering reservations and embrace the benefits of additional lubrication, including enhanced pleasure and safety. We'll guide you through the diverse landscape of lubricants—water-based, silicone, hybrid, and natural options—highlighting how they can transform your sexual experiences. With practical advice and resources like "yes, no, maybe" lists, we encourage open dialogue with partners and a more informed approach to sexual health. This episode is your gateway to prioritizing sexual satisfaction and safety, armed with knowledge and confidence.
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Welcome to the Straight from the Source's Mouth podcast. Frank talk about sex and dating. Hello everyone, Tamara here, Welcome to the show. Today's guest is Mila Impola from Global Protection, and we'll be talking about navigating safe sex condoms and demystifying common sex taboos. Thanks for joining me, Mila.
Speaker 2:Thanks so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here.
Speaker 1:Yes, always love to inform the listeners. So do you want to talk about what Global Protection is?
Speaker 2:Sure. So Global Protection is a distributor and manufacturer of sexual health products. So once we do condoms, lubricants, dental dams if you want to create your own condom brand, we have private label options. We do custom condoms, where a lot of people print their face, for example, on a condom, or a fun design or something, so we can also do that.
Speaker 2:And then a big part of what we do is also education. So we have educational materials. We work with sex educators and health departments on educational content, because when it comes to sex, when you can talk about sex and know about sex, you can have great sex. So education is very much also at the heart of what we do. Yeah, and then we have a wide range of products from products that we manufacture, so one condoms, which are often known as the round wrapper condoms with the different designs on them. We have custom fit condoms under the MyOne line, some brands like Atlas and Trustex, and then we distribute also other people's brands. So lots and lots of things, but basically anything and everything around condoms and lubes is what we're really passionate about.
Speaker 1:Okay, and, like you, sold me on the educating people part too, because I definitely that's very important to me as well Try to educate and sometimes recommend books too, and this is more of your company stuff, but I like that you educate, all right. And so the first thing we were going to talk about is how to navigate safe sex, and talking about safe sex like how to approach it.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So, especially around safer sex, there's so many things that we recommend. For example, have the conversation before you get to like a sexual situation right, whether you want to say, even text it ahead of time, say, hey, I want to talk about safer sex. Or if you're on a date or a lot of our customers talk about, like I put it right in my dating profile or I talk about it on the first date and I mean you can say, hey, I'm not looking for this date to necessarily lead to sex, but here are some key things like condoms are important to me or I am on birth control, and all these things like talking about safer sex practices ahead of time is important. And also testing out different condom styles, like one of the common things that I hear all the time is Mila, all condoms are the same. It's just different packaging, which it's not true. I promise it's not true. There's so many different things that brands. Do you know?
Speaker 2:Condoms are a medical device, so there's definitely lots of testing and regulatory. But from different styles like we have a glow in the dark and studded and flavored and ribbed and all those things to just the material that condoms are made of there's hard versus softer latex. Softer latex tends to move with you. You know you can put different amounts of lubricant into the condom wrapper itself. There's different materials, like latex condoms is the most common one, but there's also non-latex condoms on the market. We have something really cool called OneFlex that combines latex with graphene so it helps make the condom really thin and strong and with 85% better heat transfer. So there's lots and lots of kind of things to try, and we always say, of course, what's a fun science experiment to do with a partner is try all kinds of different condoms, and we've even customers send us like okay, we got all your condoms and rated them and here's what we think about each of them.
Speaker 1:And it's always fun to read that feedback. Yeah, and I know well not. Some men can complain about wearing them and how they lose feeling and stuff, and so what would you say to that? Are there some that that doesn't isn't the case, like if you try the different types, like you said, or?
Speaker 2:Yeah, one thing that I always recommend like if you've tried a bunch of different condoms and you don't feel much right Even when you try the thin condoms and you're like, oh you know, I lose a lot of sensation is it might actually be due to fit. So that's why we also have under the one condoms brand, a separate line called my one, custom fit, where it's 52 whole sizes. Um, because two, and you know, when people hear 52 sizes, often they'll also look at me and say, mila, why do you need that many sizes? Like I can stretch a condom over my arm, don't they fit everyone? And isn't every man who says condoms don't fit me a liar? I promise they're not all right, because for two big reasons. One, stretching a condom over the arm is a lot different than putting it on a penis. Right, my arm can withhold a lot of pressure.
Speaker 2:Condoms do stretch, but often when people say condoms are too small for me, what they really mean is that the circumference is too tight, and either I have it on my wrist right now, but either it causes what our customers so lovingly call the red ring of death, where it leaves that really painful purple mark, like leaving a rubber band on your wrist too long or it simply is so tight in circumference that it causes instant erection loss. There's a whole, you know, google scholars like filled with articles around condom associated erection loss that are fascinating, and it's usually because the condom is just too tight and a penis is working so hard to keep an erection and it just can't like. The condom is so tight that it instantly causes erection loss. So of course that person's gonna say I cannot keep an erection with this condom, so that's why I don't use condoms, which has been tricky, and that's why, under the my own brand, we have, uh, 10 different length options, from 4.7 to 9.3 inches long, which you, you know that's a big length difference and also from super snug to super wide. So it helps resolve that.
Speaker 2:And then, on the other side of things, where people also struggle, can struggle with condoms, is condoms just simply being too long, big Like condoms are very long for a lot of people. They're too long for about 91% of people and often people also need a tighter fit. So that's where my one has some of those snugger sizes and out of all 52, the snuggest one is actually our number one seller and has been every single month for the last seven years, which people are often surprised to find out. So that's where, like, even if you don't like condoms because they don't fit right, you're definitely not alone. And that's why we're excited to have so many sizes, that if that is the challenge that people have, then they can at least try different sizes and see if that will help.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think you have also, where you can like, a sizing thing, where you can help the person figure out which is the right size for them. How does how does that work?
Speaker 2:Yeah, we call it the FitKit measuring tool. So the lengths are in letter codes. So you measure from the base to tip and the FitKit tool will tell you right on the tool what length you are from C to D to F. And then you wrap it all the way around and you could be a 45 or a 64. It's kind of like bra sizes. Then you're a 45Cc or 64m and you can go right on our website and get a sample of that specific size to test out.
Speaker 2:Or, you know, if you don't want to print the measuring tool on our website, we also have laminated versions that we hand out at a lot of events and stuff.
Speaker 2:If you, you know, don't want to use like the work printer to print a penis measuring tool at our office, that's okay, but maybe not at every single office. Um, you can also just measure with a measuring tape. But if you're not, you know, a sewer, you might not have a measuring tape. So you can also use a ruler. But of course a ruler will help you measure length, but you can't measure a ruler around the penis. So what we say is you can use like a piece of paper or your, you know, like your phone cord or something, and you can use that to measure around, wrap it around the penis and then use the ruler to measure that length. So we have lots of ways. We even made a fun blog once, like use common household items to figure out your penis size, like a Keurig cup and other things. I'm not going to be a scientific, but you know there's lots of ways to measure it for sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it can be fun too if you do as a couple, you know, just trying to figure it out, or if a guy wants to do it in private and order his own size without advertising what the size is, and so, yeah, lots of that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's why even we came up. So my one has been on the us market for seven years actually, this week was our seventh birthday week, um but in the very beginning, we had a lot of questions come up, particularly from partners, of condom users. So, um, who would say, hey, I think you know my boyfriend's condom isn't quite fitting right, but I don't know how to bring it up to him. Do you have some advice? And then that's where, out of those questions, we said you know what, like we can, we were sitting on the conference room saying, yeah, we can give some advice, but our customers give the best advice. So that's where measure a penis day, uh, which we launched back in 2020, which google now recognizes as a holiday if you type it in.
Speaker 2:When is measure penis day? But it's february 1st to kick off national condom month, two weeks before Valentine's day, where our customers helped give their advice, like, how did they bring it up with a partner? So some people said, make it part of like role play. Like somebody said they put on a construction hat and said, hey, I would like to measure your penis tonight. Or foreplay. Or somebody said they held up a few bananas and said, hey, which one are you think you are like which size of these bananas? So that's what even measured penis day for us every year is about just helping people have conversations and normalize this idea that, yes, penises come in different sizes and that's why we have condoms in different sizes. It's kind of like if there was one shoe size and we said, okay, we're going to line up 20 people and every person is going to wear this one shoe size. Well, you know, it might fit well for some, but some it would fall off immediately or some would say I cannot fit into that shoe.
Speaker 1:So yeah, exactly, and like bra sizes too, and I know someone had said if it was more obvious for how the size of guys were, like our breasts are, you know, the world would be a different place if everyone could easily see. But yeah, at least I get to have it in private and then, but yeah, it would definitely help the people that think they can't wear one find one that fits. So that's awesome.
Speaker 2:And also, I guess, yeah, and I mean we have like people who send us like very long stories and paragraphs like oh, for the last 30 years, because condoms have always been so big, I'm worried that they're going to slip off, that I have to hold on to the condom during sex the whole time, which is so horrible, right, Like that's not a pleasurable experience for anybody. And a lot of our customers talk about like because I can now wear something that fits. The condom gets out of the way and instead of like focus on what the condom is doing, I can focus on my partner and pleasure and where both my hands are. So it is for that Also, just hearing these stories of reduced anxiety about the condom and just being able to actually focus on the fun parts of sex. It's great.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's the whole point of it is to enjoy sex and have pleasure, and I guess there is one that's now FDA approved for anal sex, which, yeah, that's not usually very helpful or workable.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, for us that was a big deal. We worked on that for 10 years because condoms have historically only been approved for anal, I mean for vaginal, sorry. So condoms, because they're a medical device. Any medical device has what's called an intended use. So forever that just said condoms are intended for vaginal use.
Speaker 2:Anal use was considered off-label use. Of course they work for that purpose. And it's not because the FDA doesn't like anal, I promise which is also a question I get asked but it's because somebody had to take the time to study, to run basically a study, and say and use condoms during that study for anal and then show evidence that yes, of course they work for that purpose. So that's what we did with Emory university down in Atlanta. They ran this study for us. We took the results from that study, took it to the FDA and we can now say our condoms are also approved for butt stuff, as we say butt stuff approved. So but for us the big deal was just because they've always worked for anal. We just wanted to kind of show confidence for people that yes, they work for that, they've been tested for that. We recognize that this is a big way a lot of people have, how people have pleasure in sex is anal. So for us it was a big public health kind of communications. Goal was to get that information out there.
Speaker 1:Okay, awesome, and I know we're also going to talk about common sex taboos. Since anal can be that for some people, what other demystifying taboos would you talk about?
Speaker 2:Um, definitely the measuring one. Like measuring can be fun. And another thing that we did this year is our customers. Similar to kind of how measure penis day was born out of customer questions. We celebrated foreskin day this year, um, because a lot of our customers sent us questions or have been sending us questions about hey, I have a foreskin, how do I measure? Do I retract my foreskin, do I not? Do you have recommendations for which condom styles work for me? And we had some advice, right, we had some advice on the website. But then we said, okay, this question is coming up enough now that again, let's ask our customers. They love to tell us stories and their experiences.
Speaker 2:So we designed this whole survey in advance of the day that said you know, have you ever struggled with condoms? What condoms do you like to use? We found out that 79% of people with a foreskin said that they've had trouble with condoms and like it bunching up in that, the condom bunching up in the foreskin, not really being sure how, what to do, like how to measure and all that stuff. So and then, um, so because of that and all that feedback, we were able to make a bunch of recommendations, like people with the foreskin tend to like condoms that are more lubricant, lubricated and making sure to put a tip of lubricant inside the condom to help with the condom not bunching. And then a lot of them also recommended the custom fit line, because then you can get less length and to make sure that you know it doesn't get caught up in the foreskin. And also, um, yeah, the different styles that we have, like pleasure plus, where there's more room, like there's headroom at the top. So that helps with that.
Speaker 2:And ultimately, again, for us it was about body positivity and celebrating. Like I'm from Europe so I'm very used to foreskin conversations in Europe. In America I feel like it's really stigmatized and kind of a like hush-hush conversation where for us we're always like okay, if our customers are asking, let's do something about it and let's talk about it. And I know that you know polarizing sometimes, but for us it was about education, body positivity, because unfortunately also a third of the people in the survey said that they had been treated differently by a sexual partner when they found out that they have a foreskin. So for us, again, it was about celebrating body positivity. We have a whole guideline on foreskin pleasure on our website. So just starting those conversations that sometimes don't often get talked about or educated about.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, like you said, here in the U S especially, that's what I mean when I first started there were hardly any podcasts that specifically on sex, like maybe 50. There are a lot more now with us three years ago but now there's definitely more, but it's. And then a podcast conference. I talk about this and another, the other guests. Like you know, there's thousands, hundreds of people, and there'll be like five or six of us or eight of us that talk about this kind of stuff. So it's just not as common, but everyone, most people, are doing it. So, like, like you said, we should be able to talk about it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and in relationships like, it really does help when you can talk about it and understanding like libido changes and all that kind of stuff, and if you can just have a conversation with your partner or partners about sex, it really does help. And for us we often recommend yes, no, maybe. Lists Also. They're fun to get the conversation going, where they're usually sheets that you can print out on the website. We have our own version of it on onecondomscom where it's basically printed out. I mean I'm sure there's online versions, but I mean I love a good printed piece of paper but you can check off certain activities anal foreplay, things like that role play and then swap papers and like talk about like, where's your yeses, where's your no's, where's your maybes and just a good way to get a conversation going about what you might want to try. That maybe you haven't mentioned to anybody in the past.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm trying to think of the name. There's a another quiz, like for alternative stuff, like BDSM and different, all the stuff you're willing to do or not willing to do, and sites out there. But since you did mention your website, you want to say again like how they find you guys and like what kind of stuff they'll see if they go to your website sure, yeah, so we have.
Speaker 2:The globalprotectioncom is our corporate site. So if you're like a non-profit or a reseller or something where you want it's like a b2b website and more about our company, that's globalprotectioncom. Then onecondomscom is you, where you find condoms like one flex and my One, custom Fit condoms, glow in the Dark condoms, whatever all our educational content. There's also programs. We have a college ambassador program If you're in a local band and you want cool like condom cases with your band logo. We just launched the one on stage program loyalty program called Momentum. So that's all on OneCondomscom. And we're on TikTok, instagram, facebook all that good stuff just at onecondomscom. If you want to print your own face or logo on a condom, you can do that at customcondomscom. And then one thing that we're also that's super fun for Halloween a lot of our historical stuff.
Speaker 2:Global protection has been around for over 30 years. We did condoms with Prince and U2 and all kinds of stuff. Global Protection has been around for over 30 years. We did condoms with Prince and U2 and all kinds of stuff. Some of those items are going to be featured at Museum of Sex in Miami and they're having a launch party on Halloween, so that's open to the public. So if you're in Miami area, go check out some of our stuff at that museum.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I didn't realize there was one. I should probably know that, since I have a podcast about sex.
Speaker 2:It's their launch.
Speaker 1:They're just opening it now, so yeah, but it's called the museum of sex, as I said, or museum.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so they've had the one in New York city for years and years now, and now they're opening one up in Miami.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right. Um are there other taboos or anything else you wanted to?
Speaker 2:um just mention, or I think one is just like lubricant is your friend. I think that can be also still a bit taboo, Like if you're using lube, something must be wrong with you. But and it comes in so many different styles water-based, silicone, hybrid, natural, all kinds of things. So one of the things we recommend is using lubricant, especially with condoms, because there's only so much you can put on a condom in the wrapper of a condom, right, Because there's a safety or the seal has to be able to seal correctly without lubricant getting caught in the seal, right. So, yes, most condoms are lubricated, but using additional lubricant with condoms really does help prevent condom breakage and makes you know, sex pleasurable, more comfortable all that stuff. So lube is great.
Speaker 1:I definitely agree, especially with condoms. Like you said, it's just some after, especially if they're having a longer session than others. You know, like if you keep going, you're going to need more lubrication. Yeah, a hundred percent, all right, well, we can leave it there unless you have something else.
Speaker 2:I think I'm all good. Yeah, thank you so much for having me again. It was great to be here today.
Speaker 1:Yes, and if you like this episode, be sure to tell your friends about it and rate it as well. And thank you again, Mila, for being on.
Speaker 2:Awesome. Thank you, frank Talk. Frank Talk Sex and dating Educ.
