Meet Jennifer, The Genius Behind RodeoH: The Autostraddle Interview

Welcome to Underwear Week, a whole week dedicated to your favorite bum-hugging clothesthings. As we said many moons ago, we feel a lady is at her best when she’s not wearing pants. And while our last adventure around this neck of the woods took us only as far as boyshorts, this time around we’re exploring the vast and many-flavored land of underwear. From edible panties to hoopskirts and history, we’ve got you covered. Just like your underwear. 

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Oh, RodeoH. How you have completely revolutionized strap-on sex! I remember the day we first met. Before that our only options for strap-ons involved a lot of straps, time and effort. We worried that our seemingly durable sexy leather harnesses may shift and break and totally let us down in the key moments of passion. We heard rodeo and thought “bulls” or “questionable ethics.” We had no idea that one day the word would mean OH so much more. WERE WE EVER SO YOUNG?!

Guys, we love RodeoH harnesses so hard, not least of all because when you’re not using them to have sexytimes, they make a pretty sexy pair of underwear. And lez be honest, if a girl sees you sporting RodeoHs as undies, there’s a good chance you’ll be having some sexytimes in the very near future. So in honor of underwear week it seemed only right to interview the badass who brought us the RodeoH. We tracked down Jennifer Weaver, the thirtysomething San Francisco-based founder of RodeoH, and asked her everything you’ve ever wanted to know about her product and then some.

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How does it feel to be the founder of the company that changed strap-on sex for an entire generation?

I know right?! To think that my knickers now have more then one function and live blissfully in the underwear drawer as the underoo of choice! In short, utter perfection, I tell ya. I can say, unequivocally, that it feels effing awesome-sauce. Though it is not nearly as incredible as making a product that promotes a positively upbeat QueerTastic lifestyle! I mean seriously, go us!

Where did the idea of RodeoH come from?

RodeoH was a collaboration for sure. Initially it was just a rudimentary crafty-cool underoo, with flimsy pieces attached to other pieces with string and duck tape. Well, maybe not duck tape, but you get the idea. After three months of developing, including – drum roll please – my mum’s 40+ years of quilting-crafty-expertise, the working prototype was born.

The second part was the name! Luckily, there was a pool of amigos to draw ideas from. Someone threw out “Rodeo” which immediately conjured images of “bucking bronco fun.” It was perfect, except for one little thing…it needed a finishing touch. That’s when we decided to insert the “H” for the “OH” effect. Rod-E-“OH.”

What was starting the business like?

It was start-up mayhem madness in the beginning! Think two years of 60 hours a week, eating $2 tacos daily. Thankfully, I had a wee bit of savings to pull through the first leg of the adventure, and if it wasn’t for our community, we would have never got this bad-boy off the ground. Seriously, the reason why we say the company is “Community Driven” is simply because RodeoH is 100% fueled by you!

What were you up to before you invented the best thing to hit the queer sex scene?

I was an Unemployed Urban Dweller. True story. I was smack dab in the middle of scrolling Craigslist ads on the regular. I remember joking with a crew of designers, programmers, local kids at the coffee house, all incredibly talented with even more incredible portfolios. We were basically musing [about starting a company]. Like today. As in now. Pick an idea and run with it, build something, anything just so we could get noticed. So, we did! Mission SF Style.

What are your dreams for the future of RodeoH?

To make sure that everyone has their Monday to Sunday Funday wear. We want to continue to build the lifestyle, everyday wear, all the while promoting our super not-so-secret agenda of showcasing an amazingly upbeat and positive image of Queer America and beyond! We want people to know they are amazing just the way they are, and the dream is to make that clear. RodeoH is simply a vehicle to drive that message home…there may or may not be a hidden metaphor in that sentence!

My girlfriend wants to know if you’d consider sewing a pocket into the crotch of the RodeoH so the wearer can put a magic bullet in there while wearing them?

Absolutely! We are actually working on that now. The biggest problem we have run into with the addition of details, is the sheer cost of manufacturing versus product cost. The question we have to ask is would you pay 10 extra bones for a pocket detail? Hang tight though, we are working on it for sure!

Aside from RodeoH, of course, what are your favorite brands of underwear?

2Xist and CN2 or really anything clean in my knicker drawer, preferably long johns. Long johns, t-shirts and monster slippers are pretty much the uniform of choice in the office.

Do you have a celeb crush? Or many celeb crushes?

I definitely have some huge crushes, but I’m more of an equal-opportunity-local-crusher-kinda-person. In other words, I “gotts” to meet you to get my crush on. Let’s see. Top of the list? Jetta Vegas, Riley Connor, Jenna of the blogger sphere. Local crushes, July Munoz, Avery Christopher – we have a big bro-mance – and Sandra of SheVibe. Lastely, Thirteen from House. Yes. Thirteen is H-O-T.

hey homos this could be you

hey homos this could be you

Who is your dream model for RodeoH?

YOU! Yes, I’m serious. We want the kid next door, the average Jack, Jill, Joey to rock our products and be our models. And of course we offer free RodeoHs to those wanting to be featured on our social media pages. So, what do ya think? Wanna? Oh come on! Do it!

Alright kids, you heard her! Go model! Jennifer, if you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

I’m a born local explorer. Why be constantly on the road when there is so much beauty to be explored and enjoyed locally? I feel as though San Francisco is a big ol’ adult playground and I get to be Peter Pan on my little blue vespa, cruising around, enjoying everything.

What is your favorite local restaurant? Local bar?

Chow on Church and HiTops. If you every visit, get the Shandi – it is pretty much the bees knees.

Are you a dog person or a cat person?

Both. Weighing in at 15 pounds we have Rocco “The Billygoat” Cow Kitty, hanging with Puppy SideKick Micca-Chu! They wanted to get dressed up for the interview – it was their idea.

"they wanted to get dressed up for the interview."

“they wanted to get dressed up for the interview.”

What was your favorite subject in high school?

Chemistry, of course.

What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

Banana or Coconut or BananaCoconut.

Do you have anything else you’d like to share with the Autostraddle community?

To the beautiful Autostraddle community, YOU ROCK OUR SOCKS OFF! We, the kids of RodeoH, want nothing more then to create a dynamic exchange of queer fun fashion fabulousness and invite you, in all your amazingness, to come play with us! If you are a photographer, designer, dreamer, blogger, artist, or just the average Joey and want to be involved, HIT. US. UP!

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Vanessa

Vanessa is a writer, a teacher, and the community editor at Autostraddle. Very hot, very fun, very weird. Find her on twitter and instagram.

Vanessa has written 404 articles for us.

10 Comments

  1. Jennifer was the nicest ever when I had order probs at RodeoH. Seriously wonderful customer service.

  2. Hello,
    I’m a big fan of trap-ons (of all kinds) and I have a comment/question about this one: for me, the good thing about a strappy strap on is that you can still touch the other person while she/he has it on, but with rodeOh you’re basically fucking with your underwear on! (I know you can get your way into “it”, but it’s not the same). Also, don’t you just end up with an uncomfortable pair of sticky wet underwear? Not that big of a deal, but still…

  3. how do i model? am i not supposed to ask that out loud.

    also, holy fucking shit the cat and the dog.

  4. PREACH about those $2 tacos. Some weeks it seems like the only thing I’ve put in my mouth is a taco.

Comments are closed.