If Gene Borden and Ted Oates have their way, this year's holiday gifts will include full-body condoms, Sperm on a Rope, and Safe Sox. Today, Borden and Oates will open Condom Nation, Philadelphia's first condom boutique, and the pair have hired armed guards in expectation of large crowds. Dubbed "the store of the '90s" by its owners, this upscale 700-square-foot location on 4th Street just off of South Street looks like something from the set of Miami Vice, with pink, aqua, and gray dominating the decor. And it is filled with condoms -- over 270 types of condoms. Not solely a condom shop, however, the store features gifts and novelties that follow the condom theme. The store has a wide range of condom paraphernalia, including condom hats -- which look like Smurf caps, sperm-shaped banks, plants adorned with condom leaves, and edible condom mints -- marketed as "confections of affection." Of course, the focus of the store is its condoms. Condom Nation has extra-larges, extra-smalls, and standard sizes. The store has a variety of flavors, including mint and strawberry, with about a dozen flavoring lubricants and gels adding to the taste selection. It sells condoms imported from as far away as France and Japan, in addition to the good old American Trojan. It even carries Stealth Condoms, which come in red, white and blue and are packaged in a paper facsimile of the B-2 bomber. "We have every color of the rainbow . . . black is a very popular color for some reason," said Oates, a 47-year-old stockbroker from New York. Condom Nation is only the third store of its kind in the U.S., along with the CondomMania stores in Los Angeles and New York. But Oates and Borden plan to build on the idea by opening a Condom Nation in Washington, D.C. "We ran with the idea because CondomMania in New York was enormously successful," Oates said. The Philadelphia store will be staffed by three people, in addition to the owners. And according to Oates, there will be a woman working in the store at all times. "I was shocked," Oates said, "In New York, over 60 percent of their clients are women." Oates explained that the store is not in competition with discount houses, but its condom prices are on a par with drug store prices. College sophomore Brian Brennan, who has not been to Condom Nation, said he thought the specialty store was a good idea. "Sometimes people are embarrassed to go into a drug store [to buy condoms], but if you go in there, that's what you're there for," Brennan said. Oates said that many people are in the dark when it comes condoms. "They bite open the packages . . . not real smart," he said. Though Oates readily admits that he and Borden are in the business to make money, he said that Condom Nation should serve to educate as well. "We will give lectures, we will go down to schools," Oates said. "We're happy to do whatever we can." Oates, who studied at the University while attending the Wistar Institute, said when his best friend died of AIDS last year, he wanted to do something. Less than two months ago, he and Borden decided on Condom Nation. While Oates called Magic Johnson's contracting of the HIV virus a "terrible thing," he said Johnson's disclosure is certain to be a boon for business. "We knew that eventually . . . [AIDS] would happen to a big name in mainstream society," Oates said. He said public awareness about the disease has increased since Johnson's announcement, adding that AIDS hotlines are receiving 10 times as many phone calls as they did two weeks ago. The store's largest client base is expected to be people in their late 20s and early 30s. Oates said students from area universities are a main target as well. Perhaps the store's humorously hip logo, with condom-shaped "O"s in the word "condom," exemplifies the attitude that the store has taken. Borden and Oates summed up their mission in one of their first public statements. "We've created an environment that's condom-friendly."
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