Danny Trejo is a man of many talents, which up until recently had most notably included swinging a machete and slinging gourmet tacos. Now, he’s added selling deluxe cock rings, which can be seen in this new commercial for a wearable erectile dysfunction treatment called Giddy.
Medical jargon aside, Giddy is basically an enhanced cock ring, i.e., a device designed to prevent blood from escaping the penis, which can result in both prolonged erections and delayed orgasms. In other words, like similar cock rings, Giddy should theoretically help people keep it up for longer.
Unlike many other cock rings, however, Giddy is shaped like a horseshoe. This is touted to be good for several reasons, the first being that additional pressure is put on the dorsal vein running along the top of the penis, which prevents boner-inducing blood from escaping. Meanwhile, less pressure is put on the urethra, which allows for uninhibited cumming. According to board-certified urologist Jamin Brahmbhatt, this is especially important, since traditional cock rings frequently restrict the urethra, causing irritation and painful money shots.
That said, Brahmbatt is skeptical about how well Giddy can realistically be used to treat erectile dysfunction. “Erectile dysfunction is usually multifactorial,” he explains, adding that someone might be unable to get hard because they have a blocked artery, which is outside the realm of anything a cock ring can resolve.
Furthermore, Giddy is marketed on the basis that penises are oval-shaped, rather than round, a fact that its makers claim many other cock rings presume. Therefore, they continue, the horseshoe shape should theoretically provide a better fit. However, clinical sexologist and certified sex coach Sunny Rodgers is quick to debunk that claim, explaining that “there are actually seven different penis shapes.”
Speaking of shape, Rodgers has several other problems with Giddy, although she admits to not having used one yet. “It appears to me that Giddy is very rigid, which can be uncomfortable for a lot of men,” she explains. “The majority of cock rings are made from stretchy material that can bend and comfortably conform to the penis shape.” In other words, that earlier argument about other cock rings not being the right shape is virtually null.
The other problem for Rodgers is the $99 price tag. “I find that to be extremely expensive for an erection ring,” she says (some cock rings sell for less than $10). “Also, according to their IndieGoGo page, they state the average cost for a penis pump is $350, which I find to be extremely expensive as well. There are a lot of high-quality penis pumps available that cost less than Giddy.” She goes on to mention that using a penis pump and cock ring together helps draw blood to the penis (using the penis pump) and keeps that blood in place (using the cock ring). However, Rodgers is impressed by the 30-day erectile dysfunction management routine that comes with Giddy, which apparently has advice on improving your long-term erection issues and openly talking with your partner about those problems. “This is where the $99 price tag is worth gold,” she says.
Overall, the experts are hopeful, but hesitant about Giddy. “Having a urologist on the advisory board does add some relevance to the product,” Brahmbhatt says. “But at the same time, when there are no trials done and claims are made, you have to take it with a grain of salt. It sounds exciting, but until proven by research to work, I wouldn’t get caught up in the hype just yet.”
Ian Lecklitner
Ian Lecklitner is a staff writer at MEL Magazine. He mostly writes about everyone's favorite things: Sex, drugs and food.
