Today we’d like to introduce you to Tom & Bastian Schmidt.
Tom & Bastian, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
From the Perspective of Bastian (the dog):
After I was born, I took to the streets of Jefferson County with my brother. He and I endured a lot, food was scarce so we were left scrambling for anything we could find, including garbage, bugs, and even sun-dried worms. We also struggled as bathing was difficult to come by and I ended up covered in ticks. But one day, my life would change forever. A truck with lights and bars in the windows stopped and asked what we were doing. Next thing I know, we’re in the back of the truck being taken away. We arrived at the station and were offered a bit of food, not knowing what was going on, we refused. I was then locked up for days, shaking and scared, I sat in the very back when anyone came by. I was scheduled to be put down by Jefferson County Animal Control. Two days before execution day, these new people came by. Well, they thought they could bring me out of my shell. The next day, I was in foster care by the wonderful Arb family and their “son” Luke from St. Louis Pet Rescue. Life was good again! I was in a nice house, I had regular meals, a place to sleep, and even learned how to properly take a walk! But… I was only a foster at the Arb home. However, shortly thereafter, I found myself laying on the floor of a PETCO when a young man approached… that day, I would meet my best friend, Tom. A life of walks, unlimited meals, and the occasional trip to Ted Drewes awaited.
From the Perspective of Tom:
Adopting Bastian changed my life. Originally, I adopted him because 1) I had always wanted a dog, but growing up, my sister was allergic and 2) I decided to make sure I got outside daily for exercise and wanted a companion to go with me. Well, the exercise thing was guaranteed because Bastian refused to use the backyard to, well, “do his business.” After leaving him outside for a couple hours, I noticed my stairs had chunks missing out of them. I started to introduce him to toys, but I noticed they were only lasting about 10 minutes. I went through the gamut of the typical toys, starting with tennis balls and moving to the “indestructible” toys. Next thing I know, I’m trying deer antlers and cow femurs because literally nothing else worked. Well, the antlers lasted about 2 days and cow femurs were chipping after about a week. Instead of going bankrupt buying him toys, I decided to try out a blend of rubber that I was aware of and make it into a ball form. Well, we didn’t know what exactly was in this blend of rubber, so we needed to ensure it was safe, so we tested it for toxins. Turns out, not only is it safe for dogs, it’s safe for children too! During my research, I also discovered that very few pet toy companies actually test their toys for toxicity, so we’re actually one of only a few companies that actually knows their product is not slowly causing harm to your dog. I worked for a couple of years trying to source it until finally, I located a company that could make it affordably and quickly ordered some prototypes. Well, Bastian gave it a try, and after 1 day, it didn’t even have a scratch. After a week, still clean. A month went by and it was still going strong… That’s when I knew I was onto something, thus Bastian Pet Toys, LLC’s first product was born, the K9X Ball.
Bastian and I opened up shop in 2017 at k9xball.com and worked our first event, the St. Louis Samoyed Club’s Canine Games at Purina Farms. With literally no idea what we were doing, 20 dogs took a chance on the K9X Ball. We attended other events and even traveled to Kansas City for the Great KC Pet Expo, where we sold over 80 K9X Balls in just 2 days. That was the real test for us, as we guarantee the K9X Ball could not be destroyed within 90 days of purchase and we knew we had some tough chewers give us a try. We’re talking big dogs with the strongest jaws, Pit Bulls, German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Dobermans, etc.… Well, 90 days later, we had 1 dog destroy one, his name is Maynard. Maynard had destroyed every toy he had ever owned in less than 24 hours; it took him 84 days to defeat the K9X Ball. An unexpected twist, Maynard’s family actually bought more. That triggered the idea, create a Hall of Fame for any dog that defeats us and give a discount for all members of our HOF.
We’ve now sold thousands of K9X Balls with less than 20 balls destroyed by dogs. The K9X Ball has even defeated 2 lawnmowers and every breed of dog other than a few Pit Bulls, one German Shepherd, and one Cane Corso. We now offer the K9X Ball in three sizes, XL (Big Bark, Big Bite Edition), Regular, and Small (Small Bark, Big Bite Edition).
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Of course, there are always struggles! Our business strategy is unique and still in a proving out stage. In order to grow, we needed proof of concept first. That required getting out in public and directly selling to others. We were starting to get a bit of a following in the Midwest as we were at nearly everything “dog” in St. Louis, Kansas City, and Indianapolis. Weekends were filled with fun festivals, from APA Canine Carnival to Q in the Lou, if dogs were present, we were too. The best part was going to the same event a year later and so many people stopped by and said “we still have one from last year, it’s the only toy that ‘Spike’ hasn’t destroyed!” Data acquisition and our ability to respond to the “Show-Me” attitude of Missouri is what ultimately will make us. Quite frankly, we’re attempting to upset the apple cart of an industry where there is so much competition, it’s hard to get attention. So, our plan was to start small, run a grassroots effort, and emerge out of the Midwest region large enough to defend ourselves from knockoffs.
We were trucking along pretty well, and then it hit us. My wife and I had our first child, and three months later, my wife was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. She had to physically shut down at various times throughout the day. It took her nearly a year to recover to a sense of normalcy, coupled with the fact that we had a newborn too. Although we’re lucky enough to have family support, the ability to focus on the company took a major hit. Continuing to work full-time elsewhere continued to be a priority, as now health insurance became more important than ever.
Then it hit the world. We watched state by state, as the coronavirus spread. Obviously, this affected everyone, but this really upended our plans. First of all, all of the events we were attending were canceled and all of the traction we had created in the region was quietly disappearing. Even when events reopened, we had to shield ourselves a bit more than the general public as we dealt with my wife’s illness and keeping our newborn safe. We’re not hermits by any stretch, but most indoor activities are off-limits. So, we turned to online, well, what differentiates one rubber toy from another online? They all look the same, you can’t feel it, you can’t bounce it… We need that reputation and that’s what we’re working on building today.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Bastian Pet Toys, LLC?
The K9X Ball is the first product from Bastian Pet Toys, LLC. The K9X Ball combines the best of both worlds in extreme durability and extreme bounce unmatched by any other dog toy on the market. It also provides a pliability that dogs actually enjoy chewing. It’s the world’s ultimate fetch toy and the ball your dog was born to chase!
We are proud to say that 99.5% of dogs who have tried us have not destroyed our ball toy. We’re proud to say that every single one of our Hall of Fame dog owners have told us it’s the longest-lasting toy they’ve ever had. We’re also proud to say that the K9X Ball is certified to be free of toxins including lead, phthalates, and other heavy metals. We are so confident in the K9X Ball that we guarantee your dog can’t destroy it within 90 days or we’ll send you a new one or refund your purchase.
Finally, we’re most proud to say we’ve donated over one thousand dollars to help preserve African Painted Dogs via the Saint Louis Zoo’s WildCare Institute’s Center for the Conservation of Carnivores in Africa.
How do you define success?
This is a great question. I have two definitions and I’m going to give you both. #1 I have big, big goals. I don’t just want to build a dog toy company, I want to build a company so integral to the area that when you think of St. Louis, you think of us. Every time I open a “cold frosty one” to quote Mike Shannon, I think of Anheuser-Busch on Pestalozzi Street. That’s what we want to be. My goal is to have a picture of Bastian on top of a big building downtown, watch as Colton Parayko checks a Blackhawk player into our logo on the boards at the Enterprise Center, watch as a Nolan Arenado crushes a 3-run homer over our logo in Left Center, make sure that no dog in a St. Louis shelter is sitting without a toy to play with, and finally make sure that the Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute and the Endangered Wolf Center have more than enough funds to pay for their preservation of wild dogs and wolves. #2 Just be happy
Pricing:
- XL – $14.99
- Regular – $9.99
- Small – $9.99
Contact Info:
- Website: k9xball.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/k9xball/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/k9xball
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/k9xball
Image Credits
Elisa Peterson Photography
Bastian Pet Toys, LLC
