ABDL Ambassador: Yannick Nassoy
There was a time not so many years ago when ABDL products in Europe seemed unattainable and mysterious. Fast forward to today, where the hands of ABDL friendship reach across the Atlantic ocean with warm familiarity. Brands from companies like Tena, Crinklz, KIDDO, and NRU are now easily found in the United States. At the same time, American and Canadian brands like Tykables, ABU, Rearz, and - to be announced soon - XPMedical, are immensely popular and also easy to buy in Europe.
But how did this partnership come to be?
Yannick Nassoy, CEO of French ABDL company Drybox, doing business as Diaper-Minister.com in France and Diaper-Heroes.be in Belgium, is largely responsible for the expansion.
Yannick reports that he was an ABDL before he was a diaper company owner.
“I have been an ‘ABDL’ for as long as I can remember,” he says. Like me, and many of us, Yannick says that “once I was in diapers, I never wanted to stop wearing them.”
Yannick has been an active member of the ABDL community in France for years and, as he got older, took on the role of community building.
“In 2007, I began organizing annual ABDL get-togethers in the Alsace region of France,” he says. “These have since grown to over 50 participants, attracting people from France but also French-speaking regions of Switzerland and Belgium, as well.”
“Around 2014 members of the French ABDL community and myself began to come to the realization that we just weren’t satisfied with the available diapers and ABDL clothing,” Yannick says. “There was only one ABDL-oriented shop in France at the time, but it was very expensive. Our only other option was a shop in Germany, but that was difficult to order from as well. With the support and encouragement of my community here in France, I decided that opening a shop myself was really the only practical solution.”
Yannick officially opened his first web shop “Diaper Minister” in 2015.
Now if you’re like me, you may be wondering what “minister” means in relation to diapers. Well, in British English, a “minister” can also be a foreign ambassador. Yannick, therefore is perhaps the first official ambassador to diapers for his customers in France, and as his operation expands, across Europe.
“Diaper-Minister started with an idea for a diaper,” Yannick says. “This idea became what we know today as the KIDDO diaper. We wanted to make a diaper for ABDLs designed by ABDLs,” he remembers. “The pale blue design with friendly owls was the result of a crowd-sourced design contest. The initial design was constructed a little bit differently than what exists now. Casey Strom, CEO of ABU, is a dear friend of mine, and his production capabilities resulted in the great diaper KIDDO has become.” Yannick reports that the collaboration on the Kiddo was the first step in a long partnership between the two companies. “We’re so proud of the popularity the KIDDO diaper has had around the world, and we have Casey and his team at ABU to thank for making this possible,” he says.
ABU and Yannick went on to be official partners for years. Yannick’s company in France would act as the first hub for ABU’s presence in Europe. Products that are manufactured in China are sent directly to Yannick’s business so that ABDLs in Europe can enjoy the same pricing enjoyed by North Americans.
But Yannick’s business partnerships go beyond ABU. I won’t write out the whole list of brands Yannick carries, but there are many.
(L to R): David, Yannick, & Manu
As his company has grown so has his team working alongside him.
If you’ve been on Tumblr for the past 10 years, you probably know French ABDL content creator @ababyboy, real name: David. The popularity of ABDL Tumblr and @ababyboy is synonymous, as his photo tutorials played a large part in inspiring the kind of content we’ve become accustomed to across more popular platforms like Twitter and Instagram.
Recently, Yannick and David decided to merge their marketing with David’s style of showing ABDL people outside of the bedroom enjoying life with friends.
“David’s role as our social media manager for Diaper-Minster/Diaper-Heroes has grown our official instagram following to almost 6k combined followers, and that number continues to grow,” Yannick says. “We didn’t just want to show people generic photos of our products, but to show them in action, worn by real members of the local ABDL community.”
“My boyfriend Emanuel (Fetlife: @a-padded-boy) has also been a partner with my businesses since the beginning, and every day he prepares the orders, assists customers, manages stock, and in general makes sure everything functions perfectly at our shop in France.”
Yannick, David, & Manu
“In Belgium, Diaper-Heroes.be is managed by Yves, and he is working with a new member of our team, Ulysse. Together they are experts at making sure our company can reach countries all over the EU, thanks in part to Belgium’s favorable shipping and tax rates,” Yannick continues. “And all of our presence on the web is shouldered by our friend Manu,” says Yannick. “I’ve known Manu for 20 years. His day job is in television, and he moonlights for us.”
For Yannick, Diaper Heroes is an exciting new venture because he says it matches the current explosion in the European ABDL market.
“I’ve been a member of the ABDL community for years, but it seems like recently there is huge expansion going on. There are lots of theories of why this is, but as long as there continue to be new ABDLs joining the community, my team and I want to be there for them, making sure every ABDL product in the world is just a click away.”
Many thanks to Yannick and his team for participating in this interview. If you live in the EU make sure to check out diaper-minister.com (serving France) or diaper-heroes.be, which currently ships to Belgium, The Netherlands, The UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Sweden and all around the world. Yannick manages his own unique brand “Kiddo” that sells a wide range of colorful onesies, rompers, as well as a newer line of soft velvet pajamas with adorable designs, perfect for the upcoming winter months.
Special thanks, also, to ABenjaminButton, who collaborated on this spotlight.