Nathan Morimitsu reflects on the highs, hurdles and hall-of-fame moments that made an unpredictable year an unforgettable one for Eldorado.
(Note: This article was written by Nathan Morimitsu and appears in the December 2025 issue of SE Magazine.)
What a year. What a weird, crazy, unpredictable year. But let’s not focus on the WTF moments, of which there were many, but instead on the OMG moments. (OMG in the good way!)
I’ll start in the middle of the year, watching our company’s CEO and Matriarch’s induction into the SE Hall of Fame and Eldorado receive the Distributor of the Year award. I didn’t see that coming! Well, I didn’t see the Distributor of the Year Award coming. I’m certain that someday soon Wanda will forgive Preston and me for keeping her award a secret for so long. (Buy me a drink at Altitude or ANME and I’ll tell you all about it!)
Other OMG moments: Seeing my ideas come to life on multiple big screens, bringing pleasure product mobile apps to life in a way nobody else is doing, and having it WORK. That was huge. For me, anyway.
I know it was probably cool to see for those who visited Eldorado’s booth at Altitude, but if you only knew the technological hurdles I had to overcome to make that happen! Only then could you understand why I consider it a major highlight of 2025.
“While I didn’t fight in the infamous ‘lube wars,’ I’ve heard the stories, so when we got JO back at Eldorado, the feeling was a bit euphoric.”
— Nathan Morimitsu
Getting JO back into the Eldorado catalog was another huge OMG moment. While I didn’t fight in the infamous “lube wars,” I’ve heard the stories, so when we got JO back at Eldorado, the feeling was a bit euphoric.
Being the sci-fi nerd that I am, I’d liken it to the celebratory dance had by a group of cinematically iconic bear-like humanoids after a smooth-talking gambler and skilled pilot with prominent jowls blew up the second planet-killing space station. (With that description, the copyright owners of that particular property can’t sue me, right? RIGHT? Well, if Icon Brands can get away with the “Darth Invader,” I’m sure I’m in the clear.)
Anyway, I finally had an excuse to use an Eminem meme at work. So, yeah, winning. Charlie Sheen’s Tiger’s Blood level of winning.
Did I send way too many “Tariff-Related Price Increase” emails this year? Yep. Definitely. It was too many the moment I hit send on the first one.
Did I have too many small companies pull out of our road shows because their marketing budgets got consumed by just getting their products into the country? Again, yes.
Did I have to pivot wildly on multiple occasions, discard well-thought-out plans and start from scratch due to this rapidly changing political and economic climate? You know it.
There are many vendors out there who have heard me say, “We’re just going to play it by ear, and promote your products when they finally get here.” I hated saying it, but I’m here to help you, not hold you to a schedule that you can’t meet.
As we bring 2025 to a close and look ahead to 2026 with trepidation, remember that Eldorado is here to partner with you. Let’s rock it in the new year!
Nathan Morimitsu is Eldorado’s Marketing Manager, Marketing Director or whatever you want to call him. He’s always super jazzed to learn more about your business and how Eldorado can work to promote your products. Drop him a note at nathan@eldorado.net.
