Tom Scog, founder of the iconic My Tropx store in Wilton Manors, talks about the store’s rise to success, transitioning after the fall of DVDs and staying on as a consultant after retirement.
(Note: This article appears in the April 2026 issue of SE Magazine.)
Tom Scog’s business sense was built on combined experiences as a credit director at a car dealership and owning Key Athletic, a surf shop stocked with Ocean Pacific board shorts, Hang-Ten, Sundek and all the brands that defined the ‘90s. But when a serious illness in 1996 forced him to slow down, he relocated from Chicago to Fort Lauderdale to be closer to his parents. It was then that Scog came across an adult video store in Wilton Manors, aka “The Island City,” that changed the trajectory of his life.
The store had fallen into bankruptcy and needed an owner who would take it somewhere new. And when Scog walked inside, something clicked. He liked clothes. He liked retail. And by owning a store in Florida, he could finally get group health insurance, something he couldn’t get as an individual. The health care mattered. But so did everything else.
That was 1999. Over the next 25 years, Scog transformed My Tropx into one of South Florida’s most recognizable gay lifestyle destinations, built on high-end men’s clothing, carefully curated adult products and an instinctive understanding of what his community actually wanted. After a quadruple bypass and a brush with COVID, he recently sold the business, though he remains involved with the new owners who have since opened locations in St. Petersburg and North Miami Beach.
StorErotica Legal Correspondent Larry Kaplan spoke with Scog about the road that brought him to Wilton Manors, the pivots that kept My Tropx alive through decades of change and the philosophy that made it work.
SE: You briefly ran a surf shop, then spent years as a credit director for a car dealership. Then in 1999, you opened My Tropx. What led to it?
Scog: I was really sick from 1996 to 1997 and almost died. My parents lived in Florida, so while I was recovering, I decided to move there. I came across a video store in Wilton Manors that had gone bankrupt. It carried both regular movies and adult videos, and I saw an opportunity. I’d always loved clothes and the clothing business. Before the car dealership, I had a surf shop called Key Athletic in Seminole, Florida. So retail was in my blood. And as a store owner, I could finally get group health care, which was nearly impossible for individuals in Florida at the time. The health care was important, but so was getting back into a business I genuinely loved.
The store was in bankruptcy when I found it, so I couldn’t buy it right away. I rented it for a couple of years while the bankruptcy worked its way through, and when it cleared, I bought both the building and the business. I added the clothing and toys myself once I took over. And from the beginning, I thought about what kind of store I’d actually want to walk into as a customer: everything on display, not underwear in boxes. High-end brand names you can’t find anywhere else, all under one roof, in an environment that matches the merchandise.
SE: What research did you do before opening? Did you visit competing stores?
Scog: I’d never been into any of my competitors’ Wilton Manors stores before I opened. I wanted the store to be me. I didn’t want it to be anyone else’s store.
SE: Did the concept evolve over time, or was this always the vision?
Scog: Evolution is part of any business. When I started, we did huge business in video DVDs, very little clothing and a few toys. When DVDs went out, I looked around my neighborhood: events everywhere, people with places to wear great clothing. I like clothes, so it was easy to move further in that direction. As a sole owner, I had a huge advantage over big companies: I could move on a dime. I came up with a plan quickly and acted on it.
I remember when DVDs were like cocaine; the money that rolled in from renting and selling them was extraordinary. And then it all went away. But I noticed early on that Wilton Manors had a calendar full of events: Wicked Manors, Pride, the cruise crowds leaving from Fort Lauderdale and Miami. People needed things to wear. That’s what made the clothing worth carrying. You’re not just buying something and wondering where you’ll ever wear it; you’ve got a reason.
SE: You mentioned the cruise crowd specifically. How did you build that relationship?
Scog: By carrying what they wanted. I was always a little snoopy about what was coming through. Cruise itineraries are available, so I’d find out what themed nights were planned: a ‘50s night, a white party, a leather night, and make sure I was stocked. I took the same approach at the events I attended. I had vendor space at Gay Days and One Magical Weekend in Orlando for eight or nine years. At those events, I’d build out a whole store on a grid, everything hung, lit up, like a miniature My Tropx. We’ll be doing that again this year.
SE: Wilton Manors has been described as having the second-highest concentration of same-sex couples in the U.S. Over the years, what are some of the most memorable moments the store was part of?
Scog: I remember when DVDs tanked, and I decided to transition to clothing. At the time, my windows were all blacked out. I scraped them, installed mannequins so people could see the stock, and started doing fashion shows at the bars and clubs around town. They were entertaining, pretty racy and we packed them out because I did a lot of advertising. That was a turning point.
The Ruby membership program I started about 18 years ago was another one. Paid members get 20% off everything, year-round, and 40% off during our six annual sales. That kept customers loyal. With clothing, just like with DVDs, the question is always: what’s new? You have to keep bringing in fresh merchandise, move out what isn’t selling and keep people coming back to see what’s changed.
“Cruise itineraries are available, so I’d find out what themed nights were planned: a ‘50s night, a white party, a leather night, and make sure I was stocked.”
— Tom Scog
SE: The new St. Petersburg store sounds very different from the Wilton Manors store. Can you describe it?
Scog: I don’t like to blow my own horn, but the St. Pete store is gorgeous. Once you walk in, you know you’re not in a normal adult store. The clothing is beautiful. We carry men’s and women’s attire. We’ve decorated with great art, Marilyn Monroe throughout and have two fitting rooms honoring Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe. There’s an original sculptural sofa that looks like Marilyn’s lips.
The two theaters I didn’t design, but they’re nothing like the old dirty bookstores where your feet stuck to the floor. There are 15 deluxe booths with touchscreens, plus a lounge with a pool table. Plans include a deck for cigar socials and a food truck with beer and wine. It’s the kind of place I’d want to go.
SE: Typically, arcade booths and theaters turn off boutique shoppers. How do you reconcile that?
Scog: The retail space is over-the-top. Walking in is an experience. We carry eight or nine gay brands as recognizable as Nike or Adidas, and they’re very difficult to get. We’ve landed all of them. I think that overcomes the adult space element. Plus, the deck we’re building out back will soften the overall feel. We’ll also have a walk-in humidor. Where else can you buy a cigar at 3 am?
SE: Beyond being a place to buy things, it sounds like a gathering place.
Scog: That’s my fantasy of what an adult store should be. Young people today go to clubs, gay or straight; if they like the music and the vibe, they’re there. The market is different now. My Tropx has to be that kind of place. Not just somewhere you go to buy stuff, but somewhere you actually want to be.
SE: What shifts forced the biggest pivots over the years?
Scog: The DVD collapse was the biggest. But I also noticed something: once you build a healthy clothing department, sales of everything else in the store go up. Lubes, toys, all of it. A strong clothing presence pulls the whole store forward. That was not obvious going in.
SE: After 25 years, selling the Wilton Manors store had to be complicated emotionally. What brought you to that point?
Scog: Another illness. I had a quadruple bypass. I didn’t even know I had the problem when I went to the doctor; he sent me straight to the emergency room. It was Memorial Day weekend, so they couldn’t operate until the following Wednesday. They did surgery on Thursday. I was doing well until two days later when I got COVID, and that nearly killed me. I was on a ventilator. Lying there, I thought: it’s time to sell. If I hadn’t gotten sick, I never would have. Now I’m retired, and I want to enjoy that too.
“When the economy gets soft, you work harder, clean, dust, change the mannequins and keep everything fresh. Just don’t give up.”
— Tom Scog
SE: What advice did you give the new owner?
Scog: How you display merchandise and what you buy matters enormously. When you start drifting away from top brands, you’re looking for trouble. The showroom has to be an eye-popping experience. When the economy gets soft, you work harder, clean, dust, change the mannequins and keep everything fresh. Just don’t give up.
Get along with your vendors. They’re loyal if you are. I’ve rarely had vendors leave me, and if they did, we were done; I wouldn’t carry their line anymore.
And get involved in your community. I was in the store all the time, so I knew the people who walked in. I knew the owners of the other businesses around Wilton Manors. We had parties together. When I started, I joined the Chamber of Commerce. Back then, you didn’t have social media the way you do now; you had to show up.
SE: What’s your takeaway from 25 years of doing this?
Scog: I’m 75. I don’t have the energy I once did, but I feel like I’m reliving part of my life staying involved with the new ownership. The car business taught me the back end, controls, departments and money, and that helped. But honestly? I was lucky. I had a great location, and it grew. I landed in something I genuinely enjoyed.
And the health care didn’t hurt either.
Larry Kaplan is a broker specializing in the sale and purchase of adult retail stores and adult nightclubs, and the Executive Director of ACE of Michigan, the state trade association for adult nightclubs. For 25 years, Mr. Kaplan has been the Legal Correspondent for ED Publications. Contact Larry Kaplan at 313-815-3311 or email larry@kaplanstoresales.com.
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