Sliquid founder and SE’s 2024 Businessman of the Year nominee Dean Elliott has passed away after losing his battle with pancreatic cancer. Friends and colleagues remember him for his larger-than-life personality, trademark selfies and his role as a leader in the adult retail industry.
“Dean was the kind of guy whose personality sometimes overshadowed his product,” shares Storerotica’s PR and Marketing Director Kris Kay. “Which is not to belittle what the man accomplished; his brand held a fervent grip in the lubricant sector for as long as I have been in the business. Dean’s storied history, his passion for our industry and his admiration for his employees and retailers made him stand out in so many ways. I’ll miss his candor, his sense of humor and his ego. As big as it was, he never passed up a quiet conversation over a drink. We had a few. Even though he’s no longer with us, he’ll remain an admired man.”
Elliott’s longtime friend and Sliquid’s Senior VP Colin Roy wrote a heartfelt tribute to his mentor on Facebook, reflecting on their time spent working together over the years.
“I met Dean Elliott when I was a 21-year-old kid attempting to be a web designer. We clicked from day one, and it was a whirlwind, as many things with Dean often were. Dean was my friend, my mentor, my father figure, and it’s a gut punch every time I think of him being gone. People used to ask us in public if I was his son, and he would always act offended that anyone would think he was old enough to be my father. And even though I’ve long since greyed, and that hasn’t happened in many years, it tears me apart that no one will ever be able to ask again.”
The entrepreneur announced his diagnosis in a social media post in August of 2023, which read:
“As many of you read in my post from a couple of weeks ago, my perspective on life has recently been changed. Over the past month, I have been undergoing various medical tests, procedures and consultations. Bottom line … I have been diagnosed with advanced stage pancreatic cancer.
The top-notch medical team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) here in NYC have developed a comprehensive plan to best help me fight this shit and, as of this past Monday, I have begun my Chemo treatments.
My focus right now is my family, especially my 2.5 teenage kids, and prioritizing my health and well-being. I am going to fight this fucking thing with everything I can!”
Elliott founded Sliquid in 2002, and what started out as an intimate lubricant company offering just two products grew into a multi-billion dollar wellness brand. In addition to his role at Sliquid, he was a longtime bodybuilder and voiced many radio commercials including those for Volvo, WWE, Pepsi, and HBO. He is survived by three children.
