If you watched The Pez Outlaw movie, then you saw the history of the Bubbleman character/dispenser. Long story short, Steve Glew and his son each brought one back from their first trip to Europe. These dispensers were prototypes and weren't being mass produced. They both sold their Bubbleman dispensers for a lot of money. Pez didn't officially start producing and selling these until about two or three years later.
I've loved the Bubbleman character since I was a teenager; 20+ years before I ever met Steve or there was any movie. The neon set was the first Pez set that I ordered through the mail. I even have Bubbleman tattooed on my right leg.
In May 2023 I was able to add the original Bubbleman into my collection. THE ORIGINAL. The one that Steve "imported" into the US in the early '90s and sold. This is such a cool part of Pez history and I'm honored to have it in my collection.
Steve, thank you for bringing this guy to the US. I love the character and story behind him, and thanks for being my friend.
Thank you John LaSpina for selling and shipping this to me.
Thank you to Michael Moran for telling John to look at his phone when I was trying to get ahold of him.
And thanks to my wife Rachel for supporting the decision to add this to our collection.