{"id":"guest:279","sourceProfileId":272,"slug":"peter-wachtel","name":"Peter Wachtel","headline":"He Designed Spider-Man's #1 Toy, Themed Batman Roller Coasters, Then Left It All to Teach Shop Class","bio":"Peter Wachtel is a renowned product designer whose three-decade career spans the toy industry, theme park design, and educational innovation. Throughout the mid-1990s to 2016, he created over 500 products across toys, entertainment, and live experiences, including a superhero action figure that became the number one seller in its line and themed experiences for Batman and Viper roller coasters at Six Flags Great Adventure.\n\nWachtel's design portfolio includes work for industry giants such as Mattel, Hasbro, Fisher-Price, Marvel, Tyco, and Jakks Pacific. His creations range from X-Men and Spider-Man action figures to the award-winning Tonka Road Constructor, and he has successfully licensed multiple inventions including the Grill Wrangler barbecue tool and Batter Batter Fetch dog toy. One of his inventions even earned him an appearance on ABC's 'The Toy Box.'\n\nIn 2016, Wachtel made a dramatic career shift, leaving the corporate design world to teach shop class at a California high school. As an educator, he has transformed traditional woodworking education by connecting students directly with industry professionals and real-world projects. His students now design for companies like Mattel, Universal Studios, and the Santa Barbara Zoo, with hundreds advancing to college programs.\n\nWachtel gained international recognition in 2023 when his class constructed the world's longest charcuterie board, stretching over 204 feet and involving 150 students. Currently in his 60s, he is completing a doctorate focusing on Ikigai and the bridge between white-collar and blue-collar careers, continuing to innovate in educational methodology while maintaining his passion for design and invention.","originalBio":"Peter Wachtel is a renowned product designer whose three-decade career spans the toy industry, theme park design, and educational innovation. Throughout the mid-1990s to 2016, he created over 500 products across toys, entertainment, and live experiences, including a superhero action figure that became the number one seller in its line and themed experiences for Batman and Viper roller coasters at Six Flags Great Adventure.\n\nWachtel's design portfolio includes work for industry giants such as Mattel, Hasbro, Fisher-Price, Marvel, Tyco, and Jakks Pacific. His creations range from X-Men and Spider-Man action figures to the award-winning Tonka Road Constructor, and he has successfully licensed multiple inventions including the Grill Wrangler barbecue tool and Batter Batter Fetch dog toy. One of his inventions even earned him an appearance on ABC's 'The Toy Box.'\n\nIn 2016, Wachtel made a dramatic career shift, leaving the corporate design world to teach shop class at a California high school. As an educator, he has transformed traditional woodworking education by connecting students directly with industry professionals and real-world projects. His students now design for companies like Mattel, Universal Studios, and the Santa Barbara Zoo, with hundreds advancing to college programs.\n\nWachtel gained international recognition in 2023 when his class constructed the world's longest charcuterie board, stretching over 204 feet and involving 150 students. Currently in his 60s, he is completing a doctorate focusing on Ikigai and the bridge between white-collar and blue-collar careers, continuing to innovate in educational methodology while maintaining his passion for design and invention.","portrait":"https://pub-176ab0b7668b46259a6c72d4ad146d40.r2.dev/twin-portraits/1781431148156-94f0856c97da-peter-wachtel-twin-1781431148155.jpg","originalHeadshot":"https://app.conversationos.live/api/public/guest-photo/peter-wachtel.jpg","topics":["Center Stage","Toy Design","Product Development","Theme Park Design","Educational Innovation","Invention Licensing","Manufacturing Processes","Intellectual Property Strategy","Career Transition","Student Mentorship","Industry Analysis"],"expertise":[],"product":"center-stage","socialLinks":{"linkedin":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/kidtoyology","instagram":"https://www.instagram.com/kidtoyology","youtube":"https://www.youtube.com/user/pawztoy1"},"sameAs":["https://www.linkedin.com/in/kidtoyology","https://www.instagram.com/kidtoyology","https://www.youtube.com/user/pawztoy1"],"appearances":[{"showName":"Mornings in the Lab","segment":"Center Stage","date":"2026-04-20","sourceUrl":"","videoId":null},{"showName":"Mornings in the Lab","segment":"Center Stage","date":"2026-04-24","sourceUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIP1trybCDQ","videoId":"MIP1trybCDQ"}],"primaryVideoId":"MIP1trybCDQ","primaryTitle":"","episodeNumber":"","authoritySegment":"","clips":[{"videoId":"MIP1trybCDQ","title":"LOTTERY TICKET SCRATCHERS","quote":"Inventing is like lottery ticket scratchers, right? Sometimes you win 50 bucks sometimes you win five sometimes you'll win the 500,000, right?","description":"On the unpredictable reality of the invention business.","thumbnail":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MIP1trybCDQ/hqdefault.jpg"},{"videoId":"MIP1trybCDQ","title":"LIFE CYCLE REALITY","quote":"Now the life cycle of any toy or product is like you know six months to a year.","description":"How the product development industry has dramatically accelerated since childhood.","thumbnail":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MIP1trybCDQ/hqdefault.jpg"},{"videoId":"MIP1trybCDQ","title":"WILLING TO FAIL","quote":"Whatever you do in life you got to be able to you know be willing to fail.","description":"His philosophy on embracing failure as part of the creative process.","thumbnail":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MIP1trybCDQ/hqdefault.jpg"}],"insights":[{"eyebrow":"CAREER TRANSITION","quote":"I got into teaching because I wanted to share what I did and I taught at like different design schools across the country like Pratt, Parsons, Otis Art Center. And then basically I said, 'Hey, what about high school?' cuz we drive by the high school and the kids were about to go to high school. I said, 'Hey, high school.' and then high school. And then I started there about nine years ago.","context":"Wachtel explains his transition from corporate design to high school education, driven by a desire to share his industry experience with the next generation of creators.","topic":"Education","timestamp":null},{"eyebrow":"GUINNESS WORLD RECORD","quote":"A while back I won this prize this teaching prize from the Harbor Freight Tools for Schools. And we got together over the summer in Colorado. And we were just thinking about what what's next what can we bring to our program? And even though I'm a you know, architectural product design wood shop teacher I was thinking hmm like what can we do in wood that's like worldwide that's like amazing.","context":"This insight reveals how Wachtel approaches educational projects with the same innovative thinking he applied to product design, leading to the world record charcuterie board project.","topic":"Innovation","timestamp":null},{"eyebrow":"INVENTION REALITY","quote":"Inventing is like lottery ticket scratchers, right? Sometimes you win 50 bucks sometimes you win five sometimes you'll win the 500,000, right? So with licensing or inventing you everybody has that idea.","context":"Wachtel provides a realistic perspective on the invention business, emphasizing the unpredictable nature of product development success.","topic":"Product Development","timestamp":null},{"eyebrow":"PRACTICAL ADVICE","quote":"One thing I suggest is provisional patents they're like maybe 110 bucks protect your idea for a year and then show it to as many companies as you can but don't say that you have the best idea in the world they'll be the judge of that because unless you're going to make it yourself and distribute it and sale and marketing and take returns in and any lawsuits that might come in companies are best suited for this.","context":"This demonstrates Wachtel's practical approach to invention, advocating for cost-effective protection and realistic expectations when working with companies.","topic":"Intellectual Property","timestamp":null},{"eyebrow":"STUDENT IMPACT","quote":"I teach my kids design. We work with toy companies like Mattel and Hasbro. We'll go on field trips to BMW and I show them how the whole industry works and right now we're working on movie props and play props for real companies and so they get a real look into what the industry could be like.","context":"Wachtel describes how he brings real-world industry connections into the classroom, providing students with authentic professional experiences.","topic":"Education","timestamp":null},{"eyebrow":"DESIGN PHILOSOPHY","quote":"Is it really solving a problem? Yeah, exactly. And then it's also like, you know, those that Flurby or blanket that you would used to wear that was like a robe blanket. I mean, it's little funny ideas like that, million to dollars.","context":"Wachtel emphasizes that successful products must solve real problems, while also acknowledging that sometimes simple, quirky ideas can achieve massive commercial success.","topic":"Product Design","timestamp":null},{"eyebrow":"INDUSTRY EVOLUTION","quote":"Here's the thing in the olden days like when we were kids toys and products stayed on the market 5 10 years, right? Now the life cycle of any toy or product is like you know six months to a year.","context":"This observation highlights how the product development industry has accelerated, requiring inventors and designers to adapt their strategies for shorter market cycles.","topic":"Industry Trends","timestamp":null},{"eyebrow":"FAILURE ACCEPTANCE","quote":"Whatever you do in life you got to be able to you know be willing to fail. Yeah. So basically I had kids I have two kids they're a lot older now they're like 20 and 18 now but at the time they did they're like little scooters around, right?","context":"Wachtel shares his philosophy on embracing failure as part of the creative process, using his Jump Sticks invention as an example of learning from setbacks.","topic":"Resilience","timestamp":null}],"quotes":["Inventing is like lottery ticket scratchers, right? Sometimes you win 50 bucks sometimes you win five sometimes you'll win the 500,000.","Whatever you do in life you got to be able to you know be willing to fail.","Is it really solving a problem? Yeah, exactly.","I teach my kids design. We work with toy companies like Mattel and Hasbro.","Now the life cycle of any toy or product is like you know six months to a year."],"faqs":[{"question":"How did Peter Wachtel transition from toy design to teaching?","answer":"After 30 years in the toy and theme park industry, Wachtel wanted to share his expertise with the next generation. He started by teaching at design schools like Pratt and Parsons, then realized he could make an even greater impact at the high school level. In 2016, he took a position teaching shop class, where he now integrates real-world design projects with companies like Mattel and Hasbro into his curriculum."},{"question":"What was the process behind creating the world's longest charcuterie board?","answer":"The idea came from a teaching conference where Wachtel was brainstorming impactful projects for his students. He researched Guinness World Records involving wood and discovered the charcuterie board category. The project involved 150 students, repurposed wood from gym bleachers, required official Guinness verification, and resulted in a 204-foot board that stretched across their football field. They held the record for almost a year before being surpassed."},{"question":"How does the invention and licensing process work?","answer":"Wachtel describes inventing as like lottery tickets - sometimes you win big, sometimes small. He recommends starting with provisional patents ($110 for a year of protection) rather than expensive full patents. Licensing typically pays 5% for TV products and 2.5% for wholesale. Companies are better suited for manufacturing and distribution since they have established infrastructure, legal teams, and market channels already in place."},{"question":"What major companies has Peter Wachtel worked with?","answer":"Throughout his career, Wachtel has worked with industry giants including Mattel, Hasbro, Fisher-Price, Marvel, Tyco, Jakks Pacific, and Six Flags. He's designed everything from superhero action figures to theme park experiences like the Batman and Viper roller coasters. His work spans toys, vehicles, puzzles, and entertainment experiences, with one superhero action figure becoming the number one seller in its line."},{"question":"How has the toy industry changed over Peter's career?","answer":"The biggest change Wachtel has observed is the dramatic shortening of product lifecycles. When he started, toys would stay on the market for 5-10 years, but now most products only last 6 months to a year. This shift has changed distribution strategies, with companies going directly to stores rather than through traditional distributors, making the market more competitive but also more accessible for new ideas."},{"question":"What advice does Peter give to aspiring inventors?","answer":"Wachtel emphasizes being willing to fail and not over-investing in patent protection initially. He suggests using provisional patents for basic protection, then showing ideas to as many companies as possible. Most importantly, inventors should let companies judge the merit of their ideas rather than claiming they have 'the best idea in the world.' He also stresses that successful products must solve real problems or fulfill genuine needs in the marketplace."}],"transcript":"Somewhere in your house there's a box\nyou haven't opened in years. Inside it\nis a toy you loved so much the paint\nwore off the edges. You probably never\nthought about the person who designed\nit. Someone did [music] though. They sat\nat a desk and imagined it for you. For\n30 years that person was Peter. In the\nmid-1990s he designed a superhero action\nfigure that became the number one seller\nin its line. Then he went bigger. He\nthemed the Batman and Viper roller\ncoasters at Six Flags Great Adventure.\nHe designed 500 products across toys,\nentertainment, and live experiences. One\nof his inventions even landed him on\nlate night television. Then in 2016 he\nwalked away from all of it. He took a\njob teaching shop class at a California\nhigh school. Today his students design\nfor Mattel, Universal Studios, and the\nSanta Barbara Zoo. Hundreds of them have\nmoved on to college. In 2023 his class\nbuilt the longest charcuterie board in\nthe world. It stretched over 204 feet.\nHe's in his 60s now finishing a\ndoctorate on Ikigai and the bridge\nbetween white collar and blue collar\ncareers. Peter, welcome. This is going\nto be a fun one.\nJohnny Johnny Peter Walktil joining us\nthis morning on Mornings in the Lab with\nKeith, John, and friends with the\nworld's biggest charcuterie board.\nWhat's up Peter Walktil? Hey, welcome\nKeith. Welcome John. Thank you for\nhaving me. That was quite an\nintroduction. I I I That's like a movie\ntheater like I couldn't believe it.\nThat's amazing.\n>> it's it's if if we like you you're going\nto get a good one. If we're going to\n[ __ ] with you you get a terrible one.\n>> [laughter]\n>> I love it. I love it. And you got a\nGuinness World Record shirt on. There\nyou go. That's awesome. And I got to\ntell you man Sophia got a new outfit on\nthis morning. We upped her budget. Her\nhair's looking great. Sophia's looking\nlike a smoke show this morning. So\nwelcome to the lab.\n>> to put her put her in\nsomething real risque, please. I I\nagree. Yeah, I think we got to push the\nlimits. Like yeah, totally do it. Yeah,\nyeah. Peter, where are you joining us\nfrom this morning? Oh, thank you. Thank\nyou for having me. So I I I'm not as\nbuff as John there. It looks like he\nworks out a little bit. I mean I don't\nknow\nI don't know if I got as much as he\ndoes, but I'm glad and you guys were\ntalking about dogs earlier. So\nI brought something along with me. I\ninvented this about a year and a half\nago. It's called Batter Batter Fetch and\nit's for dogs obviously. And it's got\nfoam balls in here. And you can shoot it\nlike you go like this and go\nWhoop, there you go. How how far will it\ngo?\nBut you can also throw it up in the air\nand bat it and then you don't have to\ntouch the ball. You just go and it goes\nsucks right in. So right there, Batter\nBatter Fetch. And I'm not trying to get\nany advertisement for the advertisement,\nbut I just thought, you know, I'm a toy\ndesigner.\n>> Brother, you [ __ ] better be trying to\nget some [ __ ] free advertising.\nWhat's wrong with you?\n>> [laughter]\n>> Well, you know, free advertising. Are\nyou guys looking\n>> What What hey how when you shoot that\nball how far does it go? It goes maybe\nlike 20 25\n>> What's up, Peter?\nAre you guys in Canada?\nI think Peter you're on I\nI can hear him. It's It's back to your\ngreat internet service, brother. No, I I\nI I'm good here, too. I I\nI'm fine.\nOkay. Can you guys hear me now?\nPeter Peter, where are you joining us\nfrom today? I'm in Camarillo,\nCalifornia.\nWhere is that? That is [snorts]\nif you know where Los Angeles is we're\nabout maybe 45 miles north of there.\nOkay.\nYeah.\n>> Which highway are you close to the 5 or\nor 101?\n>> 101 101\n>> Okay. Got you.\n>> Where are you guys at? Are you guys in\nCanada or where are you guys at?\nKeith is. I'm sure you can tell\nthe you know, the little weirdo. You can\nalways tell the Canadians.\n>> [snorts]\n>> How about them Sabres last night, you\nknow, beating the\n>> Oh, he dropped off. He's his I was just\nbusting his ass about internet and this\nand then this happened. I love it.\n>> [laughter]\n>> He did freeze. I swear I saw him freeze.\n>> I know he did. He's He freezes a lot. I\nkeep telling him get some better\nservice.\n>> Oh my gosh. So tell me about the\ncharcuterie board, brother. Oh, yeah.\nI'll tell you a little bit about that.\nSo basically like I designed toys and\nstuff, theme parks\n>> Well, actually let me rephrase that,\nbrother. How did you get the idea to\nmake the longest one to make a record\nout of it?\n>> Ah, now that's a good idea. I'll give\nyou an answer to that. So\na while back I won this prize this\nteaching prize from the Harbor Freight\nTools for Schools. And we got together\nover the summer in Colorado. And we were\njust thinking about what what's next\nwhat can we bring to our program? And\neven though I'm a you know,\narchitectural product design wood shop\nteacher I was thinking hmm\nlike what can we do in wood that's like\nworldwide that's like amazing. So I\nstarted thinking wood and then I just\nGoogled like Guinness World Record wood,\nyou know, and I'm like oh, look at that.\nThere's a charcuterie board. And I'm\nlike oh, that's pretty cool. So I call\ncutting board, but whatever. So then we\nstarted looking at it and I started\ncontacting Guinness and saying hey like\nwhat's the record? What's the you know,\ncriteria you got to follow? How long\ndoes it have to be? How thick does it\nhave to be? Why da da da da And then\nwhen I got back to school after the\nsummer asked my students to go hey, you\nguys want to do this? And interestingly\nenough we were redoing our new gym\nbleachers. So we took all the wood from\nour gym bleachers\nand\n>> Oh, so you repurposed. That's actually\n[ __ ] that's That's really cool. Yeah.\nAnd then the problem was is that\nGuinness isn't free. A lot of people\nthink oh, I just set a record and there\nyou go, but\nfor the Guinness likeness and all that\nfun stuff they came out to quite a bit\nof money. So we had to do a GoFundMe.\nBut I had to pay the money to do\n>> quick\nThat's interesting question. What does\nit take what do you have to pay to hold\na record in Guinness? It depends on what\nit is. I mean they have different tiers,\nbut we wanted, you know, an adjudicator\nto come down. We wanted official. We had\nto get an official like a measurer. So\nwe got the carpenters union down. So I\nhad all these contacts. We couldn't\nactually my school cafeteria couldn't\nactually make the food. We had to\nactually chop it up from another\nschool's culinary program, which was\nkind of interesting. Had it covered, you\nknow, so the birds don't come by and do\nthat. And then people couldn't eat right\noff of it. So we had to like give it to\nthem and stuff. Ended up being like 550\nlbs of food, but Jesus Christ. Yeah, it\nwas an undertaking, but This is like\nthat. This is like that almost like\nbuying a real expensive car. The buying\nit's the easy part. It's the [ __ ]\ntaking care of it that's the expensive\npart. So Yeah, the idea is\n>> you thought you were covered with the\nwood, but now all this other shit's\npopping up.\nNo, it it was a good chunk of change. It\nwas It mean there's all different things\nyou got to think about. You got to get\nthis, that, and the other thing. And but\nyeah, it all came together, repurposed\nthe board, put it together. 150 kids\nhelped make it. Got it down on the\nfootball field and it went from like end\nzone all the way to 35 on the other\nside. Oh, Jesus. So we're talking few\nhundred feet. 65 yards.\n[ __ ] What is that? 180\nalmost 200 feet. Yeah. [clears throat]\nA little bit little bit less than what\nJosh Allen could throw a football. He\ncould throw I think 75, but So\nhere's the question. Once you get the\nrecord what the [ __ ] do you do with it\nnow? Cut it up and make individual\n[laughter] boards out of it? Well, we\nate a lot of it and we had about two or\n300 people there. They took a lot home,\nate it there. Every little piece had\nactually be accounted for and taken\naway. You couldn't leave any. We gave\nsome\n>> No, no. I mean I mean the I'm I'm\ntalking about the board. I'm sure the\nfood was easy to get rid of. It's\n[laughter] [ __ ] food. But they got\nthis 200 [ __ ] 200 foot long\ncharcuterie. What do you cut it\nindividual? Everybody takes a piece or\nsomething? Well, that's that would be a\ngood idea. Well, actually what we did is\nafter it was done we did dismantle it\ncuz we couldn't have this one big tree\nthat's 65 yards long. So we did take it\napart and then the people that donated\nfor our funding and everything like that\nthey got a personalized charcuterie\nboard with their name on it Guinness\nWorld Record\n>> That's cool. Yeah, yeah.\nand we gave around two or 300 of those\naway. And then the rest of it we just\nrepurposed and we used for other things\nlike that. And then interestingly enough\nwe held the record for almost a year.\nBut then someone in Canada beat us. So\nwe had the record for almost a year, but\nThat's why I don't like the Canadians.\nGood morning.\nthis morning Johnny. I appreciate that\nwhile I was out getting his face [ __ ] so\nto speak. He fixed your internet. Hey\nJohnny,\nI I I found something. So Peter Walktil\nwas busy last week and I I don't know if\nhe's going to be talking about it this\nmorning. I I'm not sure if he's\ncomfortable talking about it, but John\nWell, Jimmy let's just put this on the\ntable, man, because I got to ask Peter\nabout this because Peter we caught you.\nJimmy, run the clip.\nA man replaced LEGO sets with pasta and\ngot $34,000 back from Target. 70 times.\nNobody checked the box. He weight\nmatched the pasta to the original LEGO\npieces so the box passed every quick\ncheck at the return counter. That's not\na scam. That's a logistic operation with\na pasta budget. Irvine PD called it off\nthe charts. We're getting into it.\nSo Peter, there's a dude wandering\naround United States who's buying LEGO\nboxes\ntaking them home building the LEGO\nJohnny with his smart brain and then\nputting all that positive energy and\nreplacing the box of LEGO with pasta.\nAnd then taking the box back to the\nstore and getting his money back. And\nthen all right, how much does a [ __ ]\nbox of LEGOs cost for God's sake?\n20 bucks? 10 bucks? No, we're we're\ntalking Peter probably talking hundreds,\nright? Like they're not cheap, but my\nthe point is Johnny back to what we said\nall the time. If this dude would take\nthat energy and put it into something\npositive\nhow well I I just want to take my arm\naround and say dude, go put this energy\nsomewhere else. Like Peter, what do you\nthink about this whole thing? What\nThis is ridiculous.\n>> I think that either he's a pasta chef\nand just needs to get rid of that extra\npasta or he's just a good Samaritan.\nMaybe he's trying to feed the homeless\nor something because he has to put the\npasta in there. Like if I was going to\ntake the LEGOs\nI wouldn't come back with a box full of\nnoodles, you know, but maybe maybe he's\ntrying to feed people secretly or\nGood morning these features. I got to\nadmit that what that\nyou have to admit it's actually pretty\nsmart it is actually pretty smart theft.\nLet's go and take the Legos and because\nany young person working at Walmart when\nyou take it back is not questioning\nwhether Peter has actually taken the the\nLego out and put it back in\n>> shake it. Yeah, you shake it sounds like\nLegos but they\nopen it up cuz sometimes they take the\nactual really cool characters like Darth\nVader or something like Yeah, yeah. Oh\nyeah.\nYeah, there was another thing that was\nin their system. I can't remember which\nbig store it was. Yeah.\nYou order it online. Yes. Gets\ndelivered. Yes.\nYou return it. Now if this item is under\na certain price, they just say keep it.\nWhat?\nBecause it's more expensive to take it\nback. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I know\nCostco's like that. I I People were\n[ __ ] people were like taking like\ntens of thousands of dollars\nmonthly and then what would happen is\nthe the system would catch on and just\n[ __ ] turn off their account.\nI I we I knew somebody who when I when\nthey told me this I was just I was\nactually appalled by it. They said,\n\"Yeah, we use our coffee machine we\nbought from Costco for whatever a couple\nyears and then when it broke we took it\nback and they didn't ask any questions.\"\nI'm like, \"What?\" Like that's just\n[ __ ] low-bro, man. Like that's just\ngreasy. That's absolutely greasy. Hey\nhey Peter.\nYou you pitched jump sticks, a scooter\npogo stick hybrid.\nYou are going to go panel of children\nlike not adults children on ABC's The\nToy Box. So I got to be honest, man.\nWhat's it like having your career like\nyour whole business evaluated by\neight-year-olds on national television?\nLike were you like, \"Oh yeah.\" Like did\nyou take it seriously or did you roll\nyour eyes and go, \"I'm just going to go\nwith it or what?\"\nWell, whatever you do in life you got to\nbe able to you know be willing to fail.\nYeah. So basically I had kids I have two\nkids they're a lot older now they're\nlike 20 and 18 now but at the time they\ndid they're like little scooters around,\nright? Yeah. And we [clears throat] had\na pogo stick as well and it just sort of\nhit me one day I go you want to be able\nto jump higher over the curb and stuff\nlike that, right? So I'm like, \"What if\nwe put a pogo stick as like the handles\nand you got a scooter?\" And it was\ninteresting enough idea, right? So they\ndid and we had kids jumping and\neverything that and it worked really\nwell. And then of course you know the\ntoy box and everything I tried this out\nand I'm a little bit heavier than a\nnine-year-old kid by like twice. All\nright, so maybe a little more and so it\ndidn't really work out. I actually fell\non national TV which was a nice little\nFun. Yeah,\nbut it was kind of a great experience. I\nmean it didn't go anywhere. I actually\nreached out to like Razer and a couple\ntoy companies but basically it was more\nof a an issue like with getting hurt and\nstuff like that but I love the idea like\nboing you could like go over the curb\nreally well and stuff like that but yeah\nand we so I got a question. So you got\nthe pogo stick you got the dog ball\nthrowing apparatus.\n>> [laughter]\n>> I got something better for you right\nhere. I was going to say yeah, I was\ngoing to say let's hear it. You you want\nyou got you've created 10 [ __ ]\nthings. What what tell about us all.\nYeah, all right. I'm going to give you\nmy best one. So Yeah, hold on hold on no\nno no no we won't hear about them all.\nAll right,\nall right, you ready for A? Well, let's\nstart with Q.\nSo a long time ago there was this\ncompany called Quirky, right? They were\nin New York City and they were basically\nHold on real quick. I'm sorry to\ninterrupt but how many is there because\nif if you got like 17 we're going to\nhave to give you like a a 15 second time\nlimit per explanation. Whatever there's\nlike six or seven. Okay.\n>> [laughter]\n>> All right, so here's the here's the one\nI'll show you. So I invented this thing\nit's called the Grill Wrangler\nand what it is is a barbecue tool but\nit's a three-in-one barbecue tool. So if\nyou like barbecuing that's really cool.\nBut basically it's a spatula, right? You\nuse your spatula. But then it's got this\nfork that slides out you know so you can\npoke your hot dogs or whatever and then\nif you do this\nit's tongs. So you can actually get this\non Amazon if you return it you won't get\nyour money back and keep it like you're\nsaying but it's called the Grill\nWrangler. What does that what does that\nretail for?\nAbout 20 25 bucks.\nThat's reasonable. Yeah. And there's a\nsmaller version which is this one and\nthen there's a bigger version it goes\nabout this big.\nBut it's been around about 10 or 15\nyears now.\nOkay, so that's number one we got six\nmore to go.\n>> [laughter]\n>> All right, here we go. So basically I\nwas a little kid I used to cut the lawn,\nright? That's what kids do. So I got in\ntrouble and I actually took my dad's\nlawnmower apart made a go-kart out of it\nand I think he's still mad at me now.\nBut basically got me very curious and\ncreative and stuff like that. So I went\nto design school and started working at\na toy company started F.A.O. Schwarz in\nNew York City and then went on to like\nTyco, Marvel, Six Flags, Jakks Pacific,\nMattel, Hasbro, Fisher-Price. But\nbasically designing toys from barbecue\ntools to dog toys. There was a Tonka\nroad constructor that was made in ooh\nthat was a long time ago as well. Got\nthe best toy of the year award. There\nwas X-Men and Spider-Man action figures\nwhen I worked at Marvel. Other vehicles\nwere really cool like that. I got to\nmeet really good movie stars and people\nthat worked on all these toys. At Six\nFlags you know designed the Viper Batman\nrides. That was cool because every\nmorning I didn't even need coffee. I was\non these roller coasters going down at\n6:00 a.m. like flying through and stuff\nlike that. But basically I didn't\nengineer them I designed all the theme\nand the graphics and the names and stuff\nlike that. But there was so many and\nthen there's like little things like\nthat. But action figures, vehicles,\ntoys, puzzles, everything you could\nthink of. And then basically I got into\nteaching because I wanted to share what\nI did and I taught at like different\ndesign schools across the country like\nPratt, Parsons, Otis Art Center.\nAnd then basically I said, \"Hey, what\nabout high school?\" cuz we drive by the\nhigh school and the kids were about to\ngo to high school. I said, \"Hey, high\nschool.\" and then high school. And then\nI started there about nine years ago. I\nsaid I want to do that same stuff so I\nteach my kids design. We work with toy\ncompanies like Mattel and Hasbro. We'll\ngo on field trips to BMW and I show them\nhow the whole industry works and right\nnow we're working on movie props and\nplay props for real companies and so\nthey get a real look into what the\nindustry could be like. It could be fun\nit's not just blue collar it could be\nwhite collar or a little bit of new\ncollar. So they love it. So I'm sort of\ntaking my creativity to the kids.\nIt's fun stuff. So you you held up the\nthe meat poker and the tongs and the\nthree-in-one and the dog thrower, right?\nYou have more [ __ ] that you can hold up\nor is that it?\n>> [laughter]\n>> I can see let's see what else we can get\nhere. So this is also a nice zombie tool\nas well. And if you can see in the\nbackground\nthere's some of my toys there there's\nthat Tonka road constructor up there\nwhich is really cool. Did you make that?\nYeah. Well, basically yeah it was made\nby Tonka so that's\n>> going to say it's a Tonka toy, yeah. So\nsome of this stuff you actually you\nactually was it like you were working\nfor these companies or you licensed it\nto them or or A little of everything. So\n>> [clears throat]\n>> Wow. As a matter of fact that was all me\nme my son came up with that long time\nago. I licensed this and invented it.\nSame with the Grill Wrangler. The Tonka\nthing I actually worked for a company\nand did that. So while I was employed at\ncompanies as like a creative director or\ndesigner I designed a lot of toys as\nwell. And there was a lot of like little\n>> [snorts]\n>> X-Men and Spider-Man action figures like\nhere's Venom you know he's saying good\nmorning to you guys. Oh yeah. Good\nmorning creatures. What's up?\nI like to So so the million dollar\nquestion is literally the million dollar\nquestion. Have any of these made\nmillions of dollars in your pocket? Uh\nso that's a that's a trade secret but I\ncould just say that I have a house I\nhave a wife I have two kids a dog a pool\nused to have a camper and I have a nice\ncar\nand\n>> Well, brother forgive me I know a lot of\nsecurity guards that have all that.\n>> [laughter]\n>> How does that work though, Peter? You\nyou you sell you get a licensing kind of\nfee? We don't need the number is that\nhow it kind of works though like you get\na percentage of sales? Yeah, but it's\nsort of like a lottery ticket. The\nreason I say this, Peter, is because I\nguarantee you there are people listening\ngoing, \"Fuck I have ideas. I want to try\nto bring it to market.\" So I'm just\ntrying to get a little bit of a road map\nhere and of course if they can glimpse\nit holy [ __ ] this [ __ ] guy made some\nbank. I need to [ __ ] stop being\nafraid of what people are going to say\nabout what I'm doing and just [ __ ] do\nit. All right, I'll give you a little\nbit of information with that. So\ninventing is like lottery ticket\nscratchers, right? Sometimes you win 50\nbucks sometimes you win five sometimes\nyou'll win the 500,000, right? So with\nlicensing or inventing you everybody has\nthat idea. So your idea might be good or\nnot. But one thing I suggest is\nprovisional patents they're like maybe\n110 bucks protect your idea for a year\nand then show it to as many companies as\nyou can but don't say that you have the\nbest idea in the world they'll be the\njudge of that because unless you're\ngoing to make it yourself and distribute\nit and sale and marketing and take\nreturns in and any lawsuits that might\ncome in companies are best suited for\nthis because they already have lawyers\nand traditional distribution everything\nset up, right? And they'll give you a\npercentage. Usually it's 5% if it's on\nTV 2.5 if it's just wholesale and via\nmail which isn't that much if you think\nabout it but if you had a Cabbage Patch\ndoll or a Furby that's millions of\ndollars. However, if you invent like 5\n10 15 20 things and here's the thing\nwith today's\n>> Yeah, and they're all and they're all\nmaking you a few grand a month you're\npretty [ __ ] happy. Yeah, it's not\nbad. I mean you're not a million\ntrillionaire but here's the thing in the\nolden days like when we were kids toys\nand products stayed on the market 5 10\nyears, right? Now the life cycle of any\ntoy or product is like you know six\nmonths to a year. So they don't usually\ngo through distributors.\nThey actually just give them to the\nstores first and if anybody tries to\nknock them off it doesn't matter because\nthe store space is already filled.\nSo you have six years to do it. So with\nthe barbecue tool made you know\ndefinitely six figures with the Better\nBatter Fetch not too bad but not as\nclose. But it's basically all about your\nidea who the company is and how they\nmarket it. And is it really fitting a\nneed to the world that's going to be\nawesome? Or is it just like Is it really\nsolving a problem? Yeah, exactly. And\nthen it's also like, you know, those\nthat Flurby or blanket that you would\nused to wear that was like a robe\nblanket. I mean, it's little funny ideas\nlike that, million to dollars.\nSo even if you get 5, 20%, it's awesome.\nBut if you do yourself, it's going to be\nall that money up front and you might or\nmight not make it. So, but I say if you\nhave ideas, go for them. I mean, you\nnever know. But just don't spend\nmillions of dollars or thousands of\ndollars on patents and protection.\nJust get\n>> Yeah, don't try to protect something\nthat has no value.\nWell, there's a lot of people don't know\nthat cuz they believe that don't give up\nin your idea. So, I'm just going to keep\npouring money into it. And it comes to a\npoint it's like, \"Dude, what are you\ndoing?\"\nBut I see it all the time. So, let's\ntalk about that green that that fetch\nfetch puff puff, whatever that thing is\nfor the dog.\nI'm thinking puff puff pass. That's what\nI do. I'm going to say Keith turned it\ninto a [ __ ] joint. Yeah, [laughter]\npuff puff pass.\nWhen when when you put that thing\ntogether, you and your son, like are are\nyou like when you first put the the\noriginal one, are you finding parts\naround the house and creating something\nbefore you go to like get plastic molds\nand all that? Like talk us through like\nthe expense of creating the prototype.\nYeah, no, that that's a great question.\nSo,\nback when my kid was a little kid, he\nwas hitting the ball around and stuff\nlike that. And you know, kids have so\nmany toys. So, next to it was like a\nNerf foam gun, right? So, I'm thinking\nthat's interesting. So, he's just\nhitting the ball with a Wiffle bat and\nhe gets his foam gun. So, what I did is\nI basically sawed apart the Wiffle bat,\nstuck the Nerf gun like components into\nthe bat, and then basically it worked\nlike a Nerf gun. But then you could also\nhit the ball up in the air and hit it\nlike that. And I showed it around to a\nbunch of companies, right? Cuz I was\nconnected to the toy company, I'm in the\nindustry, they know me. Nothing.\nCrickets. They're like, \"Nah, whatever.\"\nAnd then like since I've been teaching,\nI said, \"Oh, I got I got probably 23\nideas that I have that I think would\nstill be viable.\"\nSo, maybe 3 years ago, I started sending\nit around again. And they had interest\nin them. I'm like, \"Why?\" They're like,\n\"Maybe it's just the timing.\" So, this\none company, Jazwares in Florida, they\npicked it up. They tested out. They got\nsome market feedback. They liked it a\nlot. And it took about 2 [clears throat]\nyears to get to market, but\nthey reproduced it, prototyped it, made\nthe whole mold and everything, and then\nthey sold it. And it was it worked out\nfairly good, but some things take some\ntime. Some things\n[clears throat and cough]\ntake 15 years.\nBut what was cool is that it was all\nbased on my dog, Miko, here. I don't\nknow if you can see it. He's a Japanese\nAkita. Oh, yeah. Yeah. He's a he's\nawesome. But he just passed away,\nunfortunately. Oh, sorry to hear about\nthat.\nHe was like one of the inspirations for\nit because [clears throat] he liked his\nballs and he got to eat them and chase\nthem and stuff.\nSo, it's really cool.\nAwesome. Peter Walkto, Keith Billis,\nJohn Anderson this morning at Mornings\nwith Al live with Keith, John and\nfriends. Hey Peter, do you got actually\na few minutes to hang out with us this\nmorning or do you got to rock and roll\nout of here? I got a few minutes. We're\ngoing to do this. We're going to do a\nreset on hour two. We're going to come\nback So, we're going to do a lifestyle\ntip with Anderson, reset hour two. We're\ngoing to keep the conversation going on\nwith Dr. Peter Walkto, Dr. Peter Walkto,\nthe doctor the the the workshop dude.\nAnd our our our good old Miss Peaches\nsays, \"I swear Peter's neighbors must\nlove him.\" And I'm thinking that they're\nalways looking at their window going,\n\"What's Peter inventing today?\" Would\nthat be fair to say?\nFor some part. I mean, you know, if it\nthere's sort of like like if you were my\nwife, he's like, \"I'm tired of hearing\nabout it.\"\nOh, yeah. I guess, right? Yeah, but or\nthey say, \"Hey, I have this idea. Let me\nshow you.\" And I'm like,\nYeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's like\nthat's like the guy that That's like the\nguy that says every time you see him,\n\"Hey, can I tell you a joke?\" Yeah,\nyeah. Yeah, I don't want to hear about\nthe [ __ ] German guy and the Polish\nguy and the American guy one more time.\nNo, I don't want to hear your joke.\nThat's like if you lived next to Wayne\nGretzky, he'd say, \"Hey, look at this\nslap shot I just did.\" You know?","conversationTopics":[],"images":[{"url":"https://pub-176ab0b7668b46259a6c72d4ad146d40.r2.dev/announcement-cards/1781431149785-b4bbe5f4ebaa-peter-wachtel-announcement-47f3e1cb.png","label":"Announcement card","description":"Pre-show shareable graphic generated by the Authority Page Builder.","type":"announcement_card"},{"url":"https://pub-176ab0b7668b46259a6c72d4ad146d40.r2.dev/story-plates/1781431154720-c83a674f2c29-peter-wachtel-plate-1-7556e783.png","label":"CAREER TRANSITION","description":"","type":"story"},{"url":"https://pub-176ab0b7668b46259a6c72d4ad146d40.r2.dev/story-plates/1781431177637-215c8a95c2a0-peter-wachtel-plate-2-8b4aa557.png","label":"GUINNESS WORLD RECORD","description":"","type":"story"},{"url":"https://pub-176ab0b7668b46259a6c72d4ad146d40.r2.dev/story-plates/1781431199099-056bcac4a127-peter-wachtel-plate-3-ce763c84.png","label":"INVENTION REALITY","description":"","type":"story"},{"url":"https://pub-176ab0b7668b46259a6c72d4ad146d40.r2.dev/story-plates/1781431222005-675c2d0c7690-peter-wachtel-plate-4-04e9f8de.png","label":"PRACTICAL ADVICE","description":"","type":"story"},{"url":"https://pub-176ab0b7668b46259a6c72d4ad146d40.r2.dev/story-plates/1781431246326-c34d495e19a7-peter-wachtel-plate-5-278b7d12.png","label":"STUDENT IMPACT","description":"","type":"story"},{"url":"https://pub-176ab0b7668b46259a6c72d4ad146d40.r2.dev/story-plates/1781431269415-5f845e83b793-peter-wachtel-plate-6-f920ba6e.png","label":"DESIGN PHILOSOPHY","description":"","type":"story"},{"url":"https://pub-176ab0b7668b46259a6c72d4ad146d40.r2.dev/story-plates/1781431292952-1d27c4b51684-peter-wachtel-plate-7-460cba8f.png","label":"INDUSTRY EVOLUTION","description":"","type":"story"},{"url":"https://pub-176ab0b7668b46259a6c72d4ad146d40.r2.dev/story-plates/1781431316210-802d02b54203-peter-wachtel-plate-8-a3b20686.png","label":"FAILURE ACCEPTANCE","description":"","type":"story"}],"livingPortrait":"","heroVideo":"","heroPoster":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MIP1trybCDQ/maxresdefault.jpg","storyVideo":"","mediaKit":"","sourceUrl":"https://guestengine.live/profile/peter-wachtel","publishedAt":"2026-04-25T13:35:38.560Z","publicationStatus":"published","canonicalUrl":"https://mornings.network/shows/center-stage/guests/peter-wachtel","verifiedVideos":[{"status":"available","videoId":"MIP1trybCDQ","title":"Peter Wachtel: He Designed Toys for Batman & Universal, Then Left It All to Teach Shop Class","channel":"Mornings in the Lab with Keith, Jon & Friends LIVE","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/@MorningsintheLab","thumbnail":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MIP1trybCDQ/hqdefault.jpg","verifiedAt":"2026-10-04T00:40:24.333155+00:00","evidence":"https://www.youtube.com/oembed?format=json&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIP1trybCDQ"}]}