Before PAW Patrol and Hatchimals, there was Earth Buddy — a pantyhose stocking filled with grass seed and saw dust. Everyone loves a good toy story, and Spin Master‘s starts there.
Spin Master: The Great Canadian Toy Story was released in 2014 to celebrate the company’s 20th anniversary. Produced and directed by Summer Love and Jane Michener, the 42-minute documentary film has been available to view on Netflix in Canada since 2017, but until recently it hadn’t been available to a global audience. As the toymaker celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, the film has been made available in its entirety on the company’s official YouTube channel so viewers worldwide can watch it.
Spin Master was founded in 1994 by two childhood friends, Ronnen Harary and Anton Rabie, soon after graduation from The University of Western Ontario. Ben Varadi, a classmate of Anton’s from The University of Western Ontario’s Richard Ivey School of business, joined the company later that year.
Spawning from a $10,000 investment in 1994, the company saw year-over-year gross product sales rise 3.1% last year to $1.7 billion. Additionally, Spin Master’s philanthropic arm, Toy Movement, continues to bring joy to children in dangerous parts of the world.
