Originally published on The Post & Courier. 

Investors on ABC's ‘Shark Tank’ shocked as man strips naked to pitch company doing business in Charleston

By Dave Munday [email protected]  May 12, 2017

The savvy investors on ABC's "Shark Tank" were shocked to see a man strip naked for a pitch from a company that does business in Charleston.

The show that includes Wine & Design is set to air at 9 p.m. today.

Wine & Design, billed as a "paint and sip" experience, is based in Raleigh and has locations in Mount Pleasant, West Ashley and Summerville.

Patrons drink and chat while painting. In some cases, such as bachelorette parties or Ladies Night Out, the subject is an attractive male model in the buff, according to Heather Speizman of Mount Pleasant, the company's marketing director. That was the premise behind the naked man on "Shark Tank."

"Mark Cuban's reaction was epic," she said.

He buried his head in his hands, but the women were more enthusiastic. Their reaction can be seen in a brief preview that ABC released a couple days ago. The model, identified as Richard, is strategically placed behind a pineapple for the TV viewers.

Speizman is not allowed to say whether the investors gave them any money but seemed to be in a good mood as she was heading up to the office in Raleigh to watch the show with colleagues Friday.

Wine & Design was founded in 2010 and includes 75 franchises in 15 states. A variety of programs caters to various interests.

They got on the show after founder and CEO Harriet Mills sent the producers an email. The segment was taped in Los Angeles in October. Mills and husband Patrick make the main pitch on the show, with Speizman assisting.

They posted more reactions on their Twitter feed @wineandesignhq and Facebook page at wndcorporate.