How Oprah made this Las Vegas business a viral sensation

A stain on Oprah Winfrey’s pants turned this Las Vegas company’s business around.

After getting a stain on her white pants from eating half a Snickers bar while waiting backstage to see “The Picture of Dorian Gray” on Broadway in June, costume manager Scott Fisher knew what to do. Fisher pulled out Stingray Spot Remover and, in real time, the stain disappeared.

Stingray Clean, founded in 2014 by John-Paul Daluz, is a small business based in Las Vegas. The company is known for its spot remover product, which had been quietly used by industry giants to clean wardrobes, until Oprah.

Oprah posted a video of the mishap and subsequent solution from Fisher, making the spot remover a viral sensation, which then died down a few months later.

That was until Oprah chose the product for her “Oprah’s Favorite Things 2025” list in November, changing Daluz and his family’s life forever. Since then, Daluz and his product have appeared on “Good Morning America’s Deals and Steals,” “ABC World News Tonight with David Muir” for its “Made in America” segment and it continues to gain traction through social media.

“Oprah started this entire chain reaction, and she’s still helping me,” Daluz said. “I mean, it’s unbelievable. I get calls from Adam Glassman (creative director of Oprah Daily) just to call and check in on me.”

Founding of Stingray Clean

Daluz was born and raised in Las Vegas as one of seven kids, growing up near Palace Station.

Daluz said he grew up “kind of poor,” and to deal with the stains of everyday life, his dad made his own laundry detergent instead of buying it. This same formula is what inspired the formula of Stingray Spot Remover.

And his father runs as a common thread throughout the business, being founded the same year he passed away: 2014. He even borrowed the name of his company from the travel baseball team his father coached, the Southern Nevada Stingrays.

“When he passed away, I just took his formula and kind of made it industrial,” Daluz said.

For years, the product has been quietly used in the costume industry, including places like the Wynn wardrobe department, Cirque du Soleil and Broadway’s Manhattan Wardrobe Supply.

“It takes makeup out really well. It takes wine out really well,” Daluz said. “That’s why people in show business and wardrobe really love the product.”

The spot remover is completely nontoxic, said Daluz, made out of 96 percent water, with no added scents. His wife said she’s even seen him drink it.

Small business to sensation

When Oprah first wanted to talk about the product, her team told Daluz to have 100,000 bottles ready, so he had to take out a loan. But that was a one-time thing.

On a recent Friday, John-Paul, his wife, Erika, and a group of their closest friends work together to pack orders. It’s a family affair, with co-workers, high school best friends and their kids helping to pack orders to go all around the country.

“It’s just getting faster and faster and more and more and more,” said Daluz in their 2,500-square-foot warehouse they are quickly outgrowing.

Daluz has a focus on sourcing locally and keeping the business in Las Vegas. His labels are printed down the street from their warehouse, gallon barrels come from a Henderson company, down to lunch ordered from a local business every day.

“I try to get every single thing that I make from Las Vegas or as close as possible,” said Daluz.

That morning, they received three giant orders: The first email was for 24 pallets, the second was for a pallet to Louisville and a third email was for five cases to a clothing company.

Not ready to quit his day job, Daluz still works at a fine-dining restaurant in Caesars Palace called Guy Savoy, saying, “I don’t want to let my customers down there.” That morning, his chef from the restaurant was helping pack orders, and many other co-workers have helped in the past.

“It’s all day, every day, 7 a.m. to midnight,” said Daluz, who got to the warehouse at 6:45 a.m. that day. “Then I’m leaving here at 2 p.m. to go home, shower and then go to work until midnight at Guy Savoy.”

John-Paul’s wife and co-owner, Erika Daluz, sits at a desk in the corner with a crib in front of her, making calls to people to assist in their orders.

“Our demographic is women 55 and older who don’t know how to use the internet,” Erika Daluz jokes. “So I just call them, and they’re like, ‘Wow, you’re calling me.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, I love to talk to people.’”

Shortly after, John-Paul walks over to Erika while she reminds him of his social engagements for that Sunday. They have a birthday brunch, and she bought tickets to Enchant. He asks about Saturday, to which she responds, “Nothing. You can come here all day if you want.”

The Daluzes have a busy social schedule alongside their booming business, with a 9-month-old at home and Erika’s two children, 10 and 13, from a previous marriage.

“That’s our life,” said Erika Daluz. “Like, no, you have this, this and this.”

She is also not ready to give up her day job as a real estate agent, closing on four houses last month. Even with the hustle and bustle, Erika and John-Paul say the whole experience has been “amazing.”

The couple and company have multiple other engagements coming up to showcase the product, with the spot remover in the hands of “dozens” of A-list celebrities, said John-Paul Daluz. There are also plans to launch more products that are currently under wraps.

“This doesn’t happen all the time. That Oprah went and did this,” said Erika Daluz.

And even during those long days at the warehouse, everyone can look up at the picture of John-Paul’s father to remind them of where they started.

Contact Emerson Drewes at edrewes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @EmersonDrewes on X.