BEAR THAT SWEARS TALKING TRASH SELLS FOR TRENDY NEW TEDDY.

Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer

At first glance, he's a pretty cute little bear, huggable and furry. The perfect Valentine's Day treat.

But there's more to Ballsy Bear. Oh yes, much more.

``When you squeeze a teddy bear, you expect him to say `Oh, I wuv yoooou,''' said Victoria Fraser, co-creator of the stuffed toy, adopting a saccharine tone.

Ballsy's choice phrases are a little different, however. Give his tummy a squeeze and you'll be treated to raspy growls of ``I got your warm and fuzzy right here'' and ``God, you're a moron,'' among nearly two dozen other less-printable sentiments.

The trash-mouthed toy has already hit stores in limited release and is selling well in his public debut. Haunting the shelves of local specialty shops such as THEM! at Universal CityWalk and Aahs!, the bear's story is just as colorful as his vocabulary.

Born out of the creative minds of Fraser, a former Disney Channel executive, and her husband, Marc Weinberg, the bear is the love child of a legacy begun when the two were laid off from their high-paying dot-com jobs in recent months.

Weinberg received his pink slip as managing editor of the schedule planning Web site Event411.com last December. Fraser followed him into unemployment in early January, losing her position at Paymybills.com

``With the Internet, people thought, `If you build it, they will come,''' Fraser said. ``There was no tangible product though, and that's where a lot of sites got into trouble.''

Thus, the couple, collaborative partners for nearly a decade, decided to create something that people could actually get their arms around. And Ballsy proved to be just the thing. Conceived as a party gag, Ballsy rapidly grew into a $20,000 investment for his first run of 1,000 units.

``The day I got laid off, I started making calls to find a toy maker,'' Weinberg said. ``The downside is that we could lose a couple thousand bucks. The upside is that we might have this year's Bigmouth Billy Bass.''

The duo is hoping to tap into the off-color phenomenon that has a stranglehold on popular culture. With pro wrestling and programs such as MTV's ``Jackass'' at their apex, Weinberg and Fraser are gambling that Ballsy's time in the spotlight is now.

And the same critical cry that has attacked the other gross-out outlets has also hit the cursing critter.

``This would fall into the same category as pornography,'' said Harold Kassarjian, adjunct professor of marketing for California State University, Northridge. ``It's an example of somebody who would do anything to make a fast buck.''

Nonetheless, consumer response has been positive in the first week. According to Todd Berhorst, manager of THEM!, 20 percent of the inventory has sold since Ballsy debuted. Not bad, considering he's on a shelf nearly seven feet off the ground, kept out of reach of youngsters.

``He's kind of a stretch for us, but we decided to take a chance on him,'' he said. ``So far, so good.''

The jury remains out on whether it will catch fire as a Valentine's Day gift. Most shoppers seem to have the same response - initial suspicion followed by a gradual warming to Ballsy's lecherous lingo.

``Man, this thing would go over like a lead balloon with my girlfriend,'' said Bernie Maxian, 28, a Los Angeles musician.

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(color) BALLSY