Page 55 - AVN June 2015

“I also find it interesting because as a tech entrepreneur, what I’m seeing is the way that New York is developing as a
center of tech and entrepreneurial activity to rival Silicon Valley, but developing in a very different way … The reason the
New York tech industry is so thriving and vibrant and different from Silicon Valley is because in the Bay Area everybody
The big thing with
New York is that
works in tech. Here, New York is the center of many, many different industries, all juxtaposed and cross-pollinating and
feeding each other. New York is the financial center—Wall Street. It’s the center of the ad industry—Madison Avenue. It’s
the center of fashion—the Fashion District. And all of those industries feed each other. Talent crosses over, and together they
form a very inspiring, stimulating environment that means that you have really interesting tech start-ups coming out of New
York. … And what is happening here in New York in the adult world is really interesting—really innovative ventures, and
content, and creations that I think are a function of the inspiring, stimulating New York environment that they come out of.”
“Both within the New York tech community and the New York adult venture community and creative community,”
continues Gallop, “is a real desire to competitively collaborate, to help lift everybody up in a way that lifts every one of us up.
And I think that’s something that happens when you are operating in an environment that has people from many different
industries coming together and bringing many different skills and talents to the table, versus a monolithic tech industry.”
Like many cities, however, New York’s skyrocketing real-estate market makes it difficult to make a living as an artist.
Photographer Nate “Igor” Smith moved to New York City in 2006 and regularly photographs New York’s party and music
scene, as well as members of America’s porn community in portraits and event photos on his site DrivenByBoredom.com.
Responding to questions by email, Smith writes, “I have wanted to live in New York City since I was a little kid. I was
managing a band at the time and we were in New York nearly every other weekend. So it just made sense to finally make
the move. I used to take photos constantly, but New York was the first place where people wanted to pay to see them. The
parties were really crazy when I first move to New York, so shooting them was not only inspiring, but also people actually
wanted to see the photos, instead of the photos I was shooting of my friends and their bands in D.C. and Richmond,
Virginia, where I had lived previously.”
“I think the big thing with New York is that it’s pretty hard to live there,” says Smith, “and that forces people to dedicate
themselves to their passions. No one wants to work three jobs just to pay rent and then not focus on their dreams. When
I moved to New York City I was a busboy and every second I wasn’t at that horrible fucking job I was trying to make it as a
photographer so I wouldn’t have to work so hard to live in a small apartment in Brooklyn.”
Asked how the city has changed since the adult industry made it home in the ’70s and ’80s, Smith responds, “The city is
so immeasurably different, but it’s still sort of the same story. People used to come to New York and they could afford to live
in lower Manhattan because crime was so high and there was a sense of community. You could live cheaply on one or two
bar shifts and then spend your time making art—and everyone lived within a mile of everyone else making art. But unlike
other places where you can live cheaply, it’s still hard to live. And if you aren’t living your dreams, why put up with the rats
and roaches and crime? You have to be doing something you love or you have to get out of the city. Otherwise it’s just not
worth it.”
Meanwhile, Miss Vera’s Finishing School for Boys Who Want To Be Girls continues to provide a supportive, fun, and
innovative space for cross-dressing explorers. “It’s really pretty,” says Vera about the academy. “We’ve really created kind
of a magical space here.… And there’s a lot of energy in this room. There’s been a lot of people who have shared their very
it’s pretty hard to
live there, and that
forces people
to dedicate
themselves to their
passions.
—Nate “Igor” Smith
intimate parts of themselves and a lot
of emotion, and a lot of fun.”
Vera continues, ”When I need more
room I’ll rent a larger rehearsal studio.
Or I always say: The whole city is our
campus. Because New York is a wonder-
ful place to just go all around and
explore and be who you want to be.”
The Future
City life is supposed to appear small
when looking down on it from great
heights. But standing on the top of
Rockefeller Center on the last day of
my New York visit, Manhattan feels
grand, majestic, and wonderfully
overwhelming. Looking south, the
1930s-era Empire State Building lords
over middle Manhattan, while the
new Freedom Tower gracefully curves
upward toward the clouds above
downtown. In between, millions of life
stories swirl in motion—intersecting,
collaborating, innovating or simply co-
existing, but always in a constant state
of change.
Annie Sprinkle earned her doctorate
in human sexuality and moved away
from New York to the West Coast
years ago, but she tells me of her time
in New York, “I’m from the world of
porn. That’s where I grew up. Those
were all my wonder years. That’s
where I learned how to do press and
filmmaking and performance. … So
New York definitely informs what I do
now [which] is all about eco-sexuality
(SexEcology.org).”
Sharing her thoughts on New York’s
future, she says: “I wish there was an
archive somewhere that can keep the
>>
Shooting to Thrill Photographer Nate Smith,
whose work appears on DrivenByBoredom.com,
pictured with adult star Bonnie Rotten and
actress Malice McMunn.
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