Page 88 - AVN January 2016

COMPANY PROFILE | |By J.C. Adams
Agent Talks State of Gay Porn Webcams, dad bods among current hot trends
to realize that 10, 12 years ago it was all about that clean-cut Falcon
look,” he says. And then, “all of sudden, maybe seven or eight years
ago, tattoos were in. Tattoos and a rougher edge were the thing.” That
particular trend had seen a dramatic reversal. Edgy is out, along with a
brief obsession with the metrosexual or plucked-and-manicured “Jersey
Shore” look. “Studios are leaning away from tattoos. It’s the same thing
with pubic hair and chest hair. Try to tell a model (today), ‘You need
to keep your chest hair!’ I just kind of shrug. ‘We’ve told you five times
(if) you have no pubic hair, you’re not getting any shoots. We’ve told
you five times not to get a tattoo across your forehead.’”
If you’re sporting a hairy chest and a fit “dad bod” physique, you’re
more likely to get cast today. “A pretty face and a hairy chest,” says
Andrew, citing Landon Mycles, Colby Jansen and recently announced
Falcon exclusive Tegan Zayne as examples. “A little bit of a dad bod
going on. A little bit of chest hair, body hair and not covered head-to-
toe in tattoos.”
GAYVN
“More kink markets, more webcam and more gonzo.” In
particular, he sees continued rapid growth for webcams.
“I talk to people about webcams every single day.
When the boys are complaining that there’s no money
(in video), I tell them, ‘Go to webcamming.’ If you’re
going to sit at home doing nothing, then why not turn
on your webcam? I have one guy that’s an artist and he
paints pictures while he’s on webcam. If they want him
to get naked, he’ll do it.”
He also notes telephone services, similar to phone
sex lines of yore, where “customers can dial in and talk
to a porn star” as another burgeoning field of growth
for gay adult performers. “I’m doing research into that.
There are private phone numbers and private extensions
for porn stars (who) put themselves on schedules. It’s
kind of neat. It’s just audio, no video.”
Talent manager Howard Andrew
interrupts a recent phone
conversation with the following
jobs (in straight porn). Sexuality isn’t as much of an issue.
announcement: “As I’m sitting here
in the parking lot, Scott Riley is
mooning me. He’s mooning me.”
”“Straight guys are finding trouble getting jobs and keeping
There’s not as much of a stigma” around being
The lighthearted moment occurs
perceived as gay or having gay sex.
just as Andrew was chastising
himself for putting a negative spin
—Howard Andrew, talent manager, FabScout Entertainment
on questions that had been posed
to him as the industry’s leading
talent agent; he insists that getting
mooned by one of his models is
more indicative of his day-to-day
experience.
The number of male performers
repped by Andrew’s FabScout
Entertainment currently hovers
around 60—half the number from
Andrew is also seeing far more male models who do not view having
sex with other men as a particular obstacle for making money, citing an
even “50/50 split” in his current roster between models who identify
as gay or bisexual and those who are straight, which is “way more than
it used to be,” he says. “The straight guys are finding trouble getting
jobs and keeping jobs (in straight porn). Sexuality isn’t as much of an
issue. There’s not as much of a stigma” around being perceived as gay
or having gay sex.
When considering market trends, Andrew predicts more fracturing
with niche (and sub-niche) product becoming even more sought-after.
just a few years ago, which he
attributes to ongoing industry
contraction as more and more
studios close, merge with larger
companies or go dormant. He
sees that trend continuing; there
simply aren’t enough scenes being
produced to support a larger
roster on a consistent basis. Even
with a reduced roster, he wearily
Andrew grimly notes the seismic changes wrought
by social media and believes the commonly accepted
practice of giving away free content in order to lure
paying customers to a membership or paysite is going
to have to change. “Twitter and Facebook have made
porn stars (too) accessible to the general population,”
he says. “Everyone puts out links to their free porn and
everyone sees it and they don’t want to buy it.”
The same issues threaten his livelihood. “Social
media has made it so easy for models to contact studios
directly that we’ve almost put ourselves out (of work),”
he says. However, “studios get a ton of emails every
day. They don’t look at all the emails. When a model is
doing three or four or five scenes, and trying to juggle
a school schedule and a work schedule and a shoot
schedule, it becomes a lot for some of these guys and
they do need assistance. Some of them are very, very
capable of handling all of their own bookings. Others—“
he breaks off, laughing. “Some of them do need help.”
His agency can be found online at FabScout.com.
describes “[dozens] of phone calls
[from models] yelling that you’re
not getting them work. I’m doing
the best I can!” (He also cites
professional ennui for a smaller
talent roster: “I’m getting older
and I’m getting tired and I have
less patience for it,” he adds with a
chuckle, noting that FabScout marks
its 15th anniversary next year.)
Keeping up with current trends is
an ongoing challenge. “Models have
88 | AVN.com | 1.16
Among the male performers repped by FabScout Entertainment are Aspen (top), Brayden Allen (above,
left) and Scott Riley (above, right).