When Doug Richardson took over RAD Video in 1993, it was by his own admission a "little shell of a company" that had four years under its belt. The odds were stacked against a fifth anniversary.
"They had produced seven titles and it was just a mail order company, and it had kind of dwindled down to almost nothing," he recalls. "And I took it over with a really small mailing list, and when I started it I took it out of the office it was in and moved it into my house."
With a bedroom as an office and the garage as the shipping department, RAD had two employees: Richardson and his roommate, who handled day-to-day responsibilities. Richardson concentrated mostly on the mail order business. But then three years brought three key developments: 1995 saw the jump to the Internet with the start of RAD's own website, 1998 brought a new office space and the hiring of a new employee, and 1999 resulted in the company's first original production, The American Way.
"I was completely surprised when I did my first catalog as to the number of people that sent in money for videos," Richardson says. "I think in my second catalog, I got a fifteen-hundred-dollar order and it just blew me away. It was at that time I saw the potential."
Directed by Kevin Clarke, the production garnered critical acclaim and led to equally successful sequels. "We’ve always distributed our own titles," says Richardson. "We’ve never let that out of our own hands because we felt we knew best how to sell our own stuff. We did very with The American Way. I think in the first couple years we sold over eight thousand units."
Also garnering attention were Richard Morgan's California Gold films, as well as Ashton Ryan's B-Boys and A Dream Come True, which picked up multiple GAYVN Awards nominations in 2002 and won for Best Sex Comedy. The film also was noteworthy for its early career appearances of Brad Benton, Court Logan, and Anthony Holloway.
"During that time we became very highly recognized as a twink niche film company: very young, very cute twinkie-looking boys," says Tony Tom, sales/ marketing manager. "I think our company was one of the first that started that whole twink sensation. I would venture to say that we were right in the forefront of that."
Friends with Benefits is the latest hit from RAD, but the company has a lot more on its plate than just video production. The RAD Video website has taken on a life of its own, providing an endless library of virtually every title available.
"We call our website a portal for gay porn, kind of more of an all-around informational site instead of just a sales site," says Richardson, who insists on unbiased, honest reviews of films by the site's own reviewers. "We kind of pride ourselves on getting honest reviews back, so honest that we’ve had many producers and studios call us up screaming at us because of a review that wasn’t favorable."
The site also offers toys, books, images, interviews, columns, newsletters, and a new Video-On-Demand service that started last year through an affiliate program with Maleflixxx. The site also offers straight porn, as well as mainstream gay cinema and box office films, which will get a new home with the upcoming site MajesticVideo.com. "And we get hundreds of new requests every month, adding to our mailing list, for our monthly print catalog, which is available for free," notes Tom. "That is something else a lot of other companies don't do."
In addition, RAD started taking on distribution duties for other companies in late 2004, starting with Exotic Productions and Orange Juice Studios, and recently adding the Triumvirate Group line of studios, with hopes of more on the way. "That’s what we’re focusing on now, is to turn into more of a full-fledged distributor," says Richardson.
The company will also be beefing up its own productions, with plans to launch a Euro RAD line by September. The company hopes to release one feature a month between American and overseas fare, and a Brazilian director could also enter the mix.
"I think our immediate goals are to build our distribution channels, the number of titles that we distribute for other companies. And long-term goals, it's just staying up with the technology, keeping our customers happy and just offering what our customers want," says Richardson. "We're a one-stop shop. That's what our customers love. That’s one of the ways we kind of stand apart from other companies in the industry. We’re not like Falcon or Titan or any single studio. At RAD, we sell everything."
And it's the wealth of product on the site that has enabled the company to grow from a bedroom/ garage operation into one of the biggest players in the business.
"If it’s out there, we can get it for you," says Tom. "One of the things that we pride ourselves on at RAD is, we're glad to offer what the customer wants and try not to judge their buying decisions. If they want it and we can get it for them, we'll be happy to do that for them."
Contact Info: RADvideo.com; 800-722-4336.
