After a late night at the HustlaBall, many exhibitors, models and fans came in with little sleep on the final day at the 2007 GAYVN Expo Saturday morning, but that didn’t have an impact on everyone’s enthusiasm.
Models were once again in full force for the studios, attracting plenty of attention from fans, both gay and straight.
“The experience was fun,” said Channel 1 superstar Benjamin Bradley, who recently moved to Las Vegas. “I was here last year at the Expo for the first time, and I didn’t know what to expect, especially over in the straight section — it’s a little crazy. Here it’s a little more tame, depending on what time of day it is. It’s been fun. It’s a lot to look at, a lot to take in. The part I like is just meeting people, and there are a lot of women that come over. Earlier I had a bride-to-be and her bridesmaids, and they wanted lap dances. It was a lot of fun.”
Bradley, a GAYVN Performer of the Year nominee, has made 11 films to date (nine for Channel 1), with his image being the eye-catching visual of the Channel 1 booth and banners.
“That’s flattering to hear,” he said, adding that performing in the parties as a dancer has been his favorite part of the experience. “It’s like every weekend I’m pretty much on the road traveling, doing dance gigs. And that’s my favorite part, I just love doing it and love wearing my fun underwear and my boots, and I love dancing.”
Over at the Helix Studios booth, a flurry of cameras and microphones surround the three models and attracted plenty of eyes.
“It’s been going well. The Howard Stern film crew was interviewing us for one of the shows. They asked our sexual preference and what we like to do in our real lives as well as on camera,” said Mason Coxx with a laugh and smile.
The ChaosMen.com models continued to draw onlookers at the 1 Distribution booth, while two booths down the StraightCollegeMen.com models kept a largely female audience entertained. Titan and Hot House also continued to attract large crowds.
“It’s been a good show. It’s been great for networking,” said Hot House President Steven Scarborough. “It’s been a little fan-lite in the gay division, but we get to spend a lot of time here with our peers, our fellow producers, which I think is invaluable because it brings us all together at least once a year. We’re all friendly competitors, and I think this helps foster that spirit of friendliness, so it doesn’t get to be too fierce between us. We’ve had a good showing, the boys have held up pretty well, and they’ve had a good time.”
Scarborough noted surprise that some straight attendees still seemed to be uncomfortable wandering back to the gay corner of the Expo floor.
“I hear they’re going to move us up a little bit next year. That will be interesting, not just for us but to see how the straight people react around us. Because even though we’re in 2007, sometimes it amazes me that there’s still that division. But it’s been a good show, and we’ve had fun doing it.”
While COLT didn’t have any models at its booth, that didn’t stop business.
“It’s a very interesting show, a little different from last year, a little more business-driven,” said Sales Coordinator Cisco Ybarra, who was frequently seen talking with prospective clients at the COLT Corner display of novelties and clothing. “AMG Brasil has done very well, people have responded well to it considering there’re other studios here. We had good business for them. Last year when AMG came they only had two features, and interest was slow to respond, and this year people are really responding well. So it’s exciting.”
COLT continued to be one of the leaders in novelties, which has received special focus in the last few years.
“COLT leather did exceptionally well,” Ybarra said. “Last year we debuted COLT Leather Gear, but we really didn’t have stock on it because we were in the process of creating it for the United States. So as soon as people touch it, they’re sold. I had a store owner come by — they’re part of the bear community — and he put the vest on and was, like, ‘Oh, I’ll take it!’ So that did well. With DVDs, it’s kind of tough because we go through a distributor like everybody else. Our big focus now is COLT Corners, so we’ve been building those around the United States in various retail stores, and a lot of retailers have already taken it upon themselves to put the COLT Corner in.”
The NakedSword.com and Cybersocket booths also did well, with models standing out in the straight section of the floor. GAYVN Performer of the Year nominee Rafael Alencar was on hand — in very tight, attention-grabbing briefs — to hand out materials and sign autographs for the Cybersocket booth.
As the show wound down, hugs, handshakes and kisses marked the end of the event as booths came down and the crowd slowly faded away. Many performers, fans and studio insiders weren’t done with the celebration, and headed to Piranha and 8 1/2 clubs later that night for the official HustlaBall after-party with deejay Andrew Mendez, emcee Shequida and special guest Shiko. Stars Jeremy Hall, Vinnie D’Angelo, Collin O’Neal, Derrick Hansen, Ricky Martinez and others were spotted in the crowd.
