As Sam Manning watched the Club Channel 1 video at last night’s official HustlaBall pre-event at Gypsy nightclub, something slowly dawned on him as he watched the clip from an old scene that played on the TV screen. Two men were eyeing each other as the action began…
“My first thought was, Who would wear a cut-off?” said the VP of 1 Distribution. Then the camera panned up from the unfortunate shirt, and there was the face — it was Manning himself, in his previous career as porn star Sam Dixon. “I had no idea that was me. I don’t even remember that!”
It was part of a night of fun as the first pre-party leading up to Friday night’s HustlaBall got underway, drawing many industry stars and many fans. The night started with laid-back conversation, with model Alex Chandler and NakedSword’s Marketing and Promotions Coordinator Jonathan Edward Foulk relaxing on a couch as the party began.
The atmosphere soon changed as the music picked up and the dancing started, with models Marc Sterling (appearing with Factory Video at the GAYVN Expo) and Alex Cross, from hit twinkvid Field of Creams (Eon Films), being the first to mount the boxes and dance for the fans.
Up next were Kyle Douglas and Lex Sabre, who kept the crowd entertained. In the audience were Collin O’Neal and business partner Rich Tallman, enjoying the dancing along with Chandler, who returned shirtless and hit the floor himself as the dancing reached a pinnacle with the likes of Pink, Kelly Clarkson, and Justin Timberlake songs giving the crowd more energy.
Up next on the floor were headliner Tommy Ritter from Rascal Video and Dallas-based Jason Carter, voted Sexiest Escort of the Year. Ritter’s moves had O’Neal on the floor to tip the dancer, while model Mario Cruz also entered the dance arena to admire Ritter’s moves and demonstrate a few of his own.
HustlaBall founder Tom Weise was on hand to enjoy the festivities and hit the dance floor himself at the end, giving Ritter a run for his money in pleasing the crowd. By the time Ritter left the floor at nearly 2 a.m., applause throughout Gypsy put a fitting exclamation point on the end of the first night.
