MIAMI BEACH, Fla.—Even with his early embracement of the digital revolution’s influence on adult entertainment, for gay adult studio Collin O’Neal Productions founder Collin O’Neal, sometimes low-tech is the only way to go. Desperate times call for desperate measures, he told AVN.com.
Before the global economic slowdown, O’Neal’s studio was doing well, he said. He had contracts in place for DVD distribution, video-on-demand streaming and online affiliate-program management. In addition to adult content, he became involved in some mainstream projects that led to more mainstream projects. While keeping the diverse balls in the air simultaneously required some ramping-up of juggling skills, O’Neal managed.
Then, without warning, everything fell apart at once. Through a series of events that O’Neal described as equal parts duplicity, greed and subterfuge, he nearly simultaneously lost almost all the marketing channels for his adult product. After a grueling couple of months, he has established new provider relationships, but now he faces a need to cover the revenue he lost during the recent difficulties.
“The whole mess is almost over, and I will be able to rebuild my website at WorldOfMen.com soon enough so income gets back to normal again,” O’Neal said.
In the meantime, O’Neal is taking his show on the road and will hand-sell product himself in an attempt to keep the percs he earned during better times. One of the things he is determined not to lose is the pricey, customized Audi A5 he special-ordered from the factory shortly before the bottom fell out of his world.
“I ordered my Audi A5 when we were on good terms with [the former affiliate-program management company] and income was soaring,” he said. “We have had to cut back on travel and work on non-porn projects to replace lost income, but we are financially solid because we never borrowed money from anyone.”
Travel and the A5 are part of the marketing plan now, at least in the short term, he added. O’Neal and his business partner, Rich Richards, intend to drive the car from their home base in Miami to New Orleans for Southern Decadence, a gay gathering that will take place Wednesday Through Sept. 7. O’Neal and Richards will attend the event over Labor Day Weekend, O’Neal said.
While in New Orleans, O’Neal and Richards plan to revert to bygone days by pushing porn from the trunk of the vehicle. The pair has loaded the Audi with 500 of Collin O’Neal Productions’ most popular World of Men DVDs. They also plan to set up a casual retail space in their second-floor room at Oz on Bourbon Street.
“Last time I was in New Orleans I spoke to the management team at Oz, and they were very happy to allow me to set up shop there,” O’Neal said.
As for his online operations, O’Neal said the WorldOfMen.com website is functional now and will accept memberships and product orders. The content previously housed at CollinONeal.com is being transferred to WorldOfMen.com, and the process should be complete by October, he said.
