When Jalin Fuentes founded Pitbull Productions five years ago, there weren't many companies making films focused on ethnic talent. It was a black hole he decided to fill quickly with something big, hard and sexy.
"I wanted to make movies that portray sex between black and Hispanic men the way it really is, not in a glamorous Hollywood-style big-budget way but with an urban, gritty, raw and real feel. I coined the term ‘thugporn' to describe this type of urban homeboy sex. I also wanted to make movies that I feel passionate about," says the CEO. "Now, everyone and their brother are jumping on the ethnic bandwagon because this genre makes money. I don't think ethnic is an under-served segment; I think the problem is that a lot of the movies being put out these days are crap, so the consumer gets fucked in the end."
And he doesn't mean in a good way. Thankfully, his passion spread throughout the industry - and worldwide - helping Pitbull become the urban leader with its brand of "modern thug" sex. Not only has it caught the attention of fans - who have eaten up the studio's 50 titles (and counting) - it also garnered critical acclaim. In 2007, Pitbull picked up the GAYVN Award for Best Ethnic Movie for The Show (a co-production with Dark Alley Media). This year, it repeated the award with Tiger Tyson's Eiffel Tower: Paris is Mine!, which accompanied the Latin superstar's induction into the Hall of Fame.
"Tiger's films helped Pitbull grow," notes Fuentes, adding that the studio joined forces with the star early on (he has his own label under the Pitbull umbrella). They then signed popular Chicago top Supreme (a.k.a. Castro) to make the acclaimed Love of the Dick series (six films total). The popular Take 'Em Down line was soon added, pairing the two stars in the first two volumes (part three was recently released).
"Pitbull's thugporn movies were immediately successful. Fans loved the sexual reality of our movies - you could say we made ‘reality' porn before all the reality shows became so popular on TV. We have stayed true to our thugporn image, making movies in Chicago, Philly, Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, L.A. and New York," says Fuentes, who serves as producer, director and casting agent (with a few exceptions). "I had a great friend who helped fund the company initially. He left me alone to make movies that showcase my vision of ethnic gay sex."
That vision has also helped spawn numerous websites, including PitbullProductions.com. The studio continued to brand thugporn with sites like ThugPorn.com, ThugMart.com and ThugPornBlog.com, with new offering ThugMart.mobi offering free mobile phone downloads. Those are joined by TigerTyson.com and TigerTysonBlog.com. "Tiger's blog has been very popular. His fans love him and continually return to his site for updates," Fuentes says. "A large part of the success of our various websites is due to design and user-friendliness. We constantly upgrade our sites."
Those properties have kept the company busy - during one week in September alone, nine new movies were released on ThugMart.com. Those included Pitbull's first black/Hispanic twink movie, Fever for the Flava: Orlando; muscleman offering Thugz Gone Wild, shot in Hollywood with accomplished stars Marc Williams and Aaron Ridge; Payback's a Bitch, starring real-life lovers Jovonnie and City Boy; and Big, Black, Bad & Boned, showcasing Atlanta thugz celebrating gay pride in the nude. And the studio's premium labels - Thugporn Platinum Series and Tiger Tyson Platinum Series - got a new brother this fall: the Blatino Gold Series.
"We've always thought Brazilian men were super hot, and we've been kicking around the idea of shooting in Brazil for several years. This past spring we finally decided it was time," Fuentes says. "A good friend who's Brazilian offered to act as our translator and he made the entire experience possible. We shot two full-length movies, one in the mountains outside of Sao Paulo [Brazilian Seduction] and one in the mountains of Rio de Janeiro [Thugz Paradise Rio]. The talent was incredible: so hot, so passionate and so wild, it was hard to keep the camera focused - these guys were really getting to me! I'm extraordinarily pleased with the results. Not to sound arrogant, but I think these are two of the best Brazilian movies I've ever seen. I'm planning to return and make a third movie in Sao Paolo in the next three months."
Fuentes says they invest profits back into the company, putting the resources into high-quality talent, locations, editing and packaging. "What makes our movies special is heat and sexual energy. Our men genuinely want to fuck and be fucked. They are not pretending just for the money. Our goal is to continue to grow and, as time goes by, start other offshoot lines as well as build more websites."
Other ventures also have the studio thriving: Tyson has his own replica dildo on the market (in vibrating and non-vibrating models), and he may soon add a pump and cock rings to his sex-toy line. Tyson also makes appearances, including a San Francisco stop in November and a DVD signing in Atlanta. Pitbull also constantly sponsors and/or donates to various organizations. It all helps the company's marketing, which is built on print, online and word-of-mouth efforts - making the studio name bark even louder.
"We picked the name Pitbull because pit bulls are known for their loyalty, fierceness, strength and intelligence. These qualities perfectly symbolized our company - it's a name that is memorable in that it reflects our urban origins," Fuentes says. "Five years ago, it wasn't that difficult to start the company. We bought two video cameras, found models and started to shoot. It was a fun, gonzo approach to making movies, and apparently it has worked."
CONTACT: ThugPorn.com, ThugMart.com, PitbullProductions.com, (877) 848-4767, (212) 369-6280 or [email protected].
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