Exotic Star Models, the two-month-old talent management company run by Stacy Valentine, Shelby Stevens and September Dawn, is quickly becoming an attractive place for male talent.
AVN Award-winning performers Randy Spears and Dale DaBone have already signed on with Exotic Stars, along with former Video Team contract performer Tyler Knight. The company's growing roster of men also includes Chris Evans, Kris Slater and newcomer Franko Del Torro, who is Voodoo's brother.
"We always knew we would have guys," Valentine said. “A lot of people have said to us, 'Oh you have guys? I didn't notice that.'"
Valentine said that Spears has known the group for over 10 years.
"We're friends with him. He doesn't really need us. It was very flattering to us that he trusts and believes in us," Valentine told AVN.com.
"It's such a perfect fit," Stevens said. "He shows up and he's very flexible."
"The great thing about guys is they can work every day for years," Valentine said.
Spears told AVN.com on Monday that he came on board because of the relationship he has had with Valentine and Dawn.
"I have known Stacy for years and I love her, and September, as well. They were starting this new company [with Shelby] and I thought I might be able to help them in some way by signing with them," Spears said, driving to a Wicked Pictures shoot.
"I said I'd be glad to do that because they're my friends, and at this stage in my career, I don't need an agent, per se, to help me find work. I want to try to give something back to people who are important to me and have been my friends. I'm just trying to help out, help build their stable."
Spears mentioned that he was impressed with the progress Exotic Stars has made in a relatively short time.
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| Dale Dabone warming up to his new manager Stacy Valentine of Exotic Star Models. |
"I think that can be attributed to what kind of people they are. You have two women who were talent and then one who is wardrobe. They were immersed in the business to start with, and, more than anything, these girls care about us as talent and they want to get these girls the best jobs they can and take care of them.
"They want to protect the girls from the sharks and really help them with their careers. I think its kudos to them that they actually give a damn."
Spears, the 2004 AVN Awards Best Actor–Film winner for his role in Vivid's Heart of Darkness, is in his fifteenth year as a professional stud. This week he will play a FBI agent as the lead opposite Wicked Girl Devinn Lane in Brad Armstrong's latest feature.
"Everybody keeps telling me I look like a cop," Spears joked. "Anything for Brad and the boys at Wicked. They've thrown me some great work over the years."
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| Leading man Randy Spears is one of the top-tier male performers now repped by Exotic Star Models. |
DaBone, meanwhile, won the 2003 AVN Award for Best Actor–Video for his role in Vivid's Betrayed by Beauty. He is also a professional motorcycle stunt rider, a musician and a former pro baseball player.
"With me, it's like coming back into the business after a little time off," DaBone told AVN.com on Monday. "Everything changed. It's a bunch of young kids in the business now, and everybody and their dog is an agent."
DaBone said that he and Valentine have been good friends, and "I know the reputation she has, and everybody loves September. You put a combination together that has a rapport with all the companies and you're going to get good things."
DaBone said he asked them if they would "do more than put my picture up on a site and see who calls."
“I want you go to go out and fight for me,” he said he told the group. "They fight for it, and I like that…I'm really happy with what they're doing. I've been getting interviews, press releases, photo shoots, stuff for HBO."
DaBone also just returned from Stunt Wars, a motorcycle competition in San Diego that pits the best riders in the country against each other. DaBone won the Overall Freestyle title and also performed the longest Endo, or nose wheeley, of the weekend when he made it 985 feet on the front wheel of his Suzuki 750. DaBone, who did the principal stunt work for the 2002 mainstream film Torque, will also be performing motorcycle stunts in an upcoming rap music video.
Knight, meanwhile, said he joined Exotic Stars because of the "character and integrity” of the owners.
"And, they have empathy for talent," Knight said.
Knight started as a contract performer for Video Team and had never had outside representation until this move.
"After talking with Stacy and Sepember, it was clear that I'd have nothing to be concerned with. They actually take time to make sure I get paid on time and exactly when I should," Knight said. "If situations on set are less than ideal, they are the first to advise me to go home. They're not just thinking about money. They are thinking about the best interests of talent."
Knight, who became part of the stable two weeks after it launched, met September Dawn while performing on Playboy and Playgirl sets last April, and she hooked him up with work before he came to the agency.
"I consider myself extremely fortunate," said Knight, who started performing in October 2002.
Knight, who recently performed for Wicked, Ninn Worx and Metro, now works an average of four days a week and has begun receiving offers for features and vignette scenes.
"People have had no reservations about using me simply because of the word of Stacy and September. That's extraordinary," he said.
Stevens said that Exotic Stars wants to focus on "quality, not quantity."
"We're not going to take on a guy just because he's cute," she said. "We have a crop of young guys like Kris Slater and Chris Evans who are not only good performers, they are responsible and reliable."
Call (818) 728-8023 for bookings, or e-mail [email protected]
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