Eddie Wedelstedt, owner of Goalie Entertainment, is not known for taking a lot of pauses when he speaks, especially when the topic is the one dearest to his heart: The Eddie's Kids Foundation, which he established several years ago.
"A lot of people take shots at the adult industry - and this is coming from Eddie W., probably the oldest guy in this business besides Teddy [Rothstein] that's been around for this length of time - and I'm going to be honest with you: I don't care what I've ever needed, and I've done a lot of charity work where I've needed help for kids; not only have I never been turned down, but the people have always sent more than they were supposed to send. The adult people are the most generous people I've ever dealt with, dealing with children and with charities. They are just phenomenal. People can take their shots; there'll be people who'll read this and say bad things about us. Whatever they want to say, all I know is one thing: 15,000 children in America this year are going to see a big-time professional sporting event because of Eddie's Kids."
The long weekend of Feb. 3-6 found some of the porn industry's leading lights gathered in Denver at Wedelstedt's invitation for what he calls his "winter party": actually, a working vacation where adult manufacturers and retailers, and several of the lawyers who represent them, gather to discuss issues of importance to the industry... and also to get in a bit of shopping at some of Denver's haute-couture-to-bargain-basement malls and outlets. Wedelstedt (or "Eddie W." as he likes to be called) and wife Vivian revel in their roles of host and hostess while making the various events, seminars and discussion groups the most informative and enjoyable that the industry sees in the course of a year - all of it punctuated by musings from Wedelstedt himself on what he considers the important issues of the day.
But Eddie always finds himself coming back to the kids... and his "people": those that run his chain of adult stores and his friends in the industry.
"The Eddie's Kids Foundation was set up basically to make sure that kids could get to a sporting event," Wedelstedt explained. "And let's face it: some parents can't afford it anymore. So we want to take children and get them to these sporting events. Well, this year alone, close to 15,000 children will see a game on Eddie's Kids - a combination of the [L.A.] Kings, the [Denver] Nuggets, the [Colorado] Avalanche and the Phoenix Coyotes; these are all fabulous, wonderful, professional organizations who are working with this foundation.
"My people deserve [the recognition]," he continued. "The adult people have stepped forward just unbelievably. The other night, the adult industry raised $170,000 in one night of great contributions of serious money from wonderful people."
"The other night" was Feb. 4, when Wedelstedt organized a "charity casino night" at Denver's Mile High Event Center, where most of the attendees "gambled" the night away with chip purchases, the proceeds of which went directly into the foundation's coffers. Then, when the evening was winding down, Eddie both took bids and announced the results of a silent "sports" auction. Up for grabs were such rarities as autographed basketballs and jerseys from athletes like Nick Van Exel and Joe Sakic; outfits from clothing designer Robert Ellis, a signed hockey stick from the Avalanche; and golf outings, one including a round-trip passage in a private plane from Texas to Denver.
Contributors to the kids' cause included major video manufacturers VCA, Vivid, Metro, IVD, Anabolic Video, Wicked Pictures, Video Team, Legend Video and Leisure Time Entertainment; novelty manufacturers Doc Johnson, California Exotic Novelties, Nasswalk and M&M Sales; and other well-known (and lesser known) industry names such as Great Western Litho, Capital News of Chicago, GVA Detroit, VGR Systems, LB Books, B&V Enterprises, Alco Magazine Company, all of the attorneys present, several individual donors like Private USA's Bob East, as well as retailers LSMT, Inc., AAA News and Tony J.; local favorite Chopper's Restaurant and, of course, AVN. ("I hope I don't miss anybody," Wedelstedt said, as he gave AVN the list.) Wedelstedt also cited the help and cooperation of many sports industry officials, as well as charities like the United Way.
The weekend's main "learning event" was the Lawyers' Brunch, organized by Goalie house counsel Bob DiPiano.
"Every year, we try to come up with something we think would be informative and fun," DiPiano explained to the assemblage of roughly 200 retailers and manufacturers. "This year we decided to initiate a game show, which we have entitled 'Goaliewood Squares.'"
Though differing a bit from its mainstream TV counterpart, 'Goaliewood Squares' had two retailer/distributor teams trying to figure out if members of a panel of 10 First Amendment attorneys were giving the straight scoop on existing law as it pertained to some common and not-so-common legal situations.
The panel, moderated by DiPiano, consisted of Goalie regulars Richard Anderson, Brad Reich, Paul Cambria, Mike McCollum, Dan Silver, Bobby Birnbaum, Tom Pappas, Luke Lirot, Randy Wilson and Frank Suyat, all of whom proved adept at fooling the competitors.
The questions, all authored by Reich, dealt with topics such as whether a state can use a general public indecency statute to outlaw nude dancing in adult cabarets, or whether a defendant in an obscenity trial could be precluded, based on the community standards prong of the Miller test, from introducing evidence that the material in question had serious value outside the community in which the trial took place (Answers: No and no).
Other questions covered whether the Labeling and Recordkeeping Law requires the labeling of simulated sex videos (it doesn't); whether there's a difference between banning nude dancing in a liquor-licensed cabaret and banning sexually-explicit videos in the same venue (there isn't); and whether a husband convicted of gross indecency for soliciting a prostitute from the car owned jointly with his wife could have the car confiscated as a nuisance even if the wife wasn't involved in nor even aware of the crime being committed (it can).
The other "teaching event" of the weekend was a roundtable discussion held Thursday morning, one of the main results of which was the formation of an adult industry defense fund. Though the details of the fund are still being worked out, it will have its own board of directors and will be entirely separate from the Free Speech Coalition, though the two organizations are expected to work together on several projects. The fund has garnered the support of several major industry players, and will involve itself in research and education as well as legal issues. (Look for a story on this organization next issue.)
Sandwiching all of these sessions were two dinners organized by Eddie and Vivian, the second of which, on Saturday night, brought the get-together to a close. Between servings of spinach salad and a mixed grill platter, attendees saw California Exotic Novelties head Susan Colvin presented with a lifetime achievement award for her tireless service to the adult industry. The evening was capped by a live performance by The Village People, the '70s concept rock group now on the comeback trail, which Eddie managed to snag thanks to his contacts in the concert promotions industry.
But even during the closing festivities, Eddie's Kids were never far from Wedelstedt's mind.
"There's nothing better in this world, when you come from poor like I did, to be able to walk up in those stands, look at those kids' faces - that tells me everything there is to know.... As long as my kids are taken care of, that's all I care about. The kids come first for me. Everything else is bullshit. Take shots at me, good, but don't pick on my kids."
