Saturday is the big one. The doors opened to trade at 10 a.m., but the fans have to wait until noon. Fans began to line up early in the morning, and four hours later it’s like a dam of testosterone bursting as the mostly male ticket holders wash into the far reaches of the hall. The crowd is predominantly straight, but the GAYVN Expo gets its fair share of visitors. The gay video stars are certainly kept busy by admirers from the ranks of retailers and consumers.
Porn star Sergio Real makes an unexpected appearance at the Oh Man! Productions booth and does some impromptu autographing. Company owner Bruno Riccelli, in the middle of a sale to an East Coast retailer, looks on approvingly. Riccelli, who has just moved into self-distribution, is also increasing Oh Man’s catalog with an international line. His newest titles are Polish Pleasures and the soon-to-be-released Brazilian Holiday.
At a revisit to the COLT booth, John Rutherford points out the Butt Banger, a new COLT novelty item he talked about in a packaging discussion during the Gay and Lesbian Product marketing seminar yesterday. Rutherford also enthused over the installation of the COLT booth on Thursday morning. “This is the most painless expo I’ve ever attended,” he said, referring to the fast and efficient set-up by the various crews involved.
Another enthusiastic exhibitor is Pride Publications’ Rich. His 18-month-old company produces high quality blank greeting cards and calendars with art and photography by gay icons Tom of Finland, Tom Bianchi, and photographer Jeff Palmer, among others. Pride recently created a crossover card line of male nudes, ShaggGreetings, aimed at the straight market.
Also in the Novelties and Hardware categories are Rainbows and Stars, veteran exhibitors whose products range from Pride Bears to T-Shirts to underwear; Gear Essentials, a top-of-the-line steel cock ring company whose handsome and handsomely packaged products come in seven designs and four sizes; The Joyrider, a spring-supported rim chair for “unsurpassed oral/genital/anal gratification”; and Leather Masters, which features leather, rubber, and steel fetish garments and products such as the inflatable “Gargantula” dildo.
Two companies in the Business to Business section that have gay video lines are Bacchus Releasing, which is seeking out specialized audiences with its new multi-ethnic Dads I’d Like to Fuck series, and Legend Video whose newest titles are Bi Sex House Party 3 and Young Hombres 3.
Blue Pictures, Caballero’s gay line, is being promoted at a GAYVN Expo booth along with Hollywood Sales videos and DVDs.
As last year, superstar Michael Brandon autographed posters of his interactive “solo” DVD, Michael Brandon: Virtually Yours at the Pleasure Productions booth. Pleasure’s gay line is Regiment Productions.
