Cybererotica founder Fantasyman has often been referred to as one of the forefathers of the Adult Internet; as such, he offers a strong voice for Webmaster concerns, yet is often content to remain hidden behind his elusive-sounding pseudonym.
Recently, Fantasyman recruited 31-year-old Jonathan Silverstein, formerly of Internet Entertainment Group (IEG), to take over the more public role of president while Fantasyman tends to broader company issues as CEO. Specifically, Silverstein concentrates much of his time on establishing contacts and developing mergers and acquisitions.
Silverstein says his social nature was a key factor in his hiring. "I don't mean to sound arrogant, but I think I'm pretty well-liked in this industry, and I have extensive contacts here in Los Angeles," he says. "I believe that certainly played into the fact that I was chosen as president." Cybererotica, a company with approximately 60 employees, operates one of the largest sex sites on the Net and has been around since 1996.
Silverstein was born and raised in New York. He got his first taste of the porn-capital, Los Angeles, in the 10th grade when he spent a year living with his dad and attended Venice High School (where, ironically enough, he met future AVN Sales and Marketing Director, Jennifer Rosenblatt).
A self-proclaimed "bad boy," Silverstein dropped out of high school and went back to New York and earned a GED. After working a series of unrelated jobs, Silverstein decided to go to college. "When I saw my cousin doing it at the University of Miami, I realized that I could do the same thing," he says.
With the help of his father, he moved back to Los Angeles and enrolled at Santa Monica College, where he took classes in sociology and business. While he didn't finish his degree, he credits college for putting him on the right track for success in the adult business world. "I had a basic knowledge of business already. What really helped me was to be in a position to deal with those who were interested in business, to be around those who had common interests and wanted to move forward," Silverstein says.
Though Silverstein worked for a time in the phone sex industry, as the Director of Sales and Marketing for IEG, Silverstein received training from Seth Warshavsky, whom he considers to be "one of the best in the business" at generating publicity. "He's a master manipulator of the media," says Silverstein. "In my estimation, he's a genius. He's very systematic." Though he left IEG earlier this year to start his own consulting business, Silverstein says that he maintains a "good relationship" with Warshavsky.
Before coming to Cybererotica, Silverstein says he also received a very tempting job offer from Vivid Video. Then Fantasyman made his lucrative presidential job offering, and Silverstein couldn't pass it up.
Though Silverstein is into clubs, and hip-hop music, hobbies aren't too much of an option since he works many weekends and evenings. He has a girlfriend in Florida who he sees once or twice a month. "She's the woman I want to be with," he says when explaining the jet set lifestyle they must lead to be together.
While much of his time is spent working, Silverstein says the social nature of the adult Internet business makes up for the fact that he can't focus much on outside activities. He feels more people in the adult Internet business socialize together in comparison to the adult video industry. "All of the top players do, at least. We all feed off of each other," he adds.
An affable guy like Silverstein should fit right in.
