Meni has been around the industry since the beginning. Get
ready for a journey through time as Meni describes his experiences
in the adult market.
JBM:
Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions Meni.
Tell JBM what you do in the industry, how you got started,
and a few things
you've accomplished over the years.
.
MENI:
Well besides correcting your spelling on this interview, I
own VIP
Entertainment in NH. Own about 200 sites, all free sites.
And I work for
Club Jenna Inc. I do marketing and support for them, and a
few other things.
Back in 1995, I got my first domain, exxxotic.com for my stripper
agency,
little did I know I could have registered a bunch of big $$$$
domains, like
pussy.com. How did I become a stripper agent? Went into a
strip club,
noticed you could hit on the amateurs as they sat at the bar
on amateur
night. Met a few girls, one girl asked me be her driver for
a party she was
doing. I said yes. Saw what parties were about, and started
my own agency.
.
JBM:
How long have you known Brad?
MENI:
I'm guessing since 98 probably. I was briefly hired by Brad
to build feeder sites around 2000 I'd guess, but when I didn't
hit the show floor at Internext in FL, he fired me. I didn't
stay at the hotel; I stayed at my buddy's house, and just
went to the parties.
JBM:
I heard you worked for Brad, how long did that last?
Why did you leave?
MENI:
About 3 months I guess.
JBM:
If youve been in the industry as long as Brad, why arent you
as rich?
MENI:
He's smart and Jewish, I'm lazy. I'm not driven to make money.
Maybe it's a
fault. How many people in this biz that started when me and
Brad did, are
still in the biz? They aren't all rich.
JBM:
Where do you see the industry in 3 years?
MENI:
In 3 years, the technology will allow actual girls to visit
your home thru
the cable system. So when you buy a membership, the chick
you choose,
instead of performing on cam, will arrive at the residence.
JBM:
Tell us the Paris Hilton domain story.
MENI:
I got paris-hilton-nude.com, after noticing Paris Hilton on
TV, and guessing
she was going to be big. Then one day, I believe I was at
Brad's house
checking my usage stats and saw a huge spike. When I got back
to NH. I
realize, the buzz about the Paris video was out, and I was
top 10 on Google.
I put up a celeb hotel banner and did well with it. Then my
friend Simon
turned me onto another program. I put up the half page ad
for that program
and the money went up 8 xs. I didn't get paid every dime with
that sponsor,
but the windfall was still huge for me.
JBM:
What's the most amount of money you ever made in one day from
this
industry?
MENI:
$16K
JBM:
Any plans on opening up your own affiliate program?
MENI:
No, I don't have any pay sites.
JBM:
How did you get on Jenna's team? Tell us in detail how you
got to be
so close to her organization.
MENI:
OK, this is a great story. I run, pornnewsdaily.com I saw
on lukeford.com
back in 2000 mind you, and email from Jenna to Luke asking
him to put her
banner up on his site. Club Jenna was going to open. Well,
Meni, who is a
wise ass, emails, Luke, and I tell him, "tell Jenna you
will put her banner
up when she pays you $35 per join". Well, I get an email
from Jenna, asking
about banner on pornnewsdaily.com. I said, "how about
you do question of the
day, everyday and I'll promote clubjenna.com". So first
I did 5 questions
Jenna plays 5 questions (9/14/00):
Meni: When's the site coming?
Jenna: The site will be done end of the month... Just finished
shooting a
great anal scene with Sky and Sylvia for it.
Meni: Who's your favorite Brady?
Jenna: Marsha, Marsha, Marsha
Meni: What CD is in your CD player in your car right now?
Jenna: Sasha and Digweed, the best DJ in the world. Also have
Black Rob's
CD in my Mercedes.
Meni: Ever refuse to work with someone?
Jenna: I've refused to work with a lot of people. Not many
girls, though!
Meni: A train leaves LA headed for New York going 100 mph
at the exact same
time a train leave NYC headed for LA going 100 mph. What is
your cell phone
number?
Jenna: Nice try on the cell phone # LOL
You can enjoy the rest of the questions here
http://www.pornnewsdaily.com/jenna.html
So anyway, after rapping with me for a few months, they hired
me for
marketing. I guess that was early 2001? Jay likes to introduce
me as
employee number 3 or 4, meaning, it was Jenna, Him, and me.
I love that. Jay
and Jenna and everyone at Club Jenna are great. Jay is the
nicest guy alive.
He's a Libra; we have a lot of Libra Libra love.
JBM:
You answer a lot of support emails. Tell us about
the stupidest thing a customer has ever emailed you about.
MENI:
This one time, this guy thought his cd drive was
a cup holder.
JBM:
How many domains do you own. Teach us how to make money from
domains.
MENI:
Approximately 200. I can teach you how to make no money with
domains. I need to update some of my sites. Most of my traffic
is SE. I have a lot of keyword domains, like paris-hilton-nude.com
and adrian-peterson.com
I have some porn star typo domains. If you want to make money
online, ask someone else.
JBM:
Tell us about your offline ventures. How exactly
do you make money off the strippers.
MENI:
OK I get a call for a bachelor party, I take down
the info, and I call the
dancers and the driver. I will quote $300. The girls get $50
base pay each,
the driver gets $50, and I get $150. The driver or dancer
will deposit my
money in my bank. When I lived in NH, it was easier, I'd get
my money the
same night or next day, and I'd get to play with my dancers.
I do not book
dancers in FL; FL just seems too sleazy for me.
JBM:
What would you tell your best friend if he wanted
to get into doing adult. Do you think there is still money
do be made?
MENI:
Sure there's money to be made, and he better want
to work 20 hours a day.
JBM:
How do you feel the TGPs have affected this industry?
MENI:
Oh they ruined it.
JBM:
How many times a week do you work out.
MENI:
5 to 6
JBM:
How do you feel about the notion that a successful
webmaster doesn't have time to post on a board all day long.
MENI:
It's true.
JBM:
When was the "golden age of the adult industry".
Describe in detail why you feel this way.
MENI:
98 to 2001? Easy, less sites.
JBM:
What is the key to surviving in the adult industry?
Is it luck? Intelligence? Creativity? Ass kissing?
MENI:
All 4, you nailed it
JBM:
Tell us the story with NCAA and your Adrian Peterson
site.
MENI:
I set up adrian-peterson.com and I used some vid
clips from soonersports.com. Well they weren't happy about
this. They sent me a C&D, and also warned that using his
name and selling shit could ruin his NCAA eligibility. Well
I never put up any banners or ads or links to make money.
I took down the soonersports.com vids. And everything is cool.
I called the NCAA, got some dude on the phone, told him about
my site, and he said, "sounds okay to me"
Here is what ran in the Daily Oklahoman
NCAA keeps Peterson on lookout
By Carter Strickland and George Schroeder
The Oklahoman
NORMAN - Adrian Peterson's eligibility is in jeopardy.
Texas A&M improved since 2003
Sooners talk about Aggie offense
The University of Oklahoma knows it. The NCAA knows it. Even
the Sooners'
running back knows it.
The Heisman race, the national championship race, Peterson's
record-shattering pace, all of it could be over for the freshman
and the
Sooners. And, here's the thing, it's not even Oklahoma's or
Peterson's
fault. Or even the fault of anyone who knows Peterson.
The ones to blame are the people who want to know him and,
even more so, the
people who want to profit from him.
"The show Fear Factor, that's what I feel like I'm living
24 hours a day,"
OU athletic director Joe Castiglione said. "I'm living
in fear of what could
happen."
Anything could happen. Some things already have.
Cease and desist
The envelope arrived at 4369 SW 10th Place, Apt. 102, in
Deerfield Beach,
Fla., several weeks ago.
Meni Troupakis ripped it open and found the letter from the
University of
Oklahoma, the school this son of Greek immigrants had followed
since the
days of Jamelle Holieway
Oklahoma wanted him to stop.
"It was a C and D," Troupakis said.
Some weeks earlier, Troupakis, a Web site designer, had crafted
an Adrian
Peterson site, adrian-peterson.com. On it were links, pictures
and stories.
"It was just a fan site," Troupakis said.
But in the eyes of Oklahoma and the NCAA, there was some
gray area. There
was no disclaimer of non-affiliation with OU or Peterson on
the site. There
was also no concrete proof Troupakis didn't profit from the
site.
According to the NCAA, that could be construed as a violation.
Bylaw
12.5.2.2 states in part: "If a student-athlete's name
or picture appears on
commercial items or is used to promote a commercial product
sold by an
individual or agency without the student-athlete's knowledge
or permission,
the student-athlete (or university) is required to take steps
to stop such
an activity in order to retain his or her eligibility for
intercollegiate
athletics."
The letter to Troupakis made him cognizant of potential problems
if the site
did not change.
"Please be aware that this current activity jeopardizes
Adrian Peterson's
eligibility," the letter read.
Adrian-peterson.com now has a disclaimer at the top. It has
no
advertisements and does not link anything to the Oklahoma
official athletic
site, soonersports.com. The same holds true for moedampeer.com,
Troupakis'
other site dedicated to OU freshman defensive lineman Lawrence
"Moe"
Dampeer.
To date, the Oklahoma athletic department has sent out about
a dozen cease-and-desist letters since August. And it's not
just the small-time Web operators who get them.
JBM:
Anything youd like to say to the JBMers. Maybe a
OU plug. (I can
publish a picture of AD for you)
MENI:
I love JBM. All the pissing is for fun. Sign up with
http://www.pornstarbucks.com
our affiliate program. And I can't wait for
football season.
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