|
JBM:
First off, pink.....is it the new black?
Cory:
This statement has held true for a number of years.
It has always been my favorite color, even dating back to
when I was a little kid. I grew up in the south, so I don't
need to tell you what those kids said and did to me when I
wore my pink shirts!
JBM:
Where are you from and what did you do before porn?
Cory:
Originally, I am from Louisiana, post-12 years old,
I lived in Oklahoma until I found my high-school in Kansas.
I would inevitably attend the liberal Univ. of Kansas college
in the school of English. But there was a problem, the required
math courses that I needed to pass were tough. For some reason,
I spent my entire life not being able to accomplish practical
math. I went through a diversity of tutors but to no avail.
However, I was beginning to embark on higher English classes,
even going so far as to pay tutors by writing, but nothing
was working and I finally decided that I would take my show
on the road. I packed bags and moved to Sunny Los Angeles,
in a dire-straights motel.
I began at a low level restaurant. I made little money, but
it became fairly obvious to management that I was able to
take a lot of abuse, when I wanted to. That said, I eventually
moved on to larger, nicer dining restaurants and quickly became
the guy that took the bad seeds. Management would usually
compensate me at the end of the night if the table was a non-tipping
table. I eventually moved on to a huge "studio 54"
esq establishment, and a wild life would ensue. I waited on
movie stars, playmates and directors. I also drank with them.
In fact, that was the catch, if you could not drink with clientele
and hold your composure, you were fired. Usually, you were
fired on the start.
The establishment was a free-for-all and I was able to really
cross the line consistently, and people really liked it. I
did things such as bet other tables what would happen if I
approached tables, cried due to a stressful day (first shift)
and then brought them the wrong drinks. Would they return
the drinks? Or simply accept them. You would be surprised
what you can learn about people.
On one slower sunday night, I was approached by a hostess
declaring that I was needed at a specific table. She said
I would be the only one that could handle it and she prayed
I would not mess it up. When I did not react quickly, the
hostess began to fume with anxiety and asked why I was not
moving toward the table. I told her I had another table, I
would be there, and whoever it is, they will like me.
I approached the table to find an elderly couple extremely
intoxicated and a young, defiant starlet. Her cap was down,
and she was unable to get a word in edge-wise as the elderly
person began to speak vehemently ordering two vodka tonics.
I cut her off and said, in front of the hostess and the GM
(good friend to this day): "People, please calm down.
I do not feel well, I drank too much last night and your loud
voices are hurting my head...now, please start over, remember
my head!" The starlet, and what would turn out to be
her brother eyed each other and looked down. The elderly lady
smiled with approval. I began serving the drinks. The starlet,
looking a bit anxious at this point, waved me over:
"I need a cigarette, and I need one bad. Can you do
that for me?"
"Yes"
"Get two, I need to talk to you outside."
We went outside to the smoking section, where someone immediately
approached her and said, "hey, you are X, form X!"
Her reply:
"You are an idiot. Does this guy not exist? (pointing
to me) Go away."
She looked at me and said, "look babe, please do me
a favor, I am buying a horse from that couple and they are
hammered. I have to give them a ride back tonight. Please
tell them they are cut off."
My reply:
"She hasn't even had one real drink darling."
She smiled. She said come with me. Found the GM, told him
to to put a full bottle of Patron Silver on her tab and to
open up a booth for her and I. He complied and we drank the
remainder of the night away.
Ok, I will stop with the stories, and move into the actual
content of the interview LOL
I quit after one year. I decided to take a chance. So I decided
to take a wage slave position with an Internet Traffic Company.
They basically told people online where congestion was. I
was their guy to call up the defiant DMV heads and ask them
where construction was. They used to yell at me. I was pretty
relentless however and called a lot. Some would turn over
the info while others did not. If they didn't, my job was
to make it up and post it online. Of course, making them up
on the Internet made me view the Internet as a sort of wild
west front. The corp was venture capitalist and returns never
carried the debt. The layoffs began. Now, this was not a good
position for me to be in, I came from making a 200k / year
to $10 per hour on a hunch that I could make things happen.
But I would change that. I applied via fax to every corp in
the paper, and I am not talking a few, I am talking everything.
I told people I could mow lawns, pour coffee for CEOs, run
mail, deliver packages and even clean up after the elderly.
I did not care, I figured if I could get in the door anywhere,
I would figure it out and make it work. The setback would
change. Drastically.
JBM:
How did you get involved in the online biz?
Cory:
In January of 1999, I came back to the downtown LA
traffic office and looked on as the John Travolta "Swordfish"
movie was being filmed. A helicopter lofted an LA Metro Bus
over South Central LA, descended upon an abandoned building
glimmering in the LA sunshine from metallic poles holding
a place marker on the building. A crew of around 40 people
placed yellow hardhats on their heads as one waved with approval
and took refuge behind a tarp in the blocked off street. The
bus crashed into the building and a controlled explosion occurred.
Street patrons looking for a glimpse of Halle Berry and John
Travolta were treated to something more magnificent.
This, however, would not be the strangest, largest or most
curious thing that would happen to me that day. At around
3pm, the crew began cleaning up the set. It was fairly obvious
it was a wrap. I stared from the downtown high-rise over the
LA skyline impeded by the nebula of smog, and turned to the
girl next to me (we were
the only two left at the company) and said:
"I am walking down there. I want to do that."
I grabbed my bag and she replied with hesitance in her voice:
"You can't just do that, they are all union. People
don't just get jobs blowing up abandoned building to make
Travolta look good just because they ask!"
Any one who knows me well will tell you, I am very obnoxious
when I want something. With determination, I packed my Target
back pack with an extra Evian water, and set out, only to
be stopped by my ringing old classic model Sprint phone. The
id was private, but I felt adventurous:
"Hello."
"Hi, is this Cory Hedgeee...."
The caller said.
"Yes, it is."
"I received your application. I would like to talk."
He replied in a very erie voice.
Here is the catch, when you blast out a resume, you have
no clue what the hell most callers want.
"That sounds great! Fantastic! Should I prepare anything?"
I said enthusiastically.
"I am going to quiz you on programming. Tomorrow, first
thing. Can you make it?"
He said.
"Indeed I can."
I replied.
"The pay is not much, $10 an hour."
He said.
"Fine. That is no problem."
I said.
I arrived early at the stone covered one level building.
The map-quest had ran me in circles, but fortunately, I was
able to figure it out. I walked into the lobby where a cute
girl smiled and said:
"Cory?"
"Yes. That is me!"
I said with energy.
She gave me a form to fill out. The secretary desk area was
very subtle. I could not determine what this company did.
A girl, probably 22, sat next to me. The "venture capitalist
society has crashed" demeanor in her eyes. I did not
know what the company did, but I was sure she was not going
to work. She was called, a momentary 6 minute term passed
the secretary and I exchanged looks of curiosity and the girl
came out, shoulders up, veered at the secretary and said:
"Nice to meet you but, no thanks. You should tell people."
She said and switched her eyes to me with a small look of
disapproval and disappeared outside the door.
What the hell are they doing I thought, when my name was
called by a short asian guy. He asked that I follow him. My
nerves remained cool, but I casted my eyes over everything.
He made small abrupt talk. We went down a hall and turned
left into a huge garage with blue painted floors, dogs abound,
a chef in the back room, and last but not least, a large unbathed
behemoth guy in a cubicle with an array of empty ho ho wrappers
and dorito bags. His screen displayed a a woman providing
oral sex to a black man. If you have never been in one of
the old school establishments, then your first time is a treat.
The asian guy stared at me, notice my look of curiosity and
asked me to come into his office. I looked over my shoulder
and noticed a frogger-like effect as the workers began to
stand up from the cubicles and gather at big man's desk.
The guy began asking me very basic html and javascript questions.
I had been up for two nights straight at Borders copying code
with explanations from books, and manipulating changes on
my old sony laptop. My answers were solid.
"Look"
He said with a deep breath to follow.
"We sell adult content. I need someone to not only approve
submissions on our link list but to also correct codes for
trivial matters such as broken graphics and un-displayed pages."
He continued.
"No problem."
I replied.
My first day was not tough, I just approved regular link
list sites. Anyone familiar with the old AVS model probably
can tell you that the bulk of money began when Adult Check,
my new employer, began an upgrade program know as the Gold
Program. Basically, for the webmasters, the faster the approvals
came through, the more money they made. At the time, AC had
staff, but some of them were not very fast. I began approving
quickly. I would stay late at night if I had too. Webmasters
began to respect me. JBM member Blaze can attest, it is how
I met him. But here was my trick, I, unlike the other staff,
did not mind taking crazy webmaster calls. Soon, they were
all diverted to me. Basically, webmasters would run scripts
against the system to devalue the legitimate webmasters, then
they would call upon their termination with fury: that was
my phone.
I took a different approach. Most staff told them to go away
and quit calling, but not me. I spoke to them and even befriended
them. I would reactivate the accounts under two conditions:
1) They upheld the integrity of the system.
2) Simple: they told me in-depth how they accomplished the
infringement.
The info was invaluable. Basically, I sat in the corner cubicle,
at times on the blue floor, learning. Everyone else was clocking
in and out and believed the smartest thing they did all day
was manipulate timecards for longer smoke breaks. I saw the
larger picture. Marty and company were bringing in massive
income, they likely could have cared less about a smoke break.
So long as sites got approved, money flowed.
Then, the moment I was looking for occurred, it changed me
forever in this industry. The head guy needed to make a pretty
important post. It was big and as all program owners understand,
very delicate. The drafts submitted from the guy were being
talked about by management as insufficient. I overheard the
conversation. I walked in the door and said:
"You know, if you need help, I am an outstanding writer.
I have a degree in English. If you put it in bullet points,
I will put it in a way that makes everything sound smooth."
Curious looks were thrown, but I was granted the right. Over
the course of the next few months, many of the AC post were
not from the poster, but from me. And I methodically made
sure everyone knew. The PR releases were highly praised and
when the 2000 Internext show came around, AC was short staffed.
They asked me if I would go and talk to people for them. Not
only did I do that, but I went to every booth known and introduced
myself. It was tough, I did not understand the Industry. People
would ask me questions that I had no idea how to answer. I
wrote them down and figured out answers. Some people were
extremely unfriendly to me, but I did not care, I would find
them the next day with the answer.
In the summer time, Brad Estes, the Director over at Video
Secrets now, gave me a call. He needed a PR driven employee
that could write press releases. I was quickly moved to a
decent salary and nice office over at the "nice"
office. Over the next year to two, we threw private events
in Europe and the States. I pitched that I thought it would
be a great idea to go out and meet people. Someone has an
issue with us? Book me a ticket and they will. We also held
several enormous booths with Internext, giving invaluable
information.
Times changed at AC, and the need for a PR driven guy became
a thing of the past. So I walked in, shook everyone's hands,
booked a ticket to South America and purchased some domains.
Because of the info I gathered form other webmasters, I was
able to work from S.A on a good income.
Life was great.
JBM:
How did you get involved with Jason and Jordan at WEG?
Cory:
I returned from South America 2 months later. The
states seemed a bore and I hesitantly took a flight from Miami
back to Newport Beach. I mostly would surf early in the morning
and work on sites at night. But I was very unpleased with
my place. I felt that my income was in jeopardy and that I
could not make things work because the larger webmasters would
inevitably take over the market, leaving the little guys for
fish food. So I signed up for Monster.com. I began receiving
daily mailers with jobs for ecomm. I went on several interviews,
but was not successful. The ones I told about the Adult Industry
shunned me while the others did not understand in full what
my prior company did. I had hit a brick wall.
One cloudy morning, I came back inside my apartment and hung
my wet suit up in the shower. Before I got in the shower,
I did a walk by on the computer and noticed that a monster
list was there. I glanced and one thing stood out, the term
"Adult." I had maybe 5 post on GFY (as an independent)
and rarely read boards, so I had sort of purposely separated
my life from it, with the exception of some sites. I took
a seat and noticed the company was only about 20 minutes away
from me. It also said, Web Entertainment Group. I sent the
corp name in icq to a few friends. Immediately, my icq was
lighting up:
"Those guys are great man, they are huge!"
So I pushed the scheduled shower time ahead and sent a resume
that I customized, just for them. And yes, for those reading
this properly, I applied as Director of Marketing for Wegcash
naked.
The next day, my aim went off. It was Christian. He asked
if I would come down to the office. When I got to the office,
Jason quickly greeted me in the lobby and took me back, where
we sat at the table with Christian. We pretty much just exchanged
industry stories. About 15 minutes into it, Jason said:
"How do you handle an angry webmaster if it comes up?"
"Jason, I can make anyone like me."
I replied.
"I am comfortable. Let us get back with you first thing
tomorrow."
I thanked them and the next morning, my aim lit up and they
offered me the job. I was extremely happy. I had not wanted
back in the industry because to be honest, I did not want
to work for a small company. Marty and staff were huge. I
just couldn't imagine not being the voice of a large company.
I turned down a lot of icq offers from smaller programs.
JBM:
WEG is a much different
company than the days when I worked there. Gabe had some hair
back then and Jason drove a pinto. Take us through a typical
day at work and tell us about any cool fights Jason and Jordan
may get into.
Cory:
I usually get in between 8am and 8:30am. I start
checking my email and icq. Usually, Jason and Jordan are either
there or there shortly thereafter; as well as Gabe. The office
is very calm for all intents and purposes. Jason usually ask
if everything is ok and it is business as usual.
Of course, I usually try to help Jason and Jordan with there
sports picks. They are very thick headed about that.
Sometimes I do a quick work out at the gym for lunch, but
if I do not, many times I am the pickup guy for staff lunch.
Zimm and Gabe eat disgusting fast food while I choose chinese
or tofu.
JBM:
Have you ever seen Gabe naked?
Cory:
Yes. But I usually have to turn around to see him.
JBM:
What was your most embarrassing situation?
Cory:
I sent an AC Newsletter by accident that was not
finished, nor was it approved. I accidently hit submit instead
of test.
That is all I have to say about that!
JBM:
Where do you think the adult internet is heading?
Cory:
I see it becoming a more central place of business.
The next four years may prove to be the start of a "cleaning
house" policy of the people that have hurt the industry.
I think the major players will be around forever, although
those business models will transcend.
Video driven programs, such as G3X,
are definitely a way of the future.
JBM:
Who do you admire in this biz?
Cory:
Jason, Jordan, Christian and Marty for giving me
the opportunity to work at their respective companies is first
on the list. The things that I have learned will last me a
lifetime.
KK makes the list as well. She has given me worlds of useful,
straight-up advice since my days with Adult Check.
12Clicks: his recent JBM post regarding my work ethic was
a great thing. He commands a tremendous amount of respect
and his words will last the lifetime of the industry for me.
Vanilla DeVille: she has been a great friend and without
her, I would not have met a lot of incredible business people.
Certainly someone that would be there through anything.
CA Dave for keeping in touch over the years. He is a great
and success oriented guy.
JBM:
Tell us everything you know about G3X.
Cory:
G3X
is Jason, Christian and Jordan's newest venture into the video
market. The project conception preceded my employment, so
as you can imagine, a tremendous amount of time, intellect
and money brought the program to full-speed.
The program features an enormous video library with full
niche coverage. We are, of course, a PPS program. As you should
expect, the program comes with not only Free Signups, but
Free Lifetime memberships. The G3X
Program also comes equipped with a Design Suite, whereas you
can make money from your designs form your own signups, other
other webmasters. The system will display your tour (pending
that you mark the tour / promo FPA HPA / or Hosted Gallery
public) to other webmasters. The better it converts, the easier
your tour is to find by other webmasters. Of course, we host
the tours.
Another incredible aspect of the program is the concept that
you can change your links on our end to either: hit the hottest
tours, most trafficed or least trafficed tours or even to
the tour of your choice. You no longer have to ask what the
top converting tours are or even go make massive link changes.
One thing I would like to note is that we are creating an
additional stat line to reflect what you actually make per
sign up. Basically, because we pay 25 cents on confirmed emails,
whether or not you collect the CC info. Add on the Design
Suite, our program is converting very high and with high payouts.
JBM:
Anything new coming from WEG
Cash?
Cory:
We are revamping the system from the inside out.
New content, sites and structure will exist. We want to maintain
the elements that makes the program so successful but at the
same time insure that it is still one of the most competitive
programs in the Industry.
JBM:
Your having dinner with a mix of casual and non casual friends.
Resturant is 3 1/2 stars and serve a nice italian / seafood
mixed menu. It's a wednesday night and your not sure how late
you will be out.......what type of shoes do you wear in this
situation?
Cory:
I wear tennis shoes. I want to be comfortable. I
will stay out until 11 on a weeknight. But that is my limit.
I have to beat Jason into the office every morning. I take
pride in that.
JBM:
You are pretty easy to get along with, the first time we met
you expressed your love for me, but is there anyone in this
biz that you just cannot stand......besides Peaches?
Cory:
Honestly, no. There is maybe one person I could do
without being in the same room with, but no. I do not operate
like that. Whatever I do, I like to make a valiant effort
to get along. It pays off in the end.
JBM:
Explain the finer points of being the perfect metrosexual.
Cory:
Without question, keep up with your style. I like
to make a monthly run to pick up a few new shirts and jeans.
I always like to look fresh! I like facials as well. And of
course, get a small dog and put him in Pink!
JBM:
If WEG
closed their doors tomorrow, what would you do? Stay in the
business or move into something different?
Cory:
Try to go mainstream doing the same thing that I
do now. I can't see any other companies that I would desire
working for, but if things happened, you never know. Things
change drastically in our ecomm environment.
JBM:
Tell us something unique about you.
Cory:
I was born with a form of tourette's syndrome called
Vocal Tics. Most people with the affliction develop a recluse
existence and are socially anxious. I was the opposite and
remain so. Occasionally, you will here my tongue tic and it
sounds like a stutter. It only happens when I am talking about
something not of importance, in a relaxed environment. People
in the Industry have noticed it, but you need to be around
me in large doses.
JBM:
Any advice for the noobs?
Cory:
Do not follow the tribe. Read and ingest information
before you start posting. Take pride in your job and treat
it like a business, not a porn site. Many liberties can be
taken in our industry, just use them sparingly for a while.
JBM:
Thanks for your time Cory.
|
