2010 in Review

My Facebook update said it best: “Hey 2010…go fuck yourself!”
There’s some real pain out there, and we have a really big hole to dig ourselves out of. But no worries, no pity party here.
Yes, the site has not been redesigned, the chair has not been re-upholstered,  the video gear not upgraded, but the Red Chair is STILL HERE thanks to 787 awesome people who joined the site to support the project.

It’s a dismal number compared to the 8 millions views the site received on the blog and free galleries during the last 12 months, but when talking to  peeps in the biz, it’s clear everyone, even the biggest sites out there, are struggling.

It’s not just that the 2009 credit freeze is stopping people from swiping their credit card online, or that there is such a huge availability of free content out there, but the fact that people’s appetite for porn hasn’t diminished has created an alternative market where copyrighted content is used to attract audiences to Live Cam networks now featuring your favorite out of work pornstar, or to sell you VIP memberships to file sharing services, while the guy who posted the link from his forum makes 5¢ on the dollar. It was tolerable as a marginal behavior as long as you could make a living shooting beautiful women for internet consumption, but when it becomes the norm, the future of adult content on the internet may end up populated with unattractive people shot in bad lighting, fighting for the crumbs of a once glorious pie.

With such overwhelming adversity, it’s those 787 peeps who decided to support the Red Chair that have made everything you’ve seen in 2010 possible. To them we say THANK YOU !!!

There were 30 gallery updates in 2009 and 27 in 2010, far below the 40 of 2007 and 2008, this having mostly to do with models unable to travel, and those who do focusing on anyone offering a paid gig. Whether or not they can actually take a photo has become completely irrelevant, which in turn leaves the “modeling” job description up for loose interpretation.

Fortunately for those who participate and those who subscribe, the Red Chair is mostly a love affair, and  a passion project for yours truly. With enough beauties to shoot and just enough people to support it, it may be running on fumes, but it’s still running. The biggest frustration remains not being able to bring back our most popular models when they are just an airfare away. Hopefully this will change this year.

In keeping with its tradition of becoming more explicit with each passing year, 2010 was no exception thanks to the beautiful models who choose to come here to misbehave in good lighting conditions. The introduction of POV shoots on the menu has fuelled both interest and controversy, and while the content has clearly alienated a certain category of nude models, it has undoubtedly captured the attention of many more. Build it, and they will cum.

By category, here’s what 2010 looked like:

The models of 2010

Zayda J and Imani Rose
Both models had shot in the Red Chair before, but Zayda J needed some new shots for her Hustler Real College Girls feature, and Imani Rose, formerly known as Vanessa, needed new shots for her agent to help launch her new porn career. We had a magnificent black stud booked that day, who due to family issues arising from the devastating earthquake in Haiti, wasn’t able to make it. But a cock is a cock, and for the two, mine was as good as any. The first POV shoot was in the can and the rest as they say, is history. Since that shoot, Imani Rose has blown up in the adult world and is featured at a booth at the AVN expo in Vegas as we speak. As for Zayda J, who’s rare beauty is reminiscent of a young Julie Strain, she keeps herself busy with mom and pops homegrown productions in her native Oregon.

Shay Ryan
Miss Ryan was sent to the Red Chair by Igor of IthinkTHatsHot.com. But the Red Chair wasn’t her scene at all and she bailed in the middle of the shoot. There was a demand for whatever photos were shot, so they were published anyway. You can find the beautiful Shay at Burning Angel doing things that are obviously more her speed.

Clayra Beau
With Shay Ryan gone and all the lights still on, I called Clayra Beau who was sitting in her hotel room near by, and within an hour she arrived, got naked and was ready to shoot. She’s simply the nicest person I’ve met all year, and if you look past her wholesome Midwestern qualities, there is something unbelievably hot about her, especially when a little internet search reveals this sweetheart engaged in some very extreme hardcore stuff and seemingly enjoying it. You go girl. She promised to return, but that hasn’t happened yet.

Ela Darling
The Texas native wanted to rest her wicked bum in the chair, booked herself a shoot and brought her husband Joe with her, who soon found out that pornstars are called “performers” for a reason, and making sweet love to your wife is very different from shooting in front of a stranger. Alas having brought their unique wedding garbs with them, the newlyweds delivered a very stylish hardcore set.

Noelle Aurelia
Noelle is one of the top 5 models of 2010, a credit she may have to share with her studly BF Val Viscious, with whom she performed her only B/G scene to date, in spite of having been featured on many mainstream sites, but having gone no further than G/G. Lucky us…

Venus de Mila
There’s a confidence about mature women like Venus De Mila that makes them irresistible. At the time of our shoot, she was exploring trading content with a few photographers, and since has found her perfect match in the person of Liquid Erotica who shoots her exclusively for her website. The photos are stunning, the content scorching, and she is kicking ass to the envy of all. Proof that if you have your shit together and work hard at achieving your goals, you can establish yourself as a major player in just a few months. All you young ladies out there, pay attention. This is how it’s done.

Samantha Grace
Samantha, who like a fine wine,  ages slowly and with her own distinctive flavor, got herself some new boobs and wanted to showcase her new figure in a new, far more explicit shoot, 2 years after her first. This time around it was less about posing and more about getting off, which came unexpectedly from someone who mostly frolics in the fetish and bondage scene. She reached out for a third shoot towards the end of the year, and now that she is local, there’s a good chance we’ll see her again in 2011.

Little Angel
Unlike Model Mayhem, FetLife has no terms of service that would prevent you from presenting your work for what it is, so when this delicious petite beauty reached out, there was no explaining necessary. She loved the photos and wanted some for herself, expressing her hardcore submissive nature in an epic bondage POV set. She instantly became one of the most popular models of the year.

Torrid
Torrid is one of the most underrated erotic talent Southern California has to offer. With legs that won’t quit and an ass so perfect you want to write poetry about it, this sexy girl did her only Boy Girl scene to date in the Red Chair, making her BF Ky Blaze explode all over her with one flick of her tongue. You have to see it to believe it. We loosely talked of shooting again.

Passion Rayne
We caught her on the outs of her erotic career and she chose the Red Chair for her final naked stint. And no, that shoot is not the reason she’s leaving the skin trade. We had a great time and created beautiful photos with some wardrobe help from her mom Gothic Lollypop.

Nikki Sebastian
We had been looking at each other’s work for good long time, so when Nikki Sebastian finally got to the point in her modeling career where it was ok for the world to see all of her, the Red Chair was no longer off limits and we had some catching up to do, which turned out amazing. She said she’d come back for another shoot, hopefully in 2011.

Julie Simone
This lady enjoys a massive notoriety in the international fetish BDSM world, both as a performer and producer. Way back in the early MM days, a series of unfortunate misunderstandings prevented us from booking a shoot, but this year, our good friend Nikki Sebastian reaffirmed that our mutual admiration was still alive and well. So with no further delay we booked ourselves a shoot. Perhaps not the perfect match, fetishists being very particular about their taste and rituals, but we did the most out of our time together and became good friends in the process.

Katharine
In the months leading to her shoot, Katharine often expressed her ambition to create the hottest Red Chair set ever. When the time finally came in late July, on a Monday she shot a solo set. Later that night, her BF, begging for a piece of the action jumped in for a few shots. The next day she came back for a full POV bondage set directed scene by scene entirely by her. On Sunday she returned with her BF for a private shoot. By Sunday night, it was clear that Katharine had met all her ambitions. And yet there are those who would have you believe that models like Katharine are made to do things they are not comfortable with. Sheesh. I’ll give her the last word on that from a comment she left on one of her pic on FetLife one month ago: “You were rite these ended up absolutely Stunning”. I completely agree.

Jenise
Jen has been coming to the Red Chair regularly for the past three years, and we enjoy a beautiful and intimate friendship, which we decided to share in an incredible POV Fetish set. Needless to say, this shocked many who know her mostly from her more artsy hi fash modeling work, and the forums dedicated to hot African American women like Vickie 6 and Amber Easton juts went wild. That’s Jenise for you. Don’t judge her good girl’s looks too quickly. Just beneath the surface , there might be a wild vixen ready to jump out of her skin. Next visit sometimes in the spring. Oh what will she do next? Dun dun dun…

Lucy Von Trapp
After a few brief exchanges on FetLife, it was clear that Lucy Von Trapp was going to land in the Red Chair at some point. During her LA visit, I also hooked her up with Ken Marcus who got great photos from her session. Her killer body could have made her a strong adult newcomer, but her lust for ink and a constantly shifting career focus seem to have taken her on a different path.

Indica Greenly
When you browse the Mayhem, sometimes you become infatuated with a model’s looks, allure, character and your imagination goes wild with possibilities. Lucky for us, this sultry Arizona redhead said the feeling was mutual, and that she’d make it a point to be in the Red Chair some day, which she did, and it was a good day.

Sparrow Spade
In many respects, Sparrow Spade is the perfect Red Chair candidate. Not your typical model type, but her incredible disposition towards misbehaving, and her unwavering determination and enthusiasm made hers one of the best performance of the year. The transformation process from noob to glamorous vixen never ceases to amaze me. A returning member said it best: “screw fake ass pro models, real people are far sexier”.

Popularity Queens

Based on the number of page views received on the blog over the past 12 months.

1. Brooke Max
The busty Philly native’s rule as popularity queen is undisputed, far far above other models. Her sets dating back to 2006 may be tame by current standards, but stats don’t lie and the people have spoken. Sadly, she’s just not all that interested in modeling in spite of the above market dollar offer we made to bring her back. Now the focus is on finding the next “Brooke Max”.

2. Noelle Aurelia
The tall slender natural blonde came to the Red Chair with great enthusiasm and her hunky boyfriend Val Viscious. After our shoot she started being featured on large mainstream porn sites and rapidly gained in popularity,  but her only Boy/Girl scene to date  was performed here.

3. Zayda J and Imani Rose
She may be sharing the bill with Zayda J on this set, but it leaves no doubt in my mind that  Imani Rose’s popularity rise as porn debutante has led the masses back to the place that was the first to see her misbehave.

4. Clayra Beau
Clayra is a personal favorite, because she is such a sweet person, and was cool enough to step in when another model left her shoot prematurely. Her popularity has everything to do with self promotion via her blog, twitter feeds and various social networks. Her mom next door quality makes her hardcore scenes irresistible. Because the shoot was a last minute thing, we promised ourselves to set a proper one someday. It just hasn’t happened yet.

5. Scarlet Shaylen
This busty Texan was a very unlikely candidate, but in 2009 she got down with the rest of them, even though she’s not really doing any erotic work on a regular basis. She may be 5th for 2010, but in the last couple of months, her popularity has edged that of Brooke Max. She has mentioned coming back a few times, if she does, 2011 could very well be her year.

The Internets:

The Red Chair can be found in various places. Here’s a little rundown of activities outside the main site.

Affiliates:
You may have stumbled upon promo galleries on various sites and blogs promoting many adult companies. Unlike file sharing forums, these folks are our friends and help promote the site. They too have made Brooke Max their favorite for 2010. It used to be that affiliates would put you over the top in terms of earnings, but these days they are struggling with the rest of the industry. You know things can’t be too rosy when sets from sites and models that are no longer active are thrown in the mix to attract traffic. Here’s to better days ahead!

Pbase:
The preview galleries have been reduced to just a few shots per model, not only to give the advantage to our affiliates, but also because too many preview photos are not exactly creating an incentive to join and become a member. Still the #1 portal to the member site.

Model Mayhem:
The funny thing is, because the original Pbase galleries were called the Red Chair VS Model Mayhem, there are those who think that there is some kind of ongoing beef going on. It’s true that the MM Red Chair page hasn’t been updated in two years, but that’s mostly because it’s used primarily to network. In its beginning, MM was a cool novelty site with a real sense of community where individual talent could flourish and models, make up artists and photographers were able to make a name for themselves. Now it has grown into a juggernaut who’s only purpose is to its increase traffic to sell advertising, while within its pages, a culture of plagiarism, mediocrity, gossip and defamation thrives like a fungus, while gatekeepers have made ostracizing offending vaginas and penises their prime vocation. If you don’t get caught up in the BS of attention whoring and tooting you’re own horn, it remains the #1 networking site for anyone in front or behind the camera.

FetLife:
Now there is an interesting place. Fetlife has everything. It is primarily a social networking website for individuals in the Fetish and BDSM lifestyle. It’s not photo-centric like MM, and often the photos people display are not their own, and many shy away from mass exposure. But here you will also find many MMers who are involved in a wide range of adult work, and can showcase their work in all its “sexually charged” glory, errect penis, labia and all, without intrusive moderation. Links and self promotion are encouraged, discussions always respectful and civilized, and casting calls very efficient. Removing censorship or moral filters simplifies communicating what you do to others and helps prevent common misunderstandings on the nature of the content you produce. Sexuality is a natural function of life, and FetLife is one of few online communities where it can be expressed freely without judgment or restriction, no matter what your preference is. Even if it’s not the most practical resource for booking models, the Red Chair receives most of its valuable feedback there. Thank you for the warm welcome kinksters!

What didn’t happen in 2010:

A reminder that member support is essential to the survival of this project, and with only 0.5% of visitors singing up and becoming members, the Red Chair has not yet been able to realize its full potential.
Growing to even just 1% would be a game changer. As the economy slowly recovers worldwide, there are high hopes to see this happen in 2011.

What to look forward to in 2011

Like the Fed says, the best hope for a prompt recovery is releasing pent up demand, namely getting around to do what has been put off for 2 years.
No promises made here that can’t be kept, but many models are on the move again,  and this is very encouraging.
Not only will you discover many new faces, but you can also look forward to the return of V, Maria Whitaker, Samantha Grace, Scarlet Shaylen, Nikki Sebastian, Jenise, and CeCe Larue to name a few. It can’t be said enough: how much we can accomplish depends solely on your support.

Happy New Year!