hyapet wrote:Alright, dap_addict, I'm going to break this into three parts. The first part (this one) is going to deal with why the plans you have ... might not work out for the best (or as intended). The second part will deal with the ultimate realities of what you're facing out there in this market today - the limitations that are imposed upon you. And the third part will deal with what I see as your best option including some "outside of the box" thinking - alongside an offer of my personal help and assistance with regards to it. No pressure to involve me - but - after I lay everything out - I hope that at least I can afford you some clarity on the situation as you present it.
Alright, first off ...
Your interest in the South American market lies primarily in the cheapness (and quality) of talent. But, man, honestly ... it's South America. A lot of Westerners get under the impression that the world out there is like the world here. It isn't. Now - you might be expecting what I'm going to say next - but let me roll it to you in a way that makes it real.
Every expenditure has hidden and surprise costs. Suddenly, one day, your editing computer stops working. You take it somewhere to get it fixed - they either don't return it and pretend you never walked into the shop - tell you you need a few parts you don't need and overcharge you on those - or (best case scenario) overcharge you for the part you do need. You don't have any networks there - so every venture into every commercial enterprise for something you need makes you an absolute target. As does the fact that, when you walk in there, it's absolutely obvious that you aren't from there.
Next up - if you think the police in the Western countries are a joke - the police pretty much doesn't exist in South America. Somebody you talk to or hire - whether it's a stud - a technician - the person you're renting the flat from - someone is going to tell a group of, let's call them "connected individuals" exactly why you're there and what you're doing. When that knock on the door comes - and five 6'5 guys who look like they've already got a couple of bodies in their trunk (where the rest of the gang is waiting) come in - look around, and ask (as if hurt by the implication), "Hey ... what is it you want to do with my sister's friend?" I hope you have some really good answers or some really good bundles of cash ready for these guys.
This is pornography. Despite what liberal softness in the West treats it as - the rest of the world sees it as a crime-oriented business (or at least affiliated with it). Making you, the new-comer who decided, "Hey, I'm going to fuck a bunch of Latin girls in the ass," an absolute prime target to fuck with/extort/kill. This is South Fucking America. A Western pornographer dying is going to elicit cheers and laughter at the cop shop.
Every year, there's a ton of folks from my country who think, "Oh man! Look at those prices! It's going to be an absolute blast!" Every year, without fail, upwards to fifteen of them come back in body bags. And they were tourists. You're going there to, explicitly, fuck with the locals.
Next - your money runs out for whatever reason before you got something on the market or have started pulling in cash - then what? What are your safetys in South Fucking America? Where can you go after something's happened - or everything didn't go to plan - and actually be alright? Like - I don't want to make the entire continent sound like it's an absolute crime den (although, honestly ...), but, the people who always seem to come back in the body bags are the very ones who went there with big ideas of adventure in their head and weren't equipped to deal with the place that South America absolutely is.
Finally ... the South American girls ...
I don't want this to veer too much into the next topic for the next post - but, needless to say, despite the beauty of many of these girls, there are certain things that hold them back from, or the people who shoot them, earning top porn dollar.
When it comes to porn sales - Caucasian and Asian girls rule hands down. And even Asians find themselves well behind Caucasians. All those OF millionaires being absolutely sexist and insufferable pieces of shit? All White. Doesn't matter what failures of humans they are right to their audience - people are cranking it to their God given beauty - and those porn dollars aren't going to the following people:
Girls of color - Girls who don't speak English well - Girls who are larger/more muscular/have more exaggerated features. The last one isn't always particularly true - but the South American girl typically has a "look." And - without actually saying anything negative about them - the reality of the porn dollar is that it typically goes elsewhere.
"Alright," you say, "What about Natasha Teen and Lancelot and Latin Teens and Mambo and Yummy?"
They all existed during the NRX days. And guess what NRX did. [I]Slaughtered them. To no fault of their own - but, again ... the porn dollar wants what the porn dollar wants. It was only after the entire traditional porn market imploded due to shenanigans/Ukraine War/OF dominance/all traditional studios closing down that suddenly these studios started getting noticed and paid attention to. Literal, the entire traditional porn market had to be upended and implode in on itself before suddenly people started paying attention.
But even that doesn't fully describe the reality of the situation. When you see a Natasha Teen production ... it's like ... years, literal years of work went into making that possible. Especially the scouting that allows girls like the Hayek Twins and Ruby Walker to appear on the platform. If your idea is to go down there and merely give side work to the girls who already get gigs at the top studios, then let me disabuse you of that notion. They've most likely all been told to keep it in-house with the Pornbox family, and even if they haven't, think about it from the audience's point of view ...
They're going to start purchasing amateur side-productions of the same girl's who they can get full-blown professional sets of? They've already seen these girls get DAP broken, so ... now what? They're going to pay more money to see the girl get another DAP with a smaller number of less professional (and less hung) studs in a shittier apartment with amateur equipment?
This ... probably isn't going to work. And, even if it did, what do you see yourself doing? Staying in South America for years to keep a hand on the business? I've been searching for the dude's name in the comments who keeps making the comments based on the economic viability of starting a business in South America (for some reason I can't find any of them down below this text box) - but Buddy is pretty much spot on. Even if your business succeeds and thrives now - what happens when the next major election goes awry, or that of the neighboring countries, or the drug cartels begin to infiltrate the location your in and start targeting the businesses there, or the gangs, or ...
Shooting porn isn't worth your life. Natasha Teen and the rest achieve their success by being in major metropolitan centers - and the (small) safety that affords. But - doing that would require a much larger start up fund than you've got. And, even then ... with the nature of the porn industry as it exists now ... going to a market that's already saturated with studios producing the very content you want to make and try to squeeze in there ... it just doesn't seem to have a lot of viability to it.
Try to look at it from the perspective of an investor (which you are). If somebody came to you with all of these possible, no ... scratch that ... very real downsides ... would you give your money to them with the comfort of expecting a likely return? Obviously, if they're talking to you, they're not an incompetent moron who's going to stupidly throw away your cash. So ... if the plan wouldn't look good with them in charge ... what could you realistically do differently that would swing the odds more in your favor?
From both the looks and sounds of it - in this particular instance - not that much, right?
Alright - so - that's dealing with things with regards to how you've been talking about them so far. As I said - this is just part one. Next time - we're going to analyze the industry - see trends - recognize circumstances - and then lay out the basic reality of the resources you've got (which includes much more than just money) - which will then set us up for the third post. In which ...
I will suggest a plan that effectively turns your weaknesses into strengths - looks at the trends of the market and figures out the best way to capitalize on them allowing yourself to create a product that will ensure what you need more than financial return (for the initial investment) - which is product differentiation and visibility. Which will allow you to get investment from other sources because you've established a product and, more importantly, a brand that is popular, known, and in demand.
Hold on to those 50 G's, dap_addict. Because, I too believe DAP's to be the pinnacle of porn. And, if nothing else, I would want to see your venture become something which I believe the industry as a whole really needs. A levelling up. Not just of DAP's, but shot porn in general.
As I said - more to come. I'll try to write the next one tomorrow - but by Monday for sure.
Stay tuned.
This is an incredible post with a lot of high level insights. The preference you mention for white/caucasian exists in basically all realms of entertainment and is indeed real.
While I think you make a lot of great points on the level of corruption and insecurity in the 3rd world, I don't think it's exactly as crazy as you make it out to be in all cases, however you are very right in that those risks absolutely do exist to an extent that are inconceivable for someone living in the West. Some countries are obviously much more dangerous than others.
I would not recommend Medellin to anyone looking to set up a porn studio for many reasons, including some that you have listed. Other parts of Colombia may be more viable but do you really want to live in the jungle where like mentioned your risks go up substantially? TLDR: stay FAR away from Colombia.
"Scouting" is done mostly by taking girls from cam studios, and by word of mouth referrals. If you don't have a cam studio connection you are not going to find girls for cheap. I wasn't able to find a cam studio connection even though I tried. If you aren't a native latino you aren't going to find any cam studios easily, and even if you do you can be assured they will rip you off. Major producers will not work with you or help you don't even consider it (they would only if you are willing to be ripped off massively). I can't speak for other countries but Colombia has a culture of ripping off foreigners. It will also be very hard to find quality workers that are trustworthy as a foreigner (maybe impossible if you aren't living in the country).
