Gay erotic expo LA this weekend!

[bigguyinpasadena]

The GAY EROTIC EXPO is at the Los Angeles convention center this weekend(very strange venue for it)Is anyone else planning on going?

Here is a link from Will clark's cockring site with photos of some of the boys appearing

 

http://www.cockring.org/LAGayEroticExpo.htm

 

And here is alink which gives you $5 off admission

 

http://www.gayeroticexpo.com/gayeroticexpo/

 

I am planning on taking the new Metro Gold line from Pasadena to Union station,and then taking the Convention center shuttle to avoid the parking hassle.

[JamesK840]

I was just about to post something like this, since nobody responded to my sub-thread about it...

 

I think Deej will be there, I'm thinking about going, maybe Sunday... When were you thinking about it? I might even drive over to Pasadena and take the metro with you, if you don't mind. I'm also tired of driving down there and parking...

[+ deej]

Yes, I'll be there.

 

The expo runs 3pm-11pm Saturday, and 2pm-7pm Sunday.

 

For anyone interested, performances start about 5pm Saturday, with one performer/hour. There's no published schedule I know of.

[JamesK840]

Such little interest...? It does seem a little to 'out there' for me, but I'm also into trying new things...

[+ deej]

Latest news I have on this is that HX Magazine was offering the "talent" free advertising in the program book for the expo in return for their appearance.

 

In other words, the performers were appearing for free in return for advertising.

 

The program book hit LA today and the free advertising wasn't present so virturally every performer has backed out, and I can't blame them.

 

Some of the porn company exhibitors will have their guys in their booths but who know when? The website certainly doesn't give any clue.

 

This is shaping up to be a non-event. In fact, it's shaping up to be a train wreck.

[Doug69]

>This is shaping up to be a non-event. In fact, it's shaping up

>to be a train wreck.

 

Everyone said the same thing about the Gay Erotic Expo last year in NYC at Webster Hall. It was the inagural event, people thought there was confusion about who would be there and who wouldn't, and it was unclear how many people would show up.

 

As it turns out, it was a huge success. Although some large porn companies sat out the event in order to see how it would go, many of them had huge booths and lots of their "talent"; there were lots of mid-size and small erotic companies, porn sites, and video producers; and people were literally lined up around the block waiting to get in. Inside, it was packed and cramped with people and had the feel of a very erotic packed late night club or bar.

 

It's not easy to plan an event the first time. Confusion and some degree of disorganization are inevitable. But at the end of the day, guys will go to an event like this because there will be tons of hot guys and free products and "erotic" entertainment and they will be curious about what the event is.

 

I think it's a good event to support, since it provides these companies with a means to reach an audience and to interact with one another. It's a good vehicle for enabling sex-related gay businesses to be something other than furtive and ashamed, and it's a drug-free, healthy, but still sexual gay event - an increasing rarity these days.

[bigguyinpasadena]

Thank you for the info Doug.that was helpful and a nice contribution to this board

[+ deej]

I heard a slightly different take on the previous event, but thank you for the positive contribution to the board!

 

I'm sure this event will be a success because gay men do like their smut. There just won't be much in the way of entertainers because the inept organizers failed to come through with promised advertising. Most of the performers have backed out. ("Virtually all" is the phrase that was used.)

 

I'm sure there will still be "booth bunnies" and other fun stuff going on, although lacking the "headliners".

 

I agree with supporting the event and I'll give you a first-hand report afterwards. I'm just not expecting much.

[+ deej]

Just got home from this.

 

Mixed bag.

 

Crowds were smaller than the last NYC expo, probably for several reasons. 1) LA Convention Center as a location was a killer. Fags just won't leave WeHo to go downtown. 2) Fans showed up expecting to see the talent that had been advertised and left disappointed rather than hanging around. 3) LA's "blue laws" forbid nudity. 4) No liquor anywhere nearby.

 

Since I was participating in coordinating the completely improvised entertainment, which was totally reliant on what existing vendors brought in themselves (and in some cases, the vendors themselves), I was sorta busier than I'd planned.

 

Some of the vendors were doing good business, otheres weren't. Many were using this event as a deciding factor whether to go on to exhibit at the NYC event in a few weeks. Some will, some won't.

 

Saturday, the event was supposed to run from 3pm to 11pm, and most of the vendors were packing up by 9pm. The Sunday crowd, oddly, had a totally different vibe. It was a generally happier crowd and there was a lot more "going on" going on. It was weird. But still, it thinned out well before closing and the vendors were packing up 2 hours before closing.

 

There was a lot of eye candy on hand, but it was spotty. Zeb Atlas is a mountain of a man and I hope he's never mad at me. Cutie Cameron Fox was signing in the All Worlds booth a couple of times, but somebody needs to feed the boy. He's wasting away to nothing!

 

Seeing Jeff Stryker standing holding the "Jeff Stryker Action Figure" was truly priceless.

 

This one was both success and failure. It was OK, but you could miss it and not worry.

 

I'm told the NYC event coming up will be considerably more active. Among other things, it's held at the Copacabana. (Yeah, the real Copacabana.) They can do nudity there, and there will be liquor. It'll be easier to get to, and it won't suffer from the LA "I'm too cool for that" attitude.

 

I was glad to see a lot of old friends, and to make a lot of new ones. (Dillon Press ... YUMMM!)

 

All in all, a mixed bag. I'm glad I was there, but I don't feel like I would have missed anything if I wasn't there.

[bigguyinpasadena]

Hey deej sorry we missed seeing you!I thought it was OK-better than I thought it was going to be.Most of the booths were staffed by really friendly guys.Some of the models on hand were way to attitudinal to be meeting and greeting.There are some real great and friendly guys doing porn-no need to bring pretty but boring models out for this type of event.

That Zak guy was a beut' no personality showing at all-what a shame.

I enjoyed myself,as did the friends who went with me.

Let's hope next year they get more participation from the big studios-they do a great job at the adult video event in Las Vegas-and MORE entertainment.

I agree about Cameron Fox,he and Travis Wade are two of my favorites.

[Doug69]

Hey, Deej - great to hear from you, as always. Thanks for the report.

 

There was a guy with long hair wearing a "press" badge and a cap that had the word "PERVERTED" on it lit up in neon letters. He was often standing near the stage. I have an absolutely urgent need to know if this was you??? Please do tell.

 

>Crowds were smaller than the last NYC expo, probably for

>several reasons. 1) LA Convention Center as a location was a

>killer. Fags just won't leave WeHo to go downtown.

 

The LA Convention Center was the most un-sexual venue ever. It was also way the fuck out of the way and totally miserable to enter. That the event was as successful as it was, despite this venue, was a tribute to its potential.

 

>Saturday, the event was supposed to run from 3pm to 11pm, and

>most of the vendors were packing up by 9pm. The Sunday crowd,

>oddly, had a totally different vibe. It was a generally

>happier crowd and there was a lot more "going on" going on. It

>was weird. But still, it thinned out well before closing and

>the vendors were packing up 2 hours before closing.

 

Saturday was like a funeral - dead men milling around, starting at crap, buying nothing, vendors equally listless. Sunday felt vibrant, lots of commerce, good entertainment, hot guys. That guy in the StraightCollege.com booth was fucking hot, as was the guy with the huge cock running around poking people with it.

 

I think Sunday was so much better because that vile bitch hole Bobby Trendy wasn't there.

[JamesK840]

>All in all, a mixed bag. I'm glad I was there, but I don't

>feel like I would have missed anything if I wasn't there.

 

Also went on Sunday, don't know how we missed you, I agree with that sentiment 100%. It was a good place to buy porn, though they didn't have any of the high-end $50 stuff for less then $50... And you could feel-up a real doll if you wanted... But maybe not worth $15-$20 to get in plus $10 to park. Some nice eye-candy though, and pretty damn good swag (free crap).

 

It's one of those things, had it been in the WeHo Ramada or something it would've been way to big for the location, but being at the expo center made it too small for the expo center! I know Hollywood and Highland have some expo rooms, but they would be too small probably as well... Burbank's Hilton 'Convention Center' (feh) may have been a good size for it, but not sure it wouldn't have had the same problem as downtown LA.

 

Anywhere in Santa Monica that would have been better? Still though, an interesting event, glad I went.

[+ deej]

Did you get a load of Cameron Fox's legs? They're works of art.

[+ deej]

>It's one of those things, had it been in the WeHo Ramada or

>something it would've been way to big for the location, but

>being at the expo center made it too small for the expo

>center!

 

There was a lot of talk about better locations as it shut down. Lots were talking about Factory as a better location, but it would have to be totally taken down for the dance club each night.

 

And how weird was it being across the hall from the "Hombre Nuevo" service? Just after the benediction, as the worshipers were leaving, I watched the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence literally PARADE through the food court to Starbucks.

 

Did you see the two guys in rubber the Sisters took in tow?

 

And people think we're weird ... go figure.

[JamesK840]

Yep, saw the Sisters and the two in rubber. Not into either fetish but it was fun to see! What was with the thing with the all the tall drag queens with the surveys? Everybody seemed to be filling one out when we arrived, what were they for?

 

Are you going to the NY one? Will Hoo have a presence there?

[+ deej]

>What was with the thing with

>the all the tall drag queens with the surveys? Everybody

>seemed to be filling one out when we arrived, what were they

>for?

 

That was actually a cool group. They're behavioral psychologists by day, drag queens by night. (Well, that was the joke.) They were quite fun ... they did their survey about sexual attitudes during this expo and they'll repeat it in NY and then compare the data between the two cities. Should be interesting results.

 

I had a long talk with the Dr. that runs the group. (She was the tallest one. ;-)) The kids are his students. It's some sort of practicum.

 

I was really amazed that from the time the doors opened on Saturday until I left late Sunday there was ALWAYS a crowd filling out surveys. It was a long survey, quite a time commitment. When you make it fun, guys will participate.

 

>Are you going to the NY one? Will Hoo have a presence there?

 

I'm not going to NY, and last I heard Hoo had no plans. He's too busy globe-trotting and I gotta bring home the bacon.

[JamesK840]

>I was really amazed that from the time the doors opened on

>Saturday until I left late Sunday there was ALWAYS a crowd

>filling out surveys. It was a long survey, quite a time

>commitment. When you make it fun, guys will participate.

 

Sounds cool, but not sure people were participating for the fun or out of social responsibility. First time I passed they were offering free weird little dolls, later they were offering a free movie pass.

[+ deej]

>Sounds cool, but not sure people were participating for the

>fun or out of social responsibility. First time I passed they

>were offering free weird little dolls, later they were

>offering a free movie pass.

 

Honey, they were offering a free movie pass all weekend. ;-)

 

I don't know about you, but I'm not likely to devote 15-20 minutes to an in-depth survey for a free movie. I can afford the damn movie myself. Once they told me what they were doing, tho, and shared their enthusiasm, I was there. I'd like to think others were similarly persuaded.

 

The "weird little dolls" were in several booths. They're part of one of the healthcare agencies' "Stop the sore!" campaign against Syphilis.

[NickAtNight]

I was in L A this past weekend from Philly. Made reservations way back in June because a friend of mine was organizing The "Gay Hollywood" event for Sept. 19th & 20th. A little over a month ago he called me to say it had been cancelled due to lack of participation and funds but will be re-scheduled for next year.

 

Since I already had my plans set, decided to visit L A anyway since I hadn't been there in a few months. Saw the ad for The Erotic Expo and went Saturday when it opened at 3PM. The directions on the pre-recorded tape were right on target and parking was no problem what-so-ever. I agree that the immense LA Convention Center swallowed this event whole. Much too large of a space for such a small event. Only about 30 Vendors at tops. I M L in Chicago has at least 100 vendors and in about the same amount of space. Since I got there quite early, didn't expect to see any Porn Stars although NIKO from All Worlds Video was scheduled to appear at their booth at 4PM for autograph signings. When he didn't show by 4:30, we left disappointed. The entire show took about 30 - 45 minutes to go thru, stopping at each vendor. They need more vendors and in a smaller space next time.

 

I asked mostly all the vendors if they would be in NYC in October and they all said NO - they were based in L A and wouldn't be attending NYC's event.

 

I own Premier Escorts in Philadelphia and wondered if the Gay Erotic Expo would consider us as a vendor. It seemed that all the booths that had Hot, Built, Sexy Men representing them were the booths that were the busiest. Asked a lot of my guys when I got home if they'd be intersted in doing the NY show and they all showed quite a bit of interest. Dustin said he would wear a cute little apron with no shirt and hand out muffins with a "P" on them. When I told a client of mine about his idea, he said, "Dustin's going to hand out muffins and Pee on them"???

 

Definetely is something I need to look into right away. Don't know if it's too late to sign up or not. Anyone have info on the NY Show?

 

Thanks,

 

NICK http://www.PremierEscorts.com

[+ deej]

You can get exhibitor information at their website: http://www.gayeroticexpo.com. I suspect you'd be very welcome, particularly if you bring along some of the boys. ;-)

[NickAtNight]

I did some checking on the NY Show for next month. The advertised dates are: Oct. 12th & 13th, but they are a Sunday & Monday. Could that be correct? I don't know what type of turnout this type of event would pull in on a business day in NYC. Even though Monday, 10/13 is Columbus Day on the calendar, not that many people are off that day from work. I'd be skepticle about doing the show if it's not on a Saturday / Sunday.

 

NICK http://www.PremierEscorts.com