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Abby Winters is the creative force behind her eponymous web site, a treasure trove of hot Aussie amateurs. She started abbywinters.com seven years ago after unsuccessfully searching for a sincerely amateur site that would suit her tastes. Garion Hall, the CEO of the site, is responsible for the business operation, paradigm adherence and overall performance of the company. With no previous experience running a business before, he followed the dream with passion and common sense. The proof of his ability is in the continuing success of abbywinters.com. The two took some time out of their hectic shooting schedule for a candid conversation with Eros Zine about how they began in the business, how they keep fans happy and their definition of "amateur."
Abby Winters: As a consumer, I was disappointed by the quality of erotica out there. I always had a thing for amateur models -- real girls are accessible and much more appealing -- but was disappointed how sites always tried to make amateur models LOOK and ACT like porn stars. They totally missed the appeal of an amateur model in the first place! So, I got a cheapie digital camera and some random women and paid them a pittance in a dodgy hotel room, and did what I thought was sexy. My vision back then in 2000 was pretty unclear and the oldest shoots on the site are the worst in many ways. We keep them on there to remind us of where we came from! Originally, I planned to sell my shoots to other sites, but when I presented them to buyers who said they were interested, they told me to go away and reshoot with makeup, heels, pouts, all the stuff other producers do to make amateur models look like pros. I told them to get lost and thought that it surely could not be THAT hard to start my own damn site! Boy, was I wrong! Satisfyingly, those other sites are out of business now.
Eros Zine: Which came first, your web site or your films? Abby Winters: Definitely the website. In fact, originally, we never even shot video of our models. We do DVDs to help people realize there is an alternative to the mainstream producers out there and our home is the web. The web is a new distro mechanism and we started producing content for the web first. It happens that web stuff can go on DVD quite easily -- we use camera gear that is of broadcast quality -- but as other companies are learning, it's not so easy to go the other way: DVD-based content to web. Eros Zine: Your models are all fresh-faced. Are they all within a certain age range? Abby Winters: All our models are over 18, of course, and most are under 24. We look for models who fit our paradigm and if they happen to be a bit older, we shoot them as well.
Garion Hall: Yes, the word "amateur" can have a lot of meanings, referring to the production values and/or the models. In our case, our models are amateur because they don't earn a living from modeling; in fact, most of our models work for us for a few shoots and for no one else. Abby Winters: Our production values are professional, though that can be a struggle sometimes, because many of our shooting staff are ex-models and not many 18- to 24-year-old women know much about the technical aspects of shooting video or stills, and especially erotica. So we put all staff through a rigorous training program when they start, which appears to work well! Eros Zine: Do you find your actresses or do they find you?
Eros Zine: Have any of the women you've "discovered" gone on to become "professional?" Abby Winters: Not as far as we know. We don't have a rep -- or desire -- to "break new talent" and most models are very keen to work for us when we call and offer shoots, but they do not actively seek a career in the industry. If they wanted to we'd do whatever we could to help them, though. Eros Zine: Who do you think are your core fans or subscribers? And who do you create your films for? Specifically lesbians? Curious college women? Men who are fans of younger women? Garion Hall: We like to think we appeal to all people equally. We're keen on the idea that most people out there are looking for stuff that is SEXY…it could be glam, BDSM, amateur, whatever. So long as it's sexy, they're interested.
So, in terms of the hardcore fans, I think we appeal to people who like models real, healthy and happy. But we have plenty of people who tell us, now they have found us, their expectations have risen a lot and they find other producers' material less satisfying, more obviously fake and pretentious and contrived. We seem to appeal to peoples' base need for SEXY and that can transcend drop-dead classic good looks or "perfect" bodies. Eros Zine: Do you receive requests for particular photo sets or movie scenes? Abby Winters: We do. But the longer we're around the more set in our ways we become. We're less open to new ideas and more interested in keeping the paradigm true to our vision. Garion Hall: A lot of the requests we get from customers are just totally off the paradigm, so we tell them thanks but no thanks. Sometimes we get ideas from customers, usually via our discussion boards, that are brilliant, and we implement them soon after.
Garion Hall: I have always thought of it as being like a soap opera or TV drama series. We don't want to change stuff too much or the people who pay us might change their mind. Generally, people like to know what to expect and not be challenged. Abby Winters: Sometimes we chuck in a random shoot or make some change to challenge people. There's always a flare up on the boards: half the people hate it, half of them love it and two weeks later everyone just accepts it. We lose some members and we gain others.
Abby Winters: Definitely. Our models always wear their own clothes and we shoot them in "natural," realistic locations. We're not out to produce a fantasy, more of a reality. Real young women, with real desires, thoughts and concerns. Eros Zine: Have you ever considered building sets or shooting in more contrived situations, for example fantasies, swimming pools, the stuff we usually see in porn? Garion Hall: We have considered it. It would definitely make life a hell of a lot easier! Amateur models often live with their parents or in a share house, which can represent some unique challenges for the shooting teams! We do a lot of shoots outside in the summer months, in parks and gardens.
Abby Winters: Some people say it does but I personally don't think so. Australian culture is very reflective of American culture in so many ways and certainly our local competitors produce stuff that is not uniquely Australian. Garion Hall: Abby and I have often spoken about how if we were both born in the US and started the site there that it'd have the same ideals and style that it has here in Australia. Abby Winters: Yeah, we're all just people with the same needs, at the end of the day. What country you happen to live in is less relevant, in my opinion. It's like how different countries have different reps for hot chicks: Swedish backpackers are supposedly the best women around, or California beach babes, or whatever. I reckon there are just as many attractive women per capita in any country.
Eros Zine: Do you have any other creative pursuits or upcoming projects you'd like to tell us about? Garion Hall: We're working on splitting the site up into three areas soon, three separate sites: solo, girl-girl and solo masturbation videos (we call them "intimate moments"). This will allow us to add a lot more content to each of the sites and let customers choose their faves. We'll be "grandfathering" all our existing customers so they have access to all three. And offering deals like, buy a sub to two sites, and get the third one free, and so on.
Eros Zine: It sounds like your fans have a lot to look forward to! Thanks for your time! You readers can find all of Abby's deliciously natural models at www.abbywinters.com.
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