“I just knew I wanted to have fun and make money with what I was doing,” Flynt told the crowd about his decision to launch Hustler magazine, the first building block in the LFP empire that now boasts more than 30 properties. “It’s been a pretty wild and crazy ride.”
Looking to the future of his company and the industry, Flynt touted the promise of broadcast and the Internet.
“I’m extremely excited about broadcast and video-on-demand and the direction that Michael Klein is taking the company,” Flynt said. “He has contributed an incredible growth pattern for us. If you’re going to make money in this business, it has got to be with the Internet.”
Waxing philosophical, Flynt talked about the importance of following your dreams.
“You’ve got to work hard and you’ve got to dream, you’ve got to look to the skies,” he said. “You get there by not compromising and by moving forward.”
Addressing the ever-present free speech issue, Flynt told the crowd that it was an issue the industry could not afford to take for granted.
“Free speech has lost its value,” he said. “You can’t compromise free speech. The 1st Amendment is the cornerstone of the Constitution.”
When XBIZ Publisher Tom Hymes asked if the FBI was still keeping a file on him, Flynt smiled and told the crowd that he thinks the government keeps files on a lot of people.
“I decided a long time ago that if you’re going to be a bear, be a grizzly,” he said to thunderous applause. “I don’t compromise in the courts. I was jailed six times for free speech. I took a bullet for free speech. People forget that you pay a price to live in a free society. I never compromised. I never sold out. I never cut a deal. I fought all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and won.”
Flynt told the crowd that the industry has an obligation to carry on the fight for free speech, saying that prosecutors target smaller operators by forcing them to settle.
“We need more people to stand up and fight,” he said.
One enduring message Flynt had for the crowd was to be proud of themselves.
“I’m proud to be a pornographer,” he said. “Your reputation is what you come to town with; your character is what you leave with.”