Since its launch in May 2017, FuckingAwesome.com has set out to produce exactly what its domain name promises — fucking awesome porn.
And spearheading the execution of that vision is Chief Production Officer J. Lallz, whose impressive efforts last year earned the company the coveted 2018 XBIZ Award for Emerging Web Brand of the Year.
I live and I breathe this brand. It’s everything to me. I’m a firm believer that ... when you put all of your passion and effort into something, it radiates.
Now, backed by the powerhouse muscle of Gamma Entertainment, with whom FA inked an exclusive broadcast and DVD distribution deal in January, the paysite is pursuing even grander ambitions.
“I’ve been in the adult sector now going on 15 years and have seen the business change tremendously over time,” Lallz explains. “Initially, I teamed up with Christian, who is the majority owner of FuckingAwesome.com, through a mutual friend of ours, due to the fact they were launching this brand and wanted to be the benchmark for high-end cinematic content.”
And with such an ambitious undertaking, which Lallz describes as “becoming nothing less than the James Bond of the adult sector,” he understands that it takes more than fancy cameras to create genuinely compelling content. Mind you, FA shoots in 8K while “dumbing it down to 4K,” but the team does not rely on technology to make up for lack of passion and imagination.
“Anybody can go and buy a 250,000 dollar camera and put a superstar on the beach in a perfect scenario and have the content look stellar, and that’s great,” Lallz notes. “What separates the men from the boys is being able to create top-notch movies without going overboard on gear that would normally be used in a major feature film — it doesn’t showcase the talent of the company. And, it’s also important to offer genuine variety.”
Variety, indeed, is what keeps users coming back for, as Lallz has witnessed that no matter how gorgeous the talent and cinematic visuals are … predictable rhythms must be avoided at all costs. That is why FA will “never shoot the same place twice” and their storylines are “always different, to ensure quality over quantity.”
In fact, FA has opted for biweekly updates rather than weekly updates, lest their production efforts devolve into a factory mindset not conducive to polished perfection. Ultimately, Lallz believes “the user deserves quality, more than just crap constantly thrown at them.”
To keep subscribers loyal, he takes great pains to make sure “every scene is thought out, well-planned and well-executed.”
This fervent desire to keep scenes fresh is partially due to the patterns he has noticed in other high-end sites that end up overusing “the same bedroom, with the same guy, with a different girl.”
Lallz observes, “A lot of these companies will come out with a great looking website, and the content will be unique for the first month, the first two months, maybe even the first six months, but then all of a sudden, monotony comes into play. Or, once a month, they have a big scene, but the other three are just mediocre.
“If someone is paying, they deserve something that isn’t monotonous, which is almost insulting to a consumer,” he adds. “It gives them something to look forward to. I’d rather watch something amazing every 10 days, than something every five days that’s repetitive.”
Repetition extends beyond the self-contained ecosystem of a company’s own productions, given how tempting it is for directors to mimic another director’s success or chase exciting trends which may be “hot one minute, and the next minute they’re not.”
Instead, Lallz prefers to cement FA’s reputation as a purveyor of the finest adult movies by establishing consumer trust.
“When you buy a fine bottle of wine, you know that wine maker is always going to have fantastic wine no matter what, and that’s what we want to be, the crème de la crème of adult content,” he says. “We want to be beyond trends.”
And what better way to appeal to users, than to seek out their feedback?
“We want to hear from the user and regularly read their comments about what they want,” Lallz reveals. “We want to produce content that is user-based. We take comments seriously and we want to know what we can do so that loyal FA customers are happy, rather than just looking at what’s out there and saying, ‘Oh, this is a hot fad, let’s copy this company.’”
Once that stellar content is fashioned, Lallz markets it “through affiliates, media publications like XBIZ and organically, via social media,” as well as various hip-hop groups like House of Pain representing the brand.
“We will continue to have artists like that rep our brand not only because of its uniqueness from A to Z, but because of the quality … and because like anything in life, when something’s exceptional, you’re drawn to it,” he vows.
And without palpable enthusiasm, Lallz knows that few would be drawn to his projects. Fortunately, he has excitement in spades for FuckingAwesome.com.
“I live and I breathe this brand,” he enthuses. “It’s everything to me. I’m a firm believer that if you sit there and make quality content, whether it be movies or music or anything in life, people will want to buy, watch, read or otherwise consume whatever it may be. When you put all of your passion and effort into something, it radiates. If you don’t care about the product that you’re putting out and you’re not constantly trying to think about how you can better improve your user experience, you should not be in the adult industry.”
Borne aloft by that energetic work ethic is the CPO’s clockwork crew, who give it their all with each scene.
“I feel that nothing great is done alone and you’re only as good as the team you surround yourself with,” Lallz states.
“Sometimes, I use sports analogies when I’m working with my crew. I tell them, ‘You can be the best player in the world but it’s a recipe for disaster if you have nothing but shitty teammates around you that don’t care, and don’t believe you want to work together.”
To forge a motivated and collaborative team spirit, Lallz crafts “a creative flow, because there is no top-down sense of hierarchy, even if there is one on paper.”
“That’s what makes us unique,” he shares. “I’m always open to ideas, because I always want to be as creative as possible. Creativity comes from the craziest places sometimes and if everyone doesn’t feel they’re a part of something special, it won’t work out well.”
Lallz says that FA also “mixes it up when it comes to directors, but I’m always on set making sure everything is being handled well … I’m very hands-on with every shoot, from the script to the wardrobe — I’m very detail-oriented.”
And what adult movie would succeed, without charismatic talent?
“You have to make the talent as comfortable as possible,” Lallz says. “The more comfortable they are, the more you’re going to get out of them. I feel that talent sees through bullshit and people know when someone’s passionate about something or not.”
Thus equipped with a clear vision and a formidable team, Lallz is optimistic about the future of FuckingAwesome.com.
“We have a lot of cool upcoming ideas, ranging from technological upgrades to user-based features,” he confides. “I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag yet, but we will continue to stay ahead of the curve. We want to test limits and do things that no one has even grasped or thought of.
“We’re just getting started and we couldn’t be more excited about the future ahead,” Lallz concludes. “At the end of the day, we want people to sign up and become part of the FA community, knowing that every scene will literally be fucking awesome in its own right.”
