The veteran director Chi Chi LaRue is a survivor, having spent nearly 40 years helming every possible genre and subgenre of adult and riding out numerous market trends that blaze brightly and then burn out just as quickly. He’s witnessed the industry transition from VHS to DVD to Blu-ray, and from tube sites to streaming. Despite all of this change, however, the name and premise of his new project, ChiChiLaRaw, represent something new.
“Can you believe it? The whole idea of it always seemed to just fall by the wayside over the years. But now here it is and I couldn’t be more excited,” LaRue said. “I get to be as nasty as I want to be — in the best possible way.”
Can you believe it? The whole idea of ‘ChiChiLaRaw’ always seemed to just fall by the wayside over the years. But now here it is and I couldn’t be more excited.
LaRue admits his condoms-only advocacy for several decades is likely the main reason “ChiChiLaRaw” was never fully developed as a concept; he was a leading voice in pushing the gay adult industry to adopt condoms as a standard practice in the late 1980s and early ’90s.
“I was a bitch about using condoms — every studio, every model. Everyone, no exceptions. I never stopped talking about it and people still remember that — or they’ve heard about it,” he said. “And now things have changed. I mean, my God, things have changed in ways I never could have dreamed about. And so I can imagine seeing the name ‘ChiChiLaRaw’ would catch some people by surprise.”
In 2018, Falcon Studios announced LaRue would direct his first condom-free feature, “The Pledge.”
“My criticisms in the past always came from a place of concern for the well-being of performers and from the responsibility I had for sending a message to viewers about the importance of safer sex practices,” LaRue told XBIZ at the time. “I will always champion the need for safer sex practices and encourage all our performers, viewers and fans to take care of their sexual health… there are many ways for us to stay safe and enjoy an active sexual life. Get tested, communicate with each other, learn about all the safer sex options available to you and make informed and healthy decisions that are right for you.”
Four years later, LaRue reiterates that message in discussing the launch of ChiChiLaRaw, a website name he says “conveys a specific image about the kind of content you can expect.”
“But if you know me and my history,” the director mused, “then I think you’ll want to see how I’ve evolved and how the way we shoot hot man-on-man fucking has evolved. It means a lot to me and the fact that it’s been so successful right out of the gate, and that I’m here talking to XBIZ about it, is very meaningful.”
The new paysite is a collaboration with Dragon Media, for whom LaRue has directed a string of popular hits over the past few years, in tandem with affiliate network IndieBucks.
“ChiChiLaRaw is co-produced by someone who is no stranger to us — Mike R. of Dragon Media,” said IndieBucks’ Kenny B. “He teamed with us to help launch and manage DaddySexFiles.com back in 2019; in 2021, Mike came to us again for help with Dragon Media’s new daddy bareback niche site, RawDads.com, and one of the guest producers for that site was Chi Chi. So when the concept for ChiChiLaRaw was born, it was a no-brainer for us to jump on board when they approached us.”
“Being able to work with Mike again, and this time also with Chi Chi, is great. Chi Chi is such a well-known and legendary figure in this industry and we are extremely proud to be working with him,” Kenny B added. “The content being produced for ChiChiLaRaw is high-quality. It is a perfect addition to our IndieBucks network and complements our current lineup of bareback niche sites quite nicely.”
A batch of 16 scenes were initially filmed as the site was being developed. They were shot in Fort Lauderdale with a production crew led by Steven Ponce and XBIZ Award-nominated director Gio Caruso. As a “tease,” the producers posted some of the individual scenes on sites like NakedSword.
“And they’ve been doing well,” LaRue noted. “Every time a new one is released, it’s in the top rankings for NakedSword, so that’s fabulous.”
The director’s famed eye for discovering and developing hot new talent hasn’t dimmed. He extracts a promise to mention for this story the striking young newcomer Amone Bane and has paired him for ChiChiLaRaw with veteran swordsmen like Aaron Trainer, who can push the newcomer’s sexual limits.
“Guys are willing to go above and beyond for me; they always have. They know they can be authentic with me,” LaRue said. “I always, always ask about their boundaries and what they will not do — or even what they just don’t like to do. We’ll go right up to the very edge of that. I want them to feel like they can push the limits and just be as fucking nasty or dominant or submissive as they want. The audience can feel it.”
The stable of studs currently featured on ChiChiLaRaw includes Archer Croft, whose classic good looks evoke a kinky frat boy ready to be sullied; handsome DILF Silver Steele; bald and muscular studs Michael Roman and Killian Knox; a tatted newbie with the quirky name of Helloo Jose; adorable otter Adrian Rose; and the return of fan-favorites Bennett Anthony and Seth Santoro.
As we spoke, LaRue detailed a packed schedule that included a quick flight to Torremolinos, Spain to host the Grabby Awards Europe in mid April, multiple dates across the continental United States as a DJ as Pride events ramp up and a quick jet to Chicago at the end of May to resume a longtime role as co-host, alongside drag performer Honey West, of the Grabby Awards America, its first in-person ceremony since the pandemic lockdowns.
“I have to somehow find shooting dates for the next couple months,” LaRue sighed.
Make no mistake; LaRue is grateful for a busy calendar. “I sat at home on my hands for almost two years, like everybody else,” he said. “Now that things are opening up again, I’m going wherever they want me.”
Despite having filmed nearly every possible permutation of sexual expression over the the past 35-plus years, LaRue remains eternally optimistic about his job.
“I just invented something called ‘aardvarking.’ Do you know about this? It’s when one guy takes another guy’s foreskin and stretches it over his nose and gets a good whiff,” LaRue recounted with a hearty laugh. “It looks like an aardvark’s nose. I just filmed it with Killian Knox, who is incredible, and this new boy, Adrian Rose, who’s got the most amazing foreskin in the world.
“It sounds silly, and it is, of course, but it’s also fucking hot! And the guys just loved it. They love going to these odd places and doing things with body parts they’ve never considered. That’s why I love what I do and that’s what keeps me going. There’s always something new to try.”