A little less than 16 years agowhen this site was in its infancyJim "Mr. Skin" McBride visited his first Internext Expo in Las Vegas. Next month, he'll be delivering the keynote address at the 2016 Internext Expo and he recently sat down with AVN to discuss all the sordid details.
Mr. Skin made quite an impression at 2013's Internext Expo, hosting a KISS themed party to announce the expansion of his SK Intertainment brand. Now he'll be the center of attention again with his keynote address, and he couldn't be more excited!
AVN: When was the first time you attended Internext?
Jim McBride: My first Internext was at the Venetian in January 2000. Mr. Skin was only four months old at that point, and Internext was the first trade show I had ever been tolet alone an adult trade show! I was like a kid in a candy store. The thing is: I still am!
Are you looking forward to addressing the crowd at Internext?
To be asked to address Internext is an honor by any standards. As a grown man known as “Mr. Skin,” though, it’s an honor beyond my wildest dreams. The adult business has been tremendously generous to me. It’s also been more fun than I could have ever imagined. So to speak before the industry’s biggest annual event is a privilege and an even bigger thrill than checking out the latest celebrity nudes!
After 15 years as the head of your own company, what part of running your business excites you the most?
As both an employer and just in general, I’ve always had a “generosity gene,” so it’s especially rewarding to see it pay off in the form of talented people who rise up through the ranks of the business. Sam Rakowski is one shining example. In 2001, Sam started out in our content department, looking for nip slips and writing down nude scene times. Now he’s the company president. Like Sam, many other employees have also been with us for more than a decade, and it’s great to see them flourishing in leadership roles. Everybody on the staff wants everyone else to succeed. That makes for a happy workplace. In fact, this is actually the company I grew up always wanting to work for, and not just because I get to stare at nude celebrities all day. That doesn’t hurt, of course.
In 2014, Mr. Skin had a growth spurt, when you acquired Fleshbot and started Mr. Man. How have those business moves changed your company and affected your job as CEO?
Mr. Man, which is like Mr. Skin for naked male celebrities, is responsible for the biggest change. It comes down to two words: nude dudes. So now I need to know some things about some THINGS, if you will. In reality, though, some of the parts (private and otherwise) may change with each new venture, but the heart of the company has always and will always remain the same. We hire the best people to do their best work and they hold themselves to the impeccable standards that have long been set by Mr. Skin.
Where do you see the most promising growth areas for adult brands?
The challenge is always: how do you compete with free content? Mr. Skin has answered that question, time and again, by providing users with a great, one-of-a-kind experience, delivering quality and material in a manner that can’t be found anywhere else, and charging a reasonable price. We continue to grow in this market, year after year. Effectively monetizing web surfers who won’t ever join your site is also very important. We’re actually really bullish on that front for 2016 and beyond. We’ve all read the obituaries of display ads, but advertising is far from dead; it’s just constantly evolving. To the ongoing credit of my team, Mr. Skin has always evolved with it.
Can you hint at any new business developments that might lie ahead for SK Intertainment?
We have a lot in the works. Top of the list is a complete redesign of the Mr. Skin site slated to debut before the end of the year. It’s a whole new look with new features I can’t believe are even possiblebut my team just keeps amazing us all. Prepare to be blown away. We’re also developing a new celebrity paysite for an old-school adult brand. It was of my earliest skinspirations, so suffice to say, I’m super stoked for that one. Other than that, our core businesses will remain adult, but we’re also expanding our “mainstream” reach. For example, through development and acquisition, we’re growing a network of safe-for-work men’s entertainment websites. So the Skinpire will be continue to expand into 2016 and beyond. Come on by any time and give us a one-handed salute!The Internext Expo runs from January 16-19, 2016. Visit Internext-Expo.com for more info
Via AVN
