AMA - Steven Grooby (Ask Me Anything)

[GroobySteven]

Hi Steven,
This might be an obvious question for some but not me. How come when I google a Tgirl pornstars name, all the search results are for xhamster & other tube sites, why don't any links to grooby sites come up. For instance I am currently very into watching Nyxi Leons scenes and I periodically have to trawl through all the Grooby sites individually to see if she has any new stuff on there and then join to get the scene etc. Is there any way to do some kind of notification where a favourite porn star appears on one of your sites where you could sign up for an alert or is that not possible? Thanks in advance for the answer.

That's a great idea but I'm not sure we'd be able to implement it. I'll put it forward. I sit in a room with some of the biggest companies in adult, and the owners and CEO's are so smart it's ridiculous, I love to learn from them. The difference between many of them and Grooby, is that they're technology companies doing porn, and we're a porn company who lacks great technology.

As far as the Googling. This is to do with SEO and it's a problem. Google ranks partially based on traffic and a company like ours has a miniscule among of traffic compared to tube sites (the difference that our traffic is 100% dedicated and PAYING members, and those companies are 100% non-paying people and lots from countries like India or the Middle East who will only search for stolen content as they can't be billed, doesn't come into it.

I just done a test 'Itzel Saenz Porn' on Google. I'm 7 pages in and found the first official Grooby site - and it's the Itzel's post on HungAngels (HA has more traffic than our pay sites). 10 pages in, and it's all just the same few tube sites on repeat. So Google fails in delivering the most relevant results for porn models.

[MrFanti]

That's a great idea but I'm not sure we'd be able to implement it. I'll put it forward. I sit in a room with some of the biggest companies in adult, and the owners and CEO's are so smart it's ridiculous, I love to learn from them. The difference between many of them and Grooby, is that they're technology companies doing porn, and we're a porn company who lacks great technology.

As far as the Googling. This is to do with SEO and it's a problem. Google ranks partially based on traffic and a company like ours has a miniscule among of traffic compared to tube sites (the difference that our traffic is 100% dedicated and PAYING members, and those companies are 100% non-paying people and lots from countries like India or the Middle East who will only search for stolen content as they can't be billed, doesn't come into it.

I just done a test 'Itzel Saenz Porn' on Google. I'm 7 pages in and found the first official Grooby site - and it's the Itzel's post on HungAngels (HA has more traffic than our pay sites). 10 pages in, and it's all just the same few tube sites on repeat. So Google fails in delivering the most relevant results for porn models.

Seems like the all Grooby site function of: "Model Search" takes care of it....no?

[GroobySteven]

Seems like the all Grooby site function of: "Model Search" takes care of it....no?

no - as he'd have to be a member of the sites. he wants notifcation of when his fave model/s has a new update on the site, so he can consider rejoining.

[bigm25]

As A Fan how would you suggest fans meet tgirls in real life? Do you recommend a dating app or going to gay bars or gay clubs? Where do you meet all the new tgirls you film?
Thanks

[GroobySteven]

As A Fan how would you suggest fans meet tgirls in real life? Do you recommend a dating app or going to gay bars or gay clubs? Where do you meet all the new tgirls you film?
Thanks

There are very few bars/clubs left - and fewer girls wanting to go to them, preferring to go to gay/cis clubs instead.

There are plenty of dating apps. Taimi is pretty good. I've seen trans girls on OkCupid.

Just don't be a weirdo. Don't make it about them being trans. Treat them like you would any other date. And if you don't plan on being seen with them in public on a date, then hire a sex worker instead.

Most of our models apply directly to work with us.

[bigm25]

Thank you. This is very helpful.

2 more questions, I know many users already think there is enough feet and foot content on the Grooby sites, but some customers, like me can't ever get enough. Have you ever looked into doing a foot fetish site?

Also there are lots of compilations style videos now on onlyfans and the tube sites. Did you ever look into doing a compilations style website?

[GroobySteven]

Thank you. This is very helpful.

2 more questions, I know many users already think there is enough feet and foot content on the Grooby sites, but some customers, like me can't ever get enough. Have you ever looked into doing a foot fetish site?

Also there are lots of compilations style videos now on onlyfans and the tube sites. Did you ever look into doing a compilations style website?

A foot site. If I made a foot site showing 10 new scenes a day, of every trans star and charged $2.99 - there would still be complaints and asking for more. The foot fetish guys are the most irritating and annoying bunch ever, it doesn't matter how much we show they want more - and if we do some sets without showing feet, it's almost a cardinal sin. It's also rare to find someone into feet, who understands that it's their fetish - and not everyone likes it. Also open secret, not all models have great feet.
That being said ... ;
a) yes, we've looked into it, but without a producer who was genuinely into it and does enough content to run a site then it's a stalling point.
b) I'd be gunshy about investing too much. We had people here who were desperate for a site featuring girls topping guys - swore they'd stay members, that there was so many people into it. We launched it (Tgirltops.com) with great stars, and then the complaints came - either the wrong girls, or we didn't get this girl, or more whining and complaining (more than the rest of the sites put together) and the income wasn't there, so I just tired of trying to run it and made it part of BobsTgirls.com where it sits nicely.


What do you mean 'compiliation videos'? Compilations of ?

Thanks for the input!

[kmersh]

Steven, firstly thank you for answering question from us.

My question is one that I have wondered for a long time, is making porn fun for the actresses and actors, or is it work like any other job?

Many times when I think about the actors and actresses who make porn films, I think about the Robert Frost quote, “My goal in life is to unite my avocation with my vocation,
As my two eyes make one in sight.” I mean having sex is fun for normal everyday average folks, so getting paid to have sex would be amazingly fun, but then I say to myself very few jobs unite ones hobbies/things they enjoy with how their earn their livelihoods and I wonder if acting in porn is similar in that it is work and work is not generally also fun.

[GroobySteven]

Steven, firstly thank you for answering question from us.

My question is one that I have wondered for a long time, is making porn fun for the actresses and actors, or is it work like any other job?

Many times when I think about the actors and actresses who make porn films, I think about the Robert Frost quote, “My goal in life is to unite my avocation with my vocation,
As my two eyes make one in sight.” I mean having sex is fun for normal everyday average folks, so getting paid to have sex would be amazingly fun, but then I say to myself very few jobs unite ones hobbies/things they enjoy with how their earn their livelihoods and I wonder if acting in porn is similar in that it is work and work is not generally also fun.

That's not a new question, I think it's been asked throughout porn history - but it's a good question and I think it changes with the times. I'm just speaking for my experience with trans performers and cis performers we've worked with.

When we started producing it was all new and fresh. Small video cams were new - and nobody had filmed for the internet, but we were working with a lot of girls who were sex workers (prostitution) and their mentality at the time, was based on an hour rate for the most money.

So many of them would just go through the motions to get paid. Fast foward to 2010 and onwards and there are far more models who came from different walks of life and working in the sex industry (cams, photoshoots and sometimes prostitution) who wanted to work in the adult industry. In our specific niche, we also get a lot of models who don't need the income from working on scenes with us, but they want the validation of being able to be filmed professionally and get paid for a shoot that will appear on sites and promotion, and these models usually really enjoy the work.

It doesn't matter how great looking the model is, if they're not enjoying being in front of the camera, it's going to show and the scene isn't going to do as well. I'd rather take a girl who is pretty with bags of energy and wants to do a great shoot, over a girl who looks like a supermarket but is just going through the motions.

So that's the overview - so what I'd say is that the majority of the models enjoy doing to work. We get models requesting to work with other models, or ones excited to be paired with a performer. Sites like tgirls.porn we try to keep authentic and usually the girls there are really into wanting to do a shoot. There will be a few who are just great actresses and can fake it - but in my experience, the vast majority of models that we work with, do enjoy the actual filming of the scene as long as it stays safe, authentic and the producers are mindful of the time. A 25 min Grooby hardcore usually takes 2-3hrs to film, which seem's a long time. Some of our competitors who do more involved setups, multi-camera, more makeup etc. one scene can have you on set for 8-12 hrs and I think that's why they can occassionally lose a little of their passion/excitement.

Hope this answered it.

[Fiji]

A 25 min Grooby hardcore usually takes 2-3hrs to film, which seem's a long time. Some of our competitors who do more involved setups, multi-camera, more makeup etc. one scene can have you on set for 8-12 hrs and I think that's why they can occassionally lose a little of their passion/excitement.
.

Following on this answer, i'm curious how similar or different porn shoot productions are to shooting say a high end commercial or a music video. Is there much overlap between the different production worlds, do you find some of the crew you hire dip between the categories or is it if you're in the porn industry you stick exclusively to that lane? Asking as someone who works in commercial productions