Scott Schalin Interview
2003-01-31 12:22:38

We spoke by phone Friday morning, 1/31/03.

Luke: "What are your plans as the new president of Herbalo?"

Scott: "I'm trying to kill the country one pill at a time.

"Herbalo has an exclusive deal with Vivid - HerbalVivid product. We have tons of different - penis enhancers, female sex energizers, hangover cures. It's a mainstream marketing plan. That's what's exciting about it. We don't have to deal as much with the adult community as you do when you're Silvercash.

"The HerbalVivid product is becoming the biggest herbal product in the world as far as sexual enhancers. We're slamming it into 7/11s, GNCs...

"I was the editor of Hustler magazine for five years, from 1990-95, with Alan MacDonnell."

Luke: "What's the story with Alan leaving LFP?"

Scott: "I'm good friends with Alan. I think he's one of the smartest, most talented writers in the adult industry. The magazine industry is suffering from erosion from the internet and DVDs.

"As a result, Larry was looking to make an editorial change. He wanted to make it more political again, like it used to be.

"Look at the first two Bruce David [new editor of Hustler] issues. They're super-political again. Alan's take was that people don't want politics with their porn. I agree with that. I liked the Alan-version of Hustler. It was porn and smutty and gossipy and inside-the-industry. If you whack off, do you really want to read about what happened in Iraq?

"Alan is writing screenplays now."

Luke: "I spoke to you by phone for five minutes in 1995 when you were thinking of starting up their video division."

Scott: "There was a second or two I was looking at that. I helped them start their online division but then I got an offer from Seth Warshavsky in Seattle. Seth made me an offer I couldn't refuse.

"James Baes, based in France, then took over LFP's content as creative director. Clive McLean shot the Barely Legal series."

Luke: "How long were you with Seth?"

Scott: "About six months. He wanted someone to be the creative director and liason with the porn world. I moved to Seattle. Took the gig. When my first paycheck bounced, I saw it as a red flag.

"My friend Ed Bonn was trying to set up a similar type of internet company in LA. So I moved back. I started IGallery with Greg Dumas in 1996. We built it up to the level where New Frontier could come in and destroy it.

"I knew Greg from Hustler, where he did sales and marketing. When I went up to Seattle, I brought Greg with me. When that wasn't working out, and I moved back to LA, I brought Greg with me again. We formed the creative and marketing team for IGallery."

Luke: "You guys were huge in 1997-99."

Scott: "It was super-large then New Frontier purchased us in 1999."

Luke: "How did they destroy it?"

Scott: "You know what? By legal decree, I can't tell you. Honestly, I had a contract there. I was having a miserable time. I got out of my contract, and as a condition of getting out [in early 2002]... I have nothing bad to say about them. Look at their financials. It speaks for itself.

"In January of last year, they were moving the operation to Boulder, Colorado, the home offices of New Frontier. They were shutting down the LA offices and asking me to move to Boulder. Have you ever been to Boulder?"

Luke: "NO."

Scott: "There's no reason to go there. It's a one-horse town. I did not want to move there so we parted ways. I've been consulting eversince then with Python and now with Herbalo.

"Your story was so funny [that Scott was fired by Python]. David van der Pool [owner of Python] and I were cracking up [over the phone] as we were reading it line-by-line.

"For the past ten months, I was asked by Python to come in and get their content division back up to snuff. Python started as a content company, then like most companies, realized that the big bucks were in websites and subscriptions. So they forgot about their content division. When I came in, their content was basically a live show called Tit Talk and several photo galleries.

"I put together a bunch of licensing deals, including an exclusive deal with Pleasure Company to license their library of video product. We licensed midget content, drunken sluts (a Girls Gone Wild thing). My deal was to upgrade their entire content division with brand new products. I did that. I had a couple of sales people underneath me [but not in a sexual sense].

"I was never an employee of Python. I was strictly a consultant."

Luke: "Why did you want to move on?"

Scott: "I'm still consulting with them. Most of my focus is on herbalo. I wanted to do something different. I've been selling content to webmasters and hustling exit traffic for seven years. The idea of marketing a tangible product appealed to me. You don't have to worry about VISA and MasterCard, which is something that hangs over the industry like a black cloud.

"Herbal products are tangible and so you are in a different VISA league completely. The idea of your product being in 7/11s and advertised on TV and on Howard Stern and Maxim magazine is exciting.

"To take what we do in adult, and take those same principles and apply them to mainstream, is exciting."

Luke: "I hear the owner of Herbalo is about the coolest guy around?"

Scott: "Pat Galvin is one of a handful of truly honest, decent people in this industry. I would put David van der Pool in that category and Yisha [Habari]. Pat is one of the funniest guys I've ever met. He's straight up and honest. His word is gold. He used to be a drag racer. He comes from a whole different world than ours and he had a whole different kind of integrity that you don't find in adult. You know the players in the industry."