With more than 20 years in adult entertainment, Tony Rios has seen all sides of the industry, from software writer at an adult website to producer, and now publisher. In August, Rios took over as owner and chief executive of AVN Media Network, a trade publisher and event producer in Chatsworth. It is a position he enjoys as it gives him access to the breadth of companies and personalities found throughout the business. “I wanted a change,” Rios said. “I love the diversity here with AVN. We get to work with everybody.” A native of Northern California, Rios, 40, moved to Seattle after high school and got into the adult industry early in the Internet era. He came to Los Angeles after investing in an adult production company in 2000. He then moved to AVN, which was founded in 1983. AVN publishes two print magazines, the monthly AVN (originally Adult Video News) and Intimate, a quarterly covering the novelty and toy segment. The company also produces the Adult Entertainment Expo and Awards show every January in Las Vegas. Rios, who lives in Westwood, met with the Business Journal in his Chatsworth office to discuss his perspective on the adult entertainment industry in the San Fernando Valley, AVN’s role and how a childhood lacking rain led him to Seattle. Title: Chief Executive Company: AVN Media Network Born: 1975, Martinez, Calif. Personal: Engaged; getting married next year. Most Admired Person: “Overall I don’t really have (one). I would say I do look up to (Apple Inc. Chief Executive) Tim Cook and what he’s done in being willing to go face to face with the FBI.” Hobbies: Fitness, motorcycle riding, snowboarding and downhill mountain biking. Question: Is the adult industry still centered in the Valley? Answer: It’s a global industry. The big Internet companies are acquiring production companies. Productions are happening all over the place. There is still a huge amount of production that’s happening here in the Valley. But with the statewide condom mandate, productions will move to Las Vegas or even out of the United States. It is nothing for a large, multinational operation to say, OK, now we’re going to shoot in Budapest or in Prague. Then Measure B, Los Angeles County’s mandatory condom law, didn’t result in filming leaving the Valley? It threatened to affect it. The Measure B stuff, we are in good shape there. There’s been a settlement and it’s not even being policed. The big one is the statewide legislation (on mandatory condom regulations on a ballot initiative in November). That has a potentially negative impact on the Valley. That is a much bigger issue. Would you consider moving out of California if that ballot initiative passes? I don’t know if we need to move. Our companies are everywhere. It’s nice to be here. It’s convenient and the weather is great. How would you characterize the industry in the Valley now? We are seeing a lot of increased production right now. We do a monthly talent night and we bring the performers and new performers and interview them and take pictures and help get them started in the industry. We are seeing more and more girls and guys. During your career, how have attitudes toward the adult industry changed? In a positive way. For the first time ever that I am aware of the Diesel clothing company came out talking about why it makes sense for them to advertise on PornHub. That’s a huge porn site. It is unheard of to imagine a company like that doing that. We are starting to see it more and more. There is so much (Internet) traffic involved, it makes sense to put your product in front of that many eyeballs. How have the personalities in the industry changed? In the beginning there was so much money. There were a lot of people with big egos. You didn’t have to work very hard. Now the industry is more mature. We’ve got people who are coming in with business degrees and people who are focusing on the bottom line. You actually have to focus on the numbers. In that regard, the egos right-sizing themselves is a good thing, I think. Is mainstream acceptance good or bad? I’ve heard from two sides. One is yes, it’s good because your product is mainstream and you have a bigger audience and you can advertise anywhere. But then you have huge studios you could be competing against. What’s to keep (a big studio) from putting $1 million into a film? There are few (adult) companies that can keep up with that kind of budget. How did you get into this business? I was working at an electronics retailer up in Seattle. I was doing IT work for them, setting up the network infrastructure. I had a friend of a friend who said there’s this guy with a business idea and needs someone with a technology background to help him to get going. He put a web page up online and got people to sign up for a lifetime subscription to a porn site (Wonderful World of Erotica). What was your role? I ended up getting the role to write the software to run the site. I went to bookstores and bought books on Unix and learned how to program. At that time, we had to create everything from scratch. There was no one to lean on. There was no online credit card processing. I had staff sitting there typing in credit card numbers on a little terminal we got from Bank of America. It was before the advent of merchant credit card processing. Where did you go next? At that time, you never had to shoot content, you could license it. Over time it got to be where the content all looked the same and didn’t look original. The industry was changing so that you needed to stand out in some way. You needed to actually move into content production. Somewhere around 1999, 2000, I ended up investing in a company in California producing content, Channel One Releasing. That is what brought me out here. We built a production company. I was there for 15 years. How did you become chief executive at AVN? I have been friends with the previous CEO (Theo Sapoutzis) for a long time. We were trying to do some data collaboration and he wanted to take AVN to another level technologywise. The more we started working, the more it became apparent he preferred to spend more time in Europe. We decided it would make sense for me to stay here. What has been the biggest surprise? This company has a lot of moving parts. When we were in initial talks about working together I saw everything on paper. Now you see the industry is so broad. The level of information that flows through here was something that I would not expect. We have the agents; we have the Internet companies. There is a lot of trying to keep the balance and play mediator. What was your career turning point? I guess my career is based on the way the industry ebbs and flows. In the beginning, it was get out of high school and help start a company. That was a turning point. When content became a focus, that was another turning point. The downturn in the economy and piracy was another turning point. Right now, you can follow the curve. The industry is lifting up. You can see the numbers from last year to this year at our convention were a 20 percent increase (in revenue). That hasn’t happened in a long time. What are your plans for the company? I am looking at hiring a larger staff for development of our website. We will be launching a new AVN.com before September and will strengthen our relationship with outside companies. Is print still viable? Print is still viable. There is something about holding something in your hands. It has definitely downsized. We are moving toward technology to get it online better and give it the same feel. We are actually increasing our numbers in print. How important are events to the business? Extremely. The face-to-face interaction with people is nothing to compare to a phone call or an email. Most of the revenue comes from the events. What is the scene like when you produce the expo? It’s a madhouse. We take over the entire Hard Rock Hotel. Even just from the number of people alone, it’s already overwhelming. Then you get the visual stimulation of the girls running around doing all these crazy things. We have a stage with acrobat shows. I would highly recommend it. Is it the same for the annual awards show? The award show takes that and multiplies it by a hundred. Backstage is insane. The award show is up on the stage, everybody is watching, it’s very relaxing. Then you go backstage and it’s insanity. What are the future growth areas in adult? We are seeing a lot of growth in the dating and cam segment. We can now participate in live shows and do chatting (with an actress). With the cam model, you can have a performer right there in front of you. It’s a much richer experience for the end user, a more personal experience. And it combats piracy. We have (virtual reality) that is coming around the corner. We are starting to see growth there. Who has been influential in your career? Overall I don’t really have (one). I would say I do look up to (Apple Inc. Chief Executive) Tim Cook and what he’s done in being willing to go face to face with the FBI. We need more people like that. Larry Flynt has been instrumental in our industry. He went head to head and helped with free speech. What are your interests outside work? I am a fitness guy. I go to the gym every morning and work out. I’ve done triathlons, I’ve done Ironman (competitions), marathons, (200-mile) bike rides. And I play tennis once a week. Where did you grow up? I grew up in the Bay Area, and if you go east, it’s super hot. We never saw rain. I remember walking home from school and seeing the heat waves coming off the street and dying of heat. How did you end up in Washington? My mom lived in Seattle. So I moved to Seattle. It was raining the day I got there. I kissed the ground, I was so happy to see rain and all this green. Where I grew up the hills were always brown. It was raining the day I got there and six years later I decided to move away because it was still raining. It never stopped raining. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and space purposes.
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