(Note: This Publisher’s Note by Dave Manack appears in the January 2023 issue of ED Magazine)
As a 26-year-old music and sports journalist, I had a lot to learn about the adult nightclub industry when I was hired back in 1998. To be very honest, I knew
next to nothing about this business, aside from the fact that I’d been to a handful of clubs and that I enjoyed seeing attractive women in various stages of undress.
My education, understandably, started by learning the names of those who were considered the “founding fathers” of this industry (note: There were/are some key female figures as well). It was critical that I knew who the players were, what they did that was so critical to the evolution of this industry, and why they were so revered.
I’m sure that there are hundreds if not thousands of industry “newbies” that are in the same position today that I was in back in 1998 (which seems to be the case, since over 35% of those who attended the 2022 EXPO were first-timers). Meaning, an “education” into the history of this industry and a glimpse into the personalities who helped shape it’s success would be both informative and entertaining.
Enter: The Founders Interview Series.
Over the course of the next two years, ED Publications’ Founder, Don Waitt, will be interviewing the “founders” of this industry as we prepare for the 30th Anniversary EXPO in 2023 (August 20-23, Paris, Las Vegas). These exclusive, comprehensive interviews will appear in each upcoming issue of ED Magazine. Though these individuals are incredibly successful and innovative (some are multi-millionaires), you’ve never seen them featured in Fortune or the Wall Street Journal. There are no documentaries detailing their impact on a multi-billion-dollar business. Their stories have never been truly told on the scale that the “Founders Interview” will tell them. And when the series is complete, our readers will have a comprehensive history of this industry’s forefathers.
Take that, Wikipedia.
“Landing Harry Mohney, who does not ever give interviews, for the first interview in our new Founders Interview Series was quite the coup,” says Waitt. “It was a long process to get him to agree, but once he did, he jumped in with both feet. Being able to spend a whole day conversing with one of the most successful trailblazers in our industry was a true highlight for me personally. I hope the interview gives our readers an insight into Harry as both a person and as an industry pioneer.”