By Peter Berton

VAN NUYS, Calif. – Josh Stone has led quite a life. He played professional basketball abroad before entering the heterosexual adult industry as a performer in 2008. Now Stone has shifted gears by opening Trans500 Studio, a producer of T-girl porn distributed by Pure Play Media.

Stone has also owns two T-girl websites: Trans500.com and TSGirlfriendExperience.com, both of which are part of the Trans Dollars affiliate program.

“I have travelled all over the world shooting fresh new transsexual faces as well as veterans in this genre,” Stone said. “I have obtained the services of male performer Ramon, who is well known in the industry. This is the first time Ramon has worked in the transsexual market, and we’ve come up with a very cool line called I Kill It TS, which is centered around transsexual models taking on monster cocks.”

All this from a man who swears he never really planned to become a porn producer.

YNOT.com: Porn wasn’t on your professional radar, yet here you are. What happened?

Josh Stone: The adult biz was always something I was interested in while playing [professional basketball], so once my basketball days were over I started to pursue the business. At that time I was involved in other ventures, so the porn thing was just me trying to be a entrepreneur. I never imagined it would become a full-time occupation for me.

Why did you call your studio Trans500?

The name just came to me one night. I was in Spain going through a period where everything that came to mind was either taken or just didn’t fit. I was in the mindset of a Fortune 500 company, and then Trans500 popped into my head. It just felt right, so we went with it.

You had a solid career in “mainstream” porn. Why move into the TS niche?

I felt I had gone as far as I could in the straight genre and wanted to try something different. I felt the TS market was not oversaturated but on the rise. If I could apply some of the same techniques that worked for me in the straight market, I had a chance to do something good. It was just the right time.

I was fortunate enough to connect with some good partners who had the same vision I did, so we came together and Trans500 was formed.

Ramon is your Everyman. How did you convince him to join you in the TS niche?

Ramon and I have been good friends for about eight years now. I knew he was going through a period in his career, as well, where he had reached a point where he would be open to something new also. We talked about doing this for almost two years before it actually came to fruition.

Ramon has a huge following from his 15 years in the business, and things have just fallen into place. He gets recognized all over the world. It baffles me at times.

We want people to know, especially transsexual admirers, that Ramon isn’t doing this just for the money. He enjoys what he is doing — otherwise, he wouldn’t be doing it.

Who is the consumer for your trans porn? Straight guys? Tranny chasers?

If you talk to most transsexuals, they will tell you the majority of the men who are attracted to them consider themselves straight, so I tend to think the biggest consumers are straight males. I think even a “tranny chaser” would tell you he’s straight.

What aesthetic are you trying to create with your videos? What do you want the viewer to experience?

I try to bring exclusivity to my videos as much as humanly possible. I think a lot of that starts with selecting the right talent, as well as matching them up.

Example: Vaniity and Wendy Williams. They have been great performers in the business for many years, but neither ever worked with Ramon — so there you have something new.

Vaniity had a great threesome scene with Ramon and Castro Supreme that has been very popular for Trans500. It’s just about trying to come up with new ideas and being creative.

TS Girlfriend Experience is a site geared around the fantasy of a guy having a girlfriend experience. As men, we have all had the desire, at one point in our lives, to be able to select the perfect girl, and for a moment she’s all yours. A complete girlfriend experience — every guy can relate to that.

What was the best scene or video you have shot to date?

I have several favorites, but I’d have to say the best scene I’ve shot is Carla Novaes and Milena Venderine. When I shot that scene at that particular time, it was the first time I had ever even witnessed a trans-trans scene, period. I’d never seen that action live. It was like watching a hot, steamy girl-girl scene but with the girls fucking each other — not using strap-ons, but the real deal. The chemistry between the two was awesome, and they both were just great to work with.

We understand you’re considering producing some type of live event. What do you have in mind?

We really want fans to be involved with the site and feel they have input or suggestions, so when talking to our PR person, Wendy Williams, the idea came up that it would be neat if fans could watch the behind-the-scenes [action] and a live shoot. Currently, we have reached out to cam sites about possibly streaming a live shoot for fans and even those who are curious.

Moderating the event would be helpful, because then we could see what the fans suggest. Several mainstream companies do this already on such cam sites, so why not try it out?

What is the main thing people don’t understand about the TS niche?

I think the secret is no longer a secret. This is a niche that had been ignored and put on the back burner for many years by our industry, but that’s changing. I’m just happy to be able to be a part of this growing genre.

Also — I think we touched on this briefly earlier — men who are into transsexual women usually identify themselves as straight. Whether people understand that or not isn’t the question. It really comes down to how big the sexuality spectrum is.