CHICAGO – The heyday of gay erotica comes into focus at a new website designed to be as much a museum as a pay site.
RetroMales.com delivers 1960s, ’70s and ’80s films and video to modern-day devices. Although the site’s library is respectable now, the catalog is expected to grow quickly with the addition of two new videos each week.
The classic content comes from the collection of Bijou Video founder and owner Steven Toushin. For more than 20 years, Toushin ran the infamous Bijou Theatre in Chicago, where he showcased X-rated gay cinema and fought legal battles against obscenity. Many of Toushin’s obscenity victories and failures form the basis for the larger adult industry’s operations today.
When the theatre closed in late 2015, Toushin realized if he didn’t kindle an appreciation for the classics in young viewers, the material might be lost…or worse, forgotten.
That’s when he partnered with gay affiliate program Zbuckz, and the two companies embarked on a preservation effort.
“RetroMales brings our vintage gay porn movies to a whole new generation of millennial fans, including our fans that prefer to enjoy videos on their mobile phones and tablets,” Toushin said. “This is a fantastic opportunity for younger members to discover our classic titles, and for us older guys it’s an opportunity to relive those glorious years.”
According to Zbuckz founder Danny Zeeman, RetroMales’ concept goes beyond simply selling content.
“My excitement in taking on this project was to tell the broader story of our unique gay history,” he said. “I felt something special and uniquely profound watching these amazingly produced classic films which combined art, provocative stories, beautiful music and extremely hot men in a truly cinematic experience. There is just nothing like these movies being produced today.
“Finally, here is a chance for the younger generations to take a step back in time and learn the true history of what it meant to be a gay man in the ’60s and ’70s,” Zeeman continued. “This was an exciting and special time where repression fueled creativity, gay sexual liberation and ultimately the modern gay movement. We owe so much of what we have now to the legendary Steven Toushin and the creative minds that brought these cinematic visions to the big screen. Our goal is for the younger generations to discover this lost art form, and beyond that, to bring these films into the mainstream where they rightly deserve a place in the history of our rich culture.”
Zbuckz Chief Executive Officer Nemo “Fishy” Mcallister spearheaded the initiative to remaster and reformat the content to fit contemporary transmission standards.
“Bijou is the only company in the world for vintage gay porn of this scale and magnitude,” he said. “Through the hard work and tireless attention to detail of our editor, Dell Douglas, we have updated and remastered these classic gay porn videos from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 8mm film days to the best quality possible. Members can now enjoy vintage gay porn movies and classic gay sex scenes through modern, standard HD screen sizes and video formats.”
The site is promotable via Zbuckz, which pays $30 per sign-up for 60-percent recurring revenue share.
