They seem to care about the “amateur” label about as much as they care about the “college” label. I think the last collegiate model they had was Max.

CF is bad, but it’s not on BHH and BSB levels. Yet. BHH is actually lower than BSB. It’s seedier.

What you need to do is just go ahead and cancel. Don’t subsidize mediocrity. If they get their shit together, consistently over the span of maybe two months, then I would reconsider. It’s just not worth it, unless you’re locked in at some special low rate. Those sale prices only last for a month, then they jump back up.

Wow, that’s some crazy deep analysis about the houses. Right before the pandemic, they were releasing most scenes filmed right away so anyone who followed the updates from their move out of Vegas until early 2020 would notice each model films 3-4 gay scenes each shoot month. They’re no longer releasing scenes right away and have cut back half of their releases since the pandemic and that’s how they’re able to build up their vault. Notice how there were more old scenes released in 2021 than in 2020 because their vault is slowly expanding. They now have more options to choose which scene to release and which one to keep. That’s why we get scenes filmed in different months now compared to pre-pandemic CF. Even if the vault is not as extensive as I thought, with the way they’re slowly releasing scenes every month, their vault is bound to expand.

The sex acts and the extent of work done by the models matter because that distinguishes their work at CF and with other studios. That’s why those experienced models from the past don’t bother me as much as Richie West because the amateur brand no longer applies to him considering the time he spent in the industry and the amount of work he’s done. Aiden and most experienced models over the years were still convincingly amateur especially considering the context of time when it happened so I still bought the whole amateur brand.

What’s the difference now between BSB and Clay’s site? BSB is closer to CF’s material. If I’m getting the exact same model doing the exact same things he’s been doing at a similar site like BSB for many years, what’s the point of being a CF member? That’s where I’m coming from. ‘Cause it felt like i paid for CF but I’m getting BSB content instead. They made us wait 2 months for another Dylan scene that’s clearly old but in the same amount of time, they’ve already released three Richie West scenes. Now… In Rocky’s case, I wouldn’t get at CF the same predatory videos Clay did with Rocky at BHH/RB. Not saying I won’t take issues seeing Clay’s boys at CF but like I said, Rocky’s originally a CF model so his return was warranted.

Not you calling Too Hard medicinal. 😭🤣 Yeah, that guy from SC was a questionable recruit but he’s like Roman in a sense that he’s only done one sex scene at SC. But that’s just one guy out of countless new guys they brought to the studio in the past 2 years or so. But yes, GH has its own issues so it’s not like I’m giving them huge props. I’m just saying, they’ve done better recruitment and have stayed true to their brand of amateur porn more than CF in the past few years.

They wouldn’t be able to hold on to old scenes if they don’t have a lot in their vault, else they’ll run out of scenes to release.

That whole analogy hit hard. I guess I’m really that kind of guy. I’d like to think I’m a loyal type of friend and that’s just how i am. So thank you for that. I’m contemplating on what to do next, though i just renewed my sub last month.

Maybe I can bring in an indication that CF’s vault is not very extensive during the last years.
I have been analysing the locations (houses/mansions/estates) they used as a studio.
In Vegas they moved through five different houses/studios.
After their relocation to the new city, they filmed at three different estates. Let me call them in chronological order: A, B and C.
When they first published a scene recorded at A, only 4 ‘leftovers’ from Vegas were publishes, all 4 within a month time.
After the first scene from B was published, only 3 from A followed, again within the next month.
After publishing the first scene from C, only 1 from B followed within a few weeks. (Maybe there were 2, I have my doubts about one scene.)

So the transitions are very ‘sharp’.

It can’t be excluded that after a move they first published ‘everything’ (the vault) from a previous studio before publishing from the new one, and in the meantime building a new stock. But that would mean the chronology in general is maintained.

I can’t think of a very clever publication scheme that could provide a cover up.

In the Vegas time the transitions also were rather sharp. Except for the last one. After publishing from Vegas-5 for the first time (medio 2014), lots and lots and lots of scenes from Vegas-4 followed. So much that it’s my conjecture that they used two estates at the same time for a considerable period (approx. 2 years).

This analyses only includes solo and gay scenes. Not coed. All the re-publications of CFS-scenes to the ACM catalogue were left out. Their first publications as CFS are included (last ones were in 2015).

I believe FratMen was mostly solos. FratMenTV was a mixture of solos and orals. Maybe have been some fucking in there. I think FratPad might’ve had all three. Sex acts performed aside, that doesn’t discount Ashton’s popularity at the time. He was one of the faces of the site. There’s a reason he popped up at Randy Blue. Richie isn’t some big name star. His “fame” is debatable. It’s comparable to Michael Boston when he left BSB. Nobody was checking for him. Ashton achieved more fame in his several years at Fratment back then than Richie has achieved from his years at BSB now. That’s why the “veteran” example is comparable.

GH still shares models. Not too long ago they brought back that one guy who left them for Sean Cody. GH has multiple sites up at once, which means they can afford to spend more on recruitment. They also have more revenue coming in because they have their sites plus their “medicinal” products. Not to mention, GH is facing its own struggles. How well are they doing currently if they’re releasing Secret Menu updates on their main site? Every studio is struggling at different levels.

It’s not as extensive as anyone thinks. In the old days, CF would bring in multiple models at once to knock out a few videos. Saves on transportation fees. BSB does the same thing. Even if they brought in eight guys for a shoot, that doesn’t mean every guy is being paired with the other seven. You don’t how many shoots were being filmed, in what combo, over how many days. Or who is shooting a solo, a gay scene or a straight scene. And if they’re doing that just once a month, that’s not a lot of scenes. The reason they had so many Kyler scenes is because he was local, not because of some stockpile. If the vault was so big, why would Kyler scenes be the only ones they were holding onto? His scenes were probably the majority of the ones in that vault.

You have no idea what Richie’s availability is, or what his rates are. Jesse and Kyler were both local. But look at some of the sites they chose to do. They took back Clay’s leftovers in Rocky. What’s the difference between BSB and Raunchy Bastards/Boys Halfway House? Clay started at BSB. It’s the same thing. They’re doing whatever with whomever. This is nothing new.

If you keep looking at is as a recent thing, that’s going to be how CF lures you back in. Because it’ll be easy to write it off as a one-off. Richie isn’t a one-off. They’ve done this many, many times before. They’ll keep doing it. The sooner you acknowledge that, the easier it will be to stop holding onto to golden years. Those years are long gone, but that’s how they keep you roped in. The promise that they’ll go back to those years. Keep your expectations low, because that’s where they should be. It’s like watching a friend in an abusive relationship. Stop going back into the house because he promised not to keep hitting you. The hits are going to keep coming. Now you can get in the car and leave, or you can keep getting black eyes, wondering how you got here.

To be fair I wasn’t around yet during Fratmen days and my knowledge of Ashton is mostly his CF and post-CF career. But isn’t fratmen videos just a bunch of jerk-off and blowjob scenes? That’s nothing compared to all of Richie West scenes having full-blown sex. Same goes for Aiden who didn’t go beyond oral scene before coming to CF. Again, to me, there’s a huge difference between an experienced model like Aiden with someone who’s already done everything twenty-times over in another studio for many years and continue to do so with other low-rent studios in between filming with CF, especially when they’re only releasing one gay scene per week. All those guys you mentioned came from an era with an abundance of scenes every week and lots of actual new guys. Also, I can tolerate and learn to appreciate a Riley or a Roman whose done few scenes elsewhere that’s why I make a distinction between an experienced model and an industry veteran. To get to the same guy BSB has been offering for years especially at a time when there’s scarcity on scenes being released makes Richie West a lot worse than any experienced model in the past.

I’d still consider cam models new since most of them are solo performers anyway and their scenes aren’t exactly available in other known studios. GH can be many things but in fairness, they’ve been serious about getting actual newbies for quite a while now. Gone are the days of them sharing a model with another studio like with Philip/Tanner. And they will never get somebody like Richie West for sure. Been observing them from a distance and i have to say, in terms of recruitment, they’ve been whooping CF’s ass for quite a while now.

You really think they can hold on to Kyler scenes for a year if their vault isn’t extensive? Granted that we don’t know how deep their vault is, but there’s no way it hasn’t expanded exponentially given how few scenes they’re willing to release every month. Imagine, we only get 4-5 gay scenes a month. Out of those, 1 or 2 are old scenes from 2020. How many scenes they’re able to film out of 5 or more models every month? I mean, Richie West even said he took on three straight tops in September and that there were five other guys filming at the time. Then he came back with 7 other guys last December. Then Noah even mentioned Chris has been with CF since April on their pre-scene interview. Even Dylan’s bottoming debut is quite old judging by his hairstyle. So it’s not that their vault isn’t extensive. They’re just releasing scenes bit by bit while hoarding tons of scenes to expand their vault. Besides, if they could gather as much as 8 models last December then they’re financially capable enough to film and hold back plenty scenes. Now, in terms of quality, that’s a whole other conversation. But it’s clear they’re saving the good stuff for a sale. The gag is that they thought the Chris/Noah scene was sale-worthy. Seems like they’re taking a page out Belami’s playbook and expand
their vault to the beyond which is why they’re only willing to release very few scenes each month. But even if their vault isn’t as extensive, why be desperate enough to bring Richie West over and over when they can easily have 7 other models in December alone? That’s not counting Dane and Barron yet plus all the other new guys that they got this year. They’re not as short on models and scenes for them to settle with BSB’s leftover, especially when he’s just a low quality Noah clone.

CF has been taking sloppy seconds from other sites for years now. Why be disappointed now? This was always coming.

It’s quite possible Richie has two places of residence. Not uncommon for models to split their time between two places. Or maybe he was going “home” as in his family home.

They’re still based in Nevada. You don’t have to be located in Vegas to still face competition from Vegas. They were facing competition even before Helix set up shop there.

If Richie is also local

Don’t think so. He had this video from the airport when going home from CF.

There’s a lot of competition in Vegas

To my understanding CF isn’t in Vegas anymore since early 2018, possibly late 2017.

I don’t think CF’s vault is all that extensive.

I agree, for all the same reasons.

That vault is probably made up of the CFS scenes they never re-released.

There is something weird about those never re-released CFS scenes. They are offered for extra pay. But some of them have been re-released and live sort of a double live as a regular ACM as well. A bit of a mess really.

I’d say Marshall had even more experience than Richie when he arrived. He spent years with FratMen and he was even part of FratPad. He was far from being a newbie when he started here and that was back in 2012. As I’ve said before, CF used to share models from all over. They didn’t care where a model came from, or how many scenes they did previously. They just presented them as a new model and kept it moving. Look what they did with Aiden. They took forever to walk him through the gay side when he had already been there. Authenticity may have been the mindset when Jason started the studio all that long away, but that hasn’t been the case in years. With respect to Richie, it could be a matter of availability. Kyler was local, that’s why he did so many scenes. If Richie is also local, it would explain why they were fine with bringing him on. There’s a lot of competition in Vegas. With other studios and with other performers. They’re not going to turn down someone who is able to work, has proven they can work, when they’re in need of new models to fill in gaps. The rub with Richie is that he’s not bringing anything that Noah wasn’t already bringing. Unless of course, Noah is gone. Which who knows.

GH likes to act like they get models fresh into the industry. But we’ve seen time and time again that isn’t true. Like CF they’ve never been shy about taking cam models or models who have been elsewhere. They’ll just shade the shit out of them when they leave. They don’t care about exclusivity either. They just like to pretend that they do.

I don’t think CF’s vault is all that extensive. Look at their offerings over this last sale. If they had something of note waiting in the wings, they would’ve posted it. Okay, their Christmas Eve scene was Dylan’s bottoming. But their end of the year scene is a light dom scene with Chris and Noah? Their first official scene of the year is a solo with an average guy? Their first duo is Roman and Richie? That doesn’t seem like they had something magical waiting in the vault. It’s probably empty or filled with things of low quality which would’ve been lame releases no matter when they were released. With all these sales they keep running, I doubt they’re financially at a point to hold back tons of content they’ve already paid for while creating new content. They don’t have the resources to do that. That vault is probably made up of the CFS scenes they never re-released.

Richie West always looks bored and uninterested in his scenes.

Thanks for clarifying the use of ‘indulge’, it’s appreciated.
Your understanding of CF being an ‘amateur brand’ compared to (e.g.) Falcon makes sense.
I can agree with that. Thanks.

Did I sound cranky? LOL! Sorry. I started my message that way ’cause I have a lot to say, which is exhausting to type but I didn’t wanna ignore your message so I said I’ll indulge. Please don’t take it the wrong way.

The entire business model of CF along with their main competitors in the 2000’s is amateur studio porn. That’s what distinguished them from Falcon and other similar studios who have veterans models. They don’t have to continue saying the word Amateur ’cause they’re still following the same brand of amateur porn this studio is built upon. That’s why you have new guys being slowly introduced through solos and coed scenes, and slowly being trained by more experienced CF guys. You won’t get that with a studio like Falcon or even Men. So yeah, hope that explains my side. 😀

I did some guesswork regarding Richie West and CF. You have convinced me I could have done better. But I don’t want to spend the whole day from dawn to dusk on porn. So I do not follow all these models all around the net.

What I don’t quite follow is your understanding of an ‘amateur studio’. I never looked at CF as being one. The studio does not use the word ‘amateur’ on their website nor in their promotions. Maybe they did in the past, but have they ever explained what that meant for them? Care to explain what it means to you?

After reading your thoughts and those of Scrapple I really wonder if CF has a clear picture of the world of gay porn models and of their own place in the world of gay porn.

Okay, I’ll indulge …

Why did you start your reaction like this???
Am I, for some reason, supposed to be very thankful for getting a response?
I hope not, for in that case I’d rather you didn’t give a reply at all.
Maybe I totally misunderstood why this message system is called ‘disqus’?

True. He’s on Henry’s level of… Let me not… LOL! He’s lucky people here are not as cunty anymore. 5 years ago, he would’ve been torn to shreds.

If Richie is also local

Don’t think so. He had this video from the airport when going home from CF.

There’s a lot of competition in Vegas

To my understanding CF isn’t in Vegas anymore since early 2018, possibly late 2017.

I don’t think CF’s vault is all that extensive.

I agree, for all the same reasons.

That vault is probably made up of the CFS scenes they never re-released.

There is something weird about those never re-released CFS scenes. They are offered for extra pay. But some of them have been re-released and live sort of a double live as a regular ACM as well. A bit of a mess really.

To be fair, studio porn in general is on the decline and it’s not just because of the whole amateur/non-amateur thing. I’d even argue that the amateur brand of porn is still very much a thing. I mean, the fact that GH has been overtaking most studios including other big amateur studios from the 2000’s (at least in site traffic) for years now despite all their issues speaks volumes on how effective amateur porn still is. In a way, GH fills the void left by amateur studios who have either stopped producing content like RB or changed completely like SC, CM, and CF to some extent. Problem with CF now is that while they’re trying to stay true to their amateur brand, they’re also undoing it by bringing an industry veteran and freelancer like Richie West. Like, CF… Sis… Pick a struggle. It’s pointless being an amateur studio with all the solos, co-eds and thrifting members with once-a-week gay update when a freelancer can just come and go like how it is with non-amateur studios. But if they’re serious about being an amateur studio, why is an industry veteran and seasoned pro like Richie West still here? That’s why I said CF is going through an identity crisis right now much like SC and CM after being bought by porn conglomerates.

Not that I don’t agree, but Richie is pretty squarely at the Henry & Harry register of unpopular CF bottoms even during the site’s heyday.

I remember getting frustrated with Rick Hazzard too, though he only filmed few scenes outside CF before resurfacing to film 2 CF scenes. Leo filmed with BSB after his short CF stint as far as I know. Both Rick and Leo didn’t return to film with CF again unlike Richie West. Colt and Rocky are originally from CF so their returns were warranted. Elye barely did scenes with NDS before becoming famous as Dave so his return was as warranted as other CF originals. Tanner was the only one I remember who worked back and forth with CF and GH but that’s only one other studio and he wasn’t all over the place. Maybe Truman too but that was a pretty quick back and forth and again, that’s with only one other studio. In a nutshell, most of the experienced models they’ve had over the years were not yet industry veterans by the time they filmed with CF. And the few returnees are either originally from CF or did the bulk of their earliest work at CF. You’re probably right that I find Richie West more a sting because he’s nothing to write home about. But also because he’s beyond a typical experienced model. I know I tend to get annoyed when an experienced model shows up at CF, but Richie West got a whole other level of experience. We’re talking about a guy who’s been in the industry for four years and has done almost 2 dozen sex scenes with other studios, all while continuously filming with various other studios. He’s both an industry veteran and a freelancer, and I don’t think even Ashton and Chase were on that level. And yes, he’s not even a good addition to the roster. But unlike during Ashton or even Sawyer’s time with CF, we are at this point where very few scenes are being released allowing them to expand their vault exponentially. You mean to tell me even with all of that hoarding, they still chose to take a shortcut and recruit an industry veteran who’s not even on par with the quality expected of CF? That’s what makes this whole Richie West situation infuriating to me.

Okay, I’ll indulge. Richie West himself said he filmed around September before having back to back shoots with two other studios. He even posed for a photo with Legrand Wolf on November. Then he was asked back to film last December (hence his photos with the other boys wearing Santa hats). So yes, I’m sure he was filming back and forth with CF and other studios.

There’s no excusing it because 1, They’ve been cutting back on releasing updates since the pandemic started to expand their vault. The fact that they released some pre-pandemic scenes last year speaks volumes on how huge their vault has gotten. 2, another independent studio (Gayhoopla) has consistently introduced new guys even during this pandemic. That’s despite the mass exodus that happened at GH last year. 3, Considering how they were flaunting as many as 8 models last December shows they have enough budget and they’re not really struggling.

I’m not gonna get into Jason’s private life with you. As frustrated as I am, I still respect the man so let’s leave that one alone.