Paul Allen leans over his immense desk discussing the family business. Fingers weighted with gold rings, goatee trimmed, his dark hair slicked back, he speaks in a raspy voice not unlike Brando’s in The Godfather, though given to bursts of impromptu songs like, “I kissed a girl and I liked it.” A large man sits in the corner with his tattooed forearms crossed. From an adjacent office, Allen’s wife Tracy finishes Paul’s sentences, filling in names and dates. Allen’s son walks in, getting his father’s approval on a project while Allen’s daughter-in-law announces new callers. Even Allen’s 82-year-old father works in the office, balancing the books.
All the doors are open, promoting an open-air intercom system. With Tampa Bay Downs blocks away, and sports memorabilia layering the walls, one might assume Allen runs a bookie operation. In fact, Allen even played a mafia kingpin in Stormy Daniels' adult film Whack Jobs. But Allen is no gangster. He’s a business man who heads a family-run publishing company, the staple of which is NightMoves — a free monthly magazine dedicated to Tampa’s active adult scene.
NightMoves started 25 years ago as Sports South. Along with the magazine, Allen owned a sports bar and hosted weekend sports programs on radio and TV. Sports have always been his passion, but the industry didn’t generate the revenue he wanted.
“I started thinking, other than sports, what else do men do?” Allen explains. “Men go to adult clubs.”
After losing many of his sports clients due to the adult ads that began filling Sports South, Allen focused the magazine on X-rated nightlife, establishing the second oldest local adult magazine in the country.
In an industry filled with posers and perverts who think that a laptop and a digital camera qualify them as professionals, Allen is the real deal. His office is noticeably absent of pornography, and Allen is under no delusions that he’s the Hugh Hefner or Larry Flynt of Tampa. He is, however, unabashedly proud of his product, and for good reason.
NightMoves offers around 80 pages of glossy print. While it’s dominated by ads, the editorial content delivers what readers want: namely, photos of local topless performers and touring acts. While most of these women aren’t professional models, they’re literally the girls next door, and accessible at a club near you.
“Our articles,” Allen says, pausing for one of the first times since I entered his office. “I like our articles. I don’t write big long, boring articles. I write articles that are quick, fun to read, easy to read, they get to the point. They don’t go into a whole lot of depth. That’s what the internet is for.”
The secret to his success is target marketing. “We hit a microcosm. We’re in Tampa. I’m not looking for the whole world.”
Like Allen’s personality, the magazine offers little bullshit. “It is what it is,” Allen is fond of saying. Readers don’t pick up NightMoves looking for the same thing they are when searching the internet for porn. At its core, NightMoves is a handbook for Tampa’s adult scene, not a jerk-off magazine.
Asked why Tampa has such a vibrant adult scene, Allen has no problem asserting that his publication had a major part in this. “NightMoves brought all the clubs, all the lingerie shops, all the models, all the bookstores, together. We brought it all to the forefront.”
As boastful as this may seem, Allen has a point. Not only did he consolidate the bay area’s adult businesses in print, he also brought the owners and performers together at his annual NightMoves Adult Entertainment Awards Show. Starting seventeen years ago, the event offered the first venue that connected the local scene with national figures, like porn star Ron Jeremy who hosts the event each year.
Like any successful business man, Allen took a chance organizing the show. “I didn’t know if I was going to draw any people. It was raining like a son of a bitch, I mean thunder, lightning. It got close to show time then BANG, we had a line out the door, people standing in tuxedos, and evening gowns with umbrellas.”
While the show isn’t the largest of its kind, it serves as a kind of industry gauge. NightMoves has been the first to present awards to a long list of stars and movies that have gone on to become industry heavyweights: Jenna Jameson, Tera Patrick, Gina Lynn and the film Pirates.
“We’ve become a lucky rabbit’s foot for a lot of stars, which is maybe why we’re still chugging along after seventeen years.”
NightMoves specialty would seem to be bringing in the biggest rising names in the adult industry. This year’s list includes Bree Olson, Alexis Ford, and Kayden Kross. While the show can’t compete with the sheer size and spectacle of the AVN Awards in Vegas each January, it offers fans an intimate experience, packing more than thirty high profile stars like Teagan Presley, Trina Michaels, Alektra Blue, and Jessica Drake, into club settings.
“Tampa takes us for granted,” Allen says, explaining why he thinks most people only hear about the show after the fact, when photos of adult stars appear in mainstream publications. “We’ve spoiled them. If I moved the show to other cities, I would be a millionaire. It’s crazy.”
This relatively low profile event may not be such a bad thing, at least for fans wanting to get close to their favorite performers. Last year Allen hosted a porn star BBQ in his backyard pool. This year, he’s kicking things up a notch.
“We’re going to Caliente, the nudist resort, for a porn star picnic,” Allen says, grinning. “40 nude porn stars and fans around a pool. Should be interesting.”
Interesting indeed.
Thursday through Saturday, a caravan of adult stars will visit various gentlemen’s clubs around the bay, doing giveaway and autograph signings. Things heat up Sunday afternoon at Caliente, boiling over into the awards show Monday at The Dallas Bull.
For specific times and locations visit our Sex & Love Events page or nightmovesonline.com
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