KEN SLATER AND MIKE ZILLION HANG OUT WITH OUR OWN ANDY POWELL



JRL Viewers, we've got the legendary CyberBears here live and direct on JRL. We're talking with Ken Slater, Director, and Mike Zillion, Producer for all of the CyberBears DVD's.

Andy:
Ken and Mike, it's a great day for me here on JRL. Thank you so much for doing this for our viewers.

Mike:
Thanks, Andy!
Ken: Great to be here.

Andy:
So give us the latest info on CyberBears!

Ken:
There's a lot going on these days. We've just released our 33rd bear title on DVD, Bear Xing. We also recently signed up as official media sponsors for a number of big events including the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco, and launched a new video streaming website at www.BearAction.com in association with Pistol Media.
Mike:
And we have a new print publication caled BearParty Magazine we're really excited about. It's aimed at bears and bear lovers of all shapes, colors, and sizes, and is distributed quarterly for free to bear bars, bear clubs, and bear vents around the world. Our second issue is going out in July, with over 25,000 copies scheduled to show up in hundreds of bear-friendly places worldwide.
Ken: It never stops around here.

Andy:
With the release of Bear Xing [2007] to retail , we've seen strong numbers coming from gay consumers. Bear Xing [2007] should be debuting nicely on the JRL Weekly Top 20 Bear Chart soon. What drove you to make
Bear Xing [2007]?

Ken: The market need for outdoor scenes. A lot of people requested it. We get plenty of feedback and ideas from our customers, and we try to give them what they want. There's a lot of interest in seeing bears and cubs playing together outside, so I filmed Bear Xing in the woods and on location. It was all outdoors.

Andy:
You've got an impressive line up for Bear Xing [2007]; CyberBears exclusives Chet, Eric Bear, Goatee Dude, Jake, Kj Behr, Rick Monroe, and Rj. What made you pick these hunks for Bear Xing?

Ken:
They've all shown a lot of interest in doing outdoor scenes. And the chemistry between them was too good to miss. For example, in the three way you can really see how much they really enjoyed themselves. It was such a turn on to do it outdoors. They had a great time together.

Andy:
We have seen the Bear genre exploading in 2007. Do you think it's because gay consumers are getting bored with the Twink genre and the so-call it "pretty-boy" - "smooth body" syndrome?

Mike:
I wouldn't say that. The people who appreciate the guys we feature in our titles and on our websites haven't really had a lot of options, but they've always been out there as a niche market. The bigger studios may not have the resources or inclination to pay attention to them, but we've found that bear lovers are an incredibly loyal and appreciative market.
Ken:
We're also seeing some buyers who tell us they never realized how hot a big, burly, hairy bear could be until they caught sight our our DVD covers in among the more mainstream gay titles.

Andy:
You have a strong fan base via your legendary website cyberbears.com. What can you tell our viewers about the CyberBears website.

Ken:
Our cyberbears.com website has over 65,000 pictures of bears, cubs, and everything in between. We have men of different races, different body hair, different ages, and different shapes. We update it every week religiously with over 400 new pictures. Most of the pictures were taken by me.
Mike:
Ken has a real eye for what makes a bear hot.

Andy:
You are currently distributed by Arena Entertainment. Tell us how you got hooked up with Donnie and Tom over at Arena.

Mike:
It was Stan Loeb from Paladin who originally put us together. The funny thing is that my old buddy and colleague Gino Colbert is also a friend of Tom's. He suggested we contact Arena about distributing our CyberBears titles just a few weeks after we had reached an initial agreement Arena, back in 2004. Of course, Gino's recommendation made me all that much more comfortable with the choice. Arena's been great to work with!

Andy:
Are you planning on doing promotional campaigns with retail chains across the country this summer and fall seasons?

Ken:
I always do. When I visit any city to recruit new models, I do promotional work at bear events around the world. We give out free DVD's to support local bear clubs, and let guys meet with our stars when they're available. I also visit the local retail stores to make sure that the CyberBears brand is being presented well, and they have the latest releases.

Mike:
If there are retail stores out there with a strong bear following, we would be interested in talking with them about distributing BearParty Magazine for free.

Andy:
What are your thoughts on the future of retail vs Video on Demand for gay xxx content?

Ken:
I think the future for online distribution is really strong. We've seen some of our movies doing better online through sites like www.bearvideos.com than they did in retail, and that shows how the different formats attract different customers. But I still think that DVD has a long way to go. People are interested in owning the DVD instead of just watching some scenes online. In the near future we will be distributing some scenes exclusively online, to test the waters. It will be interesting to see how the viewers will receive that.

Mike:
It's a pretty exciting time to be in this industry. I think we're going to see some things we never would have anticipated five years ago. As a company that straddles print and online, still and video, streaming, subscription, social networking, and retail DVD distribution, CyberBears is always experimenting to stay on the cutting edge.

Andy:
You've got several features currently on the Mail-Order circuit. What can you tell us about Bear Alley [2007] and Bearing Leather [2007]?

Ken:
For these titles we went with more of a leather theme. The sets in Bear Alley were constructed to simulate the look of an outdoor back alley late at hight. The sex is a little more on the rough side, too. I tried to imitate the combination of artificial and natural light of an alley for a more realistic effect. I like to give my audience a little more than they expect to get.

Andy:
Any shout outs for your JRL fans out there?

Ken:
Stay tuned for Hairy Hole Bar One and Two, coming out later this year. We're doing a series of these titles. Every scene is being shot in actual bars after hours, with a whole new cast of hairy bear models. Group scenes, one-on-ones, leather, slings, you name it!
Mike:
And if you're not out in the bear bars regularly, but you want to stay on top of the bear scene, you can check out BearParty Magazine online for free at www.bearparty.com.

Andy:
Thanks for doing this for us here on JRL, guys.

And JRL fans, make sure to keep it locked in to catch the World Premier of CyberBears Next Mega Release. Details coming Monday July 2, 2007. Stay tuned to JRL. For wholesale information, contact Arena Entertainment Group.