Chicago \u2014Legendary porn director Vic Lagina was a recent guest on Jasmin St. Claire\u2019s podcast Krazy Train where he shared insights from his book, Filthy, about navigating personal and professional life, creating safe environments on sets, and the evolution of industry standards. The episode also touches on significant industry controversies, including the tragic loss of August Ames, and the rise of Brazzers to mainstream prominence.<\/p>\n
\u201cVic Lagina .. a mouthful of fresh air,\u201d says Jasmin. \u201cVic is truly a one of a kind guy who takes no prisoners . He\u2019s a great guest who doesn\u2019t hold back & answers every question with honesty despite what you may think of him. He is himself which makes Vic a great guest on any show. His story deserves to be told.\u201d<\/p>\n
You may enjoy the Vic Lagina episode of Krazy Train here\u00a0https:\/\/youtu.be\/VvyLRQTw9Lg?si=70T4EpyVOmRufJc7<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0and to subscribe to the podcast go here\u00a0https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@krazytrainpodcast<\/a><\/p>\n You may follow Krazy Train on Twitter at\u00a0https:\/\/twitter.com\/Krazytrainpod<\/a>\u00a0and on Instagram at\u00a0https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/krazytrainpodcast\/<\/a><\/p>\n You may follow Jasmin St. Claire on Twitter at\u00a0https:\/\/twitter.com\/jasminstclaire<\/a>\u00a0and at Instagram at\u00a0https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/therealjasminstclaire\/<\/a><\/p>\n For more information on Vic Lagina\u2019s book, Filthy: The Rise ans (Pending) Death of Vic Lagina on\u00a0www.viclagina.com<\/a>\u00a0and you may purchase on Amazon here\u00a0https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Filthy-Rise-Pending-Death-Lagina\/dp\/B0CKKQC8V<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0You may follow Vic Lagina on Twitter at\u00a0https:\/\/twitter.com\/VicLagina<\/a>\u00a0and on Instagram at\u00a0https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/viclagina\/<\/a><\/p>\n About Vic Lagina:<\/p>\n \u00a0Vic was a producer, director, and camera operator for Brazzers\/Mindgeek from 2004-2020. He produced 3792 scenes during his career for Brazzers, Mofos, Babes, Wicked, and Digital Playground and others. Live productions featuring top stars such as Nikki Benz, Phoenix Marie, and Shyla Stylez, among several others, were under his supervision. In 16 years, he shot over 1500 performers, at times producing or directing 25-35 scenes a month with multiple crews.<\/p>\n How did a nice Jewish boy from the suburbs of Philadelphia with two loving parents take the unconventional path and help build the largest porn company in the world?\u00a0 Bad decisions, usually involving beautiful women.<\/p>\n \u00a0He grew up an awkward kid with huge feet, big lips, crooked teeth, and was the only Jew in his class. It wasn\u2019t easy, so his escape was TV, music, video games, and movies. He loved movies.\u00a0\u00a0 His mother died at the age of 44 when he was 15. It proved to be a critical time for an awkward boy becoming a man trying to forge relationships with women. With no guidance, a string of dysfunctional relationships resulted in the decades ahead. He almost got married and had multiple children with a pathological liar and closet drug addict. With two miscarriages, one late term, the universe was telling him to cut the line and run.<\/p>\n After high school, he spent four years at Syracuse University, earning his first useless degree in production. After freezing his tuchas in Upstate New York, he took a job as a production assistant in Miami for a corporate and commercial production company. Eventually he was elevated to editor and producer while earning his second useless degree, this time a MFA at the University of Miami. Shortly after graduation, he was hired by local colleges, including UM, to teach production.<\/p>\n \u00a0Then he met Joy, a local model and actress about to take her shot in L.A. While he had a comfortable living in South Florida, producing TV shows and films was his dream. In the summer of 2000, they moved into a 400 square foot studio apartment in West Hollywood.<\/p>\n \u00a0Life did not come easy in the City of Angels. Work was scarce for the both of them, but they were trench buddies and survived together. Until she decided she wanted to become the first white female rapper which he thought was a great idea. Eminem was huge and the industry was looking for \u2018Feminem.\u2019 She had the looks, she had the street credibility (her dad murdered her mom when she was 8.\u00a0 She told him this the first day we moved in together), but could she rap? That\u2019s to be decided by the listener of the demo he financed on his credit card.<\/p>\n \u00a0After two years of barely treading water, he took my first job as a director in the adult entertainment industry. He answered an online ad created by a young Mexican with a speech impediment who was looking for a director for his first adult production. For $500, he shot Ricardo\u2019s movie and a new career began.<\/p>\n \u00a0In the summer of 2003, he accepted defeat and moved them back to Florida in his busted jalopy.\u00a0 He returned to the corporate world while nurturing his burgeoning porn business.\u00a0 Joy worked on taking bong hits on their futon. He could not afford a couch.<\/p>\n \u00a0He earned his stripes as a director during the Miami years. He was working with amateurs in seedy hotel rooms, but the bills were getting paid. Unfortunately, he hardly made a dent in the $30000 credit card debt because he was supporting an unemployed white female rapper. Everything changed when she left in late 2004. Then he met the men who would become Brazzers.<\/p>\n They were fraternity brothers in Montreal who knew how to market porn on the internet and drive sales and traffic. They liked him because he worked hard, didn\u2019t mess with their money,\u00a0 and gave them solid content without delay. Between them and other consistent customers, the credit card debt was gone in 10 months. Now he had a growing business South Florida\u2019s talent pool could not sustain. He did not want to go back to L.A. and face bad memories and the high cost of living forced him to look elsewhere.<\/p>\n There was no state income tax in Vegas and it was a quick flight from L.A. He could bring L.A. to him. Brazzers was ready to level up their business and told him they would commit to 20 shoots a month if he made the move to a house in Vegas.<\/p>\n This was a huge risk, but something in his belly told him to chase it. To be fearless. Porn was not fulfilling, but he had a good thing going that was giving stability for the future. The trick was existing within the business without losing his soul. It eventually became a daily battle with a variety of coping mechanisms.<\/p>\n The combination of timing, hard work, and luck helped him become part of something which changed the industry forever. He treated it as a business with the intent of having the talent leaving sets happy and wanting to come back. It was the Golden Age of porn. Eventually, first ownership made their fuck you money ($140M) when they sold to a man who bought up a lot of the big adult companies during his reign. When he was arrested for tax evasion, third ownership took over the Porn Monopoly, which they still own and operate.<\/p>\n \u00a0At first, he operated out of the house he still lives in. After sitting on a toilet that had remnants of baby oil from a female talent\u2019s ass, he started renting houses. Shooting in houses is very gray legalwise, so he leased and created a legal, licensed porn studio before eventually buying his own in 2015. Shooting porn in the #metoo era was slowly becoming too slippery of a slope.\u00a0 When Covid hit, his time was at its end. He was ready, although saying goodbye to the money was the hardest part. Smart investing over the years mixed with reducing overhead made early retirement possible. Just before vacating the studio for his incoming tenant, he shot an independent feature about his time in the industry. More stories were there, so he wrote a book about the journey. For the rest of his days, he woke up happy. He reads, he writes, and loves his dogs and helps other dogs in need. This porn story actually has a happy ending.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Chicago \u2014Legendary porn director Vic Lagina was a recent guest on Jasmin St. Claire\u2019s podcast Krazy Train where he shared insights from his book, Filthy, about navigating personal and professional life, creating safe environments on sets, and the evolution of industry standards. 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