Vision and Philosophy
Todd Spaits is the Co-Founder of yanks.com and a true industry veteran. We’re proud to have the opportunity to interview him.
Yanks.com is often called “revolutionary.” How do you define that term in the context of your work, and what sets you apart from other platforms?
When we began producing in San Diego in 2002 we wanted our shoots to revolve around healthy sexuality, mutuality and consent. We wanted our shoot spaces to be the cleanest, safest and most comfortable in the industry. Through constant communication throughout the shoot we thought we could coax a level of sexual transparency from our models that others simply couldn’t. And real orgasms. And we did just that.
I believe in 2002 those ideas were revolutionary; in fact, they may have been too revolutionary as explaining our value proposition to the rest of the industry often fell on deaf ears. Now, these are common practices. While I would love to still be unique, losing that competitive advantage is a great thing for the industry! However, we do take pride that in our 22-year history we never for a day, month or year abandoned those ideals, even when it would have made us much more money to do so. That two decade history gives us a different level of credibility.
Authenticity is at the core of Yanks. How do you create content that feels genuine while still being commercially successful?
Beyond creating a safe, fun and consensual shoot environment. We stick to another simple mantra. People will always masturbate in private and people will always pay to watch other people masturbate the way they really do in private. Our job is just to bring our customers into the that experience as an invited guest and do so with the best sound and visuals as possible. That being said when we launched the company, we were able to find true amateurs. They were nervous and the concept of the adult internet was new, so they came across more awkwardly at times and in that sense more genuine.
Now all our models are also creators, so we have had to acknowledge that evolution in the concept of genuine. That isn’t bad or good, just a reality. A girl in 2024 that is comfortable in front of the camera can still make genuine Yanks content, but it has evolved so that she is no longer nervous or awkward, she is confident, which is a positive evolution!
Ethics and Values
In a field that’s often viewed critically, how do you help break down stereotypes and create a new narrative?
I float back and forth between trying to be an ethical squeaky wheel in the industry and just focusing on what Yanks can accomplish. As of this writing I am quite internally focused on our narrative, which has aged well in this industry. In terms of how this field is viewed, I believe so many of our industry wounds are self-inflicted. There is no industry scandal written about in the New York Times, that we all didn’t know about years before. Why not solve the problem before the next NYT article?
As a role model for ethical standards in the industry, how do you handle that responsibility? Have there been moments when your values were truly tested?
I am not sure we do handle it. I think we are one of many small ethical islands that the river of a quickly consolidating industry flows around quite unworried. I sleep well, but beyond individuals in the industry who do tell me that they respect us, I do not believe are standards are truly valued in this space. That fact makes me sad, but I don’t see evidence to the contrary.
Personally, our values have been tested twice in the last two decades. Both times we were approached by companies willing to offer us 7 figures to use our content to bang credit cards. One of those companies is at the very show in which this magazine will be premiering at. Both times Billie and I considered it. How could you not? But we discussed use cases of the end user we would be hurting and decided against it both times. We do not regret these decisions.
What measures do you take to safeguard the mental and physical well-being of your models during production?
I believe our brand naturally safeguards our models in its very concept. We only use female producers which have been hand selected because of their standards and pro-creator approaches. Because the Yanks brand is unscripted, all our shoots revolve around a highly communicative and consensual approach to content production. I listen to my producers, and I very rarely manage any of their processes regarding how they direct and communicate with the models on set. So, the end result is that the mental and physical wellbeing of our models is assured before they even show up.
Technological and Creative Innovation
The adult entertainment industry has often been a trailblazer for adopting tech trends like streaming, VR, and AI. What do you see as the next big leap in technology?
In this moment the trend is maximizing integration and optimizing an experience that feels like you are having real sex vs watching it. All the pieces are now in play; AI, AR/VR, physical sex tech combined and ever increasing bandwidth and storage. Now it comes down to who best juggles and mixes various improvements to offer the end user the best time.
How do you experiment with new technologies without compromising your brand identity?
For us this is an easy answer. The concept of Yanks.com is quite simple. We want our customers to be an invited guest to watching a woman get off just like she does at home. VR adds more literally dimensions to that experience. Same concept, just deeper. AR and pass through are even better. AI generated content naturally compromises our tag line of “Real Girls, Real Orgasms”, so my intention there is to use an AI girlfriend as an add on in conjunction with real content.
When AI and real become indistinguishable our success will come down to whether we can somehow verify to our user that we use real people and not AI. I hope that our brand will go a long way in that regard. I imagine at some point no one will care, I don’t see myself still in the industry at that point.
Can you share some insights into your creative process? How do you decide which content gets produced?
As the only male consistently in the C-suite, my creative process is simply to define and redefine my original and simple vision of Yanks, and step out of the way to let the creative energy of our producers and models work. I then evaluate which directions we are pushing in and whether or not they are working.
Charity and Social Impact
Your charitable initiatives, like Yanks Charity, are an impressive part of your work. What inspired you to start these projects?
It’s my view that every company has the community as one of its stakeholders. In that sense I believe every company should have a mission or philanthropy that it supports monthly. As an adult company this is much harder as many charities won’t take our money unless it donated anonymously. We wanted to support women. However, we didn’t want our models and staff to work to contribute money to any organization that was unwilling to acknowledge us as people and approve of what we do.
We searched for a year to find the charity we ended up supporting, CallToSafety.org. They allow us to publicly acknowledge the relationship and even blue link to them which is a rarity. We are proud to support them.
How do you measure the success of your charity work, and are there any particular stories that have deeply moved you?
Call to Safety pays $25 an hour, a liveable wage to the folks that manage their phone lines in Oregon. So I know that every 25 members we sign up, there is someone on a phone line for an hour helping someone deal with sexual and domestic violence. I do not have a particular story out of their system, but as someone who grew up in a violent household, I understand how important their support can be to those in need.
Do you believe companies in your industry have a special obligation to give back to society? Why or why not?
Yes. I see two tracks to giving back. The first is support of the LGBT+ community politically. That is not optional in my opinion. EVERYONE in the adult industry profits off of the LGBT+ community. You owe those folks the right to live their personal lives unmolested. Full stop. Don’t cash a check on a lesbian, gay or trans scene if you aren’t going to support those folks adopting and being allowed in the ICU if their partner is physically injured.
Secondarily, this industry primarily profits off of the sexuality of women. We owe them safety and respect while they work in the industry and support after. Every adult performer should be built up as a person at the same time we are enjoying their body and sexuality. When they move on, the person should do so guilt free and unharmed mentally or physically. We need to take care of the vulnerable folks within our own ranks.
Market and Consumer Trends
There’s a growing focus on feminist and diverse content in the industry. Does this confirm that Yanks has been on the right track all along?
Absolutely, full stop. Although I do believe there is a small number of feminist producers in our industry who try to distance themselves from being “pornographers” by degrading those our space and pitching themselves as art and us as smut. While they certainly produce more stylistic content, if people are personally gratifying themselves to your “art” then you are closer to us than to Hollywood and I hope they come to realize that we are on the same team.
How important is community feedback in shaping new features or content for your platform?
While I certainly listen to our customers, I have to be honest in that I listen to my own gut much more. I conceive of content that I would like to see or have seen on tubes or OnlyFans and then I pitch it to my producers via a list that contains many concepts. They then work with the creators on what that day’s shoot will consist of. Due to our unscripted nature, we don’t often decide upon a scene before the model is on set. But again, our concept is quite simple, the devil is in the execution.
Personal Insights
What are three things you wish you’d known before starting Yanks?
1, 2, and 3 – Everything about business. I grew up rough on the outskirts of Philadelphia in the states. We were on welfare and used food stamps. I dropped out of high school in 11th grade and got my G.E.D. While I eventually went on to get my M.B.A from University of Washington I knew little about running a business when we launched Yanks.
One particular thing would have been how to scale up quickly. The business blew up out of the gate like so many other adult businesses did at that time, but I didn’t really know how to leverage that early fast growth.
How do you stay grounded in such a demanding industry without getting overwhelmed?
I am not grounded. Are any of us in 2024/25? I am overwhelmed. I think we all are. Age verification, tube relationship mayhem, VISA/MC, the unknown political landscape of the world. I find the simultaneous acceptance and vilification of porn maddening.
The Future of the Industry
What are your hopes for the future of the industry and Yanks.com over the next five years?
I turned 50 this year. For Yanks, I envision selling at some point in the next 5 years. It has been a great run, but I would like to take a shot at a restaurant concept where I live in Spain. For the future of the industry, I would love to see more leadership. As the industry consolidates into a handful of mega companies, I find it astounding the lack of partnership amongst them to tackle some of the industry’s issues. And I believe their lack of collective effort hurts them all individually.
I know things go on in the background, but the industry needs more public leadership. I would love to see that before we exit.
Personal Background & Lifestyle
What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done that somehow shaped your career?
At The Phoenix Forum in 2004 I jumped on a trampoline in a speedo with 5 or 6 very scantily clad Lightspeed girls. It was “punishment” for losing an unspecified bet YanksCash made with LightspeedCash after trading viral videos on GFY. This was pre-YouTube or any tube for that matter, so it was a fairly interesting B2B approach at the time. It was fun and it got Yanks business buzz as being an interesting fun company for very little marketing dollars.
If your life had a soundtrack, what song would be the opening track?
If my life had a soundtrack it would be an every changing mix, right now I am rebuilding some assets with an edge, so I would open with Lil’ Wayne and Eminem’s, “No Love”.
Is there a surprising skill or hobby you have that no one would expect?
I collect 1980s baseball cards leaning heavily into the 80’s New York Mets and Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry in particular. I am a published underwater photographer, and I am a classically trained French Chef. I graduated 2nd in the Le Cordon Bleu class of 2019 and won the Trophee Babette, a three-day mystery box cooking contest held at the Port of Versailles judged by some of the world’s best chefs.
If you had a completely free week with zero commitments, where would we find you?
Frederiksted, St. Croix. Snorkelling and photographing the sea-life around the cruise ship pylons, laying out on the beach with Billie and having margaritas and tacos at the local food shack. The last day we spend there doing just that, we contemplated winning the $1 billion dollar lottery that happening in the states at the time, we both decided that had we had that money in the bank, we would not have wanted to do anything differently then what we were doing at that very moment. It is that perfect.
Inspirations and Personality
What’s a life experience that shaped who you are today—and why?
When I was 23 years old, I needed a change and had decided to move to Australia from Arizona. Billie my partner in Yanks and life joined me. This ignited not only my love of travel, but my comfort with living abroad. Since then I have lived in Morrocco, St Croix, Scotland, England, Spain, France and Greece. Right now, we have a home in Spain, but we may end up spending significant time in yet another locale at some point.
If you could spend a day with any historical figure, who would it be and why?
Not historical, but I would love to have spent a day with Anthony Bourdain. We have a great deal in common. I am a classically French trained chef, Le Cordon Bleu (2018), I dabble in Brazilian Jui-jitsu, I write and have a book coming out this year, American Orgasm: The Story of an Ethical Pornographer and I love to travel and experience places off the beaten path. I think our places in our respective industries were also similar, he was never the most famous or successful chef, but he was skilled and represented his industry well.
Do you have a quirky habit, ritual, or mantra that keeps you motivated at work?
No, not really.
What book, show, or movie has recently captivated you?
The Three body Problem trilogy by Cixin Liu. I loved how the books were translated from Chinese into English, but they weren’t westernized in the same way as the initial Netflix season was. The span of time and space in the books captivated me and made me relax into thinking how small we all are and how small all our problems really are.
If you had to compare yourself to an animal, which would it be—and why?
A dog, but of various breeds at various times. I am loyal. I am a good friend. But if cornered I can surprise you. I tend to watch in the background and can be what I need to be when I need to be it. I am there for others in the way they need me to be.
Career and Mindset
What’s one misconception about you that you’d love to clear up?
That my ethical stance on this industry equates to an ignorant stance on this industry. I understand how many businesses and people make their money; I just chose not to engage in those tactics.
If you had to describe yourself in a 20-second TikTok video, what would it look like?
Flashback 2011: I was leading a start up after business school. One evening on the way out of an Angel investor speed dating event, in the elevator ironically, one of the premier Seattle angel investors recognized me and asked me to give him my “twitter pitch”, to him this was my company in 7 words.
I pondered for a few seconds; one word would be the company name, since it was B2B another word was the other B, two connector words were necessary as was one basic verb, so essentially, he wanted my business in two trendy words. I told him no. My business wasn’t two buzz words. Although you are offering much more space, I will decline. He didn’t ultimately invest, but he did tell me, he appreciated that I declined instead of kissing his ass like so many other did. Todd is long form. 😉
What daily routine helps you stay focused in such an unpredictable industry?
Checking in with myself, who I am and what my value are. If things go sideways; Project 2025, age verification or VISA issues. I sleep well knowing I set out to make the oldest profession, sex for sale, as accepted and healthy as I could.
Thank you, Todd, for this interview. It’s always such a great pleasure to write, talk, work, and celebrate with you!
