Connor Young is the CEO of YNOT and co-owner of the company, along with his business partner Jay Kopita. A 25+ year veteran of the adult industry, Connor is the founder of the YNOT Cam Awards and the co-creator of YNOT Cammunity, a professional development conference for cam models and creators. Both events take place in mid-October in Hollywood, California.

We cornered our CEO for an exclusive Q&A session so we could share important details about both events, why they matter, how the nomination process works, and how you can participate in Hollywood this year.

Let’s start with the basic 411 on YNOT Cammunity, what’s it all about? When is it happening, and where will it take place?

YNOT Cammunity will kick off our YNOT Hollywood events on the afternoon of Monday, October 10^th. YNOT Cammunity is a career development conference for cam models, content creators and aspiring performers. It’s also open to any business executives or professionals from our industry who work with talent, and frankly it’s just a really fun and relaxing time. It will take place again this year at the W Hollywood Hotel, which is located on Hollywood Blvd near Vine Street.

There will be seminars, workshops, SFW photoshoots, networking receptions and parties happening on the 10^th, 11^th and 12^th, then the first half of the 13^th will be wide open, so everyone will have some time to relax a bit and get ready for the YNOT Cam Awards. No fans allowed; YNOT Cammunity is just for talent and executives, so you can dress casual and comfortable, be yourself and focus on your success. It’s all about helping models and creators advance their careers, connect with other talent, and make more money in adult. Lots of friendships and collaborations have started at YNOT Cammunity, and we’re expecting the 2022 show to be our biggest yet.

And what about the YNOT Cam Awards, same place as last year?

Yes indeed, YNOT Cam Awards is returning to Avalon Hollywood the evening of October 13^th. If you’ve never been to this event, this is the gold standard award show for cam models and creators, so prepare to be dazzled. Sure, I’m a little biased perhaps, but I don’t think any other event is even close to this one, just ask those who have been. Avalon Hollywood is right on Vine Street, across from the iconic Capitol Records Building and a block away from the W Hollywood Hotel, and it’s a historic venue with a rich history. I’m extremely proud to host our award show at Avalon, and they’ve treated us extremely well over the years.

The show itself, as well as the red-carpet event, will be livestreamed to tens of thousands of fans around the world. It’s a huge opportunity for us to come together and celebrate our industry’s amazing talent, and to show the world what online sex work is really all about.

True story: after the 2021 event, my contact at Avalon told me that multiple members of her staff expressed how proud they were to work on our show. They told her it changed how they viewed sex work, and they just felt like they were a part of something that was positive and good. With all the misconceptions about our industry and about cam models and creators in general, those comments meant the world to me. I think it means we’re making a difference with this event, which was the goal right from the very first day.

Talk more about YNOT Cammunity. Why did YNOT start this event, and how is it different from competing shows?

We launched YNOT Cammunity in 2019, the year after we started the YNOT Cam Awards. As far as I know it’s the first show to focus its program entirely on career development for talent. Without the women and men who work in front of the cameras, we have no industry, so it’s a resource for talent that was absolutely needed and frankly overdue.

Part of YNOT Cammunity is about the financial success of models/creators. How do I get more fans? How do top models rake in the tips? What kind of content really engages an audience? How can I get noticed more on social media, build up my followers, or get more fans to stop scrolling and check out my live shows? How do I keep them coming back instead of looking elsewhere? We want talent to come away from YNOT Cammunity just supercharged with new ideas to try out so, no matter where they’re at right now, they’re doing even better in the months beyond.

There’s another aspect to YNOT Cammunity though that’s equally important. Online sex work can sometimes be an isolating line of work, which over time can take a toll. A big part of what we’re doing in Hollywood is connecting talent with other talent. This is a chance for models to meet other models, talk shop, make new friends and see old friends. It’s an opportunity to find collaboration partners for content shoots, or to just shoot the shit with people who also get it. YNOT is known for hosting events that lead to lifelong friendships and business associates.

We don’t care what stage you’re at in your adult industry career, we want you to participate at YNOT Cammunity. Sharing your voice and your experiences can help others thrive, and listening to your peers share their own journeys can benefit you in all kinds of positive ways.

You also will pick up some cool swag, which is probably worth mentioning, and there will be SFW photoshoots happening at YNOT Cammunity as well.

Is there a cost to attend YNOT Cammunity? Any travel tips?

There’s a nominal charge for a Model Pass if you purchase it from our website. Tickets aren’t on sale yet, but will be soon. When you buy a pass to YNOT Cammunity you’ll have the option to “bring a friend” for free, so really it’s two passes for about the cost of a night at the movies. If funds are tight and you work with any of our sponsors, you’ll be able to get a no-cost pass from them by asking your contact there for a promo code.

If you’re flying into Los Angeles to join us, we recommend you fly into the Burbank airport, if possible, it’s a lot closer to the venue. This will save you some money if you’re taking an Uber or Taxi from the airport to the W. Alyssa at YNOT Cam recently shared some excellent tips for cheaper airfare. We also recommend you book your rooms/accommodations as soon as we release our room block, which also will be happening soon. We think you’ll have the best experience if you stay at the W, but again if funds are tight, a lot of people choose to AirBNB their stay in Hollywood. But if you are indeed able to stay at the W, we greatly appreciate anyone and everyone that books in our specific room block as it helps our standing with the hotel.

How can a model get nominated for the YNOT Cam Awards? What qualities does YNOT value?

There are two stages involved in arriving at our winners each year. The first stage is the nominee selection process, which will kick off on July 19th and run through August 19^th, and the second stage is voting itself, which starts on August 25^th and runs until the end of September.  If someone wants to suggest a potential nominee, they can visit awards.ynotcam.com starting on July 19^th and look for a link at the top of the site.

Anyone can suggest a potential nominee to YNOT during that first stage. We’ll be looking at how much support candidates get from fans and other models during this process, how well they engage fans in their day-to-day work, how well they represent the best qualities of our industry, and their qualifications in each specific category for which they’ve been suggested. You can’t win ‘Best Cosplay Model’ if you don’t cosplay! These things are way more important to YNOT than say name recognition. It’s about the work you’re doing now, not what you did in years past.

Also extremely important to YNOT are: does the candidate really want to win a YNOT Cam Award, and is the candidate ready to work with us, should they receive a nomination?

Why is that important to YNOT, can you explain the company’s thinking here?

We limit each award category to just five nominees. This is key to our show for a number of reasons. First, it means we can take much better care of each and every nominee, including dinner, open bar, red carpet interviews, YNOT.com promotion, and more. Other shows don’t do this. Second, it means nominees who make the cut now have a realistic chance to win their categories.

If we wanted to be cynical, we could nominate half the industry for an award. It would mean you’d see the YNOT brand a lot more often on social media, but how would that help the talent who this show is honoring? It wouldn’t, and frankly that would be vacant, annoying and self-serving.

That said, since we’re limiting nominees for these reasons, we want nominees who really want to win a YNOT Cam Award and who will work with us after their nomination, so we can put on the best show possible in Hollywood. What do I mean by that? We’ll need things like quick video clips from each nominee that we can use in the show (for example when their name is called for their category), as well as profile pictures and responses to any interview questions. If a nominee is working with us, we’ll do everything we can to make sure they are presented in the best possible way – and that they have an amazing night in Hollywood, regardless of whether they take home that trophy.

For nominees who make it to Hollywood, walk us through how their night will unfold?

If you’re nominated and can attend the event in Hollywood, it means you’re in for one hell of a good time. You’ll walk the red carpet as you enter the venue, pausing for pictures from industry photographers and press, and stopping for a video interview for our livestream audience. Your friends and fans will see you at your glamorous best, and you’ll have a lot of fun celebrating with your industry peers in Hollywood.

Once inside the venue, you’ll be treated to dinner and drinks – I believe we’re the only award show that does this for nominees. While you eat there will be pre-show entertainment on stage, then the award show itself will kick off and you’ll find out soon if you won your category. If you do win, you’ll be called on stage to accept your trophy and deliver your acceptance speech for both the in-person audience and the livestream audience to see. Once the ceremony is done, you can join everyone for the official After Party.

Fans are not allowed to attend in-person, they can only watch the livestream. This is for your comfort and your security. Nominees can however bring a “+1” of their choice, so if you have a friend, partner, spouse, whatever, you can take that person with you and we’ll give them a seat right next to you along with dinner and drinks, plus they’ll get an invite to attend the official After Party with you.

Some people are very cynical when it comes to award shows, that’s not just for our industry but also mainstream entertainment awards like the Oscars or Grammys. Why is the YNOT Cam Awards important to the adult industry?

I started working in adult way back in 1997, but I can honestly say I’ve never felt a stronger love for my industry than I feel now. The reason for that ties to the industry-wide transformation that happened when live cam platforms rose to prominence. They were followed shortly by clips stores and fan platforms.

These technologies turned power over to talent and enabled them to work independently, and to make their own creative choices. This change has been a huge improvement for the adult entertainment business, and it has attracted all kinds of amazing new people into our ranks, many who might have been cut out from adult under the old business models.

Meeting all these amazing people has been the honor of a lifetime. The more you know about our industry’s talent though, the more you come to understand how hard they work. Without the tireless work of talent, we have no industry.

Recognizing these women and men for what they do is important, and doing it in a way that treats them with the utmost respect and appreciation is what YNOT is all about.

We also think the YNOT Cam Awards is an important tool for pushing back against the misconceptions that online sex workers face daily, often propped up by misleading reports from the mainstream media and even outright lies from faith-based political groups. Anyone who thinks they know what adult is all about because they read about it on CNN will come away from watching the YNOT Cam Awards with a challenged perspective, and this is one small way we help change the narrative.

Thanks for your time today Connor, I know you’re a busy man. Anything else you want to say before we wrap this up?

Sure, two things.

First, we recommend everyone signs up for the YNOT Events email newsletter. This will ensure that you’re well-informed about our Hollywood events, as well as other YNOT events and activities. We often send out information to our email list before it’s shared any other place. We just ask you to remember this: if you unsubscribe when you get information about an event that doesn’t match your interests, you won’t get future emails about the events you DO care about. So don’t so that! (laughs) It’s a low-volume list that probably will average about one or two emails a month, perhaps a bit more right close to a YNOT produced event.

Second, Jay, myself, and the entire staff here at YNOT, we want everyone to know that we really value your support and participation in our events. The more support we get from the cam model and creator community, the better we can make these events for everyone involved. YNOT launched in 1996 and we are industry-for-life people. This industry is our home and we care about the people who work in it, with a 26+ year track record of proving that.

So, if you’re industry, you’re invited! We hope you’ll start making your plans now to be a part of Hollywood in October, and please feel free to reach out to myself or to Jay if you have any questions. See you all soon!