IN THE SPOTLIGHT

C-Pimp is the co-founder of both CozyFrog, an adult Webmaster resource site and CozyAcademy, a school for adult Webmasters. He also founded ZIPContent, the first fully downloadable content provider back in early 1998.IN THE SPOTLIGHT

C-Pimp is the co-founder of both CozyFrog, an adult Webmaster resource site and CozyAcademy, a school for adult Webmasters. He also founded ZIPContent, the first fully downloadable content provider back in early 1998. This guy does a little bit of everything, including but not limited to design work, authoring, marketing, site development, sales and several other goodies that come along with running many different sites.

YNOT: C-Pimp! Great finally meeting you and Girly-Girl up in your awesome city of Montreal during the Cybernet Expo. It’s always good to meet cool people who work hard like you do and put out resources that are very useful to Webmasters. Can you tell us how you got started back in the day, and what you were doing?

C-Pimp: It all started with two megs of space on a non-adult free host back in 1996. I had recently graduated from a French high school, was eighteen at the time, and going to college while doing some part-time work in customer service. Got myself hooked up with a little web space and built a homepage offering news on major studio movie releases, box office statistics and video rentals. I started learning HTML and graphic design with the help of online tutorials and help guides. Once I saw a little cash flow from that first effort, I knew that I could achieve a lot more. God knows I had tons of ideas jotted down on paper! About a year later, I made one major decision that changed everything. I’m still not sure if it was totally the right decision, and I most definitely would not recommend it to any newbies coming in today, but fortunately it worked out.

YNOT: And that huge decision would be…

C-Pimp: I quit school and my part-time job to pursue the online industry with all the time I had at my disposal.

YNOT: Well, better to experiment with career choices at 20 than at 40 in my opinion. Who knows? If you hadn’t done it then, you may just be kicking yourself right about now and wondering, “What if? What if?”

So what happened, next?

C-Pimp: During my run on the mainstream web, I polished up my design and web authoring skills. I also learned as much as I could about the online industry as a whole. A few months in, a friend of mine told me about a great resource site that he knew of that catered to some of the top people in the online adult industry. The YNOT Network provided me with enough information and incentive to cross over to the adult niche.

YNOT: Now THAT is music to our ears! This is very cool hearing it from someone who has been around practically since the beginning! So once you got a foothold on the adult side of things, what did you do?

C-Pimp: I kicked things off with thumbnail galleries, free sites, AVS sites and a couple of solid pay site efforts before I came up with the idea to start an adult content provider. I thought it was a great idea, unfortunately I had no idea how I would make this happen!

YNOT: Must have been scary…

C-Pimp: Well, I took about six months before I officially launched EZContent, which is known today as ZIPContent. I was too damn broke to afford a CD burner, so I decided to distribute the images via ZIP files, an alternative that gave birth to our fitting slogan, “The Original Downloadable Content Provider.” It’s been four years since ZIP opened its doors and it’s still going strong, offering what I feel is the most convenient instant-buy-download-licensing system on the adult web. Scripted in-house, it’s gone through major changes over the years. Big thanks to my ZIPContent partner, programmer and lifetime friend, Tony. He came on board a couple of years ago and brought his skills with him to help elevate the service as a whole.

YNOT: How did you make the transition into the adult Webmaster resource arena?

YNOT: I’m sure you get this a lot, as we do for “YNOT”… why did you decide on “Cozy Frog?”

C-Pimp: The name just stuck with me. The very next day we started developing the site. Little did I know that we would spend nine weeks of sleepless nights to create over 100 pages filled with information, help guides, hundreds of listings and other Cozy Goodies. It did get out of hand, but the overall site was something we were very proud of. The resource I always wanted to be a part of was finally ready, and looked better than I or Girly would have ever hoped for.

Cozy Frog has truly come a long way, the support and feedback has been truly overwhelming. It’s awesome knowing Webmasters are using our sites to help jump start their ventures. That alone is enough to fuel our work.

Early this year we launched Cozy Academy, the First Free School for adult Webmasters. It’s a one of a kind resource that is categorized with step-by-step lessons and tools to help get any novice on his way. It has been a hell of a run, but I feel like I’m just getting started!

YNOT: What are your ultimate goals with both Cozy properties?

C-Pimp: To be honest, our expectations were never very high when we launched each and every one of our services. We just wanted them to do well, play a part in the online adult industry and bring in some financial security that would justify my decision to put everything on the line when all of this got started. It has all achieved a level of success that is way beyond what we ever anticipated. We are truly grateful for the success and the support from Webmasters that have embraced our sites and services over the years. Our main mission in a nutshell would be to keep helping Webmasters and keep innovating, all the while maintaining our integrity and sanity! Just doing our thing and seeing where it takes us…

YNOT: Considering there are some sites out there that call themselves “Webmaster resource” sites, even though they don’t offer much by way of actual resources, and others that are simply clones of successful resource sites that already exist, what sets you guys apart?

C-Pimp: We most definitely like to do things different, think out of the box, and figure, “If it’s done already, why do it the same way?” No use filling a gap that’s already been filled. ZIPContent was the first venue to offer content via direct download and licensing. CozyAcademy was the first-ever FREE school for Webmasters. As for CozyFrog, well it has a lot of elements that all the major resources have, but I feel it does stand on its own.

YNOT: I agree.

C-Pimp: It has a very unique look that took quite some time to create. It boasts unique features like the Free Content club, Help Guides, Hop Corner (with fun stuff like jokes and cartoons.) Again, it all goes back to doing our own thing, and bringing anything we can that’s fresh and new to the table to fill voids rather than trying to step on other Websites that we respect or enjoy simply for the sake of the almighty dollar.

YNOT: Very cool.

OK, shifting gears here, can you give us your philosophy on the adult Internet, given that you have been involved for six years? Any thoughts of where things are going?

C-Pimp: Overall, I think the adult online biz is doing quite well. The potential for innovative ideas is just as strong now as it was before. The one thing that I have always despised was the “fake” faces in this biz. Individuals who lie, scam and cheat others to get on top. Webmasters that will do anything for quick success because they have no inclination or pure will to pursue anything long term and honest. Webmasters that think that because they are in an industry like this, working on their own, that their entire being has reached a level of superiority that supercedes anyone else’s! They most definitely have to go.

YNOT: It’s nice to see you letting it out, man! You are one of the more mellow, and easygoing Webmasters I’ve had the pleasure of meeting, so this is very interesting getting to see this side of you… please continue!

C-Pimp: People that have known me for years know I haven’t changed a bit. I am still the same person I was before all of this went full swing. I’ve stayed the same, played fair and made a living in the process. There is no need to change your values or ethics to succeed. I also have a cold spot for Webmasters that bash newbies.

YNOT: I can never understand that considering that more Webmasters in the biz can actually equal more business opportunities and more potential…

C-Pimp: Well, for some, all it takes is a few successful sites and heavy green to shift their attitudes. I’ll support those that support us and help those in need. It’s all fair game, and that’s just the way we like it.

Truth is that every business has its bad apples. Even though I would ultimately love to get rid of the negative heads in this biz, I know that it’s virtually impossible to eliminate them and stop them from doing what they do. With so much negativity, it’s easy to feel kind of helpless at times!

YNOT: That’s why it’s so important to keep a positive attitude and hang out with positive people. Why waste your time with someone and tarnish your reputation if you hang out and/or do business with people that are negative and give you a bad vibe?

Let me ask you this… what aspects of your work do you enjoy the most?

C-Pimp: I truly love to design, love to author and love to be creative. This medium offers me the forum to do what I love and make a living doing it. Meeting new people that I would have never met had I not jumped into this career is always fascinating and always insightful. I truly love this business! Knowing that and working with people that I respect and admire makes it a lot easier to put in the sweat and the hours that I do every single day!

YNOT: Now surely you must have SOME, free time. What do you like to do outside of the biz when you get the time?

C-Pimp: I love hockey, movies, music, sports in general and traveling. Hockey’s been in my blood ever since I was four years old.

YNOT: You know, I figured you for a hockey player. But then again, how can you be from Canada and not be into hockey?

Can you tell us about the people you work with, and who is helping you to keep the Cozy sites together?

C-Pimp: Girly takes care of just about all of the daily duties, including the listings which always need attention, the articles and the Hub magazine on CozyAcademy. I have done and still do all the design work and make decisions to keep everything going in the right direction. I love to have my ass all the way up into every project we do – it’s just my nature. Titmowse, who has truly been a blessing in disguise, is our head writer. Her overall knowledge truly blows me away sometimes! We have a couple of part-time writers along with a few guest writers including Cyndalie, Raven, Darren and Laurin that provide credible reading material. Tony, my ZIP partner does all the programming and server tasks. We also have another 6-7 very talented Cozy teamsters including the gifted Caroline, who came in early this year to work on some new projects we are developing. All together, we’ve got a little over a dozen minds working daily to keep everything together. I am so thankful to be working with people I respect to the highest power. They have played such a vital role in our overall success.

YNOT: Since you guys are so newbie friendly as is YNOTMasters, how about some friendly advice!

C-Pimp: It’s been said a gazillion times on just about every single resource site out there… There is no quick fix in this biz! If you want to achieve success, you have to put in the time, you have to sacrifice and you have to play hard but honest. Patience is a must!

Stay innovative, try to come up with new services and new ideas instead of focusing on doing something that’s been done a hundred times over. Take a solid existing idea and give it your own twist. There aren’t any bad ideas. If you believe in something, you can make it work.

Keep learning. Read your heart out on resource sites. Newbies check out our classes on CozyAcademy.com, and keep reading! Even when the money starts coming your way, the industry is always evolving, so staying on top of things at all times is crucial.

Don’t spread yourself too thin. “Webmastering” can consume a lot of your time. If a couple of ideas work well for you, don’t jump into every single idea that comes your way. Take your time and develop them and see if you’re ready to take them on – if you have the time and resources to make them happen. I’m a firm believer that if you start something, you need to do it to the best of your ability and do it right, or don’t do it at all.

YNOT: Listen to the man! Don’t do anything half assed!

OK, got anything coming down the pipeline?

C-Pimp: Most definitely! We have a couple more projects slated before the year is up, but I won’t get into any details just yet. Just keep a lookout for a couple more Cozy services before 2003, and make sure to hop on over to CozyFrog and CozyAcademy! We update daily and have hundreds of exclusive articles and more than 2500 categorized services at your disposal. All that and more in a nice Cozy format!

Finally, I want to say thanks for giving me the chance to share my thoughts. I am truly grateful for this opportunity here on YNOTMasters. Thanks Jay, and keep up the solid work!

YNOT: And you keep up the same C-Pimp. Thanks for your time with us this week!