Raging Stallion’s Early Years: The Sexpacks

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When Chris Ward and J.D. Slater founded Raging Stallion Studios nearly 15 years ago, back in 1999, they had an immediate impact on the porn industry with the release of Sexpack One: Four Tight Tales.  Suddenly, porn fans knew there was a new high-end studio in the mix that brought a fresh  new perspective on how to get guys off!  But Slater and Ward were just getting started!  Within a few short years, Raging Stallion grew to become the top gay studio in the nation, merging with AEBN, High Octane, and then Falcon Studios.

The main line of films produced by Ward and Slater during these early years of Raging Stallion Studios were Sexpack movies – ten in all – that were produced between 1999 and 2002.   Each original full-length feature film was four to five scenes long and shot in “loop” format—where each scene stands apart from the others, a format borrowed from the early years of porn back in the 1970s.  These films featured the biggest stars in the industry and showcased a clear focus on Big Dicks and Open Holes.  Indeed, Raging Stallion became known as the studio that filmed the finest fucking because of the many award winning scenes shot for the Sexpack series.    These were also some of the first porn scenes shot using digital cameras, which explains the high picture quality in the Sexpacks.

Although the line ended after just ten films, the Sexpack movies gave Ward and Slater a chance to hone their skills as erotic film makers to become two of the most successful directors of all time.  These were the films that are the foundation of Raging Stallion Studios today, and we think they are some of the best movies ever shot.

We sat down with company president Chris Ward who offered up some personal comments on each of the Sexpack films—many of these stories have never been told.

Sexpack One: Four Tight Tales

“This was my first major movie, and JD and I knew that the success of our new studio depended on hitting the ball out of the park. We hired the top stars we could find at great expense—we wanted to come out swinging and competing with the big boys (Hot House, Titan, Falcon, etc.) right away!   Some argued that we should start out slowly, but I said ‘No Way! If we are going to do this, then let’s do it BIG!’

“The first scene we shot was on my birthday! Two of my best fuck buddies—RJ Parker and Mark Evrett—came over for a night of fun and we decided to have a spontaneous movie shoot in my back yard.  It was the sexiest birthday I ever had. The best scene of the movie is a  standout three way featuring Jason Branch, Robert Black, and Blake Harper—and this at a time when all three were the top stars of the day.  Check out the three-way simultaneous cum shot at the end of that scene!”

Sexpack Two: A Kinky Twist

“The best thing about Sexpack Two is a blockbuster scene between the first RSS exclusives—Dean Coulter and Tom Vacarro. This might be the most beautiful scene we shot in those early years—it’s a real statement about what JD and I thought was the most erotic thing we could film.  Dean had the world’s most perfect ass, and Vacarro had the biggest cock we had ever seen.  It’s pretty much perfection.”

Sexpack Three:  Lewd Developments

“Lance Gear and Mark Evrett start off this movie with a hairy chest fuck frenzy that became the reason we eventually launched our line of Hairy Boyz movies (Evrett is on the cover of Hairy Boyz 1).  The real showstopper here, however, is the scene between Bryce Pierce and Billy Knight. Bryce became one of our top stars during those early years—amazingly tattooed and handsome, he went on to be the lead performer in our first major blockbuster, Raiders of the Lost Arse.

Sexpack Four: Porn Noir

“Porn Noir was shot on a black painted set—the first film we did this way, but certainly not the last! Indeed, hot guys on a pure black background became a standard Raging Stallion movie type that we still produce to this day (Instinct, Militia, Sexus, etc).  There are two major standout scenes in Sexpack Four—the award winning Chris Steele / Dean Coulter scene on a weight bench (best rimming I ever filed), and a great pairing between Bryce Pierce and Eddie Moreno.  Moreno was one of the hottest men in porn back then, with the kind of sexual energy that is reminiscent of guys like  Johnny Hazzard and Damien Crosse.”

Sexpack Five: Dirty Deeds

“This one gets a bit kinky—our first sounding scene, and some great bondage fucking. But my favorite scene is between our exclusives Michael Soldier and Buck Philips.  Buck played a UPS delivery guy who gets seduced by Michael Soldier.  It’s another super hairy pairing that was a huge hit for the studio. Our videographer, Leif Gobo, had a phobia about feet, so we had Soldier and Philips do a whole foot worship segment—and I made Gobo get the camera in very tight.  We could hear him freaking out and soon the camera was shaking so bad he could not continue to film!  It was GREAT torturing Gobo and I don’t think he ever forgave me for this. Mike Soldier went on to be one of our top stars, winning GayVN awards for Cops Gone Bad and A Porn Star is Born.”

Sexpack Six:  Heavy Equipment

“This is my own personal favorite of all the Sexpacks. Each scene has a great set up with interesting lighting that showcases the guys wonderfully.  This was also the first time I worked with Michael Vincenzo, who was one of the greatest performers of all time (he could cum five times in five minutes—see Gay Dreams for proof!).  This was also the beginning of Monster Dick Michael Brandon’s long association with the studio.  He went on to join our company and stayed with us for nearly ten years, rising to become the first director of the popular Monster Bang line of movies.  He had the biggest cock in the industry, and he used it here excellently in two significant scenes. This film was a turning point for Raging Stallion Studios.”

Sexpack 7: Pigs in Heaven

“Sexpack 7 was being filmed on 9/11, 2001.  Max Grand was staying at my house and he came in my room and woke me up to say, ‘turn on the TV!  NOW!’  We were all in shock.  Leif Gobo, our camera man, was from New York and had friends and family there.  No one knew if our friends and family were dead or alive.  We took the day off—sat around watching the news and making phone calls.  At dinner we talked with the actors about what to do. None of then could fly home because the airports were closed.  We were going to cancel the shoot, but amazingly, the actors said no.  They wanted to shoot the final four-way orgy the next day.  The result was something spectacular, starring Max Grand, Buck Philips, Michael Solder and blond newcomer Sky Donovan.  I am amazed at how they were able to continue the shoot and produce such amazing results.  Little did we know at the time how much of a negative impact 9/11 would have on our world over the next many years.”

Sexpack 8: Sky’s the Limit

“In Sky Donovan we had found a major superstar. He was a young guy, perfect tanned skin, beautiful blond hair, and a personality that made us both love and hate him!  He became an employee of the studio, and actually lived for over a year in a spare bedroom in the company building.  We had just started our contract to film the Mustang Line for Falcon Studios (this was ten years before we eventually merged with and I became president of Falcon).  We had funds to do a big location shoot, so we took Sky up to northern California and filmed both Mustangs’ Lumberjacked: Crimes against Nature and Sexpack 8.   Sky is in almost every scene and this movie represented the highpoint of his career.  His scene with Chris Steele in Lumberjacked is also one not to be missed.”

Sexpack 9: Fire in the Hole

“This was a fun movie to make, and was another showcase for Michael Brandon and his huge cock.  His scenes with super hot Matt Fuller (a great star now largely forgotten) and Aaron Tanner are great examples of a master fucker delivering satisfaction.  Sky Donovan also returns for a pairing with Enrico Vega.  The large number of huge dicks in this film gave us the idea of launching the Monster Bang video line.  Another great film shot during this time was Terms of Endowment, which features Brandon in his biggest movie of all time.”

Sexpack 10: This End Up

“The final movie of the Sexpack line closes this opening chapter of Raging Stallion Studios in grand style.  A great scene between Carlos Morales and Aaron Tanner was very well received, as was the scene between Enrico Vega and Brad Fletcher. But the best moment for me was the scene between Tom Vacarro and Michael Soldier—shot in the same back yard that we used to launch the series some years before.  I sold that house a few months later. Both of these guys were close friends and I enjoyed filming them very much.  At the end of that shoot, I knew we had reached the end of an era.  The early years were over, and we had built  Raging Stallion into one of the top porn studios in the world.”

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