Usually it’s the other way around with porn. You start with $15M and end up with $800.
from www.goldcoast.com.au – IN 2000, Ray Youngman had a beaten up Nissan Pulsar and $800 in a family bank account to his name.
He barely had his health. In fact, he was dead for a short period after suffering a massive heart attack.
That same man is now preparing to sell one of the jewels in a $15 million pornography empire.
What began as a basic website has become seven hi-tech adult entertainment facilities which attract a combined 365 million hits a year.
The company, Cactus Beach Pty Ltd, has bases in Europe, the US and Australia.
A decade ago, Mr Youngman ‘died’ in a Sydney hospital after a heart attack and the blue-collar worker’s working days were over.
“I said you’re not going back to work,” said wife Michelle and they moved to the Gold Coast.
With no money, Mrs Youngman, a model who had dabbled in the adult industry, stepped up her workload and her husband learned how to use a camera.
An empire was born.
“I find it comical when people turn their nose up at this. It’s SEX. so what, we all do it. What is the big deal. Good for you guys, may you continue with your success. P.S Would they be more accepted if they made their money from cigarettes or alcohol. And I fail to see why it is tacky.”
“Everything is above board, everything is legal. If you walked into our office we could be lawyers or accountants,” said Mr Youngman. “There’s no pictures of naked people or videos playing.
“All our money goes back into the Gold Coast.
“We donate to charities and we employ a lot of locals.”
The dedicated father said porn was very seldom mentioned in their home.
“We don’t sit around the dinner table talking about porn. We’ve only just started talking about it with our teenage children,” he said.
“They are all well-educated and have gone to year 12 and university.”
Despite the open-book life, the couple admit people do not accept their work.
Charities knock them back when offered money, Christian groups send mail but it doesn’t deter them in growing the business.
“We work hard,” said Mrs Youngman. “When we started, we’d work day and night. Sometimes you would just want to throw the computers out the window.”
The Guanaba home, being marketed by Ray White Arundel, is the ultimate testament to their success.
“About 19 years ago, we were watching crappy TV on a Saturday night, because that’s all we could afford, so we designed our dream house on paper,” said Mr Youngman.
“We built it to the centimetre.”
The six-bedroom home, where every bedroom is its own apartment, includes a nightclub.
“It’s a party house,” he said.
The couple are selling the property to move closer to town and so Mrs Youngman can enter a new phase in her life.
“I’ve retired from being in front of the camera. I’m moving into development,” she said.