Time to clean house and prep it for sale. So I am moving out of Florida, house prices have gone ballistic and the cost of living here has also risen to match the million Dollar house prices. I pay just over $18K just in taxes and insurance for a basic 3/2. Its outrageous. Not 100% sure where I am going, could be back to Europe could be SC. There will be a pause in shooting while I get settled.

This will be the 5th Mud Pit that I have built and taken down! I look at it empty and remember some of the great shoots that were done in it, loads of laughs, some very sexy girls doing some very naughty stuff. Penelope from Messy Girl is now the owner of several tones of wonderful Dirty Muse Mud, I am however excited to see what shoots she does.

Phil

We still have several more videos to post from our shoots at Phil's. So the memory of your wonderful mud pit will still live on for a bit longer.

So sorry to hear u have to move. Wishing you the absolute best finding a place. The mud is in very good hands now. Can't wait to hear good news from you soon.

Wait, surely a mud pit adds value to a house?!

More seriously, wishing you a trouble free move Phil and all the best for your future ventures.

Such sad news about your infamous and legendary mud pit and glad it was the brilliant Messygirl crew that were the last to get messy in it

Wishing you all the best with the move Phil

Tough news.

Especially sad we didn't see another shoot with Anna in the mud pit!

Ok, I'm going to ask:
How the hell did you move ton(s) of mud between locations?!
Pumping truck?

Oh Phil, I am so sorry to hear you are having to move. But I understand. The same thing is happening in Montana. So many are fed up with what California has become that they moved here and now the property values have skyrocketed. I hope you will stay in the United States. I was sort of having a dream of someday visiting you and playing in that wondrous mud with one of your beautiful girls. HA!

That sucks you have to move, but I get it. The lopsided economy we have going on is killing the other states.

Sorry to hear you're having to move, that tax situation sounds horrific.
Looking forward to seeing what you do next though.

Was wondering the same thing..

Sad news for the pit. However it's nice Penelope takes the relay with the mud. Very sad also you have to move against your better will.. good luck with your next chapter!! Thanks for the great mud pit videos that were filmed there!

Sorry to hear the news of this...it is a sad day when a mud pit has to go. I had a small one in my backyard 2 years and it went away when I had my pool built...life goes on though.

You can always move over here to Texas...we'd be glad to have ya!

I doubt Anna will be back I have lost touch with her. She was in the US on a refugee status visa that I believe expired. Unfortunately a built in Mud Pit only adds value to the house for 0.002% of the population! So it had to go.

How was the Mud moved? Well Penelope figured out it was some ridiculous weight over 2 tones so we had to move it from the back of my house to the front and a large truck with a lined bed. Team work, Peyton actually shoveled mud, then Penelope, MG and friend put it in large buckets on little trailers and made many trips! I panicked while my Deck, stone path, garden and driveway became very Muddy!

Thanks for the good wishes, I think the world is in turmoil to be honest. All I know is I refuse to spend $18,000 a year on bullshit insurance and taxes, hell $18,000 I could have a great Week in Vegas with Carmen and two of her hot friends plus plenty of Booze+ and delish food. It might be enough for a bunch of Chocolate Pudding too! Sounds better than Tax I see no benefit from and insurance I never use!

I doubt I have made my last movie LOL Just let me get settled and I'll be back.....

Phil

P.S. Here are a couple of BTS shots of Peyton.

Wow you always had amazing Pit Crew it's a dirty job

18k thats enough to make any mud pit run dry

Sorry to hear that you have to relocate and clean up the area where the mud pit was. Have you thought about moving to Maryland, not in the close-in suburbs of Baltimore (Baltimore County, Anne Arundel County where Annapolis is and Harford County where the Army's Aberdeen Proving Grounds is as well as Cecil County) and Washington, DC (Frederick County, Montgomery County and the county that I live in, Prince George's County and Howard County) are very pricey. Try Western Maryland near Hagerstown and Cumberland (Washington County, Allegany County and Garrett County) or southern Maryland in-between the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River (Charles County, St. Mary's County, Calvert County) or the Eastern Shore counties along the way to Ocean City. In Maryland, we have Clay which you can make some good mud with, but wherever you go next I wish you the best and hope that your move runs smoothly

Maybe off topic, but do you pay $18,000 every year for property taxes and home insurance? I thought Germany was expensive, but my 400 insurance and 300 property tax per year are a joke in comparison... (ok, I only have 200 square meters of living space and 1000 square meters of land, but $18,000?????)

Maybe you should come to Germany...just a thought.

Ha ha ha your right! I have 222 sqm and taxes and insurance are out of control in the US. Mine are especially bad because my place is less than 1/4 mile from the beach (Atlantic Ocean) and this area is prone to Hurricanes. The guy behind me pays $4K more because his house is wood framed LOL Insurance companies regularly go broke in Florida, the only place I could get flood insurance is via FEMA a government agency!

Yes do not complain about your tax and insurance. Income tax is high here too, I know people in California who pay in excess of 50% Tax on their income, State tax in Cal!!!

Phil

Yeah I can understand why you're paying so much for insurance if you live near a beach in Florida. Especially if its anywhere along the east coast. It's been the trend for years. People who move here want to live by the beach and are willing to pay for the privilege, and now a lot of people are moving here. The good news is, if you own your home, it's gonna be worth a lot more than what you paid. Until about 7 yrs ago, we were living in the Tampa bay area about ten minutes from the beach, and the population was booming then. When we were selling, we had a bidding war between two interested parties wanting to buy the house. We walked away with a few thousand more than what we were asking. As I understand it, the demand for homes has skyrocketed in Florida, especially if it's near a beach. We got lucky. We found land in north central Florida for a good price and built a new house on it. The benefit was lower costs. Our insurance here is less, (we are in the lowest hurricane threat zone), and our electricity bills are lower. The only thing I do miss is the beach, as the closest beach is over an hour away. However we do have a pool and plenty of wooded land to make mud pits and do our wetlook work in relative privacy. If you consider north central Florida, I'd recommend you move quickly because it's growing here too

EdwinR
asplashofglamour.com

The trouble is EdwinR is I shoot with a lot of Porn Stars. In Florida they all live in Tampa! On the West Coast they all live in Vegas. I love the Lake Como area in Italy, I love sailing in the Caribbean BVI particularly. I do like Charleston, a fun town. Alas the problem is access to Porn talent to continuing to do the Dirty Muse style of Videos. When I lived in Texas I had to fly them in so my costs went up and there is already very little profit to begin with.

I have offered Dirty Muse to someone to run but I have my doubts they are willing to take it on. So in order for me to continue I will need to make more profit so its a viable business, I am retired now so not as much money coming in.

Phil

Knowing we have significant differences in our sites, Phil, I can relate to the difficulties of finding talent. It is a lot more difficult to find talent locally, and we have to bring models up from Tampa or down from Jacksonville.

I can relate to the overhead of running the business side of the venture, and trying to turn a profit. At this point asplashofglamour.com is an expensive hobby and we haven't turned a profit in some time. Part of the reason is on me. I still have to work for a living and currently I put in a ton of overtime. Unfortunately I don't have much time to invest into the site. Currently I do have a ton of unreleased material and new ideas I want to do, but it will have to wait until I have more time. At this stage in my life I still have to work at least a couple more years before I can retire. And work is killing me right now.

I can understand the idea of turning over the site to a someone else, to run. We've thought about doing this too, maybe when I retire in a few years. The market is always changing and I think that it won't be long before AI becomes so good as to replace our efforts. I don't see how any producer today could compete with that.

EdwinR
asplashofglamour

Aww I'm sorry to hear that you're moving Phil. The prices for Florida homes can be ridiculous but hey what can you do. I thank you for all the scenes you did including the mud scenes with Messygirl, and that they shot my mud custom in your awesome pit. Hope you find a home that will make you feel safe and comfortable.

Edwin R: ZERO chance AI can replace your awesome work! I've been a fan of yours for years since I discovered your WetMar videos on Youtube in like 2008. I always thought you lived in Brazil. Florida! Surprising but nice! WetMar is a goddess!!! I don't care is she's 80. She's probably still smokin!!!

And Phil: you're an absolute legend, not only for DirtyMuse but also for being married, at one-time, to the glorious Shawn of MessyFun fame. I'd love to hear some of your stories. Anyway, I try not to be political, but I work in finance and know the insurance business backwards and forwards. Climate change is not helping FLA irrespective of what laws are passed or words are outlawed. When the government is the only player in a business industry, as you referenced, something has gone awry. The losses are just too big for most companies to stay in the market. Just sayin... Sorry to be, like, serious.

On a more on-topic note, you guys get Shawn and WetMar to do some kind of vintage video and that will sell like hotcakes at least for us older fans!!!

Shaun and I are still best friends. She just turned 53 and I doubt very much if she would agree to do a scene LOL I will say I think she is as sexy and beautiful as she was back in the Messy Fun days I can't show you a picture, Shaun would murder me in the most horrible way and spit out my bones LOL So you will just have to trust me.

Phil

I can't believe that so much time has already passed. We worked with Wetmar back in 2009 and 2010. It literally feels like it was just yesterday. I still wish we had the opportunity to work with her a lot more and sadly we haven't stayed in touch.


Ironically the only way that could possibly happen in the near future is through AI. That technology is getting better all the time and it won't be long before it can produce hyper realistic videos while replicating virtually anyone.

EdwinR
asplashofglamour.com

I have been thinking about investing in a Valve VR system, how far away do you think VR WAM is?

Phil

Umm, I dunno Phil. My crystal ball has been in the shop lately. -Don't buy the ones that are made in China!

I think VR WAM will eventually happen, (if it hasn't already)

EdwinR

Dude they are all made in China!

Insurance and property tax can be a problem these days in Florida if you live within 5 miles of the coast. I have lived in Florida since 1986 and have moved several times over the years, and each time I moved it was for a variety of reasons, i.e.

Florida House #1 = 1986 to1988 was a 4/2 in Coral Springs. A nice house but no privacy to do wam shoots.

Florida House #2 = 1988-1991 was a big 6/4 house in Boca Raton. The housing market dropped and I lost a bomb, so I moved because I needed to clear up debts.

Florida House #3 = 1992-2001 was my most famous "WAM Ranch" in Jupiter (next door to Burt Reynolds farm) on 3 acres and loads of privacy, and I shot over 2000 wam shoots there for 9 years. After 9 years of wam shoots the house was pretty much wrecked due to all the abuse it took from wam activities. This ranch was in a rural area where we could only get dial up internet. In order to run my websites I had move to an urban city which had broadband internet.

Florida House #4 = 2002-2005 was in Boca Raton which was a 5/3 house (I needed extra bedrooms to store my 8000 VHS tapes) and I had the high speed internet to run my websites, but not too much privacy for backyard shoots cos I was situated on a lake with nosy neighbors on the other site of the lake.

Florida House #5 = 2006-2011 was the dumbest move I ever made in my life. I decided to splurge on a more costly house that was a 6/4 in a gated community, and 2 years later the housing market collapsed in 2008 and my house was suddenly worth only 50% of what I had paid for it and I now had an underwater mortgage and was in deep doo doo.

Florida House #6 = 2012 to 2016 I downsized a lot to a small 3/2 home in Boca Raton in order to recover from losing my shirt....but the insurance rates and property taxes had become so high because we have been thru several hurricanes in South Florida.

The first 6 houses were all located in South Florida, within 2 miles of the coast, so I finally grew a brain and decided that you don't need to be near to the coast in order to make WAM videos, and you could just as easily make wam videos in Central Florida, away from the coast, so my wife and I decided to move to Central Florida, near Ocala, which is 55 miles from the west coast and 55 miles from the east coast. After incurring much damage from hurricanes I decided to move to a rural area in the interior of Florida, and we are so far from the coast now even if a Cat 4 hurricane hits Tampa Bay it will be reduced to a Tropical Storm by the time it reaches us.

By moving from am urban area to a more rural area my property taxes went from 12K per year to only 2.5K today, and my homeowners insurance that was 10K in South Florida, is now only $1800 per year.

Florida House #7 = 2017-2023 was a 3/2 we bought in a retirement community in the Ocala area, which was OK for our needs because by 2017 I had stopped doing WAM shoots myself and had passed the torch to my business partners Tracie Z of TZ models and Flav from the Eurowam site.

Florida House #8 = this was our latest move in Jan 2024. My wife was wanted to get a brand new home, because our prior home was 20 years old and the roof and A/C needed replacing, so we studied the market and decided it was not worth spending 100K to upgrade a wood frame house and for less money we could just move to a new gated community development 5 miles away where they were building new concrete block homes.

Our property taxes and home owners insurance rates are very reasonable where we live now, only 5K per year for taxes and insurance combined.

MMP mentions the need to be located near Tampa because that is where many models are based. We are only a 1hr hour drive away from Tampa, so just move to one of the cheaper suburban areas outside of Tampa where property, taxes and insurance are still cheap.

I recall a few times when EdwinR used to visit me at my Jupiter Ranch in his 18 wheeler truck. Speaking of Tampa, we did loads of mud pit shoots not far from Tampa in the suburbs of Bradenton in the 1990s, where our mud sponsor Tom and his wife Norma used to invite us and our girls over to his house in Bradenton, where he had built his own mud pit in his backyard as well.

Also, in 2015 I once had plans to go into a real estate partnership with Lenny from the PieVids site, because at that time Lenny had inherited some money from his late father and I had a bit of equity to invest as well, so our plan was to go 50/50 to buy a 10 acre ranch in the Ocala area set it up as our new base for WAM shoots. The places we looked at had a huge RV Garage building on the side of the house, that could easily be converted to a home studio for indoor wam shoots. Sadly those plans never materialized because Lenny's health declined rapidly and he later passed away.

If Lenny had not become ill we would be living on a large compound in Ocala today and still making lots of wam videos.

Ain't that the truth!

(Note to self, avoid Boca Raton until someone finds a bomb!)