Before I get deluged in ideas for videos, I'm afraid that's not what I am after ideas for. Neither is this me looking for sympathy or having a moan. Just looking for some practical solutions to a problem I have.

The pandemic has put a complete stop to me being able to shoot for Messymayhem.com For reasons that I am not going to go into here, shooting as I usually do at the wonderful Candy Custards studio with the gunge tank is not feasible and may not be for some time yet.

To try and keep the site going last year I commissioned a load of content from Wammers and models and have been releasing that in amongst the dwindling stock of content I have in the can shot at the studio. Although most of the videos produced for me are great efforts by those who have made them for me (and I am very grateful for their efforts) they aren't cheap to produce and generally speaking sales of them haven't been great compared to content shot with the gunge tank. Added to that I've been stung by 2 models which has left me considerably out of pocket and no content to show for it.

I've for the past couple of months slowed down the rate of release of videos to try and give myself more room for maneuver. It seems to me I have a few choices at the minute:

Commission more content off other producers and models, however as I've stated above that is not without problems.

Try and find an alternative place to shoot for the time being. That is easier said than done as there aren't too many studios in the UK that are equipped properly for doing WAM shoots. If anyone has any suggestions on this front though I would love to hear from you.

Continue to drip feed out content that I have in the hope that circumstances change and I'll be able to go back to shooting as normal at some point.

Or just give up and call time on the site after all the content I have in the can has been released.

If anyone has any ideas other than this then I'd love to hear from you. If people could keep replies to constructive input please that would be most appreciated.

Bob

Thanks bob your work is appreciated

Trying to put myself in your shoes. I would have to do what is best for me financially. In the end it comes down to money and what is going to be the most profitable. I would weigh the cost vs the profit in all the options you have listed and go with the one that protects your personal finances. It may come down to shuddering the site temporarily until things improve.

Hi Bob

Please don't call time on Messymayhem. I'm a huge fan and I look forward to checking out your store every weekend.

Going forwards here are my thoughts, if you are not making enough of a return from commisioning content then put an end to the commisions. While you continue to drip feed your remaining content I really hope you can find another studio that will accomodate your requirements. If you cannot then I really hope to hear that Messymayhem goes into a state of hibernation as opposed to permanent closure.

I guess you have already reached out to the folks at Mostwam? I know Reverend Slymford managed to shoot some videos at their studio a while ago and from what I remember those scenes did really well. Also, your collaberation with Lisa went down really well too right? So perhaps there is scope for something to happen there.

I wish you all the best.

Also, have you named the models who stung you? So others can avoid them too.

Please don't call it time on messy mayhem. Maybe just a hiatus until things get back in check, if I could buy more videos to support you I definitely would but I think its been a tricky time for all of us and our spare cash.

I said this in another thread, and I think its appropriate to say it here too, imo I think it needs to be "normalized" to name names when people have shitty behavior like this (or any shitty behavior honestly) why protect them when they burned you? I feel the same about social media too, if a woman (or a man for that matter) receives an unwanted dick pic or a rude dm, put that person's name out there for everyone to see, if they can't be decent people and have manners and respect, as far as I'm concerned neither should the recipient, let everyone know what they're REALLY like and how they act so people know ahead of time

Hey,

I'm not a producer but I do make money by analyzing businesses & have a masters in business. but of course I know nothing about being a producer.
I'm also not one of your major customers as my tastes are a bit different.


I totally understand that commissioning one offs from others for you to sell is a risky proposition because there's difficulty with quality control and lighting, and you can't improve with each iteration and they won't do as well as stuff shot in an actual studio. You're also diluting your brand because we now have your real stuff next to all kinds of stuff from others


Do you need the full gunge tank to shoot?
you still have your equipment, editing software, and network of models, so perhaps you could pivot to a different setup of WAM, then at least your leveraging your skills. Obviously for my personal tastes, you'd get an inflatable chair and make Human Garbage Disposals on all the UK models, but in reality you'd just need to find another setup that makes WAM without using a gunge tank.
You could also exit wam and shoot something else, though it could be difficult to copy a fetish you don't have.


This is what your doing while you wait but you'll have to figure out something eventually


Often it's difficult for manages to cease doing something, because there's a sunk cost fallacy, and the tendency to see it as 'quitting' or equate it with failure, but really it often be the best option.
As a thought exercise, assuming you do shutdown the business, think of what you would do next, and write that option out. Then, even if everything reopens tomorrow and there's a ton of studios and models available, you can compare continuing on against that option. Your exit option may be a superior choice even if continuing becomes feasible and works.


Another thing to consider is that you likely have equipment, as well as a network that allows you to operate your business. if you decide to [strike]give up[/strike] exit your current business, you could see if you could sell it turnkey to someone else (I.E. sell your equipment, model contacts, studio contacts, and all the things that make the business work) to someone else who might be able to make it work.

hope this is useful.

I'd add the please dont give up. You've got some really good running series, like BRQ, Panic, Dont Laugh or You'll lose.

So the option I'd pick is the drip feed and hope things change. I'm not big on customs, but I will pay for the models I want to see (recently notably thats Lottii Rose). So instead of getting exactly what I want you get something that you know sells with a model I want.

DM me if you want to chat about it

Would a studio have to have a gunge tank, or just be suitable for messy shooting in general? You could possibly shoot here (DM me for details info if this appeals), but we don't have the headroom for a gunge tank, indeed before the pandemic hit I'd been tentatively considering asking about taking a group of our people to another studio for a weekend of gunge tank shoots at some point though that's clearly on permanent hold for the time being as everyone else needs to get their own production back up to speed.

One thing we've always done is build forward stockpile - we shoot far more scenes in a month than we release, mainly because having old-school membership sites offering six month memberships I never wanted to end up not having enough material to fulfill what people have signed up for. That stockpile certainly came in handy over the last year and a bit, as we've just kept our releases rolling bang on time all the way through.

I do know the Rev has successfully outsourced production overseas. Those scenes don't appeal to me because all the outfits are far too skimpy, but I gather they fit his style and seem to be successful.

I'm sorry to hear you haven't received videos you've paid two models for. I can think of one or two who are very forgetful after they've been paid.

On a practical note, would it be possible to eke out your remaining stock, by releasing compilations of previously released stuff, combined with any outtakes you might still have?

Hi Bob, Is there any scope to do outdoor mud? Since MPV hung up the camera there has been a reduction in this area. If you could find an outdoor (tidal etc) area it may get around the covid issues and potentially keep the costs down??

It would be great if you could continue. I think I'm correct in saying that you do this more as a hobby than to make profit, that being the case, could you pause messymayhem until it's possible to get new content created in Candy Custard's studio?

Also, whilst there is no gunge tank available, could you look at doing something similar to your earlier shoots where the models get gunged in a bandage chair?

There isn't much more for me to say that hasn't already been. But know that regardless of being a producer, you're a core member of our community. Carefully weigh your options. And remember, you can hang up your camera without throwing it out. Look at Phil, he's really been gung ho about making a return!

Ultimately Bob, you need to take care of you and yours. So, whatever you decide, know that we support you.

Jason

I think the next stage is HD/4K life streaming, quizzes and games how's

Multiple people paying to watch live but still only one set up.

I'm looking to partner something whilst I'm based in Asia and have been working on exactly this set up.

Whatever you decide as a long time fan wish you the very best

DR

First off thanks guys for all the messages of support, suggestions and offers I've recieved on this thread and via message since putting this up, much appreciated. I'm looking into a few options and weighing things up.

Just to deal with a few specific points:


I have on the Store owners forum. If anyone else would like to know feel free to message me.


I wouldn't really have a clue about doing this. Its not something that appeals to me sorry.


Possibly yes, but I still need to find somewhere feasible to shoot that content.


That's a kind offer thank you. If and when I'm ready and able to shoot again I'll be in touch.


That sounds like way too much organisation, stress and potential for stuff to go wrong. I don't think I could pull that off with my organised chaos style of working! It's called Messy Mayhem for a reason!

Hi Bob.

So here is my feedback. I love Messy Mayhem and I have quite a few episodes over the years in my downloads folder on my PC and from time to time sign up for the streaming service and watch some newer and classic ones.

Some things I've noticed that could maybe be changed or altered is that there is a very same trope in a lot of the newer/current scenes in that whoever loses and gets gunged just immediately strips completely naked. Now I'm not against naked gungings at all and from my own WAM experience they are fun, but the models play the games in these awesome swimsuits/lingerie and then take them off and don't get gunged in them.

It is a bit of a disappointment for me and I assume a few others who have a sub kink of swimwear and underwear getting messy. Like I imagine it depends on the model and what not, but those rare times when someone stays clothed or just wearing their bikini/swimsuit/underwear etc is so rewarding and enjoyable.

I'm not saying change the style and focus entirely on doing more fully clothed scenes, but maybe change the format a bit? Have the gungee get gunged in their swimsuit first before they go naked etc. Maybe could add some fully clothed scenes here and there and some funny costumes maybe? Would be fun for some variety and draw in some new buyers.

I hope this doesn't come across as rude I mean this in a constructive way.

Other that that, not every film needs to be Gunge Tank to work. I still love the old pre-Gunge Tank days of the paddling pool and bondage chair. I think it would great to maybe try bring those back from time to time.

Finally. I love the Pies in scenes. Could even do films just of pies instead of gunge and then have the follow up part of the episode be the gunge?

Just some thoughts.

Please stay safe and keep up the good work mate.

Hi Bob, first of all just to say I really like your work and hope you are able to carry on in some form.

Second, just to say I'm aware that at this stage of proceedings probably most of the best suggestions will already have been made, nonetheless:

I take it from what you have said so far that shooting from your own home, even in a low-tech bondage chair/paddling pool way is a non-starter. But could you potentially shoot from someone else's home in this manner, even if only for the short term?

e.g: Is there a friendly and trustworthy UMDer relatively local to you who might turn over their suitably sized bathroom, kitchen, utility room or even patio to you and your models (perhaps in exchange for getting to help with the shoots)? Sadly I can't offer you the use of Piechap Towers, (due to the small matter of wanting to remain married to Mrs Piechap), but perhaps others are in a different position?

My only other suggestion is the following photo studio in the North West which I know has done messy shoots in the past: https://www.ians-studio.co.uk/ and may be worth contacting.

Best of luck with whatever you decide to do, and thank you for all the great content over the years.