Different Strokes: Interview with the BateWorld.com Crew

This article originally ran in the June 2015 issue of AVN magazine. Click here to see the magazine online. If there’s one thing that gay, bisexual and straight men share in common, it’s the ability to spend quality time with their first true love—themselves. BateWorld.com is devoted to the art of self-love, with its stated mission to “promote and encourage men’s masturbation as a fun, healthy and vital part of life.” Members interact with one another through instant messages and chat rooms, share videos, and enjoy other user-generated content. Members post photos and videos and post comments to share their personal experiences as well as fantasies. Launched in September of 2009, the site has more than 70,000 active members. Recently AVN talked with David, the site’s co-founder and creative director, to find out more about what makes BateWorld go ’round.AVN: The most obvious question is, how did the idea first pop into your heads, or head? David of BateWorld.com: I met my business partner Peter in 2009 through a website called BateNation. We hooked up to masturbate together, and he and I became really good friends. When BateNation closed down shortly after we met, Peter had the idea to start our own site. He had done the research and when he presented it to me, I was impressed. It sounded like a really fun project. He would take care of the business and I would design the graphics. There wasn’t a lot of decision put into it, at least on my part. I only ever imagined it as a small site, though—not the giant amusement park complex it’s become. At that time I didn’t realize just how many masturbators there are in the world, so I seriously underestimated the demand! When you launched it in 2009, did you have any idea that there existed such a diversity of sub-genres of the art of male masturbation? Although I’ve always been a really active masturbator, the possibilities for meeting others like me were very slim even a few years back. I had heard of solosexuals, but I didn’t know the sort of devotion that some solosexuals can really have toward the practice. And I had started to hear about gooning and edging through the Yahoo! groups and my brief time spent on BateNation before it closed down. But since we started BateWorld I’ve learned so much more about the scope of masturbation in men’s lives. It’s not just a matter of people having different fetishes or whatever. I’ve seen the evidence of how important sexuality is to our sense of identity and our focus toward the world around us. The sub-genres of masturbation represent an evolutionary drive that’s unique to every individual. What turns us on is never the same for any two people. The idea that we fit into neat little boxes is a myth. How would you define your online community now, and what is your most effective pitch as far as attracting new members? BateWorld is a world-wide online community of very welcoming men. It’s an affirming site full of guys who love to masturbate alone or with others. The wonderful thing for me about BateWorld is that our members are so encouraging and positive about masturbation, and there’s very little of the negativity you find on other sites. Men of all races, types, ages and orientations gather together on BateWorld and work together to get each other off. It’s amazing. Peter and I see our role as serving a community that defines itself. We try to intrude as little as possible in the user-generated content of BateWorld. All men are welcome to join in with us, because masturbation is healthy and fun. It’s a vital part of your life as a man. Why live in shame and resentment of your cock when you can embrace your sexuality and love what your cock can do for you? There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, it can be very healthy. Adding others into the mix creates bonds and deep experiences between men, free of shame and full of camaraderie.Does it vary depending on the sub-genre you want to attract? BateWorld is open to all men who want to share in all the varieties of masturbatory pleasure. We don’t set many limits on the subject matter, but we do have strict rules about some subjects to safeguard the site and our members. But there are all kinds of ways and reasons that men masturbate, and we have thousands of groups and polls devoted to exploring those varieties. How important is word-of-mouth from existing members in that regard? Word-of-mouth was integral to our first three years online. During that time, we barely advertised at all, so most every one of our new members had heard about it from someone else. I’m used to it now, but in the beginning I had no idea there were so many masturbators out there, all connected like Six Degrees of Separation. It was fascinating for me to observe the effects of word-of-mouth in action. I never would have believed so many men were interested in masturbating together, all connected to each other. I just kept thinking that there would eventually be some kind of plateau in the slow-but-steady rise of our membership numbers, but it’s never happened. Now we have a steady stream of new advertising going out, as well as the demands of all the other social media barnacles like Twitter, Tumblr and YouTube that help promote our little project. Your price point of $60/year seems reasonable and designed to keep people around. How is member retention? We charge as little as we can. Our purpose is not to get rich off of other people masturbating, our intent is to provide as much to as many as possible. Peter and I both want to make the premium features as cheap as possible so a maximum number of men can participate. There are still a ton of options for free, and we have three-month Helping Hand memberships for those who can’t afford it. Our success is the result of community support, and we’re really grateful that men love the site enough to keep us keepin’ on online. In our five years online, we’ve surpassed well over 100,000 signups and currently have an estimated 30,000 active members. During peak hours every day there are usually between 300 and 500 members, and those numbers continue to increase as well. The majority of profits we make get put right back into developing BateWorld and our other sites, because this is a labor of love for us.  How does BateWorld manage to appeal to gay, bi and straight men without becoming political or alienating anyone? Is there something about the shared experience of male masturbation that cuts through the differences? Yes, exactly. BateWorld is a masturbatory oasis from the noise of the world. The men on BateWorld have a sense of respect for each other that I’ve never seen demonstrated anywhere else online. There are men on our site who deeply care for each other. The bonds that are created outweigh any outmoded romantic stereotypes, though there have been a few couples brought together, and even two weddings. Yay! Masturbation is important to our identity as men—gay, bi or straight. I was delighted to see the growing presence of straight guys on BateWorld, but I never expected that either. I think it proves that masturbation is something we all share. If we can drop trou and jack it together with pride and a sense of shared masculine energy, the labels just don’t mean anything.Are women allowed to become members? If not, do any of them get angry when they’re told they have to go away? The short answer is no, women aren’t allowed on BateWorld. The very purpose of our site is to allow man-to-man communication. It’s a place to share masculine energy, and by nature that means focusing solely on male sexuality. We do allow for photos of women in private folders, but otherwise the environment is completely cock-centric. Occasionally a woman will join, and we explain our policies as diplomatically as possible. Most women seem to understand and it hasn’t been much of an issue. I want to make it clear that our policies don’t mean that we’re anti-female. I personally want all sexes and genders to be sexually free and open. But in matters of sexual identity, it’s productive and encouraging to have gathering places for others who are wired like you. There are sites devoted to masturbation for both sexes, and I hope that somewhere there’s a women’s masturbation site where men aren’t allowed. We can’t be all things to all people. What were, and are, your main challenges in developing and growing BateWorld and its affiliated websites? Do you see a limit to your potential reach, or is the sky the limit? The demands of rapidly changing technology are really tough. Five years ago, tablets weren’t even a thing. Now they’re a thing. Who knows how long they’ll continue to be a thing. When we started out on this little romp, we had a website. Now we have a much larger property to maintain—covering multiple platforms. Under Peter’s direction, we’ve begun to span the web with related sites. There’s an affiliate store with bator products (TheBateShop.com), and we’re putting the final touches on our new blog (BateWorld.com/blog). We’re also developing a separate site that goes beyond masturbation, so that’s what I mean when I say it’s become an amusement park complex. There’s a lot to keep track of. With TheBatorBlog I’m now basically writing and editing a magazine that has to be updated multiple times per day, and that’s not really something I was expecting. It’s tough to keep up with the pace, but I also love editorial work so it’s a natural fit for me. As for the future, Peter once asked me to write down my prediction for BateWorld’s 25-year anniversary. Here’s what I wrote: Our chain of BateWorld Skate-N-Bate franchises is wildly successful. Incorporating free Wi-Fi with a kick-ass coffee bar and holographic porn, our latest roller bating outlet just opened on the moon.I see that on BateWorld’s homepage, you have to remind people that “ORAL AND ANAL SEX TOPICS AND IMAGERY ARE NOT ALLOWED.” I understand why you would need to do that, but it also begs the question how you keep your members on the topic of masturbation, and also whether BateWorld will ever expand into other areas of sex play. Personally, I find it really painful to limit the scope of men’s dialog. But I’ve seen sites that started out with a theme turn into just another hookup site, and we don’t want that for BateWorld. The thing is, even if Peter and I believed it was a good thing to open it up to a wider sexual spectrum, we wouldn’t, because it’s our members who really determine that the site retains its focus on masturbation. There’s a core group of men who create much of the site’s flavor, so to speak, and we respect their views. The members report to us when they find content that violates our terms of service, and we also have monitors who voluntarily watch the site for content violations. So it’s very much a community effort. BateWorld is an online environment with a unique community of men focused on cock energy. There are zillions of other places where other topics can be discussed, but only one site just like ours.It doesn’t look like you have an affiliate program for BateWorld. Are you thinking of starting one? We chose not to have an affiliate program as a matter of economics. Revenue sharing would mean that we wouldn’t be able to keep our prices as low as they are. When did the BateShop launch? Can you talk a little about its growth and the types of product you offer?  TheBateShop.com opened around 2011 I think. It’s a really cool addition to what BateWorld is all about, because it enhances the whole experience with a wide variety of products related to masturbation. We’re an affiliate site with comics, porn, live performers, calendars, clothing, cock rings, lube, cum rags—so basically all the basic necessities of wanking. Our programmer Phil has been really instrumental in evolving the BateShop to its current state. It’s an online department store for masturbators. There’s a growing selection of international products in the BateShop, which can be shipped from countries outside the U.S. to save on postage for our non-US customers. You also just launched The BatorBlog. Since BateWorld is already a social networking community, what role do you see The BatorBlog playing in the big picture? Well, for one thing, with the blog (BateWorld.com/blog) we can reach a wider audience with news, discussions and information about masturbation as well as highlighting subjects that aren’t necessarily focused on bating. Adding an editorial feature to BateWorld seems like a natural progression for me. I’ve been writing blogs on the site from the beginning. A few years ago we opened a blog section on the BateWorld Community page, and what we’re doing now is taking the next step with that. We’re expanding on the original version and taking it outside and opening it up to a wider audience. With The BatorBlog we can highlight movies, art, and cultural events that don’t fit strictly into the BateWorld environment. I’m looking forward to being able to branch out and represent what I consider to be the whole man. It’s healthy and fun to be a bator, and I love that we have a place where men can just focus on that, but as men we’re also here in the world outside as well. With The BatorBlog we’ll have content that can enrich other parts of the body and mind.How is 2015 and beyond looking in terms of BateWorld membership expansion and global reach? Do you have any new products, offerings or news you would to share? Peter and I both have plenty of projects on the burner. Peter’s much more focused on world domination than I am. He has a real talent for it, and that’s his area of expertise. My own goals are rather modest. I prefer to continue to grow at a gradual pace the way we have from the beginning, but continue to add new features and upgrade the user experience. But I trust his instincts and let him do the driving. 2015 will be a big year for me as a designer because we’re nearing completion of our new responsive sign-in pages (which will include a sign-out page as well). This is the beginning of a site-wide responsive design upgrade. In 2015 we’ve also projected the opening of our new site that goes beyond masturbation. That’s still a secret, though. BateWorld is fairly small compared to many other sites, but what makes us unique is that we aren’t just a business, we’re legitimately interested in offering bators a sense of community and providing for men a fun and safe place to express themselves sexually. I feel really privileged to get to design such a great place to play! Thanks to all our members and our great staff! (The puns just write themselves…)