Jules Jordan's Porn Distribution Empire Hits 10-Year Mark

This article originally appeared as the cover story of the July 2016 issue of AVN magazine. Click here to see a digital edition of the magazine. LOS ANGELES—Jules Jordan admits he wasn’t looking too far ahead when he took what at the time was the biggest risk of his career. Armed with the confidence that his product could stand alone, he began distributing his own movies in January 2006, leaving the pioneering company Evil Angel that had been selling his porn since 2001.  The former number one-selling director in John Stagliano’s Evil Empire stable did not have a long-range business plan, just belief in what he was doing. “I take it day by day,” Jordan says. “There’s so many challenges. You don’t know what format there’s going to be in 10 years. You don’t know what the user experience is going to be.” No matter the delivery system or how the complicated the industry climate, Jordan did what he’s always done—adapt and innovate. Employees and distribution partners came and went, but the heart of his operation—his singular vision—has always been in tact. Now a decade later on a balmy Monday evening in mid-June, he stands in an immaculate warehouse in the San Fernando Valley, buttoning up his black tuxedo for the photo that will become the July 2016 cover of AVN magazine.  And while two of porn’s most bankable stars, Jesse and Alexis Texas, receive the finishing touches on their makeup in the next room, the 44-year-old former adult store clerk from Hershey, Pennsylvania, is reflecting on success.  “Just being able to persevere with all the changes in the industry and still stay relevant, transitioning from format to format—VHS to DVD to all medias, all the way to digital and the web,” he says. “Just being able to keep my brand relevant through all those times. Being able to stay original and keep up with technology.” Indeed the timely rebranding of Jules Jordan Video as not only a gonzo studio but also a distribution hub has turned into a multimillion-dollar enterprise that is synonymous with premium adult content. Jordan now sits atop an organization that releases up to 10 new titles a month that still include his own movies that he produces, directs and often performs in.