The China Connection: Up Close With Dr. K in LA

LAS VEGAS—The population of China is just over 1.4 billion people and 77.5 percent of them have Internet access. In comparison, recent statistics for the United States had a headcount of roughly 333 million people, and currently, 94.6 percent have access to the Internet. So, there are four times as many Chinese on the planet as Americans, and about the same ratio holds true for Internet access. Just over one billion people in China can get online, while more than 322 million in the U.S. have access. Unsurprisingly, both markets include a segment that enjoys adult entertainment—but that’s where access gets tricky. In the U.S., where free speech has allowed adult content to become ubiquitous online (many would argue oversaturated), access to a plethora of hardcore adult content is merely a click away. If you are 18 or over, you are free to view adult content, and a 2023 study by cybersecurity firm Webroot found that 40 percent of domestic Internet users visited adult sites regularly, one-third of whom were women. But in China, there’s the Great Firewall and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) refers to adult content as “spiritual pollution,” subject to the Anti-Spiritual Pollution Campaign of 1983. The government controls what can be viewed online and the production of adult content is illegal. However, despite strict censorship, according to surveys taken in 2015, 70 percent of Chinese men, aged 18-29, said they had viewed adult content online within the last year. To do that, they had to sneak around on virtual proxy networks (VPNs) and know how to find the forbidden fruit. But where there’s a will, there’s a way—and a handful of adult producers who know the way, which is where Dr. K in LA comes in. Since relocating to the United States in 2010, Louis Wu and his Dr. K in LA productions have become a leader in adult content for the Chinese market. Wu is the only Chinese-born adult director working in the U.S. “I come from China, Shanghai, and I'm not a professional filmmaker, you know. I'm a professional piano player,” he told AVN. “My first job was as a music teacher and then I had my own jazz band.” The funny thing is that Wu didn’t become “Internet famous” in China for adult movies or playing the piano. He learned to navigate Chinese social media as a sports blogger covering the NFL, eventually becoming the most popular American football blogger in China with more than 100,000 followers. “You know, in China, not everyone likes football. They like the NBA much more. Basketball is much bigger—basketball is number one, soccer is number two, and then maybe baseball, hockey—football is too hardcore,” Wu explained. After months of sports blogging, he realized that while the blog had made him popular, it wasn’t making any money. That’s when Wu set his sights on YouTube. “Then I was thinking, what should I do? I thought I was good at talking, chatting, and communicating—so I thought maybe I can do some interviews. Then I started to do porn industry interviews. Didn’t matter—talent, cameramen, directors, photographers... I made like more than fifty [video interviews].” But while sports news had been a relatively safe topic for Wu to capitalize on, the blogger-turned-vlogger had to be strategic about marketing this new content to the audience back home. “In China, we have a social media called ZhiHu. It’s all about knowledge—no pictures, no photos, no video, just words. So, I wrote stories about my interviews, and after that, I think I was the only one there with 100K followers, but after about a year, they banned my account. It was my first time getting banned. But that made me more famous when I got banned—a lot of people know me.” Before long, the ambitious content creator decided to take a big step in the quest for Internet fame and fortune. While stocking his YouTube channel, he said he was learning a lot about movie-making from instructional videos and, with that, Wu’s confidence grew. “I did an interview with [adult photographer] Holly Randall and she taught me a lot of things, and then I felt that maybe it’s time. I knew a lot of things about the industry, so I thought, maybe I can join the industry. So, I joined.” The Blossoms World In the U.S., if you want to visit the Dr. K in LA website, it’s pretty easy to find in a search, in addition to related social media and YouTube videos. There are lots of photos on the site, but a very limited number of trailers— just enough to get a taste of Wu’s lush, visual style, dramatic storylines, and steamy sex action. He would rather direct interested viewers to his ManyVids or OnlyFans pages, where they can subscribe and download clips. A recent Dr. K feature-length series is titled Blossoms World #1-3, which stars an A-list cast including Kenna James, Quinton James, Octavia Red, Melody Marks, Nicole Doshi, Kenna James, Nicole Kitt, Ryan Keely, Kimora Quinn, Marica Haze, Ashley Lane, Daniella Renae, Aoomi, Keiran Lee, Isiah Maxwell, and, in a cameo role, Dr. K himself. The script concept was based on a popular Chinese television crime thriller Blossoms Shanghai, the first TV series directed by Hong Kong auteur Wong Kar Wai. For Chinese audiences, Wu explained, the story is just as important as the sex—if they can find his videos in the first place. “They don’t know [how to find adult content]—this is why I’m famous,” Wu explained. “These last four or five years, the Chinese government made more and more rules about the Internet and it’s very hard to find a porn website. The government banned everything. So, it’s very hard for people in the Chinese mainland to watch porn, but they know a guy named Dr. K. He’s a Chinese guy that started shooting porn—he’s the first Chinese director in the U.S. porn industry. So, I’m famous. “Then, since last year, I started my own website in China, so now they can watch all my videos in the Chinese mainland. I know it’s dangerous, but I did it, so, I don’t think I can go back to China for five or ten years,” he said, sounding a bit more serious. “I make a lot of money with the website. It’s huge. A lot of my fans tell me that I’m the only porn brand they would like to pay. In China, if you can watch a porn, ninety-nine percent of people just watch a free one. But for me, they pay for my videos because all my videos, they have to pay and download,” Wu continued. “It’s interesting. I make my website—it’s sexy, but there aren’t any nudes or any sex pictures until you pay and download and then you have the video,” he said. “Before you pay for the video, you will see nothing about porn. You think it’s just a sexy website, but it’s just sexy so the government won’t ban it. It’s my way.” “My [U.S.] website is just to let everyone know me; I don’t want people to watch the videos on this website. I made my website just because I want to make my name famous and [more] famous. It’s not about money. But with my Chinese website, I want to make money,” he said. “I have a lot of social media in China. I’m famous like on TikTok Chinese. I’m the only one, the only Chinese director. I make videos every week and just talk about the industry or how to shoot a porn, but I use very safe words, so the government doesn’t do anything about my account because it’s safe. If I say anything ‘too street,’ maybe my video will get banned or my account,” he added. Wu said he understands and agrees with why the government maintains iron-fisted rule and control over China’s massive population and the media it ingests. Under the PRC system, it’s just the way things work. But people will always find ways around the rules when they want something, and they’ll also pay a premium if it’s hard to get. All that works to Wu’s advantage.  He has no plans to work with other production companies for now because he’s more interested in establishing the Dr. K brand. Wu has accomplished this, so far, with a two-man crew that includes himself and his cinematographer/PA Brian. “I work for my own brand,” he said. “My brand is much more important than other things for me. If I could choose [between] famous or money, I would choose famous.” (American) Dream or Real? Most of Wu’s competition for the Chinese market is from Taiwanese adult producers. Taiwan, an independent, democratic country, is not subject to the laws of the PRC, though China considers Taiwan a province. Taiwan’s government, the Republic of China (ROC), relocated from mainland China to Taiwan’s main island of Formosa in 1949 and is a representative democratic government that considers itself independent of mainland China. In Taiwan, adult content production and sales are legal, with a few restrictions. A rare example of a Taiwanese adult production that garnered a nomination for Best BDSM Movie or Limited Series at the 2024 AVN Awards was Sex Jail, produced by AsiaM/Model Mania with streaming distribution on EvilAngel.com. Dr. K is also well-known in Taiwan, where adult actresses can demand three or four times the rates that U.S. talent gets paid for a simple boy/girl scene. Costs and logistics make it prohibitive to shoot in Asia, even with Wu’s global reputation. Occasionally, Asian starlets will come to the U.S. to collaborate with him at a discounted rate or for free because it helps increase their popularity in Asia. For his Dream or Real? series, episode two has been created specifically for Asian audiences, with the dialogue in Chinese and an all-Asian cast. It’s also one of the few Dr. K trailers that can be found on adult clip site Pornhub. When casting his productions, Wu has a simple formula based on his unique insight into his audience. He pointed out that popular actresses considered top stars in the U.S. and Europe can be unknown in Asia, while other starlets resonate more readily with viewers in the East. “It’s my fourth year in the industry now, so, I want to work with the big names because I know social media and I know the fans. Not everyone cares about the quality, they only care about their idol. For me, as a director and producer, the more famous the talent is, the more fans they will have, and the more money I can make,” he explained. “With Americans, Angela White is number one. But in China, Melody Marks is number one, and a girl named Lena Anderson—they are the most famous. You cannot imagine how popular they are. Like Melody Marks—if she flew to Japan or Taiwan for shooting, they would pay huge. Huge. Superstar style—like they’ll pay round-trip [airfare], a five-star hotel, and ten times the pay in America.” Marks, who is a Spiegler Girl, leans into her popularity with Asian fans by posting cosplay-style photos and cute selfies with stuffed animals. The dental retainer she wears only adds to her charm. She’s featured in Wu’s Blossoms World series and several shorter clips on the Dr. K in LA website. She has also appeared for Asian-centric lines including Hentaied and Japornxxx. For Wu, though, his personal idol is performer Skye Blue, who has starred in Wu’s Dr. Sex series of clips and is featured on his website. The list of top male talent with Asian fans stays fairly consistent, according to Wu, and includes Johnny Sins, Keiran Lee, Mick Blue, and Danny D, who all have appeared in Dr. K productions. The release of Blossoms World #1-3 in July was quickly followed in August by Wu’s crime thriller Internal Affairs, starring Melissa Stratton, Charles Dera, Molly Little, Damon Dice, Mila Koi, Evelyn Claire, Jade Luv, Will Pounder, and Tommy Pistol. He also recently wrapped his biggest project yet, a video game-themed action feature titled Street Fighter vs. KOF, which stars Charles Dera, Nicole Doshi, Gal Ritchie, Linda Lan, Mila Koi, and Kristi Aria. “This shoot is my first time trying a comedy style. I like trying different shooting styles and hope to add my own style to various styles,” he said. “Street Fighter is the fighting game with the longest history and the most fans in China. Recently, the Chinese player [named] XiaoHai just won the Street Fighter World Championship, so, this time I filmed Street Fighter to keep up with the traffic and popularity of his victory. At the same time, I am also a Street Fighter fan myself.” Street Fighter vs. KOF was available in China on September 15 and will be released on Dr. K’s ManyVids page on September 20.