The artist Copper continues with his exploration of the History of male on male Spanking videos in this instalment he discusses Control T studio
A SHORT HISTORY OF MALE SPANKING VIDEOS
CONTROL T STUDIOS
n 1980, Control-T Studios, was founded by Mark Powers (not his real name), in Mission Hills, California. Although incorporated then, it wasn’t until August of 1984 that Mark released his first video, “Golden Rule” and “Lesson Learned” (CTS-1). The Control-T style of film-making was slick and professional for their day, using some location shots, but mostly filmed in their warehouse studio. Due to the lewd act laws of the day, the earliest videos never showed any genitalia, although as times changed and other companies began including actual sex acts along with the spanking, they also began including total nudity.
Control-T’s earliest videos were sold on VHS or Beta cassettes, ranging in price from $11.95 to $79.95, with some videos (the “FMO” series) only available to members who paid an annual fee of $39.95 – $59.95 for these exclusive offers and discounts. Initially all of their videos were also offered in photosets and audio-only cassettes.
While the primary demographic for Control-T was the production of all-male spanking films, the company did venture into several short-lived fetish experiments including body-shaving and bondage videos. They also offered a small number of spanking videos with young men being punished by dominant women. There were about six videos that featured an all-black cast, marketed separately and listed as “CBV” rather than “CTS” in their catalog.
In 1985, Control-T began publishing Hot Bottoms Magazine, selling for $5 per issue. Each black-and-white issue was approximately 24 pages long, photocopied and stapled along the spine. Each issue featured fiction stories (some with original illustrations), classified ads and photos from their videos. The 55th and final issue of Hot Bottoms was published in March of 1992. Staring in July of 1990, Control-T also published a series of seven slick full-color magazines called Spankography. These periodicals featured scenes from their videos, along with popular stories that had previously appeared in Hot Bottoms. Spankography sold by mail order or in adult bookstores for $8 per issue.
Behind the scenes, Mark Powers had been studying to become a lawyer and, in 1988 when he passed the California Bar Exam, he decided it was in his best interest to sell the company. Control-T was purchased by another fetish producer called Leoram, Inc. It was at this time that the operation of the Control-T brand was now helmed by Steve Powers, rather than Mark.
That transaction began the demise of Control-T, since the new owners really didn’t understand the spanking fetish. Over time, their original production began using spanking as foreplay for sex, or missing it with other fetishes such as cross-dressing or extreme bondage as part of the plot. In 1999 they began purchasing the distribution rights to inferior male-spanking videos shot in Eastern Europe, and in 2003, the final video to be shot by Control-T (White Collar Crimes) was released.
In all, Control-T Studios released 139 videos. In their final years, they simply repackaged or renamed videos from their catalog, and by 2013 the company ceased to exist. While most Control-T videos are no longer available, a few of their older films are currently listed on sites like VideoClips and GayHotMovies using video-on-demand. A recent check of PornHub included 15 CTS films or clips for free viewing.
As usual, I am including some of their earliest advertising, including a few pages of the first Control-T Catalog that sold for $5 by mail order. This included a letter from Mark Powers, introducing the company to its customers, as well as single-photo listings for their first few videos and an ad for Hot Bottoms magazine. As time went on and they produced more videos, they would regularly mail out full page flyers to customers around the world, with multiple pictures and expanded storylines, and I have included a random selection of those.
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