Ambush Interview #74 Poppy

250 Jupiter Poppy's...

21. What kind of education did you get? highschool and post secondary. Where? discuss this time in your life.

I went to Mira Mesa High School in San Diego and continued on to The University of San Diego and earned a Bachelor of Science in History. I didn't specialize in anything particular, but just really enjoyed reading, writing, and learing about our world. Contemporary events are what interest me the most.

If I could go back, I think I would apply myself a little bit more and not focus solely on soccer. I was so determined to become a Pro soccer player, which I did, but I think I could've done better academically. I didn't do poor, but didn't do great. I was a B student.

22. What the fuck is Drumbeat and what did you do for them?

So, back in 1997 I wanted to move back to San Diego and it just so happened there was a pro team down here called the San Diego Flash. I ended turning down a deal with them, because I found my first real job and decided it was time to hang the boots up. I was at bar in San Diego and ran into a high school buddy and he was working for one of the first WYSIWYG tools called Drumbeat. I ended up doing inside sales support there for a year. They ended up getting bought by Macromedia and I had a job offer with them, but I would have had to relocate to the Bay Area and I wasn't ready to do that. I believe the next generation of Drumbeat was Macromedia's UltraDev product.

If you Google: Drumbeat Elemental Software a lot of results still come up about them.

23. How did a highway billboard change your career and lead you to adult
online?

As fate would have it, I was driving on the freeway one day and kept seeing this obnoxious billboard on the road that said, Hi Tech Job Fair. It was in black font with a pink background. No offense Halcyon & Tassy ;). So, I kept seeing it and was wondering if I should go check it out. On the last day, I decided to drive down to the convention center and there was only 1 hour left. I had my resume in hand and was very intimidated seeing companies like Raytheon. As I walked around, everyone was starting to pack up their booths and I came across a company called WebSideStory (HitBOX). I had no idea what they did, but I liked the name and the people seemed approachable. They were the only company I turned my resume into. After many interviews, one which was with Rainey Stricklin (PrideBucks), I was hired. I had no idea what the company really did, but ended up working with and for some great people. I endedup working for Rainey in online ad sales, where she was also Scott Rabinowitz's (TrafficDude) boss. Scott was in charge of the adult traffic and I learned a great deal from both of them. I went on to become one of the top salespeople there on a team of like 18 at one time.

It was pretty exciting experiencing the whole IPO hype, even though we didn't go public at the time. Every Friday we would have a happy hour with kegs and food on the 6th floor rooftop. You can see the ocean from here and I actually had an ocean view from my office and could tell if the surf was pumping. Rainey used to have some kewl team contests, that focused not only on numbers, but physical activities as well. I won a lot of those...heh We used to also have a nerf basketball hoop and I'm not talking about the kind you hang on the wall. We had the fullon stand that you fill up with water and can slam dunk on. Okay, for me its a slam dunk

WebSideStory did end up going public and their stock isn't doing too bad WSSI

Good times and great memories!

24. How did you end up working for jupiter hosting?

After WebSideStory unsuccessfully tried to go public back in 2000, Rainey started Detour Interactive. I left WSS and went with Rainey and continued to sell traffic. After a long working relationship with Rainey, I decided I needed to branch out on my own and started Poppy-Enterprises. Like many other consultants, I decided to align myself and rep a few companies. Non competing of course. I ended up repping some respectable email lists and also promoted Spread4U. One day, I was talking to Tanker and he mentioned I should add Adult.com to my list. Well, I ended up taking them on as client and it was agreed I would sell hosting. So, I flew up and and met with both Lensman and Ray Taft (CEO, Jupiter) and the rest is history. I have been with Jupiter since 1993 and enjoy every minute of it. I have a learned a ton and am still learning. I have pretty much been the only salesperson here, but we are growing so much, that that will change. We have recently hired an industry veteran, Kevin Croy aka KC (Paycounter). KC is our Vice President of Business Development. All 3 of us will be in Vegas, so if anyone would like to meet up with us to discuss biz, please call my cell 858-922-0044. We are now offering Software Development and all of our provided by on-site staff, not outsourced. This is a great way to reduce your costs and production time.

25. What do you do to stay in shape? post pics of your body

I love staying and shape and attend http://www.egoscue.com/htdocs/athletics/index.asp regularly. Pro football players, Junior Seau and John Lynch credit much of their longevity and success to Egoscue. I also enjoy surfing, snowboarding and still play soccer in the local men's league. I play on our Nomads Alumni team and still play with a core group of guys who I have known since 12 years old. Beach volleyball is something else I enjoy and this summer Hal and Tassy actually walked by one day while I was playing on the beach. Golf is also enjoyable and I play from time to time. I would like to start taking a martial art and I am leaning towards Muay Thai Boxing.

As far as pics of my body go, I'm sure there are enough in this thread, so I will decline.

THANK GOD THEY DONT OFFER egoscue in LA AREA!!!

Go MMA poppy! Find a Muay Thai School that has BJJ, you won't regret it. Then we can spar at the shows!

Let's talk more about this in Vegas bro

26. How many adult conventions do you attend a year? Which are your
favorites? Least favorites? Most memorable experiences?

I would say I attend about 10 shows per year in adult and I would have to say everyone single one of them has something special about them. I really don't have a least favorite and look forward to every show that comes up.

I do feel however, that CCBill has raised the bar with the Phoenix Forum and the Webmaster Access Events are right behind. The Cybernet Show is nice because it is in my backyard and the recent JBM smaller venue was a nice change.

27. Where do you live and why? Where have you lived in your life?

I live in San Diego, simply because it is "America's Finest City". The weather here is consistent year round and for the most part, stays in the mid 60's to 70's. I live about 1/4 mile from the beach and love to surf, so it is essential I live on the coast. Ocean sunsets are the best. Especially when they are red, orange, and pinks all in one.

Besides San Diego, I have lived in Quincy, Ilinois (freshmen year I went to Quincy College, which is now Quincy University), North Lake Tahoe (worked at Squaw Valley in 1993, selling tickets at the resort), Sacramento, Tampa, and Seattle.

Alrighty, everyone. I am hitting the sack. I'll be finishing up tomorrow and get into Vegas in the afternoon.

Nitey nite and thank you to those who have been learning a little about me.

Very good and interesting answers! Way to go Popster!
See you in Vegas, I'll be in around 2PM or so

Small Bump for Poppy

LOL

Yeah.. That's how we roll..

A story that comes from that is that while somewhere on 16th or 17th hole.. We found this bird that just would not fly, so we chased it..

For like 10 minutes.

Finally the bird just stopped after be almost ran over by the white man... & started to crap all over the greens..

LOL

Scared the shit out of..


Then later at the clubhouse.. Poppy was doing handstands and started to walk on his hands, falling over and (almost) knocking over the buffet.


Poppy.. Dude that shit was so fun.. Let's try and play like normal people this year...




Yeah right.

When are you coming to visit us in Barcelona??!!

HAHAHA...I totally forgot about some of these important details. Way to embellish it bro. Normal this year...BAHAHAHA




Perhaps before or after Webmaster Access!

Thanks for the love poppy.
Your face in this pic looks like he just gave you the "people's elbow" to the forehead!

It is not Kevin Croy, his legal name is Kevin Cabo.

28. How did you get the name Poppy?

I have always had a lot of nicknames. It all started with my Brother. His nickname back in high school was Nipper. We are a mixed family and because we both played soccer, we grew up with a lot white kids. Where I grew up in Mira Mesa aka Manila Mesa, there is a large contingent of Filipinos. During high school I used to get called white wash, because I used to hang with my soccer buddies and they were all white. It's a good thing because I probably would have been in a gang, which happened to a lot of kids I grew up with. So, being short, I was called Half Pint, who is a famous reggae legend. I listened to a lot of reggae in high school and we would go to shows all the time. When I was playing pro, one of my teammates and child hood friends started calling me hay Poppy. He got it from that stupid song that came out that said hay Poppy Poppy. My name went from Paul, to Pablo, to Papito, to Pupac (like Tupac) and finally Poppy. Poppy has stuck til this day and I even have one tattooed on my arm and on my business card. Its easier for people to remember, rather than Paul.

29. How has major family deaths changed you and your life and helped you
to grow?

Like I was saying, family is very important to me. When I was 13 I had an Uncle die at the very young age of 31. His name was Daniel aka Danny and he was an accomplished classical guitarist and cyclist. I remember the day vividly when the phone call came. I was over at my Grandma's house and my Uncle Rich and I were shooting rubber bands at each other. The phone rang and after about 1 minute, I could hear crying and screaming. I knew something was wrong. It turns out my Uncle had been coming back from a weekend in the desert and they were driving back in the van. All of a sudden he started talking about how beautiful and green the scenery was. Keep in mind, they were in the desert. Then, he just slumped in his chair and fell backwards and died of a massive heart attack. Daniel was always a nice and mellow Uncle. He was extremely talented on a bike and even more so on the guitar. He was a member of the Orion Duo, which consisted of him and his partner Fred Benedetti. Fred Benedetti is one of the best classical and contemporary guitarist to this day and you can Google his name, if this interests you.

My Uncle's death prepared me for the hardest one as of yet. My Grandmother passed while I was still in college. I was a Senior at the University of San Diego and was taking a class called Sex, Power, and Politics. During this class we were too right journals and I asked my Professor if I could write one on my experiences with what I was dealing with at that time. Because I was at the hospital a lot and missing class, she approved this.

My Grandmother was the centerpiece of our family. She was a very loving lady and would come to all of my soccer games. My Grandparents would drive in their motorhome and follow me around from tournament to tournament. Anyways, when she died our family became splintered for many years and are now back to normal. Its hard when the glue falls apart. It was during this time at the hospital that I learned a lot more about my Grandma from my Aunt Jean and wrote about this for my class. During World War Two, my Grandma was a young girl. She was half white and half Filipino, but because some people didn't know what she was she had to wear a button that said, I am not Japanese. This was during the time when there were Japanese interment camps that were setup in the United States. My Aunt continued to tell me amazing stories about my Grandmother and I continued to write stuff down. Well, when she passed in the hospital, it was the most surreal experience I've had to deal with. My family ended up asking me to read my paper that I had wriiten for class, at the funeral. This was one of the hardest things I have had to do. I got up in front of a packed funeral house and read my paper aloud, about my Grandmother. I almost broke down and started crying, but was all of a sudden got this calm about me, as if she was helping me out. I finished it and my Mom, was so happy I did it, as was the rest of the family.

It is kind of ironic how WW2 affected my Grandmother on my Mom's side differently than my Lolo in the Philippines.

30. Do you own or rent your home? pics

I rent and I live in a 3 bedroom townhouse in the coastal beach town of Solana Beach. Walking distance from the Del Mar Racetrack and very close to the ocean. My digital camera is not working, so unfortunately I do not have pics.

I have 1 roomate, named Clinton Walker. He is a bit of an entrepenuer. Not only does he host a nationally televised show on Starz Encore Wham Network, called Planet X (Similar to FUEL TV, but not 24/7), but he also owns an SEO company. Through his SEO company he was able to bring the owner of Pimp My Ride/West Coast Customs on as a client and now has his hands in their hip hop label, House of Collaborations. You'll be hearing about them soon. They are blowing up and Snoop & Dr. Dre are involved in some facet. To top it all of Clinton also owns Movie Made Productions and they have a DVD that they will distribute soon called, American X Think GGW + Extreme Sports, crashes, etc...He just did a deal with Sony PSP, but I can't go into details.

I have to get ready for Vegas, so I'll wrap this up live from Internext!

31. What kind of car do you drive? pics

I drive a Dolphin Gray 2004 Audi A4 Quattro. It has the Ultra Sports, Premium, and Lighting Packages. I love it. Nothing too flashy, but perfect for me. I also have a 1990 Isuzu Trooper that I use for surfing and snowboarding and it green. Perfect for Mexico trips.

The only pic I have is this one, that Derek Smout took at Webmaster Access. It is the back of it and Raven, Lia, and I just got back from shopping on Melrose.

i love butt sex

it doesn't matter....I really want to have butt sex

Its me Danielle from Naughty America and I am posting as Poppy. I'm just playing and I love him.

Now were all wondering... how did you get access to Poppy's laptop if it's in his room?

Thanks for sharing poppy ;)

Obviously she snuck in and used it while he was having butt sex. Which I'm told he loves.

(Hi Ray. I haven't seen you in a while, hope everything is good with you and the fam)

(Poppy loves Butt Sex, or so Ramos tell me)

Hey Buddy,

Are you in Europe now?

I gleened that from this thread somehow.

Ray

Yep. Barcelona. It's awesome.

Sorry for lagging on the finish. I'll be wrapping it up today. Players Ball and Hustler parties tonight!!!

I'm so glad I revisited this thread!!! Great to hear your family stories, Poppy. You are a shining star on the surface. And you shine all the way through. I'm proud to know you.

Poppy is the coolest and nicest guy i have meet in the industry...well one of them ;-)

aaah the memories of my first encounter with the pop-master! he sang to me, he danced with me, and he talked to my face before he talked to my tits! i don't know what else to say that everyone else here hasn't already, so i'll let some pictures do the talking:















i'm tickled pink to live in the same city and within a mile of poppy, he rocks!

I read this entire thread word for word.


What else is left to say about Poppy?

He's fearless, passionate about life, funny, an acute business man, a great person to call friend, and does not live life in stand-by mode. He's an athlete, a model, a salesman, an actor, a dancer, a pimp, the very definition of a great attitude, and a lot of fun to be in a room with.

All I can say is that this is a guy that radiates good energy that everyone around can feel and be a part of.

I know a lot of people who live their life to the fullest and Poppy is right at the top of the list.


Hey Popster - much love, respect, and admiration. You deserve all the love that's been shown in this thread.

Rand, I am at a loss for words my friend, but how the heck did you know where to grab that pic?

Seriously, you have always been a kind and nice person from the get go and you yourself are a lot the above that you characterized me as.

Thank you for taking the time.

Love you man.

Poppy

fine shoes!!

hey poppy,

we only met once in montreal about a year ago. at the time i was working with sexyscribe. i'm sleazydream's traffic manager. great interview!! ... and damn - i'm having a shoegasm here. love those.

i'll be hitting you up on icq with your finished interview shortly.

cheers

32. Who do you look up to in online adult today? Down on?

I look up to a lot of people, as I am not that tall. All kidding aside, there are a lot of people I could mention here. So, I'll just say the pioneers in our industry who have continued to do well and be at the top of their game. Mike Price, Lensman, and Ron Cadwell come to mind. Andreas is doing some great things over at NaughtyAmerica, especially with their new video game, which I feel is going to blow up.

I look down on the sick minded people in our world, who promote CP.

33. If you couldn't work in online adult - what would you do for a
living now?

Well, I would probably be going after the acting gig a lot more. I could also see myself coaching some soccer teams, as I have done this in the past and run camps for kids. I really enjoy working with kids and being a positive influence in their lives.

34. What are you currently doing to prepare for your retirement?

This is going to be a big year for me. I am going to invest in a 401k and I'd like to buy a place this year. The only stock I have invested in is Sirius, so not doing much of anything in the market. Yeah, buying a place is definitely what I hope to do in the near future.

Okay folks, sorry I lagged on the finish, but Vegas really through me off. Thank you for the wonderful opportunity Sleazy. This was challenging, but a lot of fun and I really hope people learned something they didn't know about me before.

If you have new projects or are looking to move some of your hosting, please hit me up and we will show you why Jupiter Hosting is one of the top adult hosts in the business.

I'll leave you with this pic of Benny, Gerard, The Italian Stallion and myself on the beach in Ibiza.

Thanks Poppy. Really enjoyed the interview as did many others. Good thing you answered because you were going to be stuck with the answers I put for you.

Check it out: http://www.ambushinterview.com/74/interview74.html

Poppy is one of the people I can say I met in this industry and became very good friends with. Close to enough to call my bro or cousin. We first met at the early webmaster events and a few years ago I surfed his couch for a few weeks.

We went down to Mexico and spent a holiday weekend in Lake Havasu.

Poppy can party but when it comes to business he is of course super professional. He is generous and will go out of his way to help you.

Great answers in your Ambush Poppy ..... when you are you coming over to your homeland ? ? ?

Thanks Dugmor! The feeling is mutual. How funny was that when I introduced you to MySpace at my place...lol Seems like ages ago.

I definitely need to make a trip back to the PI. Its hard to find time, but I will make it happen and let you know bro. I want to see it through your eyes, Nick's, Dee's, Mark, etc...