About eighteen months ago, I stopped including full frontal nudity in my montages.
Not because I’m a prude. But because I realized I might get demonetized by Stripe, the credit card processor that powers subscriptions on Substack.
As far as they’re concerned, there’s very little difference between erotica and pornography. When the company that processes your payments doesn’t like the kind of content you like to make, you have to pay attention. So I adapted.
Since I still appreciate the male form in all its glory, my NSFW videos became a lot more focused on pecs and glutes. There are worse compromises in life.
Well, as of Monday, that’s going to change. Again.
Not dramatically. Not recklessly. But enough that I wanted to give everyone a heads up and ask for your help in making this experiment a little safer:
Please keep comments free of locker room talk. You know what I mean. Feel free to admire the people featured in these montages. They’re certainly worth admiring. Just remember that discretion is one of the reasons I get to keep making this kind of content in the first place.
The less attention we draw to specific anatomical details, the less likely someone is to clutch their pearls, file a complaint, or otherwise make my life more complicated than it needs to be.
To help with that, any full frontal images will likely appear after the public preview, where they'll be visible only to paid subscribers and patrons rather than random visitors.
It’s a calculated risk. But so is everything about being an independent content creator.
One of the things I love most about COLLIDE PRESS is that it’s always evolving. I’m constantly tinkering with it. Testing things behind the scenes. Paying attention to what resonates and what falls flat.
What should I cover?
What shouldn’t I cover?
What deserves more attention?
What can I leave out?
Lately, I’ve been looking at audience feedback and performance statistics with fresh eyes. What I’ve realized is that both my Substack and YouTube channel have been treading water for a while. They’re not failing, but they’re not growing either.
I’m proud of what I’ve built here, and deeply grateful for everyone who reads, watches, subscribes, and supports my work. But appreciation and ambition aren’t mutually exclusive. I love what COLLIDE PRESS has become, and I think it can become even more.
That’s why I’m experimenting.
I want to reignite some of the energy that made this work exciting in the first place. I want to challenge myself creatively. And I want to give people more reasons to share, subscribe, and support my work.
After looking at the numbers, I’m reasonably confident that a little extra skin may help some people discover COLLIDE PRESS.
But the nudity isn’t really the point. The point is freedom.
For the past couple of years, I’ve struggled with the overzealous rules and regulations on YouTube. It’s caused me to second-guess everything I do. Every upload comes with a new round of questions and possible threats. What will get demonetized? What will trigger a copyright claim? What invisible rule am I violating this time?
Over time, that uncertainty has shaped my decisions. The constant fighting with AI bots over stupid shit has exhausted parts of my brain and creative process. So I have started censoring myself before anyone else has the chance.
As a result, I find myself writing more and editing less. Leaning into the things I can control instead of obsessing over the parts and platforms I can’t.
My goal isn’t to become more provocative for the sake of being provocative. My goal is to find a healthier balance between caution and creativity. To take a few smart risks. To trust my instincts a little more. And to stop sanding off some of the interesting edges before I hit publish.
Skin ain’t sin after all. We’re all born naked. So what’s the big fucking deal?
Whether this experiment pays off remains to be seen. That’s the thing about risk and reward. You don’t get one without the possibility of the other.
In the meantime, thank you for reading, subscribing, sharing, commenting, and supporting my little corner of the internet. COLLIDE PRESS continues to evolve because of you…and I’m excited to see where the next chapter takes us.
Thank you for being a friend!
Clint 🌈✌️
COLLIDE PRESS is a reader-supported publication.
Please consider becoming a Paid Subscriber or Patron.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
BORN THIS WAY ON THIS DAY
06-05 = Andrew George Scott (1842-1880) = Irish-Australian folk hero 🌈
06-05 = Spalding Gray (1941-2004) = American writer, actor, and monologist 🌈
06-05 = Chad Allen (1974- ) = American actor and psychologist 🌈
06-05 = Federico García Lorca (1898-1936) = Spanish writer and director 🌈
06-05 = Geena Rocero (1983- ) = Filipino-born American model 🌈
06-05 = Gustáv Slamečka (1959- ) = Czech politician 🌈
06-05 = Johannes von Thurn and Taxis (1926-1990) = German businessman 🌈
06-05 = John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) = British economist 🌈
06-05 = Laurie Anderson (1947- ) = American performance artist and musician 🌈
06-05 = Lisa Cholodenko (1964- ) = American writer-director 🌈
06-05 = Suze Orman (1951- ) = American financial advisor, author, and tv host 🌈
06-05 = Tony Richardson (1928-1991) = English film director 🌈
06-05 = Troye Sivan (1995- ) = Australian singer-songwriter and actor 🌈
MAN CRUSH OF THE DAY
“To see you naked is to recall the Earth.”
Federico Garcia Lorca
Clint, I'm all for frontal nudity. But what I really love is the pictures of men being with each other, smiling. The world is scary with increasing homophobia and misogyny. Pictures of men being comfortable in each other's presence help to stem the tide. I particularly love the historical pics of men clearly in love with each other, taken in a time when they were risking it all.
I do love nudity, too. Those little triangular codpieces are an affront to male beauty. I have never been able to understand why female frontal shots are OK but penises are taboo. What do we have to hide?
I do want you to continue to be successful... even more successful, so be just provocative enough to avoid the searchlights. Carry on dear man!
Good morning Clint, I do enjoy your pictorial montages and their content in all their various aspects of dress / undress. I enjoy your point of view and insight. You help me feel connected to others, whether they be friends, brothers, just guys, or lovers. Keep up the great work, Don