Also available in:

The One-Man Studio Producer from Belgrade to Barcelona

In the adult industry, where large studios and heavy crews still dominate many productions, Nico Grey stands out as a rare independent force. Born in 1982 in Serbia and raised during the war years, he built his career from almost nothing. At eighteen he was already doing marketing for Bang Bros. His first shoot took place in Belgrade in 2001. Since then he has filmed in roughly a dozen countries, worked with Brazilian and Latina performers (many of them newcomers and emerging creators), and run a true one-man operation: he shoots, directs, performs and edits everything himself.

With Nico Grey, CASZIN is creating a new category and naming him the first CASZIN ADULT ENTREPRENEUR OF THE MONTH

Today his base is Barcelona, though São Paulo remains an important chapter in his story. Every production begins with an open conversation about limits, what will be published and where. He keeps full 2257 age and identity records for every performer. His free site, NicoGrey, serves as the central hub with trailers and individual performer pages in five languages. Full scenes are distributed across fan platforms and tube sites rather than locked behind a single paywall. He has also published a free safe-casting guide in English, Spanish, Portuguese and German to help new performers recognize legitimate work.

Nico Grey is one of the more interesting personalities in the adult business right now: a producer who treats collaboration and transparency as non-negotiable, who rebuilt his career more than once, and who continues to operate without a crew while maintaining a consistent output of casting-style, POV and behind-the-scenes scenes.

What follows is our exclusive interview.

Bernhard Bradatsch:
Before you shot your very first scene in Belgrade in 2001 – what were you doing professionally? Was there a specific moment or situation that led you to step both behind and in front of the camera?

Nico Grey:
I was born in 1982 in Serbia and grew up during the war. We were really poor: after the bombing, a salary was five dollars a month. I was the typical sporty kid with a geek’s soul, always surrounded by friends and always glued to a computer. I started building normal websites from home, and one day a friend’s father watched me explain marketing and hosting and said: “Why don’t you try porn?” He meant websites, of course. But I was eighteen and I heard him a little too well. At eighteen I was doing marketing for Bang Bros. One day I wrote to ask how much they paid per scene, and the answer was: “If it’s good, we buy it.” So I started producing in Serbia. My first shoot was in Belgrade in 2001.

Bernhard Bradatsch:
On your website Episode 1 from Belgrade is featured very prominently. How did that first shoot feel for you, and what has changed most in the way you work since then?

Nico Grey:
Episode 1 is still on the site because that is where it started: Belgrade, 2001. What I keep from that day is the same thing I still look for now — a woman who is sure of herself before the camera rolls, and who wants you to know it. What changed most is the process around the shoot. Between 2001 and 2003 I had bad experiences with girls who weren’t creators and didn’t really know what they were getting into. That stays with you. Today every shoot starts with a talk about limits, what gets published and where, and I keep 2257 records for every performer.

Bernhard Bradatsch:
You produce, shoot, perform and edit everything yourself. What does a typical working day look like for you, and what does it mean in practical terms to operate as an independent producer in Brazil – what are the particular challenges and advantages?

Nico Grey:
A typical day is still the one-man studio: I shoot, I direct, I edit, and I publish on my own site and platforms without waiting for any studio to call. There is no crew, so on a shoot day it is just me and the performer; the rest of the week is editing, pages, trailers and the platforms. Brazil was a real chapter — Maximo Garcia invited me into the Privacy network, where very few male creators knew how to film, and I rebuilt from close to zero after a year away from the rankings. The hard part was not the language or the paperwork; it was starting again with no rankings. Today the base is Barcelona. I still work with Brazilian and Latina creators, but new collaborations are shot in Barcelona.

Bernhard Bradatsch:
You work a lot with Brazilian and Latina women, many of them newcomers. How do you find your performers today – mainly through social media, personal networks or other channels?

Nico Grey:
In the beginning, before anyone knew who I was, I asked the girls myself. After I had to rebuild, I did it the same way again, from the bottom. In 2022 I opened Instagram and showed my face for the first time. Today most new performers find me through the free site, through X and Instagram, and through referrals from other creators. Social media and the site do more of the introductions than cold outreach does.

Bernhard Bradatsch:
Every one of your shoots starts with a real conversation about limits and where the material will be published. How does that conversation usually go, and why is it so important to you that every woman knows about every camera in the room?

Nico Grey:
Before every shoot I talk with the girl about her limits, what gets published and where. “Every girl who has shot with me knew about every camera in the room and agreed to each shoot as a collaboration.” And if someone changes her mind halfway? It has never happened to me. I also keep 2257 records for every performer. The conversation is not a formality; it is the start of the scene.

Bernhard Bradatsch:
On your website NicoGrey the focus is clearly on POV, casting-style, backstage and Latina/Brazilian scenes. What draws you to this particular style, and why does it work better for you than classic studio productions?

Nico Grey:
Mostly casting, POV and anal with adult Brazilian and Latina women, many of them creators who are just starting out. Most scenes are POV, so I perform and film at the same time; there is no crew, it is just me and the performer. That style fits a one-man studio better than a classic multi-camera set: fewer people in the room, a real conversation first, and the performer stays at the centre of the frame.

Bernhard Bradatsch:
You’ve filmed in about a dozen countries, most recently in places like Barcelona and Montenegro. Which cities or countries have left the strongest impression on you, and why do you keep returning to São Paulo, Medellín or Buenos Aires?

Nico Grey:
I’m in love with Barcelona: I’ve lived there even without shooting, because it’s one of my favourite cities in the world, and it is home now. This summer I spent two months in Barcelona and shot with almost every well-known content creator who was in the city or passing through. I even got into a couple of content houses. I speak almost perfect Spanish, thanks to a stint in Cuba, many hours with Maximo Garcia and the years I lived in Colombia. With Maximo I also shot in Budapest, Prague and Colombia. São Paulo, Medellín and Buenos Aires are part of that Latin American chapter — different cities, more stories — but the focus from here is Barcelona. Montenegro is in the archive too; the site still carries that work.

Bernhard Bradatsch:
You deliberately moved away from a pure paywall model. Your free site NicoGrey collects trailers and performer pages in five languages, while the full scenes mainly run on OnlyFans and tube sites. Why this mix, and where does the main part of your income currently come from?

Nico Grey:
Because the site is mine. It’s free, with the trailers and a page for each performer in several languages. People find me there, and whoever wants the full video goes to the fan platforms. It doesn’t depend on the mood of an algorithm, which already dumped me once. I came back to the camera in 2018 for one simple reason: OnlyFans. For the first time you could film, publish and get paid without asking anyone’s permission. Income today is spread across the fan platforms and the tubes rather than one paywall; I don’t publish a public split, and I prefer it that way. The point of the mix is that if one platform changes its rules on a Tuesday morning, the rest keeps working.

Bernhard Bradatsch:
You’re very present on X (among others with @NicoGrey_XO and @TheNicoGrey). Which platform is currently the most important for you, and do you follow a clear strategy with your posts or is it more spontaneous?

Nico Grey:
X is the main discovery platform right now, especially @NicoGrey_XO, with @TheNicoGrey alongside it. Instagram @nicogreyxxo is the SFW face of the brand. The strategy is simple rather than spontaneous: trailers and scene pages on the free site, posts on X that point people there or to the fan platforms, and no dependence on a single algorithm. The site stays the hub so a platform change cannot wipe the whole business overnight.

Bernhard Bradatsch:
You published a free safe-casting guide in several languages. What motivated you to do that, and from your experience, what are the most important warning signs newcomers should know before working with a producer?

Nico Grey:
Between 2001 and 2003 I had bad experiences with girls who weren’t creators and didn’t really know what they were getting into. Years later, in Barcelona, I saw beginners who had no idea how to tell a serious casting from one that isn’t, and I wrote the guide almost for fun, free, in Spanish, Portuguese, English and German. The warning signs I tell newcomers to watch for are the ones in that guide: anyone who asks you to pay a fee to be “considered”; anyone who offers a modelling or photo job and only mentions adult content once you have arrived; anyone who will not give a full name, a company name or an address; anyone who asks for explicit photos before there is any paperwork; anyone who pressures you to drink or take something before filming; anyone who wants to hold your passport or phone; anyone who says written consent is not needed “this time”; and anyone who gets angry or goes quiet when you ask where the images will end up.

Bernhard Bradatsch:
Many of your performers are themselves creators at the beginning of their careers. How do you shape these collaborations, and what should creators always ask a producer before agreeing to a joint shoot?

Nico Grey:
She should know exactly what is being filmed, what gets published and where, and everything should be clear before the camera is switched on. On my side, I always keep the 2257 records for every performer. And my advice to creators: don’t depend on one platform. Free trailers on my site and the tubes, full videos on fan platforms. If one platform changes its rules on a Tuesday morning, the rest keeps working.

Bernhard Bradatsch:
After more than 2,000 scenes and 25 years behind the camera: what still drives you today, and where do you see your focus in the coming years – more international shoots, a stronger presence on certain platforms, or completely new formats?

Nico Grey:
What still drives me is the same thing as Belgrade in 2001: a performer who is sure before the camera rolls, and a room where every camera is known. The focus for the coming years is Barcelona — living there, shooting new collaborations there, and keeping the free site as the independent hub while the full scenes stay on the fan platforms. More international travel will happen when it serves the work, but the centre of gravity is Barcelona.

Bernhard Bradatsch:
Nico, thank you very much for the candid and in-depth interview and for the interesting insights into your work and your career path!

Find Nico Grey online:
X: https://x.com/TheNicoGrey
X: https://x.com/NicoGrey_XO
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/nicogreyxxo/
OnlyFans: https://onlyfans.com/thegreysvip/c12