/Interview/ Q&A: Holy Moly Janitor
28/07/2008 | Filed under Discover > Interview
We can’t tell you the true identity of the man behind gossip site Holy Moly but we can reveal he’s a .net subscriber. He tells Oliver Lindberg how it all started and what we can expect from the brand new Holy Moly TV
.net: What made you launch Holy Moly? You used to work for Popbitch, didn’t you?
HM: I started working in television in 1999 doing horrible late/early shifts, which left a lot of downtime. This coincided with the internet really getting a grip in terms of being a content provider. Gossip gave everyone a chance to be revered. Shit as it sounds, messageboards were the original blog – they gave regular people a chance to sound off without having to build their own website. In the early days, three really took off – Handbag, Liv4Life and Popbitch. I got involved in Popbitch as a contributor and later on a moderator.
I got frustrated that it wasn’t being run as well as it could have been, and failing to take opportunities when they presented themselves. There was also the danger that as their messageboard had become so successful, they couldn’t keep a lid on their stories. It was at this point that I set up a private messageboard in one afternoon with the help of a mate, poached all of the best people on Popbitch, offered them a sanctuary and a codename. The name Holy Moly was a URL I had bought a few months before, initially to set up a design agency.
.net: How many people are regularly contributing to the newsletter?
HM: There are a core set of roughly 75 moles who regularly contribute with titbits, leads, facts, stupid links etc. They range from the lowly janitor right through to major celebrities. They’re my lifeline! These are then bolstered by the thousands that send in random stuff they’ve heard via the website.
.net: How do you decide which story will make it to the mailout?
HM: Generally the funnier ones. The mailout is perfect Friday lunchtime fodder, so I always try to include stuff that would make me spit my sandwich all over the monitor. About a third of the mailout are links to other sites: stuff that we like or the good old website saver – someone falling over on YouTube.
.net: How often have you been threatened with legal action?
HM: A few people have been cross about things I’ve written, but after six years of mailouts you can count the number of serious threats on one hand. Obviously I can’t name them, but surprisingly it’s never the big stars who get cross – always the idiots who should be grateful for the first bit of press they’ve had in years! If there’s one thing I’ve learnt it’s that you can question someone’s sexuality, morality, drug use and paternity, but whatever you do – don’t say they are unprofessional!
.net: What’s been your favourite story covered by Holy Moly so far?
HM: We got sent an MP3 of a TV pundit proclaiming his sexual desire for Ian Huntley, which was fairly amusing!
.net: Have you ever regretted running an item?
HM: You can count them all on one hand!
.net: How much money are you making with Holy Moly?
HM: As with any website trying to shift from a small ‘blog’ style into a larger platform, re-investment is the order of the day. I’m making a living out of it, but also have five staff to look after. It’s a fairly traditional ad funded and sponsorship model, with untraditional content so as long as readers and sponsors both like that – it’ll continue to grow.
.net: Why did you sell a ‘substantial stake’ of the company to digital media agency Perform as the Guardian reported recently?
HM: One thing I’m always disappointed in is when sites don’t realise their potential or rest on their laurels. Holy Moly has done fantastically well with written content and humour, but as bandwidth grows and the appetite and advertising for video is there, it would be mad not to get involved: that’s what new media is good at – turning on a sixpence. Perform were one of a few potential investors but were the only ones who shared the vision and had the existing platform (Perform run countless video platforms for major clients) that fitted the plans for Holy Moly. They also had the balls big enough to get involved with a brand many took to be too risky.
.net: What will the upcoming Holy Moly TV section of the website include?
HM: It will all be VOD. I have the best presenter in the country in Matt Edmondson, a young man who just kept appearing in the office until someone listened to him – he’s by far the funniest guy on screen at the moment. He’ll be doing all our celebrity interviews and film premieres, along with a weekly round-up of the world in Holy Moly.
Separate to that I’ve hired my own team of crack paparazzi, who’ve been cruising London (not like that) for the past two months armed with video cameras, catching stars in their natural environment – the gutter. We’ll be going live with 350+ clips from this section.
We’ll also be doing ad-hoc news bulletins and random shit from our foul-mouthed Antipodean Holy Moly puppet – but I can’t reveal any more about that yet.
All of this is backed up by an amazing crew and we’ve had theme music made, a studio built and broadcast quality titles. It looks incredible.
.net: You’ve recently been outed in the Observer. Why are you still staying anonymous?
HM: Well, I don’t think anyone who’s read the offending article gives a shit to be honest. The old reason used to be because I had a full time job, which I would have got the sack from. Nowadays it’s partly down to the fact that it’s more fun – I can go to parties without anyone knowing what I do. And also because it would be wrong of me to try and take credit for all the gossip – the majority of stuff comes from my brave moles. I’m not Perez Hilton; I’m not the story!
.net: Where does your obsession with celebrity gossip come from?
HM: Part of my childhood involved long hours hanging around TV studios watching shows being filmed. I was always really surprised to see how different people acted when the camera was pointing at them and realised how utterly twattish the majority of celebs are. I wouldn’t call it an obsession – I just help feed the national addiction, with added laughs and swearing.
.net: You recently announced you’ll self-censor paparazzi shots. How has your perception of celebs changed over the years?
HM: It’s all about the definition of a celebrity. In the 80s you were a celebrity because you were (gasp!) good at something – albeit an actor, singer, writer etc. Nowadays you’re a celebrity for giving a blowjob in front of a camera or simply for smoking crack. How many people can name two Babyshambles songs compared with the number who recognise Pete Doherty from being outside court? I took the decision to self-censor after the whole Britney fiasco. That wasn’t photographers chasing a story – that was photographers hounding a mentally ill woman trying to create a story. Someone will get killed within a year – just like the Queen of our Hearts Diana Princess of Wales™.
.net: What other plans for Holy Moly are in the pipeline?
HM: India, Russia, China. I’ll also at some point re-ignite Goaly Moly – the sports version of Holy Moly. It was only after launching it that I remembered I know nothing about sport – bit of an oversight.
Holy Moly Janitor
Job Being Mr Holy Moly is my full time job. My wife is so proud
Age 34
Education Left school with a brace of GCSEs, but lasted approximately six weeks at college before I realised that education is for losers and left to join a band and DJ in a bar. With hindsight this wasn’t possibly the best decision I ever made and my CV has been a genius piece of ‘creative writing’ ever since
Previous career Worked at SKY for about five years on and off doing various jobs such as making sure Francis Wilson had the right weather behind his big smug head. Progressed into online at a time when it was the most exciting department in the whole business and helped to create the first mobile live streaming platform, which is still running. Great company.
Site www.holymoly.co.uk
