Droppin’ Loads

Welcome to the "Droppin’ Loads" phenomenon...at least, that’s what I am calling it.

Who knew that one little phrase would entertain boys and men everywhere? (Not to mention pissing off quite a few girlfriends…) That a phrase could get him onto Howard Stern, and bring him a burgeoning ringtone/t-shirt business?

Maybe only Nick Manning could have pulled it off. He does, after all, have a voice and actions reminiscent of a caveman, yet also possesses the ability to be remotely articulate throughout the process of ejaculation. Anyone who has watched even part of his “body of work” is aware that though a statement may begin with the words “Droppin’ Loads”, this is almost always followed with further explanation as to where, why, or how said load will be dropped. These statements have become increasingly more comedic as time goes on – to the point where cameramen are laughing uncontrollably, or editing crews are saving clips to play back to themselves in hopes of a future snicker.

Some directors ask him NOT to fire off a trademark Manning line at the point of the pop shot (when did it cease being called the “money shot”? I have been meaning to ask that…), sometimes he listens, at others he does not, and then whatever line he has inevitably blurted out must later be removed in the editing process. Even funnier is the fact that because he is expected (simply by past behavior)to exude a series of rants both during and at the end of his scenes, that when he does not, it is noted! One reviewer took the time to mention that he was “…THANKFUL that Manning had not gone to his usual bantering technique…” – turns out that Manning was very ill that day, and was simply trying to get through the scene…

But, alas, whether anyone likes it or not, that is, in generality, what Nick Manning is known for – being the “Droppin’ Loads Guy”. The folks at the Howard Stern Show can take a bulk of the credit for bringing that to mainstream…Richard Christy having brought some clips of his “catalogue of work” in to the show, and Howard choosing to play them on the air for a quick laugh, has somewhat changed Manning’s course of direction – drawing him even further into mainstream.

I did not have Satellite radio back when Nick was first being talked about on Howard Stern. One of the first mentions that I ever heard was shortly before Nick’s first appearance in person on the show (he was known to the show before then – before Richard brought his ‘droppin’ loads’ clips to Howard – but, after Howard began to play Manning’s various rants from his many scenes, “Droppin Loads” began to show up even in the funniest of places…

One day, Artie took it upon himself to complain about the bagel he had picked up from the deli, and the fact that even for him, too much butter had been applied.

Howard begins it all.

“Look at that, man, it looks like CUM all over your bagel! Looks like a load! Droppin’ Loads all over your bagel!”

Artie chimes in, with his best Manning impression, “Aarrgghh! I’m Droppin’ Loads all over your bagel!”

Varying clips of Manning’s work are played, and then Artie begins to mull…

“Awww…imagine you go into the deli, order your bagel, ask for extra butter, and you hear THAT in the back!”

Manning is one of the major players in porn. If you are a part of the adult industry, you know who he is. But, if you are not, it’s 50/50 as to whether you would be able to place his name, face, or any other part…

Let’s be honest – it’s more like 90/10 that you will NOT recognize him if you do not watch porn. A point that many who are around him make is that he is stared at nearly anywhere he goes, and it may be because he is physically big, maybe because he has a very particular look that interests people, but our best guess (by the looks on the faces of those who pretend not to be staring) is that they THINK they recognize him from somewhere, but they have no idea where…it’s a funny thing to be with him and watch it happen over and over…waiters in restaurants, grocery shoppers inhabiting the same aisle – you know the expression – head slightly tilted, faraway look in their eye as they try to place you. Imagine that being the look that YOU received every time you went about your daily life in public. It happens to us all every once in a while, but ALL THE TIME? Even more entertaining is when someone actually PLACES him in their mind CORRECTLY. True fans will simply approach him, express their entertainment, and move on, but others, if you catch them at the exact right moment, will have a sort of “look of guilt” pass over their visage – recognizing him means that they (gasp) have watched PORN, and many want to keep that fact to themselves. Manning sometimes plays with the ones that admit to recognizing him, spouting lines like “The last time you saw me, you had your chicken in your hand!”

And how is he supposed to answer the question if asked, “What have I seen you in before”? I giggle, and think of Troy McClure from the Simpsons series – “Well, you may have seen my cock in such mouths as…”

In most cases (and all around him will verify this) – he takes no notice of the stares – just goes about his life (“walking the earth”, as one of my friends would say…), reasonably oblivious to it all. Sometimes he notices, and even enjoys it, though at other times, he wishes he did not see anything at all…I would hazard a guess that one would eventually be made to feel like a bit of a zoo animal. (Since we like to liken him to ‘Charles the Silverback Gorilla’, that may not be so far from the truth…). Nick once quietly asked me, “Is anyone even capable of seeing me as anything OTHER than ‘the zoo animal?”, and I told him that if I did my job well, it was possible. But that he had to remember that I was working uphill, against all the zoo animal impressions he had been doing all these years…!

Regardless of HOW people perceive Nick Manning, it was always an interesting concept to me – what of the people who don’t know him at all? What is it like to be a HUGE fish in the “pond of adult” and a guppy swimming about in the ocean of mainstream? Does that make for a very messed up ego?