Career

In 1998, while still enlisted, Watkins created a website for Japanese pornography called "Asian Bikini Bar".[1][4] By hosting it in the United States, he was able to circumvent the strict pornography censorship in Japan. He later renamed the venture "N.T. Technology", which according to Watkins was a meaningless acronym meant to make pornography purchases less conspicuous on credit card statements.[4] N.T. Technology, which is based in Reno, Nevada, initially sold advertising, and later also sold web hosting services to other Japanese adult entertainment websites that couldn't be hosted in Japan.[4][2] In 1998 or 1999, during the dot-com boom, Watkins left the army to focus on N.T. Technology.[4] In October 2020, Mother Jones reported that N.T. Technology has hosted domains with names suggesting connections to child pornography, and that regardless of whether child pornography is hosted on the domains, Watkins is "profiting from words that appeal to the real thing".[11][12] Watkins dismissed the claim as "an attempt to smear [his] name and print something awful".[11]

Watkins has been involved in many business ventures. He operated an organic food restaurant in Manila, Philippines, which is now closed. In 2005, Watkins opened a Manila-based software business called Race Queen, which has subsequently been listed as the employer on Philippine work visas for several employees of Watkins's. Watkins also runs the Manila-based business Loki Technology. He has also been involved with a book narration company called books.audio; he narrated some of the books himself under the alias "A.J.". Watkins is also listed as the chairman of the board of a company called Emerald Pedistal, which sells piglets.[4]