[Editor’s Note]: COPBlog’s new feature series titled “What Does The Gay Porn Industry Mean To You?” kicked off last week with tattooed twink bottom Seth Knight and today’s entry showcases sexy ginger hunk Christopher Daniels in the second installment.
So, Christopher, what does the gay porn industry mean to you?
“What a loaded question! I think if I would have asked myself that 15 years ago I would have thought the gay porn industry meant sleaze, dysfunction, drugs, crazies and sexual shame. I grew up very closeted with a lot of guilt and shame surrounding any type of sex. I was always taught sex outside of a heterosexual marriage was wrong, which made me incredibly confused because I pretty much knew I was gay from the time I was 5-years-old.
It took a lot of time, soul searching and sucking dick across the USA, Canada and Europe to realize that sex is a good thing. Sex is an incredibly important part of life and although it’s important it is not something we should take too seriously. It also took me some time to finally realize that porn is just one way to explore our sexuality and it is a very healthy thing to do.
I got into porn to promote my companion services and was wary of it at first. The images of the industry I had were basically from the movie “Boogie Nights.” I thought porn sets would be filled with coked out crazies doing lines in between scenes and non-stop partying. I became a “porn fan” about 13 years ago and while I was in awe of porn stars, I still found them very intimidating and unapproachable. As soon as I got into the industry I began to see the reality was very different. I was shocked and slightly disappointed to see the porn industry was not crazy, drug fueled orgies and non-stop drama. While some of these things do exist in the industry, they are not always the norm. Porn stars and people who work in the industry are actually normal people whom generally just love sex…a lot of sex!
I flew down to Palm Springs to do my first scene for TitanMen in 2010. I loved the work that studio did and knew who all of their exclusive models were. Brian Mills, one of the directors for TitanMen, was to pick me up from the airport and I was incredibly nervous. I was surprised to see how down to earth, kind and genuine he was. One of the first things he told me was how one of his favorite things about his job was to meet the models and get to know what kind of people they were. He seemed genuinely interested in me and I could tell he had no agenda. This completely baffled me and I think I was expecting him to be a sleazy, egomaniac with no regard to the models or their well being. I thought this because there is a stereotype in the industry of a complete disregard for the well-being of models, their health and safety. This may be the case in some instances but Brian, along with a majority of the people I have met in the industry, are good people and to them porn is just a job and something they do.
I have worked as a professional dancer for years and I see how very similar the two industries can be. Yes, there are egos and yes, there is drama. Have I seen drugs on porn sets? Only twice! Have I had to sleep with any studio heads to get a job? No! Do they feed us G and lines of coke if we do a good job in our scenes? I WISH! Filming porn is pretty sterile and (at times) not very sexy.
The industry is slightly dysfunctional, but we’re all gay men who love gay sex, well most of us are. We are in an industry based on appearances. How can it not be a little fucked up? It can be grueling to constantly be compared to other models, have our appearance judged and sometimes never feeling “good enough”.
We’re hot one minute and can’t get arrested the next, but that’s just how it is I guess.
I try to take what I do very seriously, but not too serious. In porn, it’s important to have fun, love what you do and know that you are helping people feel good and fulfill their sexual fantasies. The industry is not for everyone but it suits me fine at this stage in my life and I am still having a blast doing it.”
Daniels is currently promoting Ray Dragon Media release “Men In The Sand” which harkens back to 1970’s style gay porn filmmaking. You can also see Christopher in new Lucas Entertainment Raunch fare “The Wetter The Better.”
Images © and courtesy Christopher Daniels-Ninon Fotos-Ray Dragon Media-Lucas Entertainment-TitanMen
