Being a successful male porn star is more complicated than you might think

One of the perks of my job is being able to have access to some interesting people and I’m not sure why, but throughout the years I have gravitated to those in porn. Mainly because I have become fascinated as to how the in industry works.

We hear a lot about female porn stars and most, when you say the words, ‘male porn star’ conjure up images of Ron Jeremy from the 80’s. So who really are these men and what are their lives all about?

Male porn stars are considered genetically gifted; men with genitals that are required to stay hard for hours on end. But succeeding in porn isn’t nearly so simple as having all the right bits in all the right places.

Ericka Ikon owner of The Rub PR, who looks after many adult stars explains that for a male star, the road to success is not so easy.  “The problem is it’s really hard to get in, everyone wants to crack it. Ryan Driller, an award winning male porn star best known for playing Superman in the porn parody Superman vs Spider-man XXX agrees. “If you are a guy and you want to get into porn, your chances are about as good as a unicorn in a rainbow.”

In terms of how long their career can last? Erika explains how it differs for each male star and has to do with their capabilities. “It depends how their performances are. If they start having erection problems and injecting their penises, it can end their career prematurely. Time in the industry depends on the guys and how they look after themselves, physically and mentally. There is no number for guys but for girls it can be 6 months or less because there are so many girls in the industry. But for guys there is a rotation of 12 – 2O that work consistently which has a lot to do with their professionalism, their ability to ejaculate when required and stay hard. It’s not so easy. “

Whilst this sounds like a physically demanding specialised skill that male porn stars have to have, this is one industry where the gender pay gap works the other way. Ericka explains that the male stars get paid a lot less than the women they work with. “Ryan who is on the high end, can get $700 a boy girl scene and double that for a feature film.  The same girl he is working with can get $1000 – $1200 for a boy girl scene. “

But it’s not just this physical logistics that are required of a male star but more commonly a certain look too. However unlike with female stars, there is nearly a point where a male star can be too attractive for his own good. Driller explains, “When I got into the industry, I was told I was too fit. I turned up as this different body type and that wasn’t relatable to the average consumer.” Driller is referring to his physique. At 6ft 1 and weighing 90 kgs, not rocking an average rig – a shape he said wasn’t all that present in porn when he started.

“Now, that you have guys that have six, eight and ten-pack abs. If you have a little extra jiggle, you need to take care of that. Now that we’re shooting in high definition, we are more conscious of our bodies.”

Derrick Pierce, a name synonymous with one of the true work horses of the industry, performing and directing across multiple domains in the industry for 11 years with approximately 4000 scenes to his name standing also similar to Ryan at 6ft, 89kg agrees stating, “The stereotypical muscly physique of a male actor is not always ideal.”

“Guys that are fit in the industry are sometimes at a slight disadvantage. Guys don’t want us making them think, ‘I don’t look like him.’ They want identification.” Pierce references Ron Jeremy a famously anti-muscled porn star who was short, overweight and not traditionally classed and handsome. Sporting a ‘70s moustache, he was ‘the workingman’s porn guy.’

“Guys would think, ‘I can identify with him’. If their fantasy was to have sex with that woman on the screen, then they don’t want to see a good-looking guy doing it. It can spoil the fantasy and make it feel unattainable for them.”

But Driller believes that this ‘everyman’ look is changing and that production companies are now tempted by performers with more muscular bodies.

“The focus was towards the fantasy of men,” says Driller, “women’s desires were not always catered and for hence the male star featured as just the penetrator. But it’s not what women would deem desirable. Now porn is focused towards women and couples, the buff bloke is required to satisfy the visual needs of women too.”

According to Pornhub, women account for over a quarter of the entire traffic coming into the site and even spend more time in each session than men. They also reported that for the year 2017, they saw a 1400% increase in a search for ‘porn for women.’ There are many companies now that are also more focused at producing material that is aesthetically pleasing to the female eye, including Adam and Eve and Wicked pictured, producing features with story lines and condoms being used.

Pierce explains, “Magic Mike XXXL was a perfect example of this. In Magic Mike, there were seven guys and we [the men] were the focus. Under normal porn rules they would have switched the guys out for girls. The industry is changing because we’re recognising that women want to watch porn too. It’s not all about men anymore.”

But the muscles are not merely for show. Strength and conditioning are key parts of a male porn stars’ role. The hours are long, the positions demanding and will far less men in the industry than women, male porn stars are often required to perform far more often than women are.

Driller says that he needs to work out to ensure he can keep up with the demands made of him by his director. He says he needs to be able to hold someone up, spend extended lengths of time in uncomfortable positions and generally have the stamina to do it over and over again.

“For an hour of footage, they are going to take five to six positions and you have to hold them. You don’t want to pop within the first position. Doing seven minutes of standing missionary where you are holding on to the girl, balancing whilst you are keeping your hips open for the camera and thrusting in a ‘natural’ sex act is not easy.”

Pierce agrees, stating that what they do is never comfortable because comfortable doesn’t look good on camera. “The doggy style we do is not normal. You have to twist your hip to allow the camera to get the right shot and it can be a lot of hard work. With reverse cowgirl, you might hurt yourself if the girl doesn’t hold herself up long enough and comes down too hard.”

And like most physical professions, injuries do occur. “I tore the under the part of my tongue by doing a 69 position”, Driller explains. I had to stretch out my tongue in this position for so long that it tore.”

Those that want to be successful in porn need to take care of their health which goes against the common stereotype associated with those in the industry. Driller says other men constantly ask him how he keeps his body in shape. “I get a lot of guys ask me what my fitness regime is. I work out but I also don’t drink, I don’t do drugs. It’s important in porn.”

Preparing for a scene also requires thought and consideration. Pierce confesses that he won’t eat before a scene because he is worried about how he might look on camera.

“There will be that one scene that will make me look 20 pounds heavier,” he explains. Driller has similar concerns. “I won’t eat a heavy meal and do 100 push ups in the morning and the night before. I also won’t do a leg workout the day before a scene.”

Whilst many men would dream of walking in their shoes, just for a day, the job is not as easy as it seems. Whilst it is getting paid for sex, this profession has a more challenging physical and mental side that often isn’t seen or spoken about it. This might be about sexual fantasies and pleasure, but at the end of the day it’s a business. These boys need to be able to perform, look good and mould their bodies to what is required on screen. Maybe that’s why there is not an abundance of successful male porn stars and only just a strong selected group who have lasted the test of time.