Page 86 - AVN January 2016

MTV Goes Gay for Pay
The latest episode of True Life
follows two straight men having gay sex for money.
By Brady Jansen
GAYVN
How Farwould you go for money? In the latest episode of MTV’s series True Life, that
question was asked as it followed two men in “I’m a Gay-for-Pay Porn Star.”
Since its debut in 1998, the docu-series has tackled the industry before—as
far back as its first season (“I’m a Porn Star”) and in 2009 (“I’m Addicted to
Porn”).
The hour-long entry aired Wednesday, Dec. 9, and chronicled the trials
and tribulations of Ben (a.k.a. “Sean” from Sean Cody) and Luke (stage
name Vadim Black, who has worked for the likes of Broke Straight Boys and
Dallas Reeves) as they went about their daily lives and traveled for shoots.
“I had questioned a lot…are you bisexual? No. I never had feelings for a
guy,” shares the 26-year-old Ben, who lives outside Chicago in Carol Stream,
Illinois. “I’ve never been sexually attracted to a guy, but having sex with
a guy, it could be anything—from vegetables to fruit...it’s actually a really
difficult, stressful process.”
But after his first shoot five months ago, Ben notes, “it turned out to
be awesome. It’s definitely cool because you start to build a fan base for
something that you would never thought about even doing.” What’s more
surprising is that, as presented by the show and participants, his wife,
Kristal, is also cool with the arrangement: “I’m happy with it as long as
you’re comfortable.” The couple have been married for two years, both with
children from previous relationships. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to
support my family,” says Ben. “I’m a straight guy willing to do gay acts for
money. That’s just something I would never have thought I would ever do.”
Ben says he used to work 14-hour days at a gym, then turned to go-go
dancing at a gay club as an alternate means to make money (“What I like
about dancing, I feel like a whole different person”). When that wasn’t
enough, he found porn as an outlet.
“I wanna be the best father I can be to my three kids,” he says, noting
that growing up he was once homeless and living in a car, and wants to
provide his kids what he never had. Ben has aspirations of going to college
and being a business owner. “Gay porn is a short-term opportunity…don’t
wanna be doing this forever.”
The show follows Ben as he reveals his secret to gay friend Johnny (“You
went from being a douchey bro to now being a bro who douches…wow!”)
outside of gay club Minibar in the Boystown neighborhood of Chicago
(Johnny later questions the potential impact of the career on the couples’
children as they get older, one of the show’s most intriguing moments: “ Any
way to make money is a smart way, you know?”). It then follows Ben to San
Diego for a shoot: “I’m just thinking about getting it done with…hopefully
the shoot goes smooth, I don’t have someone who’s gonna whine and bitch
about it…hopefully just sucks it up,” he says as his eyes dart to the side and
he cracks a smile. “Literally.”
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