Who: Michael Brandon
What: Adult Entertainer
Where: San Francisco
Contact: monsterbang.com, ragingstallion.com
Straight men have sports heroes. Gay men have porn stars. Both are body-based careers that lead to lucrative sidelines: in sports - product endorsements, in porn - escorting. But all is not glory. The pitfalls are many and the road is often lonely. Many more fail than succeed, and the show is over the minute your body begins to show its age. This week I interview Michael Brandon, big-dicked, sweet-hearted, gay man, who uses his award-winning performances as an adult entertainer to keep his life clean.
What do you do for a living?
I’m an adult entertainer: escort, porn star, porn producer, and owner of a video line. I’m also a partner in the Raging Stallion Studios, where I’m Producer of Casting and Promotions Director. On the side, I use my porn celebrity to raise money for organizations like Under One Roof on Castro Street. We’re doing a fundraiser together on Saturday, November 22, at the Eagle. Come join the fun.
Are you really gay?
Yes. Straight for pay.
Do you have a big penis?
I do. I call it Monster. I market him for what he is: a big cock that gets hard and stays hard. It’s the only thing on my body that has attitude. Monster and I working together have been a success like Sonny and Cher.
How did you get started?
I answered an ad for an agent recruiting for new stars. I walked in, took my clothes off, and did a circle to let him see my body no scars or mars. He asked me if I could get a hard on and by the time the words were out of his mouth I was hard. And seconds later when it was raging he said, Uh, I think we can work with you.
Being an adult entertainer is a fantasy career, what's exciting about it?
At first it was exciting to have sex with hot guys. But having sex with four lamps and a camera up your ass and a boom operator and a grip here and a grip there quickly becomes a job. What keeps me going is knowing that my fans will be jacking off to me six months down the line. I like making them smile. As an escort, it’s my job to make them happy for an hour. And the exhibitionist in me loves traveling the world with Monster and doing promotional strip shows.
Years ago, when I was a kid, I wanted to be in public relations. And here I am, promoting my cock! Aretha Franklin was born with a singing voice to make people happy. I was born with Monster and the personality and the body to bring it to the world and make people happy too.
What’s, uh, hard about being an adult entertainer?
The drugs and alcohol. And, god I’ve been there, but I’ve been clean for four years now. I don’t like to look in someone’s eyes and see nothing. Life is hard for me sometimes too, but I don’t use drugs to escape anymore. I have to really take care of myself because my professional life is so escapist oriented. It’s a tight rope that I walk and I can’t afford to be on drugs.
How has being an adult entertainer affected your personal relationships?
I probably do an average of ten to fifteen escort clients per week at $300 to $350 a pop and porn can net me $1,500 a cum shot. So I don’t have personal sex very often. I do have a handful of very close friends for whom I don’t have to play Michael Brandon. Sometimes I miss sexual intimacy, but it’s not for lack of people interested!
In terms of my parents, they don’t know the details of what I do. They might not necessarily be happy that I’m an adult entertainer, but they’re happy that I’m successful in the field I’ve chosen. We’re getting closer again as I get older.
Is it common for porn stars to be escorts?
Yes, but not all of them. Some actors are accountants or lawyers or work for Microsoft. It’s a fantasy for them. They get to be hot on screen. They get to have sex with hot guys and get paid for it, and get the validation.
How are pornography and escorting different?
Escorting, you lock yourself into a room and play out the fantasy. It’s in the comfort of your own home. Being an escort for some is work because they aren’t enjoying what they’re doing. Maybe if I weren’t as successful as I am money might be a bigger thing for me. But it isn’t. I can pick and choose.
In porn you’re under bright lights with a director, who hopefully knows what he’s doing. Being on a porn set is work, much more so than escorting. But at this point in my career I’m producer as well as an actor so I get to pick whoever I fuck or fucks me. Most directors are relieved when I walk onto a set because they know it’s going to be a good shoot. I connect. I love what I do. What's your opinion of sex addiction?
I’m definitely sexually addicted (I’ve been on close to 200 sets over the last three years). What I’ve done with the addiction is turn it into a profitable thing. As for my clients, some of them would spend money on Michael Brandon that they shouldn’t. If I sense that my services are creating problems, I become unavailable.
Is it difficult walking down the street as a porn star?
I used to keep my real name very separate from Michael Brandon. But until recently I just saw myself as a big-dicked white boy, there weren’t any other adjectives to put with that. But it’s changing. Through adult entertaining and the 12 Step program, I can see the changes. The clients love my body but they also talk about my personality and what a nice guy I am. The challenge for everybody in this business is to bring the characters together, the real guy and the porn star.
How does age play a role in your plans?
I’m 38 now and see myself in front of the camera for maybe three to five more years. I’m trying to set myself up for when that time comes. It will be a difficult transition for me because I love the validation. But I’m a realist. It won’t last forever.
Where's the money in gay pornography?
You’re not going to make a living being a porn star. If you’re lucky you make $1,500 a shoot. Most of the money from porn comes from video sales, so I’ve taken my profits and plowed them into production. I also use the porn star as a vehicle for my escorting business. It gets me free advertising and calls late at night.
In terms of the studio business, it’s all about self-distribution. You have to take away the distributor / middleman there’s less hassle that way.
What makes it work? Why are you a two time winner of the Gay Video award?
My love of the camera. My understanding that my fans are going to be seeing this. My drive to make this film at least as good if not better than my last film. Then there’s getting into the other actor’s head. Listen to what I say. Watch what I do. Move when I move you. Trust me. If I see fear in their eyes, I respond. I connect. I shy away from group scenes because I can’t take care of everybody on the set. The more comfortable the actors are, the better the shoot will be. The camera picks up EVERYTHING. It reads tension and chemistry.
From the directorial side, it has to be as easy and free flowing as possible. Don’t over direct. If the actor’s getting his groove on, the director shouldn’t want him to stop and change positions. This is where it’s important to have experienced actors, who know to let the light in, who can find the camera and work for it.
Do you do bareback videos?
No. On the set we always practice safe sex. I act as if everyone has HIV, then there’s no worries. But barebacking videos are VERY popular, it’s a huge part of the industry. And I’ve had some associates who’ve gone over to the bareback side. But Michael Brandon, the fantasy man, can’t do that. I want to show the community how to use a condom. If people see Michael Brandon fucking without a condom then it makes it okay for them to do it too.
If somebody is interested in being an adult entertainer, what do you tell them?
I tell him that we’re in the business to sell sex and bodies and beautiful men. If he’s good, I will tell him he has to work hard and get connected with reputable people like Chi Chi La Rue and Chris Ward.
There’s a lot to watch out for. Drama will undo lots of hard work: stay away from it as much as possible. The same for drugs and alcohol. We’ve lost lots of talent because of speed, g, x, etc. Being succesful takes loads of work. Folks out there will use their supposed connections to get in your pants.
Tell me about your experience with drugs.
I was homeless for nine years, selling drugs to make ends meet. And I learned the depths humans will go to get what they want. Lots of violence over a pinhead of dope. I got caught with drugs and did prison time for eight and a half out of ten years. In many ways, jail saved me from myself. I’ve come so far from trying to make a pen into a makeshift needle. I’m no longer surviving, I’m thriving. Life doesn’t have to be horrible. I’m living proof.
What have you learned about the difference between gay men and straight men?
There’s not much of a line really. In prison, when straight guys are out in the yard, they’re macho, but when the cell door closes and they understand that yes, I’m a homosexual but not a gossipy drama queen, that they can trust me, then their legs go up in the air very quickly. But it’s usually under the guise of falling in love: I make them feel good so they want to make me feel good. And they’re straight to themselves - straight culturally that is. I’m beginning to think that sex is what gays and straights have in common. It’s the culture that we create that’s different.
Thank you for your inspiring story, Michael. Have fun at the Under One Roof benefit this Saturday at the Eagle.
Queer Careers by Eric Ganther
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Eric Ganther
Career Coach
39 Collingwood Street
San Francisco, CA 94114
415.218.6073
a personal trainer for your career
