6 Porn Stars Give Us Their Honest Confessions About Working In Porn

    An unfiltered talk about what it's really like to work in front of the camera.

    Ben Henry
    by Ben Henry

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Have you ever wondered what it's like to work as a porn star? Well, I've got you covered. We asked the BuzzFeed Community what they really wanted to know, and now we've gathered six porn stars to give you all the answers. Are you ready to meet them?

    Adriana Maya, 21, is a bi-curious porn star based in the US. She's been in the industry for three years.

    Sam Syron, 26, is a gay porn actor based in the UK. He has been in the industry for two years.

    Photo by Chris Parkes for Recon’s Fetish Week London 2017

    You can find Sam on Twitter.

    Owen Gray, 32, is a straight porn actor based in the US. He has worked in the industry for five years.

    Twitter: @veryowengray

    You can find Owen on Instagram and Twitter.

    Viktor Belmont, 27, is a trans man based in the US who has worked in the industry for eight years.

    Lena Paul, 23, is a bisexual porn star based in the US. She has worked in the industry for 18 months.

    Mickey Taylor, 24, is a gay porn actor and singer based in the UK. He has worked in the industry for four years.

    So, are you ready for the honest answers and confessions? Have fun! Oh, and btw, if you see the word "talent", it's just an American term for a porn actor.

    1. "How did you get into porn?" —p42c93a879

    The Weinstein Company

    Owen: I applied to be a model at Kink.com, got offered a shoot, and it expanded from there.

    Lena: I was working in Central America on sustainable farming practices with indigenous farmers. I was coming up short on payments to my workers, so I started doing adult webcam shows from my hotel. I decided that the best way to give myself a leg up among the thousands of cam-girls out there would be to do a brief stint in porn and get a social media following.

    Mickey: I was found by a model scout on Grindr.

    Viktor: I didn’t see a lot of gay trans male porn. I sent in applications to studios and didn’t get very many replies that offered more than $100 for a shoot. So I decided to make my own and that's how my series, MSTRVKTR, started.

    Sam: I have a Tumblr with a pretty big following, so I was approached through that.

    Adriana: I graduated from high school and applied at some agencies a few days later. I got a call pretty quickly from my first agent, and we set up a plan for me to fly to Miami.

    2. "How did you become comfortable being intimate on camera in a room full of people?" —hm570782

    Logo TV

    Mickey: I'd modelled nude before, so this was just an extra step. It came naturally.

    Lena: Most women associate being naked in front of strangers with being vulnerable and unsafe. Porn sets are the opposite. There's usually five people on set (the two talent, the makeup artist, a PA, and a director), and it's an extremely controlled setting. Because there's no danger to me, it's honestly freeing and relaxing.

    3. "What was going through your mind the first time you performed on camera?" —kristin9898

    Lionsgate

    Mickey: I hope this Viagra doesn't make my eyes all puffy, I want a drink after, and I don't want the barman thinking I'm on drugs.

    Sam: I hope I don't fucking come, please don't let me come.

    Viktor: I got fucked while eating pizza. I literally couldn’t stop thinking about how ridiculous and amazing that was.

    Lena: It was basically Don't do that stupid come face you get sometimes even though this guy feels quite good, paired with Just keep smiling! You don't know what you're doing, but hey you're having a good time doing it and that counts for something!'

    Adriana: All my friends back home are gonna trip the fuck out when they see this shit.

    4. "How do your parents view your profession? Are they opposed or are they accepting of your job?" —aureliat2

    Buena Vista Pictures

    Mickey: I suggested the idea of doing it four years ago to my mum and she told me I should do it while I'm young because my image wouldn't last forever.

    Lena: I routinely update my mom on my PornHub ranking. They'll be happy when I move into a career they can talk about at dinner parties, but despite being very conservative, they're very supportive.

    Owen: My parents are accepting, proud, and supportive. Being a guy in porn is a lot easier because people don't think you need to be "saved" from doing it.

    Adriana: My parents are understanding, and they know it won’t last forever. At first they weren't the happiest about my job choice, but now they've accepted it.

    Sam: They do not know. That would be disastrous.

    5. "How does working in porn affect your personal sex life?" —emmakathrynb

    Fox

    Adriana: If anything it helps me be more creative in bed. My significant other is understanding that my job is just my job.

    Mickey: It gives me more of a libido and changed the way I see sex and fetishes. I'm now more liberated, expressive, and confident.

    Sam: It makes it difficult to assess who wants to sleep with you because you do porn or because they like you.

    Viktor: Finding partners who understand that this is my job is hit or miss. I generally date a lot of other sex workers or porn performers.

    Lena: In many ways porn makes you hornier for real sex. Maintaining a vibrant private sex life is integral to avoiding burnout.

    Owen: I've been with my wife for seven years. Shooting porn is often fun but it makes me appreciate having sex in real life, where we can do whatever we want and there's more genuine chemistry.

    6. "How often do women actually orgasm?" —bellal4296b4919

    giphy.com

    Lena: I'm hyper-orgasmic, which isn't all that uncommon in the business. At least once a week I get a scene where I'll orgasm three-plus times in a scene. However, sometimes I adore the talent I'm working with, but the director has us in an uncomfortable position, so I'm too focused on being presentable to be able to relax enough for an orgasm.

    Adriana: I orgasm a lot more now than I used to on set, for sure, almost every scene now. Luckily I get paired with talent I want to work with and usually there is a connection, so things flow naturally and I have no problem having an orgasm.

    7. "Do you have to stop yourself from orgasming a few days before a shoot so you know you'll have a decent load, or is it more caution to the wind?" —drowningoshawott

    TNT

    Sam: I tend to hold off at least two to three days to make sure I have a good load.

    Owen: You can't control how much you come each scene but I typically don't have a bunch of real-life sex before a busy work period.

    8. "How are partners for scenes chosen? Do you take some kind of questionnaire?" —abbyw472f75221

    Netflix

    Sam: Usually the studio will tell you who they're thinking of pairing you with, but I've declined a fair amount because if I don't find them attractive I know it'll look shit.

    Lena: Whether we want to have sex or are attracted to that person has zero factoring in the selection, it's about scheduling/availability. I've shown up on set before and a completely different person from the one on the call sheet is there because the original talent got ill or couldn't come. The only say you get is your "no list", where you inform your agent who you absolutely will not work with.

    Owen: In mainstream porn, the directors pick the scene partners. I'm offered a scene with a girl: Either I take it and get work or if I don't want to shoot with that girl then I don't get work. As a guy you rarely, if ever, get to pick who you work with.

    9. "How often do porn stars have to get tested for STIs?" —oliviap442af5447

    Paramount

    Mickey: I get tested on the first Monday of each month. I want to make sure that even though I do safe sex, I take all the precautions I can.

    Owen: In the US, we get tested a minimum of every 14 days. It doesn't matter how many people you've worked with in that period. If your test is past 14 days then you aren't able to work.

    Lena: We're tested every two weeks. It's anywhere from $165 to $250 per test and we pay for it ourselves. The idea that sex workers are dirtier than the average person is honestly hilarious, given how obsessive we are about not having sex with untested individuals. People who routinely have unprotected sex outside of the tested talent pool (i.e., escorting bareback) get a very bad reputation very quickly.

    10. "Roughly how much do you get paid per video? Does it depend on how long you've been in the industry or how popular you are?" —relley

    AMC

    Sam: Pay varies between companies. The difference between US and UK pay is out of control. You can get paid at least three times as much in the US.

    Owen: Guys get paid pretty terribly for a few years until they prove that they can do their job, they're not an entitled asshole, and people enjoy working with them. Women can often get paid twice or triple what men are paid since they are in higher demand.

    Lena: There's a base rate for each sex act, with solo masturbation being the lowest dollar amount, followed by male-female oral sex, followed by lesbian sex, followed by boy/girl sex, followed by group sex. I've been in the business for 18 months, so I charge 10–20% more than girls who are just starting out. Girls who have been in longer can charge 1.5–2x what I do.

    11. "If it's a BDSM scene, what is aftercare like? Since the two people don't know each other that well, is there any at all?" —cecils44fda6313

    Universal

    Sam: BDSM porn, for the most part, is illegal in the UK, so there's not much of it. I did quite a hard scene recently, but in between takes I was giving my partner a cuddle and we went for dinner afterwards.

    Owen: Some people enjoy a quiet moment to cuddle, some people enjoy hanging out and talking, and some people are just impersonal and will get back on their phone.

    Adriana: Aftercare entails lot of Epsom salt baths and arnica gel to remove bruises and the soreness, but usually its something you handle yourself.

    12. "Do you go through any special training? Like, a porn school to learn the proper way to perform oral sex?" —lajaaaam

    HBO

    Mickey: I actually used to be a part of a porn school two years ago where we taught models the basics, safety steps, and things to do before and after a scene. It was great fun!

    Lena: Mostly you learn from the kindness of others and you pay attention. I did a foot fetish scene for the first time recently. I just watched a lot of videos and called a bunch of girls in the business and asked them what I should do.

    Sam: A porn school would actually be quite counterintuitive, as what might feel good in real life might not look good on camera. Sometimes it's actual acting rather than what's natural.

    13. "Do actors have agents, just like in other film industries?" —ruthlarson10

    MTV

    Mickey: In America, yes. In the UK not that I know of. It's a little smaller here, so there's no point.

    Lena: My agent sends out emails to companies and directors letting them know my availability that month, and then assembles my schedule. He reminds me when my STD test is going to expire and makes sure I get tested. He also makes sure that the working conditions are tenable for me, checks on me throughout the day during my shoot, and keeps me abreast of what I need to be doing career-wise to keep me in the public eye. He takes a 10% finder's fee.

    14. "How many pornos do you usually film per month?" —paigej16

    Columbia

    Mickey: One at my lowest, five to six at the highest.

    Lena: There are more than 3,000 girls working in LA right now, but only 900 or so jobs each month. I'm very fortunate that I usually shoot 10-12 scenes per month. I'd shoot more but my body needs recovery time.

    Owen: For myself between 6-14 a month, but there are people who are much busier than me.

    Viktor: I don’t film a lot. The demand for trans male porn is there, but there aren’t a lot of studios who are willing or want to shoot with trans men.

    15. "What is your favourite type of video to film?" —laurenanimals

    New Line Cinema

    Adriana: I love shooting group scenes, I’ve done so many orgies over the years and I haven't gotten enough.

    Lena: My favourite is gonzo POV. That's when the male talent is just holding a camera, with no storyline or dialogue. There's almost never a PA on set, it's just the two of us having sex. The hottest parts of the scene is when we set the camera down to get the male talent close to climax. Without the camera, just doing what feels good, it feels very similar to actual real-life intimacy.

    Mickey: Anything on a bed. I can't tell you how rare that is. It's always up against a wall, on a small sofa, on a beach, or by the pool.

    Answers have been edited for length/clarity. Please also note that the statements in this piece represent the views of six pornographic actors.

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