There Are No Gays In Montana
Coming out can be hard, especially in rural America. There Are No Gays In Montana is a lifestyle podcast hosted by husbands Isaac Hunter and Tyler Nelson. Listen as they release episodes every other week and talk all things growing up gay in a state with more cows than people, let alone gay people (or gay cows). They cover topics like country music queer icons, coming out at work, and attending Catholic high school, while sharing stories of how they went from straight, closeted, college best friends to husbands.
There Are No Gays In Montana
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Consider us starstruck! Join the crew as they sit down with gay adult film star, Drew Valentino. They discuss changing careers in your thirties, reducing the stigma around sex work, and of course what makes a good scene!
Join us on all major socials @nogaysinmontana for exclusive content!
Four seasons work. Quit plague. Plague. Four season. This is bubonic. Mnemonic? Sectum temperature. Bubonic. Leftovers? Also excellent. Have you watched the leftovers? Yes, it is. I just saw a list of things.
SPEAKER_00I'm either going to do Leftovers or Widow's Bay. Which one? Don't put it in the comments.
SPEAKER_02Um, okay, well, I think uh welcome to the Renault Gizam on in Montana, the podcast where we talk about plagues.
SPEAKER_00Plague.
SPEAKER_02And what clay leftovers bubonic, mnemonic, conceptuism.
SPEAKER_03Plutonic.
SPEAKER_00Oh, that could be good too. The Plutonic Plague.
SPEAKER_03That is touching. Plutonic plague. Let me tell you, who is that not affected?
SPEAKER_00It's a thinker.
SPEAKER_03Well, I'm Isaac.
SPEAKER_02I'm Tyler.
SPEAKER_00I'm Ariel.
SPEAKER_02Welcome back, y'all. Um short little intro. Yeah, the first thing I want to know is I want to know what everyone's like, what's the funniest thing you have on the internet right now?
SPEAKER_00I don't.
SPEAKER_02You don't have anything funny? No. Okay, what are you watching on the internet? Podcast clips. Okay, what's the top one you're watching?
SPEAKER_00My liked reels are donkeys, cows, puppies, pugs, and birds. What kind of birds? Cute ones, weird-looking ones. Any of any of them?
SPEAKER_03Kakatoos. Mine are like out in the wild. Mine are drag clips, roller coasters, airplanes, and pop queens.
SPEAKER_02You can't keep motherfucker. And naked men.
SPEAKER_03No, yeah. Mine saved ones? Saved reels.
SPEAKER_02Oh.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Way to take me down though.
SPEAKER_02Thanks. I just I wasn't, it was just being honest. Oh fine.
SPEAKER_00Okay, what are what's your algorithm?
SPEAKER_02Mine is real estate. Yes, like tour of homes. Are you kidding me? They're so exciting. All the Seattle ones are so good. Real estate, water sports, hoof trimming, anything animal. Like I follow every single miniature hippo that has ever been birthed in the last three years. So a lot of zoo content. Yeah. And naked men. And naked men. Okay, but the funniest thing, I've everyone I've been so because I'm in a real estate, there is this realtor that I've started following. I don't know if she's, I think she's a real realtor. Shout her out, except for Ivy checked on her like her name's Steph Barkley.
SPEAKER_03What she stands for, just to make sure. Uh-uh. Okay. Not at all.
SPEAKER_02No, I didn't do any background check.
SPEAKER_03Proceed with caution, everybody, if you're gonna follow this person.
SPEAKER_02I don't know her beliefs or anything, so I'm gonna disclaim this, but I will say she's funny as fuck. And she has the funniest videos where she is like imitating a realtor and she's going, she has the funniest walk. And she goes like that. She like walks like a wheelchair walking up and she's selling these shitty ass houses and clapping it so that people get out. There's another one where she just is she's selling this like giant home in Arizona and she's walking around the rocks going, There's some rattlesnakes. You just gotta get them out of there. Anyways, so that's the funniest thing I'm watching.
SPEAKER_03I don't really have anything either. I guess the thing that made me laugh the hardest last night was was the there's a clip of a very, very large cow, and the caption is me on my way to the kitchen after just after crashing out about being overweight, and it's the funny video. Really got me. I think I sent it to the the group. Did you get it? Yes, I did.
SPEAKER_00Which it was AI, and so I didn't I didn't react to it.
SPEAKER_03That's fair. Is that your policy?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I don't react to AI. Get it out of here.
SPEAKER_03I'm gonna hold you to that. I'll remember.
SPEAKER_00The thing I've been laughing about on the internet actually is RuPaul posted that stupid fucking video of him in his stop that train like dressed for outfit, and he's walking down a long hallway to Adele's Skyfall. But it's this is my ass. Stick your dick. And that's the whole song. And he's just walking, solemn model face. Okay, I'll do it.
SPEAKER_02Do you need to see that?
SPEAKER_00I've been standing that this is my ass.
SPEAKER_02I need to see that.
SPEAKER_00Stupid.
SPEAKER_02Um, okay, so I think we can jump into today's episode. So we do have a guest. So we're actually interviewing Drew Valentino, who is very prevalent, I would say, in gay culture. Ariel, do you know who Drew Valentino is? Did you know who Drew Valentino was before we told you?
SPEAKER_00No. And he's prevalent in gay male culture, I would say. Yes.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, oh yeah. Like very niche lane of gay male culture. And so Drew is a very prominent, I would say famous adult film porn star. And we did an episode with him, Tyler did an episode with him on his podcast, which we'll talk about here coming up. But it was really fun and really exciting. He was great to meet with. And so it was we really want to just tackle a topic that I feel like was taboo growing up or just like the porn industry in general in a very like sex-negative developmental way. And so we thought this was be an awesome topic to actually talk to someone that works in the industry and has so much experience and exposure.
SPEAKER_00So can't wait to hear it and to hear your episode on his pod.
SPEAKER_02Mm-hmm. All right, let's get into it.
SPEAKER_00Roll the clip.
SPEAKER_02Okay, cool. Um, I feel like we can get into it. Yeah. It's been six months since we've seen you. I'm interested in just like where are you at in life right now? Where am I at life right now?
SPEAKER_01I'm at a really interesting point in life. I I feel like okay, so I am 37, turning 38 this year. And I definitely am hitting this like more like settled down, retired porn person vibe, where like, because I started OnlyFans in 2020, and here we are, you know, six years later. And I still like I I'm I'm just kind of done with that. You know what I mean? Like I totally my page is still up, and you know what? If somebody offers me to do some studio work, like I would be down for it just because I think it's fun. But I have been doing way less of that, really none of that, in 2026, um, and and way less of that in 2025. And I've really just been kind of settling into kind of like pulling away from Instagram a little bit and more just kind of like life, you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_02Um we just have the same discussion. It's funny you say that. So you just have the same discussion with each other of just like kind of pulling back from just like just being more like private, I guess, I guess. Like not necessarily in practice, but I just find myself more of like leaning away from social media. Like I think as we all get into our 30s and mid-30s, we're kind of like, dang, I kind of want to like take a break. And yeah, like I just get out of it.
SPEAKER_01Did either of you guys read The Velvet Rage? No, no, um we're always looking for recommendations. So oh my god, that's every gay man needs to read that book. And it's just basically like it's basically a gay therapist. I want to say let mostly work through like the 80s and 90s. Uh I could be wrong about that. But basically, all the majority of his clients were gay, and he over the decades collected these like this patterns and themes that he noticed that all the gay men have in common, yeah, and kind of broke it down into stages. It was just like that first, like you're in the closet stage, and then that like immediately come, you know, the years after coming out of the closet and like repairing and rebuilding based off of some of the struggles you went through, like hiding who you were, and then like some final kind of immersion, uh like basically breaking out of that after you've healed a lot of that and done a lot of that work, and just finding moving away from like validation and and seeking more like authentic joy and happiness. And it's just like it's as a gay man, it's like it's a tough read. Like most most gay men, most most gay men read it will cry. I there's this, there's yeah, I've definitely cried, but it does talk about like how to transition through those phases and what to do next. And and there's a part towards the end where it talks about, like I said, moving away from the parties and the Instagram and stuff, you know, and and just learning like what you want to do to make you happy. And it described how a lot of the people in that middle phase where they're still doing the healing and stuff, will move to the city or want to do by a bunch of gays and like party and maybe do drugs. But then like the gay that kind of evolves past that might move out of the city or care less about social media and stuff like that. And that's kind of where I feel like I'm at, you know. It's it's I've just been traveling a lot more, and I like I haven't really even been doing stand-up comedy as much, which would or at all, which was something that was making me happy. I'm glad I was I got back into that. But yeah, I've just been doing me traveling. I'm I'm seeing somebody now, so it's just like it's just a totally different world than I was at a year ago, you know. Awesome. Yeah, that's awesome. That's cool.
SPEAKER_02Um, for listeners in classic fashion, I always skip the intro, but we're here with you, Valentino. Um, of porn star fame, but also very multifaceted as very almost just entrepreneurial. So I'm really excited to chat with you today about everything. As always, like our goal is always we've just grew up in fucking bum fuck nowhere compared to the rest of the world. And so we just have these perceptions of very, very big pieces of just culture and gay culture and things like that. And I feel like porn is a big piece of that. And so it was great to meet you, which I want Tyler to talk about us meeting you in the fall too. But you just were such a, like you said, like real, easy to connect with person that has like a really just like cool story and experience, as well as like knows a lot about the industry. So obviously you were a top choice for someone that we could chat with. But Tyler, do you want to kind of talk about how you connected with Drew?
SPEAKER_03Yeah. I mean, I followed you just on Instagram, and then I don't know if I don't even know if you had posted anything yet, but I I came across your new podcast called Stop the Ride, which we'll have you talk a little bit about later. Um, and it's a sober curious podcast. I at the time was very much going through the very beginning of becoming sober. Kind of like in your first like six months. I would say first probably four months. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I I think I feel like I hit you like right at the right time because I DM'd Drew on on Instagram and was like, hey, I'm enjoying and loving the podcast so far. Have you ever thought about having like like what does your guest look your guest list look like? Like, do you have people you know? Do you reach out to people? Have you ever thought about having someone that is like someone a listener? So I kind of connected with you through that. You said, let's have a call and talk a little bit about your story. And and then we did. Like in July, yeah. We ended up going to LA in, I think it was October. Yeah. And doing an episode, which will hopefully come out right around the same time as this. So yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that was super cool. I I love that. You you're the first person to well, you're the only person to go from listener to guests, you know, like everyone else is at least somebody that I knew or somebody else that's like, you know, self-proclaimed sober on Instagram that would make a good story. But you're the only person that reached out and as a listener said, I want to be on the podcast, I made it on the podcast. And I I just as I was just saying, I just listened to the episode doing the edits just today, actually. And it's an incredible episode. I mean, um, I I particularly love that I caught you at that right time because when you start a new podcast, there's obviously a lot of risk, you know, mainly that it just might not go anywhere and nothing might happen from it. But something and time. Yeah, just the time to the risk of time, yeah. Totally. And so when I when I was making this, I was I kept saying to myself, you know what? I don't really care. I'm doing this because I want to do it. And I don't, I don't, I'm not trying to make this this big successful commercial podcast. I'm not trying to do this to make money or grow my social media. I don't care about those things anymore. Like I just I just have a lot to say about sobriety. I know a lot of other people too, and I would love to share that. Yeah. And even if it's only, you know, 10 listeners every week, but the test 10 listeners every week really get it and appreciate it, and it's helping people with their sobriety, like that's worth it to me. Right. And so, so when I uh just listen to your episode, it sounds like the podcast started to come out right coincidentally around that time where you were questioning your sobriety, trying to be uh sober or sober more often. And I think that a lot of I also realized that my story and your story seem to have a lot of similarities. So it it seems like from that you were able, you were one of those people, is what I'm saying. It's like it seems like you're one of those, however many people that listened to it and got a lot of out of it that for me is like, okay, great, check success. This is worth it to me. Yeah, you know what I mean? So I'm really No, yeah, it was great.
SPEAKER_03I started listening, and like every single one of your guests, I I think different bits and pieces of their story were things I relate to. Yeah. And you know, there's not maybe necessarily one specific person I was like, this is exactly how I feel, but just all different stories, all different experiences. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah. I I really love that. So so I have to ask, are you still sober? Or what's your Yes?
SPEAKER_03I love that. I am. Yeah. I have I have not drank um since before then, I think like 16 months ago or something. Yeah, what do you got? A year and a half? Yeah. A year and a half. Yeah, it's been really good. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02That makes me really happy.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, go ahead.
SPEAKER_02I was just gonna say it's been really good. Just it's just been great to like follow along the journey too. And I feel like it has changed our lives in a way too, and in a really positive way of like really focusing, like kind of we talked about of like leaning back, getting to be like not more private, but just like less public, I would say. And even from like a social standpoint, really focusing on the things that like what is it that you actually like to do and makes you happy and travel and do a lot of things like that. So yeah.
SPEAKER_01So I I just feel like us listening back to your episode. I'm just like, yeah, even if I stop the podcast now, like I know that I made a difference somewhere. You know what I mean? Sure. So I'm really, I'm really glad to hear that. I was wondering because it because I assumed, I assume so. I assume that you you had a had drink, had a drink. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02But um, yeah, I love hearing that. Okay, Drew, we really just kind of want to get into like your story, and obviously we want to focus on your experience within the porn industry. And I feel like I I read through like your bio. By your bio, I mean whatever they put on Grocopedia.
SPEAKER_03I which I think what is that?
SPEAKER_02I don't know, but I'm gonna quiz you on your own. We're gonna quiz you on your own history to see if you know. It's honestly pretty long. You got a lot of pages.
SPEAKER_01Thank you. I will say it is hilarious to me when I bump into somebody and say, Oh, I know you. Awesome, whatever. And in my head, I'm thinking, I don't know if you're talking about porn, if you're talking about history, yeah. Yeah, yeah. That actually that actually happened to me. So funny story, one time. Okay, because I used to be a high school teacher, but what years ago. Right. If you guys know that. So I was a high school teacher for four years. And then one time I somebody at the grocery store stopped me and was like, Where do I know you from? And I don't know if they were talking about again TikTok porn. I'm like, yeah, I I uh at first I was thinking maybe there were some of this guy on Scruff I was talking to. Yeah, and then I almost said that, and they were like, Oh, you were my son's algebra teacher. Oh my god, that is so funny.
SPEAKER_02Fun quick question. Do you know how many videos you're accounted for? Like in your filmography, if you were to give it a number.
SPEAKER_01Uh well, the thing is, if we're talking about studio work, I could estimate based off of contracts that maybe it was around 30 scenes. But if we're talking about this, must be everything. But so that if we're talking about OnlyFans, a a couple hundred on that.
SPEAKER_02I mean gotcha. This says 92. So I'll do some research and see what they're talking about. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I wonder how they came up with that.
SPEAKER_02No, they're doing every play you did in high school, everything you're in. Exactly. Well, awesome, Drew. Um, obviously, we wanted to really get into your story too. I feel like everything that I know about you is really unique. I don't think you were like 30 young 30s when you started doing porn, right? Which I feel like is pretty unique.
SPEAKER_01Would that be would you say that's unique in the industry to like I'd I'd say it kind of depends because again, there's the split between if we're talking about OnlyFans or studio work. I think that that it's very common for people in their 20s to get into OnlyFans, but not quite as common for people to get into studio. Like I started OnlyFans and then got into studio work maybe six months later. And then I I kept being surprised when I would talk to people that like were in studio. Like I do it with my senior partner in his studio, yeah, would be like, Oh yeah, two months ago, I just started everything. Like I just started studio and OnlyFans, like, whoa, that's that's a big job. Like, you know, but yeah, I I I will say that I'm very glad that I started in my 30s and I'm glad that I started while sober because um uh I I wasn't quite sober yet when I started OnlyFans, but I was sober shortly after starting studio work, and that was part of the calculus. It was like, this is a big life decision, and I want to be very present for all of it. I want I never want to look back at this and think, oh, I I don't even remember that time, and it was a blur to me. And I started out and also I'm very close to my whole family. So I wanted to be able to say to them with confidence, like, yeah, this is something I want to do. This is something that makes me happy, and I'm here, I'm here, you know.
SPEAKER_02So I'm gonna and I think a lot of like our goal too is to reduce that stigma too, especially with just like people with families that work in any sort of industry, and it's especially like any sort of sex-oriented industry industry as well. Too so okay. So, Drew, if we take it back a little bit, I want to know how you came, how you went from high school math teacher. Was it high school? High school, yeah, high school math teacher to going through the decision to be like, I'm gonna start an OnlyFans.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so I'm glad to have the opportunity to touch on that because I think that people just knowing the basic facts just assume that I left teaching to go into porn, and that's just not what happened. Sure. So I actually left teaching because I was there's just a lot of factors working against teachers. It's unfortunate. I love teaching, I was a good teacher, but it's just the the a lot of the the school policies are dictated by funding and it's just a it's just a mess. It's a it's an unfortunate mess. So I decided to win right now. It's yeah, I couldn't even imagine right now. Uh you know, my my last year of teaching, I think was like 2016 or something like that. And when I decided to leave, my thought was that I am a whiz at math. I always have been. And I just feel like for how good I am at math, I should be feeling more respected and making more money. Yeah. And so I did some research and I looked for higher paying jobs in the field of mathematics. And specifically, I found that there's a high demand for statistics because you could apply statistics to anything, business, you could be an actuary, you could work for so like there are a bunch of different companies. Everybody wants that because not a lot of people do it, also.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So I researched the crap out of it and I left teaching to go back to school to get my graduate degree in applied statistics to go a completely different route working in mathematics. And so that's what I did. I yeah, left, I left teaching, and for maybe like two, three years, I was just like tutoring, bartending, like all these odd jobs that allowed me to go to school. And I got my master's in statistics, and then I got a job working in statistics. And basically I decided to like while doing that, I was always kind of working remotely.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And then I decided, like when 2020 came, I was now working my new job that was remote. And then there was this all the the pandemic happened. Yeah, and then there was all this hype about OnlyFans. Right. And it was just like, I just wanted to do that. So I did it. Yeah. And it actually started from me making a video that I sent a solo video. Yeah. That I and this was back when I like during the pandemic, I had like a beer, like a pandemic beard. Yep. So I made a video and it's maybe 40 seconds long. And I sent it to a bunch of my friends just because I thought it was fun. We were all in the quarantine, and it was like, this is a really good video. Like, yeah, like you should, and then that kind of was the first that got my interest. I was like, I wonder, like, that would be kind of fun to put myself out building. Why not? Yeah. Yeah. And then it just kind of snowballed from there. I started to I started to build an OnlyFans. I started to build a Twitter, and then it was off to the races from there. Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And it seems like pretty fast. I would I would think, like, is it normal for I mean, obviously, like it was a different time of 2020, and there were many factors that like sped everything up or slowed everything down. But totally. You said you went from OnlyFans to studio work within six months. Is that yeah?
SPEAKER_01So what happened there was about that process.
SPEAKER_02Like, did you just get emailed? Did someone was someone like, hey Drew, we really like your stuff? You got like the call?
SPEAKER_01No, not well, that not quite like that, but almost. Basically, I launched my OnlyFans in like I want to say the end of August or something like that. Yeah. And at the time I was still living in New Jersey, uh, which there's it's not like there's a whole gay base of OnlyFans creators in New Jersey. My best case scenario would be to go to New York, which was an hour away, which I wasn't really doing. So I was just producing solo content. I was just doing stuff and recording it. Like I was, I was, I was doing, I had a in like a during the pandemic, I made a gym out of my garage. And I was even like doing just like exercises naked and recording it. Like everything I could think of. And I was building a decent traction just from doing solo stuff. And then around November, I remember starting to travel a little bit more. And then in 2021, in February, I was invited to a content house. I was introduced to Bo Butler and Cole Connor, who were both just started working with Falcon. And then they said, If you want to do studio work, we'll reach out to them for you. And they did. They sent them my Twitter, they sent them pictures, and then they called me and said, Hey, like we would love to work with you. Would you want to do a scene with us? And uh and then I flew out to Palm Springs. So And by then that was like the end of that summer, and did a scene with them. And from there, they wanted me to be an exclusive. So I just kept doing scenes with them. Will you explain really quickly what exclusive means? Oh, sure.
SPEAKER_03So for people that don't know.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So basically an exclusive for a porn website, it's like they want you to be like the face on their website. Like it could be anywhere from three to ten exclusives. Drew Allen Tino's are exclusive. And the how it works is unlike OnlyFans, where you get the monthly subscriptions with studio work, you show up, you do the scene, could take all day, and then you leave with a paycheck, right? And the the deal for exclusivity is that you sign a contract for X amount of scenes per year, yeah, and you get a higher rate than most people walking in the door would get. And the deal is that you're not allowed to work with for any of the studios. So you're just gonna compete. Yeah, it's basically. So like there you you you could still have an OnlyFans because I think they need to be, they understand they need to be realistic, you know. Yeah, yeah. Um, because there's definitely more money in OnlyFans than there is in doing studio work. But yeah, it was kind of cool. It was like it's it like makes you feel good. It's like this status thing, and you're on their website and they promote the crap out of you and you get a higher rate and you get guaranteed number of scenes per year, but then you're not allowed to work with other studios. Sure, yeah. Okay, a couple questions.
SPEAKER_02So before when you were ready to start your OnlyFans and you were like putting out your first videos, at what point did you have the conversation or did you like with your family to as like the like, hey, I'm doing this?
SPEAKER_01Well, I it's kind of funny because it's a slippery slope because for me, it started out again, just posting some videos during the pandemic. Yeah, yeah. Why in the hell would I tell my family about that? You know what I mean? Right. It went from just like, hey, I'm in New Jersey making videos and having an only fans to like I accidentally became an exclusive for Falcon. Yeah. Right. So the when that happened, it was just like, I am gonna have to tell my family about this. And I want to say my exclusivity started with them in October of 2021. And I told my family by like February of 2022. Okay, got it. And I was doing, I had a month, like I had a 12 scene contract per year. So I was doing one seed a month. So that means by the time I told them I had done a few scenes, but none of it was released yet. There was this weird period where I knew that all this content was gonna be promoted. Yeah, but like nobody knew yet, you know, and so I knew that eventually all this like it's gonna get around. My family's gonna go. And I love my family. I have a very close relationship with my family, and they support me over everything. So it was just like this guilt kind of weighing on me. Yeah, you know, and also I was just about to move from Atlanta to Los Angeles, which was way farther away from them, which added to the guilt. So when I went to go see them for the last time, I moved in that April, when I went to go see them the last time before moving, I pulled my dad aside uh and my stepmom and I said, Listen, I I do need to explain this to you. Like, yeah, I have decided that I started I started in OnlyFans, and then from there I got introduced to doing studio work, and I now have signed a contract where I'm doing a lot of studio work and I just need you. I'm about to be famous. I didn't say those words, but like maybe my dad did. My dad thought it was cool, you know. But you know, I I basically said, like, I just I need you to know that I'm safe, I'm happy, I like doing doing this because I want to do this. And you know, I this was a conversation with a few different memb members of my family, but you can imagine that the one with my father was the most uh for me the most into like the the heightened you know anxiety about it. But he was super supportive and just like he always has been since I came out, you know, and yeah, and and along with the the whole sobriety thing, you know, my I don't it wasn't that conversation, but I remember that then it started to get around my family, my extended family. And I remember next time I talked to my dad and he said, like, you know, I think the general consensus of the family is that we don't care, we this is what you want to do, it makes you happy. That's that's all we care about. But your uncle, my uncle Phil, apparently had mentioned, yeah, great, this is what he wants to do, awesome. But we cannot risk him getting back into drugs because I was on heroin when I was a teenager. So, like if the crowd he's in with the porn and like if there's drugs, like that is the only concern of the family. Yeah, yeah. And that shook me. You know what I mean? Like that I I don't, I don't think I was I think I had just come to the realization that I wanted to be sober, but it wasn't like official yet. Yeah, and that was the fucking final nail in the coffin. It was just like it was like, whoa, whoa, I have my whole extended family telling me we understand you want to do porn and that's all that matters. It's your happiness. We love you, we accept you, keep doing it, go on. Good job. I at the very least owe them that I'm not doing any drugs. You know what I mean? Like that was like this motivator. Yeah, this is really important to me to not be on drugs while I do this because that was my only family's concern.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah. And also good, like I think their concern really shows like like compassion and support.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Exactly. It's just it's the their protection was over my happiness and safety, and that's it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You know what I mean? So, so yeah, it means a lot to me that that just and then just looking back at how all that went down, it just makes me happy, you know?
SPEAKER_03Yeah. I just and I think that I mean, I don't know if probably regionally, generationally, but I do think just in general, there's a lot more sex positivity in our culture. Like oh, this is one question I had. Did they know what OnlyFans was? Or did you have to like explain to them what I didn't what it was? Because I probably in 2021, I don't know if I would have known what it was.
SPEAKER_01I I think that I told my dad, and I think there was a varying levels of knowledge of what it was throughout the family. I think I I think I explained it and he understood, you know. Sure. Um but my okay, when I came out to my dad, it was actually a whole flavor. So like I came out to my dad when I was 23, 24, and I was so terrified, like, and he was doing yard work and I was like pacing in the kitchen because I was waiting for a moment for him to be alone, you know, and like, yeah, and then it finally happened, he was alone, everybody else left the house, and I still couldn't bring myself to do it. And I put my hand on the back door and I said, I can't do this. And I turned around and then it hit me like, okay, if I don't do this now, I'm never gonna do it. And I just went right back outside and I told him and I said, you know, dad, I need to tell you something that I've been wanting to tell you for a very long time. And he said, Is this about who you love love? And I said, Yes. And he said, he said, I I he said, I understand, like, and I just you're my son and I love you, and yeah, all I care about is I want you to be happy, you know. And it was just like the absolute best possible thing he could have said. I was so relieved. So the thing is the reason I'm I'm bringing that up is because for one, the unconditional love and acceptance, right? But also, more importantly, after reading The Velvet Rage years later, and I started to read, there's just so much in there about your relationship with your father and just seeking that's where this validation, his theory, the author's theory is that that's where this validation seeking behavior comes from, is because you yearn for the validation from your family and just or your parents you just might not get it. And I think about how like that was not my story. And like your whole life as a gay man, you tell your you tell you talk about your coming out story. And a lot of people have a very, very dark and sad coming out story. And I do. And like my my whole life, I spent my whole adult life talking to people about their story, telling them mine, and then saying, like, that's so beautiful, that's so amazing. I wish that my father did that, or you're so you should be so grateful. And after reading The Velvet Rage, I thought about the fact that, like, this is such a beautiful thing that my dad has no idea about.
SPEAKER_04You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01Like so, right before telling, I don't know if it was the same weekend or the previous trip, but very close to when I told him about the porn, I explained all that to him. I told him about the coming out story and I and I cried. And I said, You have no idea how much that impacted my life. I said, You have no idea how that was just the best possible fucking thing he said. So it's like a foundation. Yeah, and like how I spent my whole adult adult, gay adult life telling that story and people listening to that story and praising me for it. And I did not want either one of us to leave this earth without you knowing that. You know what I mean? So we just had this really beautiful moment right around the time that, and then shortly after, like, oh yeah, and I do a bunch of like gay porn and stuff. So it was like, so it was like at that point, he was like, sure, you know, it's just matter. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03That's really cool. I mean, we ours is very I I mean, our coming out stories are kind of similar. Like we both had some pretty well, I very much relate to the feeling.
SPEAKER_02Like, even though you have this, even though we all three, I feel like have really supportive families, it never like changes the way of like you were just talking about that feeling right before, and I can like feel the panic that I had right now. I will never forget that feeling. Oh, it's just like the scariest thing you've ever done in your entire life.
SPEAKER_03I talk about in my coming out episode in our podcast where I I was like laying in my bed and I literally was like, Tyler, you're never gonna do it if you don't just do it. You need to. I literally told myself, I'm like, You're gonna count down from 10, and when you hit one, you're standing up out of your bed and you're walking upstairs. And that's like how I forced myself to do it. Even though I I think in my gut I knew it was gonna be okay. But to your point, it is like very scary. And that moment and that reaction from them can like change your life forever. Totally. If it's if it's really bad. Like so awesome that you express that to your dad because his reaction had it gone poorly, for your own like mental stability and psyche can like put you on a different path for your whole life.
SPEAKER_01I know a number of people that same story, but got kicked out. You know what I mean? The moment you just never know, yeah. The the instant disownership, you know, and and I don't think my dad realizes how common that is and how drastically painful that can be for 70 people, you know. Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_02So okay, so you kind of have this informal sign-off from your family, and just like you feel that support, and now you're like going into it, you've been into it for six months. I'm curious to hear about like the the rush and the excitement of just being like, I am a like exclusive studio porn star. Yeah. Was there ever like an aha moment or you just look back and be like, wow, that'll happen really fast, and here I am. It's like the thought that everyone always says where they're like, a lot can happen in a year. Totally.
SPEAKER_01There was definitely a rush and excitement and again, touching back to addiction, can be very dangerous, you know. I totally think that I think that my experience as an addict that has gotten sober more than once really helped me better guide myself through that because I will say, but just OnlyFans alone, anybody that starts an OnlyFans and has a decent, it starts to build a following. And and the moment they launch their OnlyFans, I've seen it happen over and over again. People make a lot more money than they would have guessed the first month. Yeah, sure. And it's very dangerous. It's definitely like whenever you think you would make your first month, it's probably twice that. Like it's just it just comes all at once. Might not stay like that, and that's where it gets even scarier. But but like then, so what happens is people start to see the followers go up, they start to see the money come in, which is nice, and then it it just becomes this like excitement of like, oh wow, I want more of this. I want more followers, I want more likes, I want more money. Plus getting paid for it. Like totally.
SPEAKER_03I would see myself I could see myself being like, How high can I as a toxic drug? Yeah, yeah. I mean, like, how yeah, how like what can I hit? You know, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01And then the thing is, then your your second or third month, some of the hype goes away and your money dips a little bit. I mean, make good money, but it's but then I think that that has people like, oh my god, like panicky, like I what can I do to I need to make more reels, I need to make collab more, I need to travel more, and and then it can just be a whirlwind. And for people that are not prepared for it, especially if you have an addictive personality, it can, like I said, be very dangerous. So, what I have found that for me becoming an exclusive, uh, really just like the rockets went off, you know. It was, it was like it was just it was it was a lot of fun, it was really exciting. I think my biggest aha moment of like, holy crap, this is crazy is that okay, so when I became an exclusive, I did one scene with them that was just the standoff scene as like a nurse, but that was more like a test run. And then they that I wasn't exclusive yet, but then they they said, We want you to come back for this big movie we're working on. And it was called Ride or Die. And like, you know, the porn awards, there's all these, there's the grabys, there's the gay end, there's all these porn awards that are like a big deal, like in Vegas, and like people get all dressed up and the the porn companies for real.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, like I used to live I used to live in Vegas and for two years. Oh, really? The porn awards, the porn awards are happening, and it was like yeah, really exciting because you would just like see all these porn stars walking around, but you were just in like normal public life, and it was so cool.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, like and you know, so the the the porn companies, the directors, the whole team, they they they really care or they want these awards, as did I. So they will work on some films, a handful of films that are like big feature, high-budget films that are like multi-scene movies, and it's just like with the whole professional cameras and they have a script and just really cool. So after doing my first like trial scene with them, they wanted me to be part of their big feature film of the year, Ride or Die, which was a movie about prison. And there was one scene where we're in the cafeteria and like they had extras, like the cafeteria was filled with people, everybody's in orange jumpsuits, and half the people are not even porn people, like it's just people just filling in. And basically, the whole idea is that while the warden is talking to some security guy, a fight breaks loose, and I'm part of that fight. And basically, like I get up from my table and have to like bump shoulders with somebody, and we get into this whole fake fight scene. Yeah, but the thing is, like, I'm such like a performer and actor at heart. Like, I just had so much fun with it because like we bumped shoulders and we had to like pretend to fight, but it was just very hyped up and very real that it felt real. And yeah, we were when they said cut, everybody expect because now it's also a room full of people because the extras, everybody applauded, and it was just like it was just this really cool moment, and we had to redo it a few times, but but each time we did it, we got more into it, and but so by the end, everybody was just applauding because we had this like really believable fight scene that was just super fun and had nothing to do with sex, you know? It's cool, but it was just like that was a moment where I was like, This is crazy, yeah, this is so cool.
SPEAKER_02Did you have any experience acting or anything theatrical before? I say that because I've seen your work, and you do have like a higher quality acting, I feel like, than your standard porn performer, that obviously the focus is very different, right? Yeah, thank you. So did you have any experience like going into it?
SPEAKER_01So the only experience, okay. Well, so first of all, I've done stand-up comedy since the first time I did stand-up comedy, I was 21 and I did it from 21 to 24. And then I picked it back up again actually after that scene. So like I picked it up again in the last few years, but I was always, you know, doing the stand-up comedy and I took some acting courses in college at just as honestly an elective, but in general, you know, just just kind of I just feel like leaning into it. Yeah, yeah, exactly. I just really loved I really like leaning into it. And I have to say that I think that that being my first or really second, but my earliest porn uh experience was a big part of me coming into the industry, you know.
SPEAKER_02Yep, totally. Okay. So I do want to just kind of pull back to on you. Obviously, be you you started in like a very transitionary period in terms of OnlyFans coming a thing. What is your perception now, like as it's been like five or six years, of really that relationship between OnlyFans and studio work? And then also, like, is there still are people working in OnlyFans right now? Is there an ultimate goal to get to studio? Or is that kind of different? Or is it really to be like stay independent?
SPEAKER_01That's a great question. There's there are a number of people that see what I did and others like me and want to recreate that. There are absolutely a lot of people that want to make it into studio. I've seen, I've had lots of people reach out to me and say, Can you talk to this one or how can I get in? Yeah. And and it can be hard. It's tricky because with OnlyFans, you make most people make more money from OnlyFans. If it is especially anybody that has a following on Instagram, it doesn't even have to be a big following. But like anybody that that starts to have a following building on OnlyFans usually makes a decent amount of money per month, can make from OnlyFans. So when you start into what's like a decent amount?
SPEAKER_02Because I feel like you always hear like honestly, these crazy ranges.
SPEAKER_01So I have I, especially being so far away, like and now coming out of it, like I don't even mind sharing specific numbers. And like who knows what some of these people are making now. I'm sure I I by no means was ever like the top earner, you know what I mean? But when I first started my OnlyFans just making solo stuff in New Jersey in August of 2020, I remember my first month, I made like $2,000. And that was just like not really doing anything, you know? And then I'd say the first few months I made, yeah, maybe like around $2,000, $3,000 a month. And that's what that's what I mean, is how like it's a lot up front because it's like people just want to see what it was about and then they unsubscribe. So that first month was probably one of the best months of the first, you know. So about I'd say $2,000 a month, the first few months.
SPEAKER_03I wouldn't say I feel like when someone there's someone new in the game, like it's like this, yeah. They like it's like this big blow breakout. It's like, whoa, where did this person come from?
SPEAKER_01Totally.
SPEAKER_03And you start seeing them everywhere, you know? Like you start, yeah.
SPEAKER_01The algorithm starts to algae. Yes, exactly.
SPEAKER_03And all of a sudden you see them and you're like, What where'd you come from? And then all you're like, You can't stop seeing them. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And I feel like it has to like because of OnlyFans, and I feel like it obviously would I think reduces barriers to get into the industry because you can just start one and do it on your own.
SPEAKER_01Totally.
SPEAKER_02So I feel like it has to like burn brighter, faster. And then now you have this many more people that can at least attempt it or try it. So then it just gets super saturated and kind of just like tried to do the comments a bit.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, totally. And so then when I started doing actual sex, like six months in, um, that number started to grow to maybe like 4,000. And then the most I ever made in a month was like 8,000. And so that was not sustainable, really, though. That's the thing, yeah. That's you know, so then it started to dip, and like I don't really care. I have other financial means, but to a lot of people, they start to tie that to their self-worth if you're not careful, and then and then it starts, but it's just like there's no way you can sustain your maximum for five years in a row, it's just not gonna happen. I say anybody that wants to start an OnlyFans and really thinks that this is what they want to do, I say it could be your full-time profession for a good probably year, or it could be good passive income for many years, maybe. Yeah, but to make it your full-time career for an indefinite period or many, many years, it's just not really sustainable like that.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, you know, to me changing subjects a little bit. To me, it almost seems like OnlyFans is a a means to make income and a means to do things quickly. Studio to me almost seems more of like a craft. Like I want to, it's like an art form, like a craft, like acting, you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, totally.
SPEAKER_03And especially if you're not gonna get paid as much in studio, I feel like you have to really want to do it to do it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you're absolutely right about that. I would say that all the time because an OnlyFans scene you can do in like 45 minutes, an hour, maybe tops. Studio work, you'll be there for a good seven hours, you know? Yeah, it's not seven hours of sex, but you're there for a good you're you start 10 in the morning and then you don't get done until you know the evening, early evening or late afternoon. And I say this all the time. When okay, so just to put into reference in terms of the money, so it's like I was making four to eight thousand dollars a month from OnlyFans and studios, depending on the studio, depending on if you're exclusive, depending on a number of things, they'll pay anywhere from probably like one to two thousand dollars and a scene. And then there's yeah, um, there are and don't be wrong, there's some there's some studios that pay less than that, and uh, you know, it's not bad. Like there's some studios that pay more than that, but when you're making six thousand dollars a month, let's just say, I mean, it's still on the higher end, I feel like, but if you're making, you know, four to six thousand dollars a month from doing videos in your personal sex life or meeting with content creators for an hour, and then somebody's gonna hand you a check for eleven hundred dollars to be there for eight hours, it's not you don't look at that and say, Oh, this is a ton of money. The it's it's it's it's oh, this is nice to have some extra money and the promotion that comes with it because they do a whole storyline and they do Instagram clips and they have a big Twitter that they'll post you on and and then they do all these professional photos and as you dress up as a firefighter. It's a you know, so it's it's It's like about the promotion. So for me, when I would go there, in addition to all these things, because I'm very sociable and a comedian, like I like to make jokes, but I like to make dick jokes. Like I like to make jokes about sex. So it's so it's like when when you'd be there with a scene partner all day, and then there might be a camera person, a director, and maybe one other person, and they're all gay and they're all just kind of down-to-earth people. I would have a lot of fun. Like I would make so many jokes and like just be so silly that I would leave there thinking like that was so fun. I had such a great time. And then it would be like they give me my paycheck, and I'm like, oh, right. Like that's wow. Oh, yeah, yeah. You know what I mean? I feel like people that go there because they want the promotion, but didn't get that social piece from it, or maybe that sexual piece from it, like sure, um, are just are in it for the wrong reasons. And I can only imagine that that must be miserable because it's exhausting, it's a lot of work. So if you're not getting something out of it besides the money, it might not be fun. That's a really good point. Really good take.
SPEAKER_03I just like outs from the outside, it just seems like my like very elementary view of it is like, oh, someone who likes they like sex, they're a very sexual person. Like, I should do porn. Like, I think that would be like some ever you want to do what you're passionate about, right? Yeah to make money. And I just, it's so not like that, I think. Just to look at this like career is like, oh, it's something I'm passionate about. I just want to have more sex. I want to like do it, do what you're good at. Yeah, do what you're good at or whatever.
SPEAKER_01Totally.
SPEAKER_03And I just like you describing being on set and you describing all of the different other stuff that goes into it. That is not about the actual sex itself, yeah. Totally. It's just, I think, would blow a lot of people's mind in terms of what it actually looks like, right? Yeah, you're you're interested. Right.
SPEAKER_01And about that sexual piece, like some people get off on the voyeurism, right? So some people really, really are gonna enjoy doing a studio scene sexually because they people are watching. And and for me, and just being honest, I really honestly prefer one-on-one sex with out of camera on a lot of times. So, well, I don't mind if they're okay. Actually, I take that back. I don't care that there's a camera on, but other people in the room will kind of take the the sexual component. Other people watching the recording is, you know, um, it kind of can can kill some of the sexual gratification for me. Yeah. There, it still feels good and I'll still be doing things that I'm enjoying, but it's not the same sexually up here as if I was just one-on-one in my room, even if there was a camera on. But there's that social aspect. Like I just have to have so much fun. I would just have so much fun. So like I that's why I break it up into two things. Because you could either be liking the social aspect of it or really, really loving the voyeurism and the sexual part of it. Yeah. But it needs to be one of those things. You know what I mean? Otherwise, it's you're just gonna burn out, you know.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. So think about that, Drew. How has your work in porn shaped or changed your like personal sex life in any way? Like, talk about just how do you are you someone that like approaches that very compartmentalized or tell us about it?
SPEAKER_01So I think I have an interesting, uh, a a different perspective on this because I think a lot of OnlyFans boys, um, I mean, I don't want to generalize, but a lot of people do the OnlyFans and the porn kind of takes up so much of their sexual capacity. Yeah. And if they like save their some people only will finish on camera because they want to save it for that. Whereas for me, like the bottom line is I really love sex. Like I'm just kind of a horny person. So so the porn and the like I just said, the being on camera with other people filming may not necessarily be the most sexually gratifying thing for me. So the porn over the years that I did porn really only covered a small percentage of my sex life. Like it was the opposite for me. Like it was, it was so for me, it was just two completely separate things. It was like, yes, this is work and this is my yeah, I'm doing it professionally, and I'm I'm enjoying it socially, but this is not what I need to do to really satisfy myself. And that is a whole nother thing that I that I would do, you know. So, so throughout the years of doing porn, I was not really so much like relationship oriented. I I never really dated. I didn't know. That was gonna be my next question is Did you date?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I didn't. And it wasn't, it's not that I was opposed to it, it just wasn't a priority to me. So, you know, in my in my 20s, I was in three long-term monogamous relationships, and then I moved to Atlanta when I was like 31, and that's when I got into porn and stuff. So at the time, it was also this like breaking free and discovering my like my sexual identity as a gay adult, living on my own for the first time. I mean, I've I mean, outside of my hometown, you know, so yeah, so yeah, I was exploring with Grinder and going to parties and stuff like that, and just like, I don't know, my sex, my sex life was completely different than filming for OnlyFans, which is a shame because there were so many times where I had sex that like was so incredible because it was so authentic. And I was like, people would love to see that, but you just I wish I could get that on camera, but I just never will because it's that's just once you put the the person recording it, it's a different thing. Yeah, but anyway, the the dating life, I was open to it, and then I started so it's what now it's April. I started seeing some I met somebody last January, 2025, and then we started dating around this time last year, and then became boyfriends in like June. And by then I was still doing OnlyFans just like sparingly, but it just took such a backseat, like that it kind of almost it's not even fair to like claim I know much about dating while doing OnlyFans because it was kind of like one train arrived while the other took off, you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah. Did you did you ever have any sort of flings or like because I do a lot of people date within the industry? Like just because you very much know the lifestyle, you very much know, I don't know, it's it's like in a different sense, but kind of the same sense when celebrities date, right? Like you have this, you know the lifestyle, you understand it, you're it's just like kind of easy. You're around each other a lot. Like, is there a lot of people? And did you ever like have flings in the industry?
SPEAKER_01People are very opinionated on this because they either think you can only do one, like a lot of people have the opinion that you really can only do date in the industry. A lot of people feel like I absolutely can't date. The the problem is that a lot of what I've observed is that people in the industry they date somebody that's not in the industry that claims that they're okay with it and think that they're cool and they're not gonna be jealous and it's not gonna be weird, and then often something just hits a chord and they find out that they're not as cool with it as they thought and that there's some jealousy and stuff. But it all depends. Like, yeah, like but so for me, um, so my best friend is Eddie Burke, and he and I we started OnlyFans around the same time, and that's when we became best friends. And there was absolutely a period, I'd say 2021, where it started to become a more romantic connection for sure for like a good for a good year, and we kind of like toyed around with dating, and ultimately we just decided that we would be better off being friends, but we filmed a lot of content together, both while kind of being kind of daty or while not. And at the time, like it just made sense. Like it was like we liked each other and we could just record our sex life. Like, I have so much I have more videos with him than anybody else for sure. Yeah, but then also it's like if he went to go film with somebody and I went to go film with somebody, like we're not gonna be jealous, you know what I mean? It's like sure, don't do it, you know. And sometimes we film as a three-way or you know, so uh so yeah, it was it was kind of cool. I just I I have to say that I am like a zero percent jealous person in in general. Yeah, yeah. So like I for me, I I think that I could do either, but I think it's more often than not the other person that finds challenges, you know.
SPEAKER_03I've uh this isn't necessarily a question, but I think two two things are interesting. I I feel like there's a there's a decent pipeline of people that are already our partners going onto OnlyFans together at the same time, totally or someone or people that are partners and they've already been together, and then they one of them makes an OnlyFans and it starts to take off, and then kind of their partner like comes along for the ride, and then they start make and then they're suddenly they're both like they both have pages. Yeah, yeah. Those are two like situations I feel like I've seen online a decent amount too.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, people make it work, you know. There's lots of different lots of different examples of everything, both successful and not, you know.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Um, okay, Drew, a couple things. What are some things like when you worked in the industry that are just like surprisingly normal or like people think it's a certain way, but it like you kind of talked about it, just like honestly, it was really social and fun. And I connected with a lot of people, but what are some of those like just surprisingly normal, mundane things about working in the industry?
SPEAKER_01I would say the people, you know, uh, yeah. There, I mean, don't get me wrong, there's a lot of crazies, I guess, in any profession, but the the people in studio are a lot of them are very professional. Like people are there to make money, they are there to be professional. You know, I have seen people, it's really nice to work with a scene partner that just has been doing it for a long time, also, and both people just know what they're doing. But yeah, I would say that the people that arrive in porn are also some of the most like down-to-earth people you've ever met. Yeah. We all have a very unique path that brought us there. You know what I mean? And a lot of times I leave a scene after working with my scene partner all day and thinking, like, I'm really glad I met that person. You know, and if I didn't do this, I maybe I never would have. You know what I mean? But but yeah, like I feel like the people in porn, obviously there's exceptions, but there's a lot of people that are sober. There's a lot of people that even if they party, they put that aside because this is their professional time. Yeah, people get tested. I have never got an STD from doing a 30 to 92 scenes or whatever it was from the industry, like maybe in my own personal sex life, but not from that because people are there to work. So that that's kind of nice, you know.
SPEAKER_02Do you have like over the years like favorite scene partners or just like you connect really well, you work great on camera, and like you're just like I would I love working with these people?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So, like I said, for me, it is much more of the social aspect. So the people that stand out in my mind are either people that I'm currently friends with, uh, you know, like okay, for example, Eddie Burke working with him. We have all these inside jokes and stuff. I'm also very close with like Brode Brogan and Hayden, and yeah, uh, he does Sean Cody and stuff. We're very close friends. Morgan Thick is somebody also that I've had a number of scenes with, and we just click. Yeah, uh Sean Xavier. Sean Xavier, I feel like uh I'm not sure if you know who that is, but Sean Xavier was another Falcon exclusive, and we were laughing so hard that Tretton Decotty, who was the director, kept having to be like, Okay, guys, like we need to. We gotta get it like it was, and he even said, like, we're never putting you guys together again. Like it was it, we were just laughing so much.
SPEAKER_03Like you're in elementary school and their teachers like they will never be in a class together again.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So yeah, for me, it's it's about it's about finding the people with the sense of humor. That's that's real fun to me.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's cool. That's fun. We've obviously talked a lot about this and touched on it, but just really working on the industry as a sober person, and I think that's becoming a really big trend too. I feel like a lot of times we see people working in porn that are like completely sober, like you said. Do you feel like that's always been there or very new recently? Also tied to like, I think we're going through a big movement now, honestly, everyone, our entire culture around drinking and sobriety and really kind of reconciling with it. Yeah. I mean, every alcohol company is really frantically putting out some sort of NA something.
SPEAKER_01Right. Yeah, there's a lot of statistics coming out right now, right? That are saying that the newest generation are not really drinking as much. And it's unclear if it's because they can't afford it. You know what I mean? Like, yeah. So, so you know, I obviously I don't know for sure how those numbers have changed over the years, but what I do know is that because of social media, just like anything else, everyone is a lot more aware of what other people are doing. So when you have people talking about their sobriety or having a podcast or talking about like on this podcast, or talking about on like on my podcast, there's a lot more awareness of the identity of being sober. You know what I mean? And I think that's pretty cool. I I think that a um I remember when I first started in the industry, and I was like a little crazy circuit queen, right? As I was getting in, like I learned uh two main people that were like the first people I knew of sober, Logan Stevens and Boomer Banks are both very successful porn stars that are so self-rep, you know, very clear about their sobriety, or they're or maybe just not I think Logan Stevens just doesn't do drugs. But anyway, that was the first time where I thought to myself, like, oh, I didn't even think about that. Like I didn't even that's so cool. I thought that was so cool. So then here we are years later, and now I'm doing a podcast to talk about people that want to be sober, you know. So yeah, I I think that the the new wave of technology and social media has definitely helped for that identity of being sober to to be out there, you know. I'm sure that helped. Yeah. So with that, I think, do you want to talk a little bit about your podcast and what you're about? Thanks. Yeah, I'd love to. Yeah. So my podcast is Stop the Ride. And I started it uh, well, I released it in seasons. So I released uh season one came out over the course of the summer into the fall last year. And basically, each episode I interview a new guest to talk about their relationship with drugs or alcohol. And I say that this is a sober curious podcast. It's not a I I would not call it a recovery podcast because, you know, just like you, when you were first starting, it's it's not necessarily about, you know, AA and abstinence forever. It's about us as gay men trying to come and navigate the gay world. It doesn't have to be doesn't have to be gay, not everybody on the episode is gay, but like yeah, navigating life in a world where everyone around us is partying and there's pressure and there's parties and you know, addicts and non-addicts alike. At what point do you do you assess and say, wait a second, this is not working for me? Hence stop stop the ride. So um, so yeah, it's been really successful. And uh I've been really happy with the the amount of listeners, you know, and and the number of people that have reached out and said it's helped them. Again, it's not this rigid, like if you don't if you do drugs, you're bad. It's more just like just to help you think about like, yeah, am I okay with my drug use? Am I an addict? This is do I need to change? You know, so that's really the heart of the podcast.
SPEAKER_03It's really for our listeners, it's really, really good. I like I said, it was very much caught me in a a good time, but at the same time, I think the way that you have it set up where it's like sober curious podcast, it's not the fact that you even had that as the tagline made me curious. Yep. You know, you know what I mean? Like that's not something you like you could I could scroll through and see 50,000 recovery podcasts, but the the branding and like the sober curious and then the topic of conversation, I think it's just so unique. And I've listened to a lot of podcasts. Um so yeah, it's just it's really good. And I think the perspectives of the people that you have on it is just great. It's so good.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, thank you. I I appreciate you saying that. And yeah, I just want to quickly say that um, yeah, you're right. The the some people I interviewed did do AA and the 12 steps. Some people's issue was alcohol, some people's issues was heroin, some people's issues was acid. It was just so some people are fully sober, some people still drink. And like it's to cover a whole variety of stories, so that anyone might click with you. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.
SPEAKER_02Do you kind of like last kind of question? What do you see your future relationship with the porn industry? I know you've kind of said like you're really ready to kind of step away from it. Do you feel like you're ready to fully step away from it? Do you think you'll kind of pick and choose when you're excited to work with people that you're excited to work with?
SPEAKER_01Or so this you know, this is really the first time I'm talking about like publicly, like kind of not doing it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So this is this is this is what happened. Basically, I just wasn't as motivated to do it in 2025. And it was a lot more few and far between. And then what's what happened? I kind of was thinking maybe I'm done, or maybe I'm just done with uh OnlyFans. And I filmed with somebody that I never met before, and I just didn't really love some of how it went. Nothing against him. I just it just wasn't a match. Didn't feel good, yeah. Or just didn't, yeah. And I said, you know what? I'm just gonna only film with people that I know, friends, yeah. People that I'm um I'm the established chemistry. And then the next two times I filmed with somebody was people that I'm very attracted to, people that I've known a long time, people that I have sexual chemistry with, and filmed and just like, I don't know, I just didn't really, I just wasn't in it. You know what I mean? I just wasn't in it two two times in a row that people I historically am very into. And I kind of decided that like I think I'm totally done with filming OnlyFans content.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, sure.
SPEAKER_01Studio content TBD, because I I do really have a lot of fun doing yeah, studio content. So if a studio reaches out to me, who knows? I never say never, but I I am yeah, I am done doing OnlyFans content. My page is still up. Feel free to go check out. I still have hundreds of videos on there. Probably will be making more content, maybe some studio content in the future just for fun. But that's uh that's about it. Okay, awesome.
SPEAKER_02That's kind of everything that we had, Drew. Is there anything that we feel like you really want to talk about or touch on, or anything that we maybe missed that we should discuss?
SPEAKER_01No, but just make sure to go check out Tyler's episode on Stop the Ride, because it really is an incredible episode. Hopefully, it does come out around the same time that this episode airs.
SPEAKER_03But yeah, thank you guys very much for having me.
SPEAKER_01This was super fun.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I'm so excited to hear it. I kind of blacked out for lack of a better term. Like I don't know. Well, now it's been it's been so long. I don't know. And we walked away from it, and we're like after Isaac and I were like headed to the airport, and I was like, I don't remember like any. He's like, I don't even know what I said. And I was like, it was really good.
SPEAKER_01I think you're gonna be really happy. I think you're gonna be really happy with it. Yeah, like I said, I just listened to it today. And I was like, a lot of really good, yeah, a lot of really good uh Instagrammable moments. You know what I mean? Good, yeah. Cool.
SPEAKER_02So well, awesome, Drew. Thank you so much for doing this. Um, I'm so glad that we were able to like establish this friendship and like it's been great as like you've obviously started a podcast and are very much learning through it and given us really good advice and experience too. I feel like it's kind of shaped how we want to do our next season and how we're doing it. It's just been great. Like, thank you for sharing all your knowledge and kind of back and forth. And again, like you're such like a real relatable person, and you're such a prime guest for talking about this topic, with really like the mission of our podcast being bringing our like very not necessarily conservative, but just like traditionalist roots of where we can come from, or just lack of exposure.
SPEAKER_03Lack of exposure. I mean, even people that aren't necessarily traditionalists, I think you just don't we haven't had that much exposure.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, just true lack of exposure and really like meeting people in the middle and teaching people all the different aspects of core culture. It was just great. So again, thank you so much. We really appreciate it.
SPEAKER_01Thank you. I really appreciate you saying that. And same here. I'm glad that we were able to meet and connect through both of these episodes. I hope that we can see each other again soon. Yeah, let us know if you're ever in Seattle. Oh, yeah. I I still have yet to go to Seattle. I really want to go check it out, so I'll definitely let you guys know. But yeah, I had a lot of fun on on this episode. Cool. Cool. Thanks, Drew.
SPEAKER_00Hell yeah. What an episode.
SPEAKER_02It was really good. It was really fun. It's really fun to like, I just never thought I'd ever a little bit. I know that honestly, and just like it was it's it's cool to talk to someone in that industry from a non from just like a tell me everything I don't know or what are misconceptions or what's true or um in that way. And he was just really candid, vulnerable, and like kind of honest.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And like a really great way. Very approachable.
SPEAKER_00Okay, our task now is to listen to or read the Velvet Rage.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00By the end of the summer, let's say that. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I'll audio book. I think we do it. I'm about to finish my current book, so I could do that next.
SPEAKER_00What were your biggest takeaways though, from talking to Drew?
SPEAKER_03I so I would say my biggest takeaway and the thing that I consistently just interacting with him, not only on this podcast but throughout the whole thing, is just the constant stigma, or the for me, I guess, the stigma of like if somebody is in the adult film industry, they're scrounging and they're doing it because they have to. Yep. And they're like something went wrong in their life, and that they have to resort to this to make an income or make a living. Whereas I think he's a really good example of somebody who honestly did it because it gave them joy. They wanted to, they were good at it, like very career-based, or like very like almost art-based and career-based. Yes. And I think a lot of people's perceptions about the adult film industry is that they're just like estranged from their family and they're you couldn't do anything else. This was your only option. Yeah. And they did out of necessity.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Whereas, and that that was my thought process sometimes, like growing up and just very black and white. Yes, exactly. And so I think with him and his story, like he has an extremely supportive family, always has. So it wasn't like he had this like, guess I'll turn to this, you know. And he also hearing that whole story of him telling his family about it, essentially having like a second coming out, and being extremely supportive, and him even having to say to them, like, I'm happy and I'm safe, doing this, yep, is something that I think really like you can drill into, and like that is a huge stigma thing. Like he had to say to them, even though he knew they'd be supportive. Yeah, I'm happy and I'm safe. Because the assumption, I think, for a lot of people that have like less exposure is that they're not happy and they may not be safe, and they're doing it out of necessity. Right. And for him, it's just so not the case. Right. And so I think learning that, meeting him, and then just having that like thought process, it's kind of like this is so dumb, but kind of like the whole thing. It's the Pink Pony Club metaphor. Exactly. I was gonna say the same thing, actually.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, not specifically about the pink pony club, but the idea of like parents and family are always like they have a kid and they're like, we want you to do whatever you want to do and you're gonna be happy. But I think a lot of people say that without really meaning that or knowing what that could mean. And so I think he was a really good example of like a really supportive family that was like, hey, you found something that you're good at that you're passionate about and that you're happy and safe. Like I can't ask for anything else. So go do it. And I think that's a really good lesson just for people that support anyone in any sort of art or any sort of industry or any sort of job is that like if someone is doing what they truly are passionate about and want to do, then like let them and then be supportive of it because everyone says that at the beginning when you have this little kid, but then they don't always imagine what those things could be. Or they have this secret list of like, oh, accept these ones. Right. So I feel like that was a really good lesson. And just that you can like you can rebrand or do something new at any age. Like he like had a full career in life very for a long time before he did anything in the porn industry. And then he did that and then went and pursued it. And it sounds like now he's trying to pursue other interests too. And I think it's just a really good lesson for anyone. Yeah, it is in their 30s, 40s, 50s, whatever. It's like when you have a passion at any age, go pursue it. Yeah, start a podcast when you're 33.
SPEAKER_00Life is long, hopefully. Yeah, and you can have a lot of lives within it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it was great, really good, really fun interview, and just really good to sit down and talk about it.
SPEAKER_00It's a cool human, too.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yes, really cool human. Very and like you heard, catch me on his podcast. Stop the ride.
SPEAKER_03All right, you have to think of your song of the week, which is gonna be two weeks from now. So, what's it gonna be? I think Song of the Week for me will be a throwback. And we heard it when we were in Montana, and it is the heartache on me. Who's that chick? You too by David Getta. By David Getta and Rihanna. That song, there's like a list of songs that will like get me on the bar as soon as they come on, and that is one of them for me. Yeah, and it's also just one of those things that's so exciting when it just comes on naturally in the world. Because you're like, I never expected this. I fucking love this song, I forgot about it. So I've also been playing that a lot this week. Okay, who's that chick? Rihanna and who?
SPEAKER_02David Getta. And David Getta.
SPEAKER_00Hell yeah.
SPEAKER_02Hell yeah. All right, as always, thank you for tuning in to There are No Gaze in Montana. We'll be back next week. And please let us know any questions that you have for Drew or um any thoughts, anything, email us at no gaze in montana at gmail.com. And then, of course, you can reach us on all socials at no gaze in Montana. I think that's a wrap. Smoochies.
