Recently I had the pleasure to sit down with gay porn superstar, producer, director and co-owner of Raging Stallion studios, Michael Brandon. He is open, honest, charming, and has killer blue eyes, not to mention, one of the biggest cocks in the gay-porn industry. Michael was in town lending his support to Gay Chicago Magazine and the 2006 Grabby Awards, SuperPorn Fest, with all proceeds benefiting the Test Positive Aware Network.

How many years have you been doing porn?
I've been doing porn since 1989, so for about seventeen years.

How did you get started?
I answered an ad in Frontiers magazine, a gay 'rag' based out of Los Angeles.

What motivated you to answer the ad?
I was fresh out of the closet and I was reading the back of the classifieds and all kind of that good stuff, like every gay man does, and I just happened to run across the ad looking for 'fresh meet.' Now I had been watching (gay) movies for years, and I thought 'what the hell' and answered it.

Did you have any hesitation?
No, not really.

After answering the ad, they called you for an audition?
Yes, I went in and met with a casting agent, Johnny Johnston. I walked right into his office, took off my clothes, and spun around. I had to show him my body; if I had any scars, tattoos, or anything else that might help me or limit me to get into the business. Next, I got a hard on. Johnny shook his head in excitement and said, "I think we can work together kid!" He stepped around his desk, and said, "I need to see how you will react on camera." With that, he dropped to his knees, and gave me a blowjob. Of course, there was no camera in the room! And a star was born.

Is that a typical porn interview?
I do interviews and believe me, they are not like that! Most of the time, they are done online.

So you review pictures and stats and then arrange an in-person interview?
Yes. If they are local (San Francisco), it's easy. But if they are from out-of-town, I travel frequently and it's easy to set up a meeting when I'm out promoting. I do all the casting for our company, Raging Stallion. Any opportunity I get to make sure the pictures they submit actually match, and they're not photo-shopped or anything, the better.

How many projects did you do when you started?
I did about seven to ten movies in 1989 and 1990.

Were you signed with a studio?
No, I did my first movie, Ranger Nick, with In Hand Video. Then I worked for Falcon, Chi Chi LaRue, and Studio 2000.

Did you tell your family?
Not at first. I didn't tell my family until I came back into the industry. They're okay with it. I'm sure they would be much happier if I was a successful doctor or lawyer.

Well, you're certainly successful in the gay adult industry.
Yes, I'm a success in the industry that I've chosen as my career and they are happy about that.

Last night, you mentioned that you took a break from the industry from 1990 until 1999, what happened?
I was fresh off the bus, brought up in the club culture and introduced to speed. I was hooked immediately; it became a sexual thing to my lover and me at the time. I stayed hooked on it for a better part of ten years. It took me to the streets for nine years, lived in and out of prisons and county jail facilities for eight and a half out of ten years. It was pretty intense. Some of the things I saw really help me appreciate life.

Yes, I can't imagine what you went though.
So many people take freedom for granted; it was a very interesting journey for me.

You were in and out of jail for eight and a half years; what would you do when you were released?
I would go right back to the street corner and call my connection.

Where did you sleep?
In and out of hotels, and toward the end, when my addiction got bad, on the street.

That is horrible. How did you make money?
Selling speed. Toward the end, my addiction became so intense that all my money I was making dealing went back into my addiction. It wasn't putting a roof over my head; I would just walk the streets.

So you hit rock bottom.
Yes, and the last time I was in jail I faced six years in state prison and they had a new program that was launched out of Pasadena, California called Impact. Impact is a recovery program in the county jail. So you spend three or four months in county jail getting the basics of the 12-step program, then they release you to a halfway house. The halfway house slowly integrates you back into society. It was great. It was really good for me because I was ready for it.

And you have to be ready for it.
Oh yeah. I've watched a lot of people come and go through the program because they weren't ready for it. They were trying to work the system. I'm so grateful and humble to have lived in the halfway house and watching people come and go. The way they tried to work the system, I was just the opposite. I didn't want to be on the streets anymore. At one time I had been really close to my family, but through my addiction I lost that closeness. Actually, I didn't see my family for seven or eight years.

Did they know you were using?
Oh yeah. They would get a collect call from me from the county jail system, 'I'm okay, I'm back in jail.'

They never offered any help.
They did, they wanted me to come home. They've never seen me high and I wasn't going to allow that to happen. My pride wouldn't allow me to go home. I probably should have gone home many times, but I was really fearful because I got so destructive, I didn't want to steal nor rip them off.

Obviously drug addiction can be overpowering and make you do and act in irrational ways.
But I'm here to tell you it doesn't have to be like that. I'm living proof.

No you are absolutely right.
Everyday I do work on myself. Don't think I don't think about that life anymore. I have so much responsibility and my schedule is so hectic, sometimes I wish I could be that person out there. Because it looks fun. To the naked eye, it looks as if everyone is having a really good time.
But we don't know what's really going on. Our perception is not always reality.

What type of work do you do on yourself, meaning, how do you maintain your sobriety?
I do the twelve step program (From Alcoholics/Narcotics Anonymous). I don't do a lot of meetings, but I still have the twelve step program in me. The program taught me to believe in spirituality, so of course I have my higher power I talk to on a daily, hourly, or every five minute basis when I need too.
Outside of work, how involved are you in the community?
Using my 'celebrity' status to bring people together, have some fun, and to raise money for a good cause is my way of giving back to the community. The community has been so wonderful to me, so I really enjoy it.

What's the best part of your job?
I really enjoy traveling around, interacting and meeting my fans. The internet has been a very useful tool in reaching, creating, and maintaining a fan base. For instance, I have a Yahoo group and interact with my fans on a daily basis, so they know where I might be promoting an event and they come out to see me. It's really cool.

How much time do you spend answering fan mail?
Four to six hours a day plus taking care of casting and other issues. You know, there are people I've been touch with for five years. One of my fans, Alfredo, first wrote and was very distraught and through our interaction on the internet, he's come out of the closet, become more comfortable with his sexual identity, and now he sends me stories about his sexual exploits!
That is so rewarding.
Yeah, it's cool.

What is your least favorite aspect of the job?
Dealing with all the egos. This industry is obviously full of validation, 'Don't you know who I am,' and all that kind of good stuff is quite common. And of course, I have a huge dose of it myself, but I work on keeping it in check. And some of my fellow performers don't do such a good job. Because of my job at the company, I'm in charge of all the models. I fly them in, negotiate their fees, arrange their accommodations, pick them up from the airport and the egos can be really difficult at times. I've done a lot of work to reach the level that I have in the industry and some of the so called 'stars' in the industry today haven't done nearly the work and they expect to be treated the same way. So, it's a little difficult for me.
Another difficult aspect of my job is when someone's pictures don't match and they get off a plane and I have to turn them around. It's really hard because there again, the ego comes into play. There was an instance where a guy sent me his picture and when he arrived, he was about ten to fifteen years older. It was very obvious, and I told him that I hired him because of his picture. I held the picture up next to him and he was really offended.

It's as if hooking up with someone online and their pictures don't match. You know how often that occurs in this community.
Exactly. And it would have been embarrassing for him to put him in a movie with the rest of our models. He just didn't fit and it was unfortunate.

How do you negotiate a models salary?
We start all our models at about $1,000 per scene. That is about the average.

Someone with more experience?
It depends. It's all determined per model, so it all varies.
Do you have a favorite performer you've worked with?
I don't really have a favorite performer. I've been in 150+ movies so there has been a lot of cumshots. And I don't really like to choose favorites because someone will end up reading this interview and say, 'Oh, that fucking Michael Brandon!!!"

So is there someone out there you would love to work with, in case they are reading this interview?
There are a lot of people out there that I would enjoy working with.

Most embarrassing moment on set?
Hmmmmost embarrassing. I have to say I was working with a model and in order for him to take the fuck that I was going to give him; he put anbesol up inside him.

What is anbesol?
Anbesol is a gum numbing agent. It made my cock numb so I couldn't get a hard on. I was caught up in my head thinking, oh my God, he's not working anymore. I'm done, I'm through. It was pretty traumatic. When I realized what it was, I actually overcame it and was able to give a cumshot. So it was pretty cool.

Cum on demand!
Yes, I've learned too.
Most fun you've had on a set?
You know there are so many projects I've worked on, that I can't really recall one. You know what I mean?
Yes I do, they must all flow together.

You just mentioned performance anxiety, is it common on the set?
It doesn't happen with me so much anymore because I've learned to control it. I'm really up in my head until that little red light on the camera comes on. Once the camera is on, my cock takes over, I go into automatic pilot and it all starts flowing. With some stars, they haven't learned how to block other things out. There is so much going on the set. You have your director, camera crew, grips, lighting guy; there's a lot of distractions.

How is a scene directed?
The way I direct, before the camera starts rolling, we talk about the position, try it out and make sure it is comfortable for them, and make sure it's a good angle for us and the cameraman. Then we start rolling. If lighting becomes an issue, we stop, fix it. I always give them feedback, tell them they look good and give them prompts too.

As a performer turned co-owner, what are some of the benefits you bring to a project?
I'm one of the six people that control the product that is being released.

So, you have editorial, marketing, and promotional control.
We all sit down and discuss the models, the scenes, and the artwork. It's a joint venture; all of us have our input. We are a machine, but we all are very proud of the product we put out. But when you are a performer, you don't have that kind of control. You get paid, sign your image away, and see your image for years to come.

No matter what it looks like.
Exactly.

How long have you been a co-owner of Raging Stallion?
I've been a partner in the company for five years; the company has been around for six years.

How did you get involved?
Chris Ward, the President of the company, and I, exchanged emails. He hired me to do a project as a model. He enjoyed my performance level and I respected the way he treated his models. One of the things I love about Raging Stallion is that they are very model friendly. It's not so much, 'get that shot, and get that shot, hold that shot.' It's more about, how can we get that shot, how can we make it look good, make you look good and make you feel comfortable at the same time. And I really can appreciate it that.

Where as other companies are just focused on getting the final product out the door?
Yeah, some of the directors don't understand what is it like to be a model and to hold that position for as long it takes to get that shot. Yes the shot may be gorgeous; you can see the penetration and its right in your face. But, sometimes the models hips are giving out, muscles are starting to cramp. We will start and stop as often as we need too. The editing process can take care of all that.

So after your first project?
Chris invited me back to feature me in a project, about my signature style fucking which is aggressive to the point of brutality. Unfortunately, the company was having some financial cash flow issues, so I invested my own funds, and that is how I became a partner.

Personally, how difficult is it to find a partner to become intimate with being in the gay porn industry?
I have a partner now, Marcos, and in fact he is my first partner since working in the industry. For many years I didn't allow a partner to be part of the equation. I've to let go to some of the stuff that has made 'Michael Brandon' as popular as he is today. I don't pull people out of the audience anymore, I don't fuck guys on stage, and I've stopped performing in front of the camera. I'm evolving. You know, I'm forty-one years old, its time for me to grow up a little bit! In order for me to have a happy and healthy personal life I had to let go of some of that wild and crazy stuff I did in my professional life. It's been great.

How long have you guys been together?
Marcos and I have been together for 18 months.

He's not in the industry?
No, we both work promotions and marketing. He promotes and markets liquor and I promote and market body parts! So, we have that in common.

It sounds like you are happy.
I am. You know, I spent many years creating 'Michael Brandon,' and now it's time for 'Michael Brandon' to take care of me.

Now some lighter questions.
What do you do for fun?
Marcos and I do the theater, we go to the movies which I haven't done in years. We typically go during Oscar season; he's a big entertainment buff and really got me into it.

Favorite movie?
I don't really have a favorite.

Favorite Food?
Italian

Favorite City?
Chicago and Seattle.

Favorite TV Show?
I don't watch TV. Well, I lay in Marcos's arms and watch reality shows and of course, American Idol.

Favorite Book?
I enjoy Anne Rice books.

Favorite body part on guy?
Face, chest, the cock and ass. A nice, fit hairy chest is a real turn on for me.
Stats:
Height: 6 ft.
Weight: 170lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Chest: 44
Waist: 30
Cock: 10x6.5

Kevin Christophersen, MA, is a full time faculty member at a Columbia College Chicago. Further; he's the Director of Business Strategy and Marketing for Boystownchicago.com, a mentor for GLBT youth, a member of the CAF- the Chicago Advertising Federation, and a paid marketing consultant.