INDUSTRY TALK: Q&A (XL) — ROMAN ANTHONY PANTALEION

When we think about the entertainment industry we tend to forget the parts of this industry that navigates from the good Ol' American Family Values. I decided I wanted to interview a pornstar for my blog because just like us main stream actors they have to deal with a lot of bullshit just to step out of the margins. Although there are several reasons why the Adult Entertainment Industry and the Main Stream Industry differ the similarities are astonishing. For instance in both industries will you be discriminated against based on the color of your skin. You will be paid less, and disregarded more. But I wanted to go further. I mean statistically the United States and Germany are the two biggest porn watching markets, so with such high viewership ratings why in 2016 are porn stars not being given their due-respects? Read below as I talk to one of the hottest black gay porn stars in entertainment today. Coveted as the Verse King of porn. Welcome to the #IndustryTalk family... XL

R|A: What college did you study film and have you graduated yet?

X|L: I can't answer this question due to past experiences in which have made my public life turn private in a sense; In other words I can answer personality type question but I tend to keep my location discreet as I have had stalkers and random people looking to add drama to a place I still frequent. This is the second degree program I'm completing and I will graduate this fall.

R|A: What advice would you give someone who says they want to be a porn star? And then what advice do you wish someone would have given you?

X|L: I would honestly tell them to weigh out every extra income (and no porn isn't my main source of income) option before they decided to join the adult industry. Mostly because the appeal of the industry changes for different people. For me, I currently am in a happier state being away from shooting scenes, appearances and being this "thing". Some people usually refer to me as popular or internet famous based on a few sex scenes. I appreciate it and all but really I enjoy being a regular guy. I hate the attention aspect of it. I'm shy and being an entertainer can be hard for me to do. I do porn because I gain relief in expressing myself sexually on camera. I do it for me not for the expectation that people will like me for it. So I would say if a model/future porn star felt that way too then perhaps it could be an enjoyable experience but if not I'd tell them to reconsider. I've honestly had really good advice given to me since the start of my porn life so its hard to say what I wish would've happened. Those few negative experiences gave me boundaries.

“...the appeal of the industry changes for different people. ”

R|A: I saw an interview from 2014 where you said you would like to direct and produce adult films. Are there any videos online with Dawgpound USA or Next Ebony that you've directed or assisted on?

“ I’m shy and being an entertainer can be hard for me to do. I do porn because I gain relief in expressing myself sexually on camera. ”

X|L: Not yet but hopefully soon.

R|A: I actually talked to two friends about asking to interview you. My best friend said to do it and my other friend (who's in the mainstream industry) was a bit judgmental which I felt was crazy because he watches adult films. Do you feel there's a double standard in the adult industry? I mean isn't watching and doing pretty much the same side of the coin?

“People need something to talk negatively about in order to boost their own self-worth.”

X|L: There is a double standard in the sense that people feel comfortable watching something but not actually doing it. Porn is usually searched for and used as a sexual release. We are humans and the need for sexual satisfaction is ever-most present; so when people judge pornography yet still get their nut from it; I realize then that hypocrisy rules their life. I cant take those people seriously. We do the same things, it's just your able to see mine. Sex in general is very policed and censored. The same people that call me a promiscuous hoe can easily be the same people having 10 times as many sexual partners as me. What I do is not that much different from what they do behind closed doors. Some "professionals" feel they cant take me seriously or that Im beneath them since I deal business in a nefarious side of work, but it's really just to "outcast the freak." People need something to talk negatively about in order to boost their own self-worth. Most "professionals" I meet hire me personally and are some of the biggest freaks I've ever met.

R|A: What's your top 5 video games you can't live without?

X|L: ...

1) Super Smash Bros (Wii U)

2) Dead or Alive 5 Last Round (Xbox one)

3) Super Monkey Ball 2 (Nintendo Gamecube)

4) Bioshock 1 (Xbox 360)

5) Pokemon Stadium 2 (Nintendo 64)

And I have every console. I'm a huge game nerd.

R|A: Favorite Food?

X|L: Pan Seared Duck; sauteed wine-reduced creamier baby potatoes with a side of Ratatouille. Paired with Champagne.

R|A: You're from New Orleans- can you cook and what's your fave Creole/Cajun dish?

X|L: Cooking and eating are two of my favorite things to do on earth. I cook organic and fancy elaborate meals any chance I can get.

Favorite cajun dish is Jumbo Crawfish Etouffee with a Zydeco pasta.

R|A: Celebrity Crush?

X|L: Jussie Smollett

R|A: Top 5 music artist?

X|L: ...

1) Kelis

2) Bjork

3) Kyarypamyupamyu

4) Yelle

5) M.I.A

R|A: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

X|L: Married, living on the West Coast working for a really lucrative visual editing company .

R|A: Have you ever thought about directing an adult series and putting it on your personal site or stream it on several platforms?

X|L: I thought about it, planned it, started filming it and realized I didn't want to get into it. The piracy centered around it is too extreme to control. It's harder than it looks and I have other projects I wanted to complete before I totally devoted myself to independent productions.

R|A: Craziest thing a fan has said to you or have done?

X|L: Made a public outcry at a restaurant because I looked so familiar.

R|A: Favorite life quote?

X|L: "The temporary aspects of life seem most important because as a human race we love to plan for the future without appreciating the present. You can actually do both if you aim to make yourself as happy as you possibly can for the rest of your life." - Unknown

“The temporary aspects of life seem most important because as a human race we love to plan for the future without appreciating the present. You can actually do both if you aim to make yourself as happy as you possibly can for the rest of your life. - Unknown
”

R|A: Langston Hughes or James Baldwin and why?

X|L: Langston Hughes; I've read more of his work.

R|A: How do you prepare for a scene as a bottom? Diets, douching, what? (And then) How do you prepare for a scene as a top?

X|L: I visualize myself getting penetrated... make sure I'm as anally clean as possible, and I rarely eat before I bottom. (Topping) I think about the size of the ass I'll see that day; The rest can be seen online. When I top seriously with someone I'm into I try to make sure we have a good vibe.

R|A: Have you done bareback films? If so do you take prep or do they make you guys show up to set with your latest test results?

X|L: I've done two scenes. We both were tested prior to shooting and we have to prove test results before shooting.

R|A: Is there rapid testing on porn sets?

X|L: Some studios have them yes.

R|A: What's craft services look like on an adult film set? (I guess water for bottoms, LOL)

X|L: Water, Food, Lounging area. It depends on the studio.

R|A: French Toast, Waffles, or Pancakes?

“...connecting with your scene partner is the key to a good scene.”

X|L: Pancakes are more nostalgic for me.

R|A: Favorite fruit?

X|L: Mango

R|A: Favorite bible quote? You're from the south so I'm assuming you went to church? I read most people in Louisiana are Catholic?

X|L: I am from the South and I was raised in church but I don't hold any scripture above the other. Individuals have their own interpretation of Gods Word. I have my own and I prefer to keep my faith separate from my porn life.

R|A: I love how you own that you truly enjoy being an adult actor. Does anyone in your family know?

X|L: Thank you, and yes a few people in my family know but they don't view me any differently; at least not anymore.

R|A: What's something no one ever tells you about making an adult film?

X|L: That connecting with your scene partner is the key to a good scene.

R|A: Will you branch off into merchandise- such as sex toys? Or would you do something like Kandi Burress's Bedroom Kandi line? Maybe an XL fragrance?

X|L: I would like my own jock-strap line.

R|A: Many celebrities are into giving back. Whether it's because they feel it in their hearts or for publicity and tax write-offs. Do you currently volunteer anywhere or are you perhaps planning on getting involved in the LGBT community as a mentor?

X|L: I currently mentor a few younger models who are looking to get into the industry. It's mostly me telling them It's not for everybody.

R|A: Why do you think adult entertainment is so stigmatized when adult entertainment sites receive more monthly visitors than Netflix, Amazon and Twitter combined. Statistics showed that by 2015 the adult entertainment business became a 2.8 billion dollar industry- America leading the exportation followed by Germany?

X|L: Sex can be quite constructive for the soul. As Ace Rockwood said "Humans share energy and release that energy". There's a bad side to everything, I just aim to find the good. Labels, Judgements and Social Norms create the stigma. People assume that your fucking everyone, multiple times a day. When in reality you work a 9 to 5 just like them, attend college, have loving parent(s), have a significant other, have self-respect but the only difference is you take a plane to get sexually liberated for a day (depending on how often you shoot).

R|A: (I know in one interview you mentioned how you were out in high school and that the experience was challenging.) Do you feel more comfortable in life at this point & could you possibly share an experience that you've overcome? (Many young people see the negative in life and do not realize that we are indeed put here for a reason and that life always gets better.)

X|L: I feel pretty comfortable with who I am now but it wasn't always that way. I've had to learn from rough experiences and use them to my advantage to set clear goals of what I wanted for myself.

R|A: (I read an interview where you mention you were very depressed and at one point suicidal because of things happening in the industry.) Can you tell readers and aspiring porn stars what triggered those feelings?

X|L: I became tired of being an object. I was successfully working in this industry where everyone saw me sexualized but not humanized. I made good money and maintained a certain image but I wasn't happy. There was so much ass-kissing, body worship and materialism around me. I was becoming a product and not a human. I noticed I couldn't naturally smile anymore, I grew tired of fake-ness and it made me feel terrible to keep up the act. Some promoters were shady and desperate to market off of this "thing" I barely recognized. I was losing myself inside an empty industry of many faces. Selling myself literally to the idea that I'm "something" based on this one element of my life but I do many things.

Porn is not even 25% of who I am. I had to find meaning in being me and not XL. XL is a job and thats it. The real me, gains weight, goes to art museums, finds comfort in home life and ironically is very shy. I'm not meant to live in the gym, engage in societal norms of comparing/contrasting physical attributes, partying 24/7, or being what someone tells me to be. I am who I am alone; imperfectly blissful. Countless amounts of people trying to use me, a friend's death and a fake image I worked so hard to create (now destroyed) triggered those feelings. There's a darkness behind the scenes that the audience doesn't see and I almost let it consume me. It's still a struggle today but I'm in a much better place mentally to where I feel confident in accepting myself flaws and all.

“There’s a darkness behind the scenes that the audience doesn’t see and I almost let it consume me.”

R|A: (In my experience of acting in film and web-series I remember reading so many opinions. It was like these people who didn't know me either loved me which made me feel great or hated everything about me and wondered why I was alive.) How do you deal with criticism of any kind?

X|L: I learned It's important to care about what you think of yourself over the opinions of others. Most people cannot make valuable statements about your life if they havent lived it or expereienced it. Accept the good criticism with the bad and know that your worth is more valuable than anything anyone could ever say.

R|A: To end I must ask who are you voting for for the presidential elections?

X|L: Possibly Bernie Sanders