ROWEN BAILEY: PORN THIS WAY

Twenty-four-year-old Joburger Rowen Bailey is on his way to becoming South Africa’s very own international gay porn star.

Since last year, he’s made four videos for top studios including Lucas Entertainment, Fresh SX and UK Naked Men. (For a glimpse of Rowen in action, simply do a Google image search – preferably not when your mom’s in the room.)

Contrary to the cliché of taking to porn out of financial desperation, Rowen got into the business quite simply because he thought it would be a blast to make his fantasy come true. He’s blessed with a naughty smile, a joy for sex in front of the camera and very pleasing physical attributes.

In real life, he’s much more charming, relaxed and fun than he comes across in his video appearances. Rowen sat down with Mambaonline to give us the scoop on his adult film escapades, coming out as a porn performer to his family, and what his boyfriend thinks of all this.

Where are you from originally?

I’m from the east of Johannesburg. I’m from Brakpan, but don’t tell people that. [Laughs]

What did you want to do when you were growing up?

I studied commercial theatre and dance in Pretoria. But I only did that for two years because I had a foot injury. I left because I knew I could never be a professional dancer because I’d never recover properly.

You work in retail, right? Does the company know what you do?

They do! They don’t mind as long as I don’t say who I work for.

Have you always been interested in porn, as a viewer I mean?

I was an addict! I still am. [Laughs] It all started with Bel Ami… Those pretty, angelic boys. From then it became something that I always wanted to do. I wanted to get into it myself.

And when did you embark on this journey

It was last year October, while I was in Spain. It’s quite taken off since then.

Are you involved with anyone?

Yes I am. I’ve been involved for about four years.

And how does he feel about it?

Oh, he’s totally happy with it. I think he kind of gets a kick out of it. He’s also quite a porn addict. He’s always known that it’s something that I wanted to do – right from when we met. And when the opportunity came along, I said “listen I’m doing this” and he totally supports it. He would never do it but he supports me doing it. It’s good that we have that trust in our relationship.

Why do you think he supports you? Do you have an open relationship?

We don’t have an open relationship per se. He just knows that it’s something that I want to do. But he knows that when I do it, its work and it stays work.

So do you believe in monogamy?

No I don’t. I don’t think that any man is monogamous.

So then you do have an open relationship with your boyfriend?

Well, not that I’d go off and do my own thing. But we have the odd occasion when we’ll decide to do something together…

I see. And your coming out…

I’ve been out since I started high school. I was about 14. It was never really an issue for me. People always have stories of how hard it was but I was lucky. My friends and my family were all fine with it. My mom just said, “be safe”.

So I take it your family knows you do porn?

They do know. My parents didn’t take it too well. At the moment it’s a subject we don’t speak about. But they’re very liberal people… My brother used to run a production company that produced porn, so that kind of helped soften the blow a bit. They found out through my brother who saw it. We’re a very open family. [Laughs]

So was it easier coming out as gay man then as a porn actor?

[Laughs] Yes, definitely.

And your friends?

They’re very inquisitive. They want to know what happens and how long it takes, who I’ve met… They’ve been very supportive and interested.

So how did it happen. How did you get into the business?

I just e-mailed the studios and said “listen, I’m interested in doing it”. And they said “fine”. They’re not going to fly you out from South Africa so [the videos] happen when I’m in Europe. When I went to London earlier this year I applied to all the studios. For Lucas Entertainment last year they were shooting in Spain and I was working in Portugal at the time so they paid for my flight to Ibiza. In August I’ll be going to London and Europe so I’ll probably do three or four more videos then.

Do you think you’ll be doing this for a while?

Yes. I enjoy it. I think it’s quite fun. [Smiles]

How long do you think it could last as a career?

For me it’s more of a hobby. It’s not a career. It’s something I do on the side. But you can last quite long because porn is kind of like a fetish thing. If you get older you can move into that daddy category, the bear category or whatever. You start out as a twink, become a muscle hunk and then a daddy bear.

How would you describe your type in the business?

Probably a twink… working on becoming a ‘twunk’. That’s a muscle twink! [Laughs]

Would you consider yourself to be more highly sexed than most people? Do you think that’s played a role in your doing porn?

Yes, definitely.

Let’s get down to details. How long do the shoots usually take?

It takes about six hours. They do hair and makeup. And they do a photo shoot first. You do a scene and then they stop and then they shoot again…

Is it fun?

It’s a lot of fun. It also depends on the person you’re doing it with. I’ve been lucky. I’ve been with people that I immediately clicked with.

Do you have a choice about who you get to perform with?

Well so far I’ve always been told “these are the people we want you to shoot with. Are you happy with it?” And I have a choice to say yes or no. But luckily I’ve been happy with everyone I’ve been presented with…

Is there any specific kind of porn you like watching?

Well, obviously I like Bel Ami. I like the twinks. But I also go from extreme to extreme. I also like the more rough, dark type of porn. With leather and a bit more kink in it…

Is there a difference between what you like watching and what you like doing?

No, it’s pretty much the same. For Lucas Raunch I did a water sports scene, which I’m quite into. So I’m also into the more raunchy stuff. And I think people like it also because they don’t usually get younger guys in porn who are into those kinds of things.

Any favourite performers that you’d like to work with?

Number one is definitely Harry Louis. He’s dating Marc Jacobs. And Jay Roberts. I’ve actually become quite good friends with him. Hopefully I’ll get to work with them…

There’s an assumption that someone who’s doing porn would be quite promiscuous…

I’m not a slut. [Laughs] I think there is that whole stigma thing to it. But it’s no different from any other guy out there hooking up with someone online or at a club. It’s just I do porn. It’s out there – people actually see it. While normally things go on behind closed doors.

What is it about doing porn that you enjoy, other than the sex? I mean you can enjoy sex without it being on camera.

It’s being filmed and other people seeing me. Knowing that people will be watching – it turns me on a lot. Maybe that does make me a slut! [Laughs]

Knowing that other people are going to be turned on by you…

Yes, definitely. Plus you get to have sex for a living and it’s with hot guys. How can I complain?

A lot of porn actors also do escorting on the side.

To be honest. It’s something that I have done. Not for a long time. It’s not for me. I like having the choice of who I want to be with.

When was this?

When I was at varsity. And it wasn’t proper escorting. It was just a quick something on the side. It was for the money. I was living all alone when I was studying and sometimes times got tough… [Laughs] You want to party and go out and have a good life and you need to make money somehow.

Is there anything you won’t do on camera? Are there any no-go areas?

Obviously unsafe sex. That’s a no-go for me there. What else…. What wouldn’t I say yes to? I guess I’d need to be presented with something. I can’t think of anything off the top of my head. Although, I’m not really into the whole torture, rape thing. There’s a whole market for that. Anything that’s actually painful, no…

Barebacking is huge in the industry…

If other guys want to do it, then they can do it. But it’s not for me. I just really believe in safe sex. Even with my boyfriend we still use condoms after four years. Better be safe than sorry.

What turns you on about a guy?

I have this huge thing for guys with big pecs. Yes! The bigger the pecs, the more brownie points they score.

And size?

Well, not tiny. Obviously, big is always better but I can deal with the average. I’m not a big size queen.

I guess as I performer you have to be relatively substantial…

Yes, or a bottom. [Laughs]

Well, you have no problems in that department! What’s your preference?

I prefer to be bottom. Sometimes you get asked to be top, but I prefer bottoming. That’s my own preference in my life as well.

Did you have any insecurities or fears when you first started this?

Yes, when I did the first shoot, it’s the most nerve-wracking thing that you could ever do. You’re standing there in front of a whole crew, six or seven people, and you have to take your clothes off and have sex. And you’re thinking “oh my god, am I going to get hard, am I going to stay hard, am I performing well?” It’s very nerve-wracking.

How do you overcome that?

You take Viagra! [Laughs]

But at what point do you start enjoying it?

You kind of just have to get your mindset right. You just have to realise that these people do this for a living. You’re not the first person they’ve seen have sex and you’re not the last person. I think after the initial stage you get very comfortable. And the crew are usually great. They’re very supportive and they talk you through it. They tell you exactly what to do and they make you feel calm and good. It was on my first shoot that I met Jay Roberts and he’s become like my porn brother. He sat me down and said, this is what you need to do…

When you watch yourself, what goes through your mind?

You criticise yourself. You go, “oh my god, why did I do that? Why am I making such weird noises?” [Laughs] It’s quite interesting. And you learn, don’t do that again.

Is it a turn-on to watch yourself?

No, not really. I’ve never been turned on watching my own porn videos.

And your boyfriend?

We haven’t actually watched them together. He’s watched them alone and he gives me feedback. We do usually watch porn together, but not my videos.

Why’s that?

Usually watching porn leads to sex… and I don’t think he wants to have sex with me while watching me having sex with someone else. [Laughs] It’s a bit odd.

There’s a perception that the porn business is a dark, sleazy world, full of drugs and gangsters. What’s your experience of that?

I’ve never experienced that. When I was in London I met up with a lot of porn stars. And they’re the guys who don’t party till five o’clock in the morning. They go home at 12 because they’ve got a shoot in the morning. They don’t drink and they’re the more conservative guys in terms of socialising.

Is it a kind of bitchy interaction?

There is a bit of a bitchy environment. Especially in London because there are so many porn stars there. But the guys I’ve worked with have been pretty cool. Towards me at least. All the guys I’ve worked with have also been in long term relationships, so that could be why we got along.

Tell me something that people wouldn’t expect about making a porn film?

For me, I was surprised by how open those people are about these things. I arrived for my first scene in Ibiza. And as I walked in the door there were two people having sex and being filmed. And it was like, “hi there, just put your stuff down there and have a seat”. It’s just like a job for them. That kind of surprised me.

Do you think we’re a little conservative in that regard in South Africa?

Yes we are. Well, we are conservative but that’s kind of like a façade. Th
t’s also what I discovered with people asking me about it. They won’t always admit that they watch it or that they would do it. They put up that appearance of being conservative.

So where to next?

I’m going to the UK in August and Spain and I’ll be shooting with UK Naked Men again and Christian Torrent in Spain. I’m also trying to get into Men at Play. They’re the dressed-up-in-suits kind of guys. They previously said I’m not their look, but… we’ll see… [Laughs]