Do Young Porn Stars Die More Than Other Youth?

[gb2000ie]

If you've been active on these boards over the last few months you can't help but notice the regular trickle of threads announcing the death of a young porn star. It doesn't happen every day, or ever week, but it happens enough that it is making me ponder a disturbing question - is porn killing young guys?

Your gut feeling it obvously that it must be - just look at all these threads! But gut feelings make terrible data sources!

I know that young people die for medical reasons. I know that young people die in accidents, and, saddly, I know young people die at their own hands.

Because of where I work, and what I do, I get an email every time one of our users dies. We have between 10,000 and 20,000 users, and about 3/4 of them are young adults. Before I started my job, I had no idea so many young people die from illness, accident, and suicide each year. My first year on the job was a real eye-opener, and it soon became clear that that was just an ordinary year, and every other year since has been just like it.

If no young porn stars died, then porn would be a miraculous protection - some sort of devine shield.

It's a horrible truth that given how many young men do porn, some of them will die each year. My big worry is that there is something more going on. What if doing porn makes you more likely to die?

That's a really really hard question to answer, because you can't assume that the people who do porn are average people - they are not! So, you would have to factor in the selection effect - do people just like the kinds of peopel who do porn die at the same rate as those who do porn?

I don't have the answers, but it's something that preys on my mind, and I wondered what others think about this somber subject?

B.

 

[Shelter]

I have written in one of these threads to the death (suicide) of one of these models that I think all of these young men are in a special way like slaves. I don't believe that these boys coming every morning happy to work to the studio. They have to do on a day perhaps six to ten scenes. And that will be for a young man really a hard work. And that perhaps day after day. And sometimes as well with a partner they don't like. And perhaps they will be forced to do things they don't like and they wouldn't do in their privacy. But the studio or the director wants it.

In porn there are so many varieties which have been to serve. You, I and all the gay guys here and wherever they may live have their preferences. The one likes it only without condom, the other likes it raw, others like fisting, pissing or nastier. Again there are the fans of old men fucking young ones and reverse and so on and so on.

You, I and all of us here have our preferences too but we don't do things we do not want (I hope so). Preference means that what I like.

But who is telling me that these guys in the porn films always like that what they have to do?

To watch a porn is horny (and I'm honest I don't want to quit it - and that will be the crux of the matter). I will see my porn with MY preferences and so want all the other porn users that for themselves as well. So the studios are forcing these models perhaps to do things they don't want.

And another point is - if a face is not wanted anymore by the studio. They throw him away like garbage.

The next point is - the model has to act in a gay scene but he isn't gay. I'll understand that he will have difficulties as you or I would have problems to fuck a girl (I for myself never would do that!)

And after all these things, if there is an porn actor with not such a stable character and if he is bullyied in his private life by others because of his "job" - there it could come to a sudden irrational act like a suicide.

I don't know if I'm right in this case - but so I will explain it to myself.

 

[tonka]

Recently it's been young guys, but there's been plenty of porn stars dying in their thirties too.
It's anecdotal, but it certainly seems high. I think the selection effect may be a factor.

Another factor is that it's an entry into a party life. Who doesn't want a porn star at your party? Substance abuse is a major factor in young death, be it suicide or something else.

There's also the pressure. Are you ever big enough, lean enough, hard enough, hot enough? Maybe you were yesterday, but....?

The celebrity life is a wild ride. Not everyone survives.

 

[yoyo888]

Yes it does make you think when you read through the threads. It is not only US guys, but from all over.

As stated the Studios are not quick off the mark if ever to announce that one of their models either current or retired has died.

They just dont want to give that image ..... that I cant think of the correct words for.

But I have been reading recently a British gay porn actor retired from gay porn about a year ago. He has been getting jobs but shitty jobs with absolutely no prospects at all, and the pay is crap, to the point that he stated that he will be doing more gay porno.

I can see another scenario there, that is a guy has been doing porn for a few years and then the studios have had enough of him and that is it the end of his porn career. He tries to get another job, and if he has no qualifications, he will only be getting shitting jobs, if he can get a job at all, and that can play horrible things to your mind been out of work and feeling totally worthless!

And then thinking what's the point of going on. I have been there when I was made redundant and took a year to get another job!

I have seen that with some of the Czech guys as well. An example is Jose Manuel. All of a sudden after a few years of absence he is appearing again for a few different studios. YAY it is nice to see him back in front of the camera, but I also think, oh dear, have hard times fallen on him and the only way he knows how to get cash quick is to sell his body

But when a young person takes their own life is just soooo terrible. If it a porno actor yer we get up set is a person that we have followed over the years, but after a few days we just forget all about him and move on. But what about his family and friends what they are feeling. That will last a lifetime . A parents NEVER gets over loosing a child hoe ever they died.

Yes we can all blame the studios that offer no advice to their "employees", but the actors are not really employees. They are hired in for the few hours and that is it. We think that the studios should offer more help to them. We all see the behind the scenes from some studios and you think all is rosy and they are looking after the boys, but are they???

So lets just hope there are no more young guys ending it this year becasue they just cant cope any more. Well not just this year.. forever! They just need to take the first step and talk to someone...... someone...

This could go on and on...... so will leave it here for the time being.. I might come back at a later date to add more.... and depends on what others add/say as well !

YOYO

 

[prickles]

The question is good with good points made by others.

When I first joined gayheaven it was for the photo sets. I started keeping an eye out on the porn discussion because of one of my porn crushes, Matthew Keading. After a live interview for H-lix I was a little concerned for him. He seemed a very sensitive, intelligent person who didn't have an outer shell to protect himself, and I was worried for him in the industry(didn't know about his early work then, which was even more concerning). When his scenes stopped, I waited for an announcement post that thankfully never came. When I finally decided to look and found he was now living as a she and studying computer science I was immensely relieved and happy she has found herself and moved on.

From my observation deaths are not confined to the adult industry. While deaths like Amy Winehouse and Heath Ledger may not have been suicide, they did contribute to their own death through drug and alcohol abuse. Even someone like Britney Spears or Justin Bieber, both appeared to be on a dangerous downward spiral at one point.

Where I feel the Adult industry differs to others, is in respect. Pornography, stripping and prostitution is the dirty secret a lot of people have and are ashamed of, some even view themselves superior to the people in the adult industry. I use pornography and have seen strippers and am not ashamed, I have never used a prostitute but I respect all of them far more than, Politicians for example.

Actors, dancer and sex workers are professionals deserving of our respect, the protection of the law and recognition of the good they do because the do, do good. With real respect from across the cultural spectrum, perhaps some of the worse elements of the Adult industry(criminality, drugs and exploitation) could be removed and the workers could have better prospects after they move on and protection while working in the industry. This may not help with the deaths in the adult industry but it may protect some who are not prepared and get in over their head very quickly.

 

[Otage]

I think that the risk can be higher amongs young porn actors. I bet many will do porn just because for the money, because they have to. And I bet some think it will be cool, but at some point some regret their decision and feel ashamed, and what's done is done. And for those who do it because they know they are hot, young and so on, in porn that time of live might rise to very high in appreciation, and gaining fans may raise levels of narcisism. But in porn, that time is very short.

And I don't know this, but maybe in some porn studios there might be heavy drug using, which doesn't usually go along well with lack of money, threw your deligant years when you make important decision, and have to cope with peoples expectations (fans, family), and drugs just mess all that up more.

And like said before in the thread, these are all just purely specualtions.

 

[brmstn69]

I don't think that doing porn is the cause, but may very well be the symptom...

Porn tends to attract damaged people...

 

[Spartacus_x]

We should keep in mind that porn (i.e. what we see on our screens) is not the only thing these guys are up to. A lot of them also do escorting on the side, then there's the party culture and so on. It all requires a very specific mindset and I suspect that for many it becomes overwhelming after a while and they don't know how to get out of it.

While I'm sure the way most studios treat their models leaves a lot to be desired, there have also been suicide cases among the bonafide superstars of the genre (Arpad Miklos, Erik Rhodes) who have certainly had it much better than the average Joe just trying to get into business.
And I don't think the model treatment is going to get any better in these days of ever increasing competition and ever falling profits. They are just going to become more expendable than ever.

 

[HustleMe15]

Death of a Porn Star

This is a very good subject since the board has been filling up with these type of announcements. But I also think that it may be just because they are in their youth that we tend to focus more on them. Though I would hate to admit it, but I'm sure there are older men that were in the porn industry that have died as well of different things, but because they are older, they don't get as much fanfare.

And I'll agree with 'brmstn69' that porn may not be the cause, but a symptom. As one who has always been fairly close to the industry, but never actually going all the way into it, there are a lot of reasons that people get into porn. And some of them are not always nice.

We like to think that the cute young model got into it because he has a hot body, enjoys sex, wants to show it off, and make a little money on the side. I'm sure that there are plenty of boys out there where for them this is true. But the darker side is that people get into porn "because they have to" for one reason or another and are good at putting on that "happy face". People get into porn because they may need money to support a drug habit, or can't find a long term, good paying job. Maybe they ran away, or were kicked out young, got into it out of necessity, and haven't known any other way to make money.

I have known a couple of boys over the years that were into sex for pay who in the end thought that their life was reduced to that and thought it was better to end it all than continue. And I have helped a few realize that the real problem was just temporary, and helped them through it, and now they are happy.

I may have started a little early in the sex for pay thing, but I've never been ashamed at who I am, or what I have done. I guess you could say that I'm strong willed in that department. But just because I am, doesn't nearly mean that everyone else is. Like regular employers, the porn industry I think needs to have a boatload of social workers where they can talk about whats going on.

We all enjoy the porn that we see online, or on DVDs, but do we care about them enough as regular people to help them when they get into a situation, or do we just toss them out when they are no longer the type that we like? They are entertainers, just like movie stars, and music performers. We want them to do well in their careers, even if we would never think of doing what they do ourselves.

In the end, we just need to remember that they are people with personal issues going on off the screen too. They have relationship issues, family issues, friends issues, maybe they also have a full time job, most of the twink actors are probably in college as well. And then add the demands of the porn studio if they are contracted to it.

Let's hope that we don't have to hear of another one for a very long time.

 

[Shelter]

Hi HustleMe - this is a very good, very interesting and most of all a very good written post.
Thank you.

 

[Otage]

I have known a couple of boys over the years that were into sex for pay who in the end thought that their life was reduced to that and thought it was better to end it all than continue. And I have helped a few realize that the real problem was just temporary, and helped them through it, and now they are happy.

Very good:cheers: I too have had friends who have been suicidal on some point of their lives, and being there and giving support is not an act that is easy, it's very stressing and difficult, but has to be done. That's what reveals true friend, and in situations like that, they are a must.

Suicide as an subject is always sad, since I've lost few friends too. The questions of 'why' still linger, and speculations some times drives you crazy, since one can never know for sure what the reason truly was. Purely friends are good enough reason to live, and keeping on fighting, staying on living will make other things possible too. Life can be hard at times, but we have awesome survivors amongst us, and they wouldn't be survivors if they had stopped fighting. Friends have to give support for these fights, try to show the light.

 

[Shelter]

Very good:cheers: I too have had friends who have been suicidal on some point of their lives, and being there and giving support is not an act that is easy, it's very stressing and difficult, but has to be done. That's what reveals true friend, and in situations like that, they are a must.

Suicide as an subject is always sad, since I've lost few friends too. The questions of 'why' still linger, and speculations some times drives you crazy, since one can never know for sure what the reason truly was. Purely friends are good enough reason to live, and keeping on fighting, staying on living will make other things possible too. Life can be hard at times, but we have awesome survivors amongst us, and they wouldn't be survivors if they had stopped fighting. Friends have to give support for these fights, try to show the light.

Wow Otage - what a post! :thumbs up:
I can feel this was written with much blood, sweat and tears! And it shows that you are a man with empathy and great emotions. :thumbs up