Colby Keller Talks About Fucking Psychopaths, His Cross-Country Project, and Being An Unconventional Porn Star

After a dispute with his evil landlord resulted in him becoming homeless, America’s favorite bearded art-loving porn star Colby Keller decided to fulfill his dream of traveling around the country in a van, seeing America, fucking hot boys, and making videos out of it. Colby Does America” or “the project” as he refers to it, raised nearly $50,000 dollars from a crowdfunding campaign, thanks to fans enticed by personal rewards and the chance to fund a kind of porn project very different from what the mainstream studios put out.

But the project’s also given fuel to Keller’s haters, who love to attack his “pretentious art-world aspirations” are. One need only look at the comments section from last week’s posting about the “Colby Does New York” video release, which was made as a fashion collection video for the Brooklyn designer BCALLA, to understand how divisive a figure he is to porn fans. But whether they like it or not, Keller’s probably the single most well-known porn star in the industry, with name recognition far beyond the porn world, and a career that spans 10 years. The two of us happened to be in the same city at the same time — Los Angeles — and so I met up with him yesterday to discuss his curious place in the industry, the haters who may or may not have shut down his Instagram account three times, and what it’s been like to fuck psychopaths and virgins as he traverses the U.S. of A.

Adam: So how was your Oscar night? What did you do?

Colby: We were in Palm Springs then we drove back and had dinner in in Thai Town. Then we came back and watched a documentary about Ayahuasca.

Have you ever done Ayahuasca?

No. I’m hoping to soon, though. I’m trying to prepare myself for it.

You know you end up pooping in a bucket and vomiting for hours before the trip starts, right?

That’s what I’ve heard. [laughs]

There’s a really great episode of Howard Stern where Robin describes doing it in Peru and Howard is just berating her. It’s so funny. I guess it all depends on the guide and the circumstances that you experience it in. I wouldn’t want to be in a room with 50 guys who were all pooping and vomiting. That would be a hell for me. But I guess there must be some way in which it doesn’t become a hell. 

Well I don’t think it’s a big group so hopefully that will help the situation.

Light pooping and puking. Nice. So you wanted to talk first about censorship stuff, right?

Yeah. That was the other thing that happened to me yesterday. While I was in Palm Springs, my Instagram account got suspended, for the second time. So I opened a new account and it was fine. There was nothing on it that could have been remotely seen as questionable and it sent me a notification wanting me to verify the account with my phone number. I verified and went to look at it an hour later and they deleted the account. The third time they removed it! It’s interesting because Facebook deleted my account last week, and it really does feel targeted. I don’t know if it’s Instagram, specifically the moderators there, or maybe people who are maliciously trying to shut down my account by complaining. Every once in a while I might post a picture that they’ll take off, typically it’s been pictures of me in a scene with a black man. They’ll take the black man off.

Wow, seriously?

I posted this picture of a guy I did a scene with. He’s covering up his penis, it’s not an erotic photo at all. He has a balaclava on, and he’s just laying on a bed. I did two scenes, one with a white guy and one with a black guy. The picture with the white guy wasn’t taken down. Black guy was immediately taken down. So I don’t know, like, who it is, what it is, what’s behind it. Instagram is horrible because they send you this message, saying “You violated our terms, this account is suspended.” And there’s no details. Am I really suspended or is the account deleted? They don’t tell you and there’s absolutely no way to contact them and no accountability. It’s really frustrating because for me that’s really the only way — I mean there’s Twitter — but when I’m on the road, there’s really no other way to effectively communicate with people what’s going on with the project, other than Instagram. I don’t even know what it would have been that would have caused them to suspend the account.

It just sounds like there’s probably some uptight queen who’s repressed or has some deep self-hating hangups about sex and gay sex and probably is a fan of yours in some weird way, and they’re the censor over Instagram, or they’re the people reporting you. 

I read an article in The Advocate, about a photographer who’s dealing with the same thing on Facebook. You know they’re the same company, Facebook and Instagram. He was saying that he had pictures — one of Alex Minsky, the Iraq War vet who’s missing a leg, who became a model. He had a picture of that guy that he took. It’s a beautiful photo, not erotic, but he’s naked and you can see his butt. They took that down immediately. But then ESPN has the same type of photos on their page, but because they pay money to Facebook, their photos were not removed. He actually had people complain to Facebook about the ESPN photos and they got messages back saying they would not remove those photos. Essentially saying, hey they’re paying us money so fuck you. So I don’t know if it’s uptight people complaining or the moderators being hyperactive. Part of me wants to be a little suspicious, but I don’t know for certain that it’s haters. I don’t want to blame people I can’t see. It might be haters. It might not be. I definitely do have people like that, though. You’ll see them pop up writing comments. I don’t understand it because it’s like, if you don’t like what I’m doing or me, why are you following my account?

Well the comments when we posted the BCALLA video last week were insane. “He thinks he’s an artist.” “He’s so pretentious.” “This is the unsexiest porn ever!” And it’s like, A. you don’t get it, and B. why are you so intent on porn stars just fitting into this exact box that you have created, or that has always existed. Like whether or not you’re pretentious or not, why is bad that you’re trying to do stuff that’s arty or different? Even if they don’t like it so what?

Right. Exactly. I think it threatens people because porn stars, we’re really not supposed to be people. We’re these objects that you use to jack off to. It’s threatening to people to insinuate anything other than that. Honestly that’s what part of Colby Does America is about. But there’s payback for that. I think it’s irresponsible of Instagram to play to the lowest common denominator for that. The people who are complaining. But I get a lot of that. It’s really hard too because part of the video with BCALLA, was about that I really loved his work, we came up with the project together, and it’s supposed to be fun, and it’s not porn!

A still, with muppet apron by BCALA, from Colby Does New York.
A still, with muppet apron by BCALLA, from Colby Does New York.

It’s a fashion ad! It’s not supposed to be an art film, it’s first and foremost a commercial in a way, but artfully done and silly and sixties and cheeky and bawdy. It’s great!

A lot of people are intimidated by things they don’t know. But honestly, I try really hard not to be pretentious. I really want to include all different types of people. Different voices. Different ways of working. Different styles. I’m really interested in engaging people on whatever level I can. But people get really upset by things that they don’t understand and it makes them feel stupid and they get angry because of that. And there are also people who wish they could do things and aren’t able to and resent people who can. Which is really sad to me, because this project is open to anyone. You don’t have to be that bitter person, you can engage me in a creative way if you choose to. But it’s a lot easier to be negative and mean and try to destroy people.

Everybody on my Facebook feed was gagging over it. There’s so many people who watched it and thought it was brilliant and hot and great and funny and unlike anything before, although it connects a lot to what Homopunk in Europe was about in the early 2000s, and stuff that existed in the 70s — porn with an artistic or weird bent. Look at something like Cafe Flesh, which is a totally insane Fantasia fever dream porn that I don’t think could be arousing in any circumstances, but it’s an amazing piece of work. People have a short memory.

They do. Porn is a big business. I think it’s kind of bland and formulaic for a reason and it doesn’t have to be that. There’s no reason I have to make that. I’m not a company, I’m not there to make money. I wanna have fun with the medium and the job that I’ve participated in for the last ten years of my life. It’s supposed to be fun and playful and creative and weird, if I can make it weird. But there are a lot of professional haters. People who have nothing better to do than be bitter and hate other human beings and try to destroy people. If they complain loudly enough they get what they want.

You mentioned you’ve been in the industry for ten years, and you mentioned professional haters. My perception of you is that you are now the biggest gay porn star in the industry. You’ve been in the industry as a major star for longer than anyone else. You also have the most name recognition, and while there are other people who everyone’s crazy about right now, those people are not going to be in the industry in a year or two. You probably will be.

Or not. [laughs]

Or not. But do you have a concept of yourself as that big of a porn star?

Doing Colby Does America and traveling around the country and realizing how many people recognize my picture, and how most people think I’m fake when they encounter me online, that maybe brought it into focus a little bit. But I really haven’t thought of myself that way. I still think of myself as, and maybe this is me being kind of not realistic, but I still don’t think of myself as being conventional in a lot of ways. I’m not a conventional porn star. I think maybe that’s the reason I’ve been able to stay in the business as long as I have been. I think there’s a lot of people out there who feel that way and identify with me. I think that’s why I’ve been able to have a career as long as I have. That and that a lot of people tell me it looks like I’m actually enjoying sex. And I do. I actually enjoy sex, and they find a lot of appeal in that. But it’s a really difficult business. It’s gone through a lot of changes. I’m really old by porn standards.

But you look better than ever. Your body is really sick now.

But I think there are a lot of people in porn who are threatened by me. I get paid less than when I started in this business. I might be the most recognizable figure, but I get paid a lot less than I did ten years ago. A lot less. Big huge companies, some of the biggest, try to lowball me on my rate. So if I have the greatest name recognition, I don’t think it translates into the things that people think it would for myself. I don’t make a lot of money. I’m very poor actually, compared to most other performers. Most other performers escort. I don’t, so I don’t make a lot of money. I encounter people sometimes who think I’m some rich millionaire. They don’t understand what this business is. There aren’t the kind of rewards that a lot of people might associate with it, personally for me. Really the reward is trying to rethink what sex is and what my job is in terms of an art practice, and that’s why I keep doing it. That’s why it’s really hurtful to me when haters come after me for trying to do something different. This is my life and I’ll do what I fuckin want to do. I try to be really positive and think about it in every kind of ethical way, and work out some of the artistic problems that are there. It’s a very difficult process. I don’t know. It’s a really weird business to be in, particularly for as long as I’ve been in it. You say, I’ll probably be here next year, but I don’t know. I’m really here because two companies in particular have been kind enough to continue to give me work. That’s how I see it. It’s hard to find where my job is empowering, because I don’t think that it actually is. In some ways, the more name recognition that I get, the more people are familiar with me, I think a lot of the more conventional gay men who don’t like what I represent emerge.

I think that’s really at the core of where the hate comes from. 

Yeah. They’re uncomfortable with me. I think they understand what it is that I represent and that makes them really uncomfortable. They can’t help but see it as an indictment against them, which it’s not really meant to be.

I think it would be a generalization to say, oh it’s WeHo or Chelsea queens, or this or that type of person, a physical type. But it’s comparable in the way that people and blogs love to get clicks by saying “Ugh hipsters!” This is hipster this or that. It’s like, you don’t even know what a hipster is! Am I a hipster because I live in Brooklyn and I try to read books and listen to new music and go see and engage with things in the cultural sphere, because I’m a filmmaker? I don’t know. Maybe I am a hipster. I just think I’m an artist. I think what they’re describing is a kind of vapid person who is only addicted to whatever they think is new and unknown or whatever Pitchfork tells them to listen to, and is only interested in trying to prove that they’re cooler than everybody else. There’s a fine line between trying to prove how cool you are and actually liking all these bands or movies or books.

Right. There’s a long history of anti-intellectualism in the United States. Part of that really dovetails with capitalism here. It’s much easier to control and exploit people who are not invested or as intellectually engaged with the world. Things that attempt to make people think about something more threatens that hegemony, that power structure. I think that’s embedded in every kind of business. You don’t want people to be smart, because then you might figure out that you’re taking advantage of them. You need people to be stupid and we’re all kind of raised in this anti-intellectual environment. Any attempt to engage people creatively, there’s a lot of resistance there that you have to work against. Particularly being in the public sphere. A lot of artists only work within the art world. And not that there isn’t a lot of tension there, but you’re kind of all speaking the same language and people respect that process. I’m in a position where I don’t think anyone in the art world necessarily respects what I do, and a lot of regular people don’t either. There are a lot of people in both of those worlds who are uncomfortable with what I’m doing.

A still from Colby Does Maryland.
A still from Colby Does Maryland.

Right. If you had a gallery show, you would not get Jerry Saltz or Roberta Smith showing up to write a serious review. You might get some of the gay establishment figures. But probably not even Klaus Bisenbach. 

And I’m not saying I deserve that, and I wouldn’t propose that I do, but I do sense that there is  a lot of animosity from both of those worlds. Although less from the art world. But as much as there might be haters out there who want to destroy me, I have a ton of really supportive, amazing, incredible human beings who are helping me. I really have to rely on people all over the country and the world to help. People donated their time and money and energy and helped me build the website and edit videos, and are participating in videos and helping me manage my email accounts. Everything that I do, there are ten people behind me helping me. That’s the really sad thing about this Instagram thing, like, there’s a couple of haters, but for all the haters there’s a lot of really excited people who are engaged by this project and are helping me out. I also want to give them credit and my main way of sharing that — like with the artist who’s photos I shared that got me banned — is through Instagram. That was the main reason I had it.

What’s the status of the Colby Does America project now?

The status of the project now is that I’ve done a little less than 30 states. I’m starting to run out of the money I raised through IndieGoGo. When I released the New York video I got more donations in. I’ll probably be able to get five or ten more states if I can stretch it. It’s difficult. I still don’t have my own vehicle. I have a friend who’s let me borrow his car for months. That’s helped me immensely. Right now I’m staying in LA for a bit. A lot of the videos are in the editing process. I have to rely on a lot of volunteers. People volunteered their editing skills. I’ve sent the footage to a person in the UK and she sends it to the editors. So it really depends when I get stuff released. I don’t have a sense of when that will be. I think several will be released soon. But there’s no deadline. I want people to have the freedom to spend as much or as little time with the footage as they want. I assume that some of them will be very traditional looking pornos. I’m on the road traveling, I don’t always have enough time to find an artist to collaborate with, so sometimes it’s just a person who’s willing to be on camera and sign a release form. I go to their house and we set up cameras and that’s the footage. So a lot of the creativity will actually come from the editors themselves. I don’t know what any of them will look like until I have the footage myself. It’s hard to say if I’ll be able to get all 50 states and Canada. Part of the idea of the project is that it was impossible, or well, it was possible, but it was also with the idea that it might not happen. I really want it to and if I can raise enough money to make it happen I definitely will. But at this point it’s still not clear.

This project is sort of like your version of Robert Frank, right?

The Americans! Yeah! In some ways I think that’s a good analogy.

What are some of the recent experiences you’ve had doing the project?

I just did a project with a friend of mine who’s car I’m borrowing, in Palm Springs. We filmed videos before. He did a little porn, we actually had worked together years ago. He’s a very close friend of mine. We were both suffering through some pretty awful breakups, two guys abandoned us both, and refused to talk to us and bring resolution to the relationships. So he has a farm in Tennessee, and I went there to finish two different projects that I was working on, including the one where I gave away all my belongings. I went back there during the first road trip I did, and we filmed some videos where we we didn’t have sex but got naked and talked about the relationships. Part of my objective with it was to be comfortable enough to cry in front of each other. We did that, we did a couple of other exercises like that. That was the footage we shot for Tennessee, then when I came here we did a few other videos in Palm Springs. One of which, we went for this long hike, then I got naked at the top of the mountain, and he laid these boulders all over my body, until it was starting to crush me, then took them off, one by one and broke them near my head.

Wow. 

It was a trust exercise. Then the next night, we gathered these really beautiful cactuses with pink needles, cut a couple of those off, and I tattooed his butt with this word from a poem, which we had been reading but nobody knew the meaning of and we had to look it up. He didn’t know what I was going to put on his body and I think it ended up being a really excruciating experience for him. Then after that we had sex. I already have a California video from a few months ago, so I’m going to maybe have this edited as the second California video or add it to the Tennessee narrative. Even though it takes place here. That was my most recent experience.

What about the psycho in the midwest you told me about?

That was really interesting. I talked to this kid and asked him if he wanted to do a video, and he said he might, and then he came over and didn’t want to do it. He was a really beautiful guy and the sex was really hot. We fucked three times. In between those sessions, we had this conversation where he revealed to me that he was a psychopath — those were his words, and the way he described his behavior, really does fit the classical definition of the psychopath. It was fascinating and some of the most intense sex I’ve — at least on this leg of the trip. He was beautiful, and he eventually let me take photos of him, but then methodically went through the thousands of photos and deleted any picture that had his face in it, which was a real shame because he was an incredibly handsome man.

Naked in a rainstorm.
Naked in a rainstorm.
You told me he described himself as a kind of manipulator?

Yeah. That’s the way he described himself. He plots out everything that he does. Every facial gesture. Where he looks, how he moves his lips, intentionally. He’s very masculine — at one point he was drinking a beer and poured it all over me and then started fucking me and it was really hot. But he tells me all these things he intentionally plots out. He intentionally lowers the register of his voice so that he can intimidate people. He has all these friends at school who he goes and has drinks with once a week so that he’s part of their group — but he actually hates their guts. It was this profound conversation. Honestly, talking about those haters, the people who are bitchy and manipulative, in some ways he was describing that behavior and being very honest about how he uses it to his advantage. I realized coming away from that experience that it was not just one of the most intense sexual experiences, but one of the most intense intellectual experiences for me on that trip. If I was going to do a video for Ohio, I had to address what happened in that room. I made a video after he left, of the room we fucked in. It seemed to me that he was revealing so much about behavioral pattern that I think is common to a lot of gay men. Unlike most gay men he was being very open and honest to what that behavior entails and how destructive it is and really owning it. I had gone through this relationship where this person was that. I think there was some mental illness problems and a lot of that involves manipulative, destructive behavior and it almost felt like I was talking to an honest version of that partner who was finally revealing the truth to me, and coming to terms with who he is. Even though it wasn’t the same person it very much felt like that. It felt like a groundbreaking moment but also one that wasn’t recoverable or easily conveyable to other people. That was a really intense moment on this trip.

You also took someone’s virginity, right?

Yes. In Louisiana I ended up meeting this really adorable kid who volunteered to lose his virginity to me. Which is also a difficult process because it was a long time ago that I lost my virginity and it’s never what you think it’s going to be. It’s usually — I wouldn’t say a bad experience — but a disappointing one.

Porn is the same way the first time around.

Oh anytime you film porn! And to lose your virginity while you film porn is an especially difficult task, and like you said I’m pretty recognizable and while there are a lot of wonderful human beings supporting me in this project, there are some people who are really mean and nasty and they’re going to say things about this kid when the video is released. I was trying to brace him for that and to make it an enjoyable experience at the same time, which was intense and I don’t think it was enjoyable for him. It really in some ways wasn’t enjoyable for me, because I knew that he wasn’t having a good time. But I knew all those things would happen before we actually started the video and so it was really tricky. Then I felt like, in some ways this is really great, to really show what sex is, you know what I mean? There’s these expectations and oftentimes those expectations aren’t met, and you’re attempting something else and our expectations are never really met. There’s really probably no moment in our sexual history that’s more explicitly that then when we lose our virginity. It was really beautiful to me to in the moment. He had a really hard time — he basically could not get an erection if I was touching him or anywhere near him, which was hard for me because I don’t want to rape this poor kid who just turned 18 years old. I kept trying to tell him, you don’t have to do this, we can stop. He was very persistent. But it was challenging for both of us in that moment. At one point I basically told him, basically “I think you’ve done a really good job, my dick was inside you, we don’t need to do any more. You can just relax and we don’t need to think about even cumming. Let’s just have this experience be what it is, and turn off the cameras and relax a little bit.” Then I realized that was probably a horrible thing to say because he became really insecure about not being able to get me off. At the time I was like, in some ways it was exactly what I expected but not what he expected.

I think so much of what you’re describing is the gay male sexual experience distilled in so many ways. Two people with differing expectations of what the experience will be like — oftentimes informed by porn — and when it goes well they are both surprised and enjoy whatever the other person puts into it, but when it doesn’t go well it’s this painful thing of cognitive dissonance on both sides. 

Right. It’s difficult to be honest in that moment. To say, “Hey you know this maybe isn’t what we both expected so it’s okay to stop it now.”

It seems like you’re being very conscious about what this project is. I don’t get the sense that — and this is a hater comment — that you’re delusional, that you think you’re going to be an artist but you’re just a porn star plain and simple. But nothing about what you’re describing about it sounds delusional or your expectations are wrong. You’re engaging with this in the same way any artist would. Whether or not the end results appeal to people remains to be seen. But they’re not supposed to.

Yeah. And I mean, the thing is, if people don’t think I’m an artist, don’t call me one. You know what I mean? (laughs) You don’t have to think of what I do as art if you don’t think that it is. But it’s important for me to structure what I’m doing as an artistic practice. Like the thing about this video with the virgin, is that I really wanted him to understand that the video won’t resemble a porno in any way. I don’t know if you could watch it and jack off. But I think it was a profound experience for both of us. I think an audience, if they looked at it with that understanding could gain some kind of insight, I hope.  That was my hope in doing it — to reveal what that moment is really like for people. As you said, the cognitive dissonance that happens between people when they have sex and their expectations aren’t quite met. That’s not something that I think traditional porn really affords you the ability to convey. But that’s oftentimes what sex is. I’m really more interested in what the reality of sex is, which is hard to cover. Anytime you turn on the camera, people are going to behave differently than they might otherwise. That’s the classical problem with documentary film.

Which is what things like direct cinema and people like Werner Herzog tried to acknowledge and address, that cinema verité was not what it claimed to be.

I remember several months ago with this particular partner that I was with. He was really excited about doing this project that purported to be something other than porn, that claimed to be capturing real-life sex. I had a problem with that. It was for a website I don’t want to name. We did it together, and because I was in love with him, I really wanted to support him and support this project. He wanted to do this project after he had broken up with me, and I was still in love with him. It felt like this horrible betrayal. I wanted to say to him, this really hurts me because you know I can’t say no to you and this is a site that you’re saying is not porn because somehow what I do in porn is bad and wrong and yet you’re wanting to exploit my love for you in order to make money off a sex video that we would make together. It’s essentially what he did. They were very insistent that it be real sex on film, but I was like, it might be real sex, but it is closer to what happens in porn than what really happens when a camera isn’t present. When I said that he would get so angry at me. But you have to consider the camera. The behaviors when a camera is on is different. It’s a type of reality that involves a camera.

Do you give any thought to how you’re going to survive after this project is done? What do you want to do afterwards?

My main objective has always been to be able to give myself enough money and time to be able to continue to practice art in some capacity. Whatever that might be, and what I realized is that the only way I was going to successfully be able to do that was to incorporate what I do professionally. To fold it into my practice and address it head on. Can I be an artist who’s a porn star and not address sex and porn? I don’t know if that would be honest, really. So this project is a part of that. I would like to continue making work that kind of speaks to the present moment that I have to experience as a person. So it’s hard to say. I don’t know. I’ve never been one to really plan my future out, because when I have done that, things have never happened the way that I thought they would. I really want to be open to whatever kind of experiences come my way. I found that it’s not productive for me to think in terms of a future but to think instead about how I can best understand the present. I don’t know how long this project will take. It could end tomorrow, or it could last for a couple of years. Hopefully I can still make money somehow. I’d like to continue to make money in this business if I can. Porn has been good to me in that respect. It doesn’t give me a lot of money, but it has given me a lot of free time to think about my art and that’s something I really appreciate. Finding another job like that, if I have to, might be a little challenging. There’s no easy answer there. The other thing is I’ve been a porn star for 10 years, and a pretty recognizable one, so what would I be able to do, you know what I mean? To make money. That’s not exactly clear.

One last question, I remember the picture of you from Scum Bag Fag Mag, where you have no beard and short hair. Remember that? And I thought you were so hot, and I mean, you’re really hot now and your body’s really great, but will you ever go back to non-beardy-ness?

I mean, every time I shoot with CockyBoys, they pretty much ask me to shave my beard off.

You look so cute without a beard!

It’s funny you say that because I did this video today which I wasn’t expecting to do, with this kid, who has this beautiful, giant, gorgeous dick, and I was sucking him off in his car, and videoing it and I looked at the video and was like, “Oh man, I need to shave,” because it does not look hot. It was just like this bird’s nest swallowing his dick. I think it would behoove me to trim up a little bit and shave every once in a while.

That’s just the Jewish mother in me. 

Ha. It’s funny I think there are camps. There are people who definitely don’t want me to shave, and then there are people who hate the beard and want me to shave. I try to give both when I can. I have very sensitive skin and sometimes when I shave I break out really bad. That’s really the reason why I have a beard. Also because it’s fun to play with. It doesn’t always look the best on me. I will admit that. [laughs]

 
 

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Adam Baran is a filmmaker, blogger, former online editor of Butt Magazine and co-curator of Queer/Art/Film. His short film JACKPOT, about a porn-hunting gay teen, won Best Short Film at the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, and was recently featured on The Huffington Post, Queerty, and Towleroad, among others. He is a features programmer at Outfest Los Angeles LGBT Film Festival and NewFest in New York. In his spare time, he complains about things to his friends. “Fisting for Compliments”, his weekly musings about the intersection of sex, art, porn, and history, will appear every Monday on TheSword. You can contact him at Adam@TheSword.com and follow him on Twitter at @ABaran999. Check out his previous columns in the Fisting For Compliments Archive.

60 thoughts on “Colby Keller Talks About Fucking Psychopaths, His Cross-Country Project, and Being An Unconventional Porn Star”

  1. Julio César Flores Ramírez

    Who deviant takes seriously Colby Keller, Jake Bass, Kevin Warhol or Johnny Rapid? They’re fucking trash, low class and prostitutes that occupate the last place on the social pyramid. Come on!

      1. for real though. Like why bother knowing who they are if you don’t like what they do. Who goes out of their way to know porn star names, unless they watch gay porn.

  2. Chandler in Las Vegas

    I have had some limited email convos with Colby and I find him genuine, artistic and intellectual. What I also appreciate is that he is not a waxed power bottom twink. He is a powerful man who is versatile, older and, on occasion, furry. If you do not like him, move on. But do not denigrate him for whom he is. Not everyone likes Lapsang Souchong but you cannot blame the tea; à chacun son goût.

  3. He said/wrote in his blog that he doesn’t prostitutes himself because as a prostitute he’ll face a relationship of employee and boss and as a porn performer he works with other ‘ hired ‘ man ( or men )in a more balanced situation. He added that he observed how much prostitution affected a person life ( those who do it ). Reading this I must ask: How much doing porn affected him to lead him to this mix of porn, his own life ( envolving other lives… ) and his aspirations to make ” art ” in the same continuum of debauched pervertion ( So ‘ artsy ‘!)? This article shows me that what society rejects places those who insist on it on the edge and unfortunely those always came as deranged minded ones. Porn and prostitution aren’t for good and fair people ( Those don’t do such things ). Besides there’s much better things in life for a grown man to do instead of this sick shit.

    1. fair criticism, but these interviews have always been intended to be long reads. i’m not into short interviews with 3 line answers, or interviews which read like emailed interviews. and to be honest, I do edit these down from the originals. sorry you’re sleepy after reading. everyone else seems to be into it.

      1. I really enjoy the in depth interviews, I like the long answers. I like how this column treats it’s readers like actual intelligent human beings. The long form lets us, the readers in on the thought process and inner workings of these interview subjects. If they were just spitting the same 3 line canned answers it could be any other interview anywhere else. “what do you think of Condoms?”, “Do you have friends in the industry?” “How did you get into porn?”. I like the way Adam probes for more nuanced answers and ideas from his subjects.

        Again this is a column to get to the deeper story (Hell he has “fisting” in the title of his columnn! let’s hope it’s deeper) behind these guys that live what could be called extreme lives. Short form wouldn’t do justice to them as performers etc or to us as readers.

  4. Okay, I’ll be less subtle:

    What black performers has Colby Keller filmed with? I cannot find them, or even a mention of them.

  5. I mostly loved all this interviews but this is my favorite one without a doubt. could be because i was already a colby fan but now i’m even a bigger one.

    I like how smart he seems to be and that he is really trying to give something new to the porn world with this project. Also the way he appreciate his fans is precious for me.

    I can’t wait to see more of his videos :).

  6. I like this guy he seems intelligent.. I also love his body and his taller than me. My only request he should shaved that beard it hides his beauty.

  7. Can we retitle this article “Colby Keller Cannot Get The Fuck Over Dale Cooper. Oh, And He Does Some Pseudo-Art Stuff?” Seriously, how many allusions to one person can you make in the span of 1 article?!?!

    1. “it might be real sex, but it is closer to what happens in porn than what really happens when a camera isn’t present. When I said that he would get so angry at me. But you have to consider the camera. The behaviors when a camera is on is different. It’s a type of reality that involves a camera.”

      By this logic alone, Colby is assuming behaviors on camera are inauthentic. This would extend to any of Colby’s artistic efforts. He seems to cherry pick the issues of what makes porn inauthentic in that instance, versus his own use of a camera to depict “art.” What is the point of this statement? – It seemed to direct insults to the participants of the video without trying to be a dick about it, and if that is the case, then don’t say anything.

      His work seems more for the sake of attention grabbing rather than conversing with the audience. Therefore, according to his own standard, it is pretentious.

  8. I’ve been aware of Colby Keller for a while, but my brain kind of greyed out when I say “Colby Keller and Black Guys.”

    I need to get some subscriptions and watch some Colby Keller videos. I need to find out which ones.

  9. A really great interview. I admire Colby Keller and his courage to jump into the unknown and uncertainty to explore and experience.

    Haters will hate no matter what. The attention to them will wear the strongest down sooner or later.

    I wish Colby Keller and his creative venture only the best of luck.

  10. Some of the above comments go a long way to demonstrate the anti-intellectual results here in the USA.

    I say, good for you Colby. Go for it boy. Glad to read you are persevering to get your project finished.

    You exude two of my most favorite turn on…..curiosity and expression.

    I look forward to seeing some of your adventures.

    1. Agreed! Conventionality isnt a word I’d expect from the gay community but then again once the radicals pave the way, the conventional fill in the gaps.

  11. Another home run interview. I really like hearing about the relationships that these guys have off camera and what their life is like when they are with someone else from their own perspective. I have watched off and on throughout the years and have never found him more fascinating than he is now. Hearing about his travels and his trek across the u.s. and his exploits. I will say that he has done some really hot work with the cockyboy cast and that latest Bcalla stuff whether it was a fashion piece or a porn scene it was flat out hot!
    I also just looked up the scum bag fag photo and he looks much better this way…even without the beard fuzzy is a good look for him, but those pics he looked Jeffrey Dahmer creepy!

    I keep loving these interviews and who you get to talk to. I hope that you get more guys who have left the business for personal or professional reasons and maybe catch up and see where they are now. Those blast from the past, catch up with so and so..I always find so intriguing.

  12. Great interview! I wonder if he actually has heard of CAFE FLESH, though. And I wondered where his FB went. my appetite is suitably whetted for “Colby Does America”.

  13. If you can’t take the criticism from making these public disclosures, then don’t bother with them at all.

    Reading this post is insufferable, a few notes why:

    The subtle digs thrown at Dale Cooper in this interview. I remember the week Colby was on Randy Blue cam, he acted like a douchebag when questions were asked about dale and his status. Clearly this dude is bitter at Dale because of what happened. Dale ditched him. Good for Dale, he doesn’t need to publicly trash talk his ex.

    Haters give a shit about the object the despise. I don’t care about colby, but when the porn world force feeds his antics via porn blogs I have to roll my eyes and say something.

    Colby, for all his grandstanding, is the epidemy of anti-intellectualism.

  14. It’s fascinating how so many people feel the need to express negative opinions of others who seem to be happy skipping along in their lane. I’ve always enjoyed Colby, going back to his Sean Cody days, but there are plenty of other porn starts that I place on the other side of that spectrum and don’t enjoy at all…I don’t take time to read articles or watch videos of theirs to then negatively comment–I’m happy letting them exist without my judgement and I wish others were as comfortable doing the same.

  15. I don’t get why people are being so catty about Colby. He’s damn hot, damn smart and he’s actually doing something different. How often do we complain that porn is just the same thing over and over? This is different, it’s interesting. Is he trying to be artsy? Sure, undoubtedly, but what’s the problem with that? What’s the problem with trying something new and creative? It’s different, it’s interesting and it’s actually got some thought in it. Maybe that’s what scares everyone, the fact that someone actually put thought into what they were doing shocks people. I’d rather someone put some thought into a weird creative arts thing than just… you know, fuck the same twink they fucked 4 months ago, the internet is pretty full of that stuff so maybe something a little different would be a nice change. And if you don’t like it, instead of being bitchy betty’s, maybe just don’t click on the damn link

  16. You know, I like Colby Keller all in all. But this whole interview was just so much riding Colby Keller’s dick and feeding him exactly what he (probably) wants to hear; what was the point?

    Also, it wasn’t that that “art” piece he just did was pretentious or too hipster; it was just bad and a gross misstep. Accept your failure and move on. Don’t keep trying to defend the fucking shoe.

  17. Although I do recognize that I drink an immense amount of haterade from my platinum chalice of shade, I am glad that Colby seems to have a sense of where he stands in the world and again he seems like a smart enough guy and earnest in his pursuit of his art. I do have issue with the idea of “anti-intellectualism” as the impetus of hipster hate. On the contrary it’s the success of all those who drove technology and innovation who are now what people look up to and although tech geeks and tech bro’s are definitely not hipsters the idea of the power of intelligence is clear and so the hipsters just made nerd culture cool.

    The problem lies in the fact that now it’s gotten to the point that those that should have lacrosse sticks and date rape drugs at the ready have put on knit beanies and grown major facial hair but are still the roofie toting, douche bro schmo’s that they would have been, now they just hide behind the proper accoutrements so no one suspects. So to people who are (or at least try in earnest) to be “intellectual” these hipster poseurs just ruin it for them. So the hate against hipsters isn’t about intellectualism being looked down upon, it’s about it being so highly looked upon that people who would (and should) have nothing to do with it are involved and interested because it’s considered cool etc. (you both did an excellent job in describing the stereotype of the hipster).

    Although when Adam asked him what he was up to his response reminded me of the Drew Droege parody of Chloe Sevigny. Now if Colby Did a parody of the Drew Droege Parody (same type of pacing, background etc) playing himself “Colby Keller” I’d probably gag (not to death though as I wouldn’t give the world the satisfaction).

    Also Colby can always marry some rich guy and live off him and have go fund me’s for his art and be a lady of leisure. He’s a good looking guy with a great bod and good hair. He should have no issue. Best of Luck to Colby

  18. Colby’s always a good time. Smart, sassy, and hot as hell. Thanks for the insight, both of you. And, yeah, the BCALLA video got me really hard, Colby. Next time you’re in Tennessee…don’t forget my Scruff offer!

  19. Wow, I was wondering what this guy was up to. Great read once again Adam! I don’t think I would “enjoy” the pooping nor vomiting in a bucket scene either… But good luck!

  20. “Right. There’s a long history of anti-intellectualism in the United States. Part of that really dovetails with capitalism here. It’s much easier to control and exploit people who are not invested or as intellectually engaged with the world. Things that attempt to make people think about something more threatens that hegemony, that power structure. I think that’s embedded in every kind of business. You don’t want people to be smart, because then you might figure out that you’re taking advantage of them. You need people to be stupid and we’re all kind of raised in this anti-intellectual environment. Any attempt to engage people creatively, there’s a lot of resistance there that you have to work against. Particularly being in the public sphere. A lot of artists only work within the art world. And not that there isn’t a lot of tension there, but you’re kind of all speaking the same language and people respect that process.”

    I’m so turned on by this. He could whisper these thoughts in my ear and i would cum.

    1. I’m sorry! That comment was unfair. The author probably doesn’t have children or pets, or has never had to care for someone really ill. Shit and vomit is just part of life… anyway – thanks for the interview and giving us some insight into a porn performer.

      1. ummmm. fer real tho? yeah i don’t have children or pets (allergic to both) and thankfully i have not had to care for someone really ill yet. but voluntarily putting myself in a room with people shitting and puking for hours to get high is not my idea of a good time. Call me crazy!

        1. Ayahuasca is not about having a good time. If you have a good one great! If not, that’s okay too because the point is to learn, explore and maybe even heal. Ayahuasca is medicine not a toy.

  21. Sigh! If only he were sexy or attractive this would all be in a different light. Porn is third-person, visual media and Colby seems to have no sense or interest in what people find appealing.

      1. Totally agree–he was destined to be a star from his first Sean Cody video and has fulfilled every single one of my porn expectations of him, but he could use a beard trim. I found his scenes with Josh Gingerson for Joe Gage to be the ones that define him best, and probably that was because Josh is also an artist (and a very good one), and they are similar in size and ginger-ness! I remember him blogging that they spent a bit of time together, and I wonder if Josh is ever going to return to porn.

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