Exclusive: Mason Wyler’s Post-HIV Return To Porn

mason-thumbMason Wyler talks exclusively to The Sword about his future in porn, the only way to really prevent HIV, and why there’s no such thing as safe sex.

He was arguably one of the most prolific, popular, and controversial young performers for over five years, but when a gay porn gossip blog published that he was HIV-positive last August, Mason Wyler became more known for the last thing audiences want to think about while watching porn: HIV. He’s unwittingly become the poster child for HIV in the adult industry, the go-to “example” in mainstream news stories that tackle the debate over mandatory condom usage in porn, the slutty scapegoat for safe sex zealots looking to blame someone for the spread of HIV, and the hero to fans and co-stars who don’t see his status as detrimental to his physical appeal in any way. So, Mason Wyler still is arguably one of the most prolific, popular and controversial young performers today. His first post-HIV scene came out last week, and in an exclusive interview below, Mason talks about going bareback, condoms and HIV in porn, and how his life has changed since last August.

The Sword: Before I ask you about your new scene, what happened with your contract at Next Door Studios and your membership site?
Mason Wyler: They’re going to re-write it so that I can work with other studios. I’ll still do my live shows for my site. Three per week.

Do you get paid a salary in your contract? That’s a sort of financial security then, considering the nature of being a free agent and having to book individual scenes with other studios.
Yeah, I get paid weekly, and I get a bonus for every new member that joins. If I wanted to do more than three shows per week and if I tried to get people to go into private chats there’d be more, but the three weekly shows are enough.

masonbb1And how did the work with Dark Alley come about?
I’ve been talking to [Dark Alley producer/performer] Owen Hawk off and on for a while, and out of all the offers I was getting from the bareback studios, he offered the best deal all around. I felt like his studio was higher quality, and his productions were higher quality than the others. Another offer involved a gangbang where everyone just fucks me and dumps their cum in me. But I didn’t want that. It’s like, I’m not gonna put a blindfold on and just lay there. To me, that’s just not good porn. That’s not attractive. And contrary to belief, bareback pays way less than mainsteam porn. I don’t know where people get the idea that bareback pays more. All the offers I was getting were like $300 a scene, and I was like, really? That’s almost more in line with amateur twink porn.

Having done a bareback scene now, is that the side of the industry where you’re going to stay, or would you still like to do mainstream porn?
I’m open to doing either bareback or condom. I contacted all the mainstream studios but didn’t hear back from them. Now, I’m not going to pin that solely on my status being made public, because I also think I might have kind of run my course. I mean, I’ve been at this for six years, I’ve worked with too many studios to count, and this is a business where exclusivity is coveted. And even before the HIV, I was making headlines for the worst things.

Right. People have had opinions of you for years. Mostly from topics you covered on your blog.
Yeah, like when I wrote that thing about Zane from Chaos Men, and people assumed that I was some sort of drug addict and all I did was party. That I was a circuit boy addicted to meth. I don’t have a problem with people doing drugs, but it’s not something I do, other than marijuana, and I don’t see marijuana as a drug.

mason22

I take it you’re still with your boyfriend, Marcus, whom you’ve had an open relationship with. Are you still sexually active with other guys?
I’m still with Marcus, but sex with other guys isn’t as active as it used to be. I live in a suburb of Houston, and there are no gay people here. When I travel, I can usually find people. The good thing is that sex is more enjoyable now because it happens less frequently.

Do you disclose your status to them?
Always, yes. It’s funny though. I go on hookup sites like Grindr and make it as obvious as I can. I write things like “positively positive man looking for another positive man for a positive time,” and people don’t get it! They think I’m being funny or something and don’t comprehend the use of the word “positive.”

Is the sex only with other positive guys?
My options are limited now. In porn there are some models who are negative who are OK with working with someone who is positive, but in real life, the negative people are like, “You’re really hot, but I don’t feel comfortable with it.”

In porn, does it make a difference to you if you work with a negative or a positive performer?
I’ve gotten feedback from other models who’ve shown that they wanted to work with me in the past, but now they’re too nervous. It’s understandable. And that fear actually turns me off. If I work with someone who’s negative, it’s in the back of my head that I could infect them, so I’d rather work with people who are positive. The point is though, you don’t know other people’s statuses. The rule is to assume that everyone is positive even if they say they’re negative, but if I’m with someone who says that they’re negative, I automatically assume that they really are negative, because I don’t want to infect them.

Is there such a thing as safe sex?
Absolutely not. No. There is no way to be 100% safe. Even having everyone tested and sorting people, there are still flaws because the tests don’t give instant results. What if you got tested and went on some bareback rampage the day before you went and did your shoot? That’s why there’s no point in policing or regulating the safety precautions in porn. I mean, yes, there are ways to miniminze the risks and everything should be done to keep people safe, but there’s always risks.

Whose job is it to keep people safe though? The government’s? The studios’? The performers’?
It’s a little of everybody, I guess. It’s up to the studios to protect the models to a certain degree, but we’re all adults. We know the risks. And that goes for the people watching porn, too. They’re adults who should know the risks. I don’t think it’s the porn industry’s place to educate the community. If a porn model wants to take the extra step to do something educational, that’s great. But I don’t think it’s our responsibility. It’s like violent movies. It’s not Hollywood’s job to teach right from wrong. It’s entertainment.

The debate over condoms in porn and barebacking and everything else–it’s not going to stop is it?
I doubt it. Look, the only solution, the only real solution in stopping HIV would be a police state where everyone would be tested every week. Everyone would have to be quarantined. Negative people would not be allowed to be with positive people in any way. Or, someone could find a cure.

We actually keep hearing that a cure is not too far off. Are you on any medication now?
No. Right now I’m not, because according to my doctor my viral load is low to undetectable. We monitor it once a month, and once the viral load gets to a certain point, or once my T-cells drop to a certain amount, that’s when I have to go on medicine.

That has to be kind of nerve wracking, not knowing when or if things will change?
Not really. Before I found out the specifics of my viral load and my T-cells, I was sure that I already had AIDS because I’m such a pessimist. Then after I went to the doctor and the first few blood counts came back, he told me my T-cells were way above average. I stopped worrying about it and just got into the routine of getting my blood drawn every month. And I live a pretty healthy, lazy lifestyle, so I’m hoping to stay healthy for quite some time.

Do you have health insurance through Next Door or is it your own?
I have my own, but it doesn’t cover all that much. I found my HIV doctor on my own and I pay for most everything myself.

mason11

After everything that’s happened, I don’t get the sense that you want people to feel sorry for you at all.
I don’t want that. I take personal responsibility for everything. And I think it’s kind of bitter sweet. It’s flattering that the things that happen in my life get blown out of proportion and get written about on different websites and blogs and in magazines. And at the same time it’s annoying. They use my story and my face to promote news stories that aren’t even about me, but rather about safe sex or HIV or the industry as a whole.

You’re the poster child.
It’s kinda weird, and it kinda sucks. Whenever I venture to go out and meet gay people or go to gay events, I don’t know if people know who I am, and if they do, do they know everything that’s been written about me? I don’t know if they know my status off the bat, so I don’t know how to approach people. But let’s be honest, it’s not like I ever really knew how to approach people before.

But you seem happy and almost content. Are you?
Happy? I don’t know. It ebbs and flows. This sounds pathetic, but I just really love making porn. That makes me happy. I don’t have any desire to do anything else with my time. The one thing I do know is that I’ll never get to that point where I’ll do absolutely anything to be in porn, like being blindfolded and gangbanged. That’s just not me, despite what you might have read.

Like things you’ve written about yourself on your blog? People shouldn’t believe everything they read there?
I find it annoying when people assume that they know who I am or what I do in my life. And everybody has something to say. That I’m ugly, a racist, a liar, stupid, slutty. But it doesn’t bother me. It’s great that people have such strong opinions of me. That’s part of the job. It’s part of my job to create this character that I play. Last week, I actually took down all the posts on my blog and was toying with the idea of creating a new character. It was going to be as if I cleaned myself up and became this sort of goodie two shoes, that I became devoted to Jesus Christ. But I don’t think that’s gonna work. I don’t think I can pull that off.

[Mason Wyler on NakedSword; Mason Wyler’s personal blog; Mason Wyler’s membership site.]

22 thoughts on “Exclusive: Mason Wyler’s Post-HIV Return To Porn”

  1. MASON:

    Me encantó la entrevista.

    Eres un hombre valiente, realista y… muy sexy.

    A mí, como a tí, me encanta la pornografía y, sobre todo, tus películas. Ojalá que sigas llevando tu vida con libertad y sigas haciendo lo que te gusta. Nosotros te disfrutamos.

    ¡Animo! La vida sigue.

    Ojalá pronto encuentres más cosas en las que puedas ocuparte y ocupar tu tiempo libre… Sin olvidar jamás el porno!

    Te amo.

    David

  2. I find it both terrifying and humourous how Americans love to pontificate about any topic, but safe sex and hiv really take the cake. As in your politics, your obesity epidemic, your environmental record there seems to only ever be two extremes with so very little in the happy median. We have these self indulgent moralisers who attempt to make everyone who is positive feel like scum – including myself whose only transgression was a condom breaking once whilst I was topping. Then the liberal, free love, 100 load in my ass, do what you want guys. The fact is hiv is a serious illness that is no longer the automatic death sentence – it does burdern society’s coffers as well as individuals with its repercussions. In fact most of human behaviour falls into that category…anything that is fun is more or less damaging – other than meditation. However it is also natural to want to feel raw natural sex and to give or receive semen. There are so many guys I meet who see a hot bod and a sexy guy and think he can’t be positive, let’s fuck …and they usually want it raw. I tend to serosort anyway but why should all the pain and fear of disclosure and rejection be put onto me? Why is the onus on me to protect you and your health?

    We all make decisions and we can not always be informed about the choices, but we can partake in risk minimisation – if we really want to. If I had my time again, I would not have casual sex. So that one night stand, where the condom broke …well would never have happened. Do I sit here and blame the guy – NO. I decided to sleep with someone I did not know. I decided to put on one condom on only instead of two. I decided – I …. took responsibility.

    And to those guys who reject positive guys…it does really hurt…you can feel so ugly no matter how beautiful you look…but I understand you want to protect yourself…even if you arent worried about catching hiv, having a boyfriend with it can really test a relationship…but please don’t think just becuase someone says they are negative you can believe them. Many don’t know they are positive. Some don’t care to know. Abstinence is your only salvation. Oh and putting “clean UB2″on a profile not only doesnt protect you, but it is just nasty. Vilifying people only causes for more of them to go underground…to not seek help and help fuel further infection.

    oh….Owen, I’d love a shag when in nyc. :)

  3. If two already positive people wish to have sex it is their choice. Having already gotten the bug they are free to take risk with one another. Even if they create new strains of HIV and pass it other HIV partners it is still OK. Only “harm” they are committing is to each other.

    I use condoms for random acts of sex and am constantly changing the condom ever 15 mins and don’t have bareback sex with openly positive people.

    Once I date and me and my partner get tested, we can decide to stop using condoms if we like. Is it risky? Yes because many people have gotten HIV from their boyfriends but again if I am not having any sex with other and neither is he then there should be no risk. It exist if he cheats and barebacks but again, I am an adult and have accepted that reality. If not, I should be using condoms.

    If HIV people CHOOSE to bareback and get more STDs and die then GOOD FOR THEM!!! Same goes to people who refuse to diet, stop smoking, drinking, or taking drugs.

  4. I wish him the best of luck and love in his life–it’s a shame he couldn’t find something more creative or meaningful to accomplish in life besides porn, but to each his own.

  5. ” there are ways to miniminze the risks and everything should be done to keep people safe” – yet he’s willingly endangering people by having bareback sex, because he likes it. Those who aren’t POZ will become so, and those who are risk being infected by a different strain of the disease.

    But at least you asked him about that … oh wait, you didn’t. Since when is the Sword about sucking up to porn stars?

    1. Who is he willingly endangering? He said he doesn’t like to be with negative people cause he’s afraid of infecting them. Then, the interviewer asked him if he disclosed his status to his partners, and he said “always.” Do you even know how to read?

  6. It has always amaze me how the smartest people got into trouble because of sex.
    The smart president with the intern. The smartest girl from college is the first to got pregnant… and very smart gay guys who cant control moments of passion.

  7. Above all else, Mason accepts responsibility for his actions (and the consequences) and doesn’t run around trying to blame anyone else. Hats off to you mate!

  8. You know who I would like you to interview? Owen Hawk. I have been fascinated by how, since he turned to the “dark side”, he has been not attacked but just completely ignored. TIM or Mason Wyler are attacked and talked about but Dark Alley Media is never mentioned. And yet Owen Hawk used to be big in mainstream porn… Clearly his status as an absolute pariah is a sign of how unexpectedly disappointed the people that made him big are with him but now that he is not only doing bareback but bareback with HIV+ models (which means he is either poz himself or deeply perturbed), it would be interesting to hear his side of the story and what is motivating him. His transformation is the most shocking of all the porn stars I have observed, I have to say. Mason’s story is sad and clearly I wish him the best but his image wasn’t as clean-cut as Hawk’s – and he still has his defenders which Dark Alley doesn’t seem to have.

    1. Owen Hawk is Positive and openly admits it… Check out his Manhunt profile where his status is clearly listed… I think Owen is just smarter about things he only works with positive performers and doesn’t over glorify things like TIM does. Dark Alley has always been pretty quiet in the industry so I think that’s helped him a lot. I am all for mandatory condom use in porn along with mandatory testing and I agree with Mason that the performers, studio’s, and governments should work together to minimize the risks. We all as a community need to do something about this as HIV numbers continue to rise and bareback movies grow in popularity.

      1. Well, first saying it on your Manhunt profile is not exactly publicizing it in the sense I meant. I closely follow porn news from the mainstream porn blogs and forums and this is the first I hear of it. What insiders know is not what the rest of us porn aficionados know. Now it becomes more interesting though. Is his status the reason he went from uberpopular-with-every-studio twink to filthy porn producer? Did his seroconversion precede or follow his disappearance from mainstream porn? Is his story similar to Mason’s or did his bareback work lead to his status? All the more reasons to be interested.
        And I am not sure Dark Alley’s low profile is as much by choice as you seem to think. I am still convinced there is an interesting story there. But admittedly I don’t know and my point is and I have never ever seen anybody try to explain it to those not in the know.

        1. Don’t talk to me like I’m stupid… Firstly MH is a pretty public place his profile is listed in the New York area it’s now 3:30am in the Eastern time zone and there are 25 pages of guys listed online in that area. So generally speaking there are approximately 100 or so guys in that area logged into the website. Secondly his screen name is Owenhawk and the pics are in fact him. There’s an interview the Sword did with him in 2009 where he talks about hooking up online he was asked “TS: What are some phrases that grab your attention? OH: Keywords like whore, slut, raw and anonymous.” the question about his status was never asked but one can only assume if he wasn’t then it was only a matter of time. I’ll post the link at the bottom so you can read the entire interview where he openly states his screen name and previous experiences which lead me to believe his withdraw from mainstream porn was probably not linked to the change in his status and probably more of a desire to do things his way. Who’s to say he wasn’t already infected when he was doing mainstream porn. My point was that one only needed to do a small amount of research to find out his status.

          I also remember reading something from Owen and his then Boyfriend and current business partner Matthias Von Fistenberg and their condom policy. By no means is Dark Alley off the radar there have been plenty of stories about them in the Porn Media I’m just saying their attitude towards promoting unsafe sex is a lot different than TIM’s who are very flamboyant. Here’s a line from TIM’s movie “Breeding Ian Jay” “Ian asked for a weekend initiation to make him ‘One of us’ we started with a warm up load from gentle Dan Frisk” I mean that’s a pretty loaded statement (pun not intended) I don’t see the same types of statements being used in Dark Alley’s work. The difference between Owen, TIM, and delusional people like Jeff Palmer (who denies the existence of the virus) is that TIM, Jeff Palmer and others like them are actively promoting the infection of others, encouraging others to risk their health and glamorize being HIV like it’s something fun and jovial while Owen simply produces a product and maintains a relatively low profile, is generally not as out spoken on the issue and presumably only works with models who are in fact already infected.

          1. Hi,

            I generally choose not to engage in public discussions that would compromise the confidentiality of my private medical information or anyone who chooses to work for me. I also do not participate in public discussions around barebacking in porn because they are always toxic, no one listening to each other, and never getting anywhere. It is equally futile and pointless to try and convince someone who is pro-life to support Abortion rights. We have to accept that in our culture differing attitudes towards certain moral/ethical concerns co-exist, and while we might be 100% convinced of our own righteousness, so are those who disagree with you.

            If you want to know my attitude to barebacking in porn it boils down to this: Do I have a responsibility to the general public to promote safer-sex? No. Do I have a responsibility to models who work for me to provide them a working environment in which they are informed and comfortable with the risks and conditions? Absolutely.

            Furthermore, one of the best forms of prevention is for people who are positive to get tested and get care. HIV + guys who know they are + are something like 95% less likley to transmit HIV to a partner. One of the biggest barriers to people testing is fear of social isolation and sexual rejection. The more that we normalize being HIV +, the more that we enable more + guys to come forward, get tested, get care, and reduce risk of transmission to new partners. This is a goal not achieved by continuing to spread messages of fear, hate,and censorship intended to manipulate men into compliance with unrealistic expectations, like 100% condom use.

          1. Certainly don’t know where you got the impression I was talking to you as if you were stupid. I just don’t equate “open on his manhunt account” with being publicly known to be HIV+ by the whole world. And I get your point there could have been hints. But I didn’t know and I am sure many don’t – and it doesn’t matter!!!!!
            I understand your perspective on why Dark Alley is more low-profile. I guess you must be right.

    2. ..You’re shocked @ any porn actor turning to bareback porn after running their course @ condom studios..funny thing is i can name a few just as big as him.recently ANTONIO BIAGGI (think that’s how his name is spelt)…seems like a natural progression to me.. after u’ve been over exposed etc etc..not to mention 90% of these dudes are positive anyways…but who am i to judge you nieve stans..LoL

      1. I speak to models all the time who want nothing more than to make BB porn but they don’t want to lose their mainstream careers. But when the phone stops ringing from the CA companies, which inevitably happens, they feel empowered to do what they have wanted to do all along. Blacklisting performers who do Bareback porn is all about protecting market share by keeping control over new talent, because when a performer is new that is when interest in them is highest on the market.

    3. I appreciate your interest, however I choose to keep my privacy because I have no desire to expose my life story to the hate and vile that inevitably will be puked all over it by people who have created a grotesque caricature of who I am, failing to understand that this Pariah they have assigned to me is in fact an imaginary creation of their own fear, hate, and judgment.

      1. I appreciate your taking the time to participate in this thread tremendously. I am surprised but impressed and bit excited :) Hopefully one day all that will be a thing of the past and we can hear the whole story. Thanks very much anyway and all the best to you.

  9. Mason-

    Kudos! You are upbeat, great spirit, positive attitude, responsible…..and you remain adorable,approachable, humble…and damn sexy!

    Ty

    1. yes, he is a an HIV+ man doing bareback porn…that’s like the peak of responsibility and moral behavior. You really cannot get any more responsible that this. He’s a hero!

      PS: ^sarcasm

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