LOS ANGELES — When his name was announced toward the end of the evening, Max Konnor—his friends by his side—released an eruption of joy and surprise from his New York home. Covering his face in his hands, the industry veteran could barely contain the wide smile after being named Performer of the Year at the 2022 GayVN Awards presented by Chaturbate.
“Oh my God, this is not happening!” he said after composing himself. “Thank you to everybody that’s been supporting me since the fucking beginning. You guys are amazing—I love all of you. Continue to shine. To everybody else that is nominated, you are all Performers of the Year. I love every single last one of y’all.”
Konnor entered the industry over a decade ago before taking a step away to focus on other passions before returning better—and busier—than ever in 2018, eventually signing as a Falcon|NakedSword exclusive just over a year ago. The multi-talented performer continues to have a presence in mainstream entertainment, has his own boutique talent management company, expanded his directing credentials last year, and has developed an award-winning cam presence (having won the GayVN Award for Favorite Cam Guy last year).
Through it all, Konnor has continued to inspire his fellow performers, including 2021 GayVN Performer of the Year DeAngelo Jackson—who shared the honor with Konnor during his acceptance speech last year. But Jackson doesn’t have to share anymore, as Konnor—who continued his “thanks yous” on social media shortly after the ceremony ended—now has his own prize after his fourth consecutive year being nominated in the category.
“I want to thank GayVN for this wonderful award. I was so shocked—I never thought in a million years I would win this award,” he shared afterward. “I want to thank all of my loyal fans—all of you guys are so amazing, I love every last single one of you. You are not just fans, you are my family. I indulge in you guys, and you indulge in me; I feed off of you, and you feed off of me, and I love that vibe… I am honored, humbled and truly grateful. Here’s to another wonderful year. Be kind to yourself, be kind to others, and always keep that smile.”
That was just one of many emotional moments of the night as the GayVN Awards celebrated its fifth consecutive show after a triumphant return in 2018. Streamed to a worldwide audience, the event was hosted at a studio in Los Angeles with many top-name performers in attendance to present the hardware.
Entertainer Alec Mapa returned to host for the fourth consecutive year, joined by world-famous drag superstar Jackie Beat. They were joined on stage by Trophy Boys Beau Butler, Asher Haynes, Reign and Travis Stevens—with Colton Reece and award-winning director mr. Pam also making appearances in the show’s signature opening skit.
In addition to Konnor, Helix was another big winner on the night—collecting three trophies for its Return to Helix Academy Parts 1 & 2. In addition to winning Best Feature, the studio’s Alex Roman picked up his first prize for Best Director (Feature) two years after his hit Vegas Nights also won for movie of the year. But all of his focus was on performer Alex Riley, a co-winner for Best Actor.
“If Alex was here, he would jump up on the pool table right now and do a dance for you—a fully choreographed Michael Jackson dance,” smiled Roman about Riley, the co-winner for GayVN’s Best Newcomer in 2020. The performer passed away last year at the age of 22. “He was a really amazing guy, and a really amazing actor. He was the kind of guy who like on Take 20, he could sound like he just thought about what he was saying. He was really awesome, and I’m sure he’d be stoked… I’m just really proud that Alex was in our movie.”
The Best Actor honor was shared with Michael DelRay, who impressed in The Last Course—the debut feature from new label Disruptive Films. (That rare tie also occurred in the category in 2019, when Wesley Woods and Diego Sans shared the honor.) DelRay’s friend and co-star Dante Colle also picked up an award for the film, winning Best Supporting Actor for his emotional turn as a troubled guest at a party.
“This means a lot,” said Colle, who also won Best Supporting Actor in 2020 for Raging Stallion’s At Large. “(The Last Course) was a crazy, crazy film to be a part of—one of the biggest things I’ve ever done—and I couldn’t be happier to be a part of it. Thank you to everybody that was in it, all the directors and actors—it was a fucking all-star cast, and everybody killed it. So thank you so much… that was awesome. I’m proud to accept this.”
Another big winner was Konnor’s studio mate Cole Connor, who won Best Newcomer. And like Konnor, he was surrounded by friends who erupted in cheers when his name was called (including fellow GayVN Award-winner Adam Ramzi, putting his hands to his mouth in surprise for his friend).
“Thank you so much. This has been a great experience for me this whole year, all of my friends that I’ve worked with, (directors) Tony Dimarco, Steve Cruz, Marc MacNamara and Trenton Ducati—thank you so much for everything you guys do for me. Thanks for making me look good,” said Connor, who this week took to social media to share how he was the victim of a violent attack near his Southern California home—one that sent him to the hospital last Saturday. “This is a nice topping to the horrible shit that just happened.”
Emotion was also apparent on the face of Joel Someone, an in-studio presenter who was part of the Best Bi Sex Scene winner from Devil’s Film.
“Oh my God, thank you so much! This is kind of unbelievable. Thank you so much to Draven Navarro and Vanessa Vega. Vanessa Vega was the second cis female I had ever been with, and she was so incredible on set and made it so easy. Thank you so much everyone. This is such an incredible honor.” (Added Navarro, tuning in virtually with friend and fellow nominee Colby Jansen, “Thank you so much everybody, I appreciate it—I had a great time on set!”).
More first-time winners included Colby Chambers, Troye Jacobs and ColbyKnox.com, which won Best Fetish Scene for its “Scream - A ColbyKnox Parody” less than one week after the fifth installment in the successful horror franchise was the top movie at the box office.
“Me and Colby and Mickey (Knox), we all worked really hard on this scene—down to creating the opening scene of Scream to the ‘T,’ so I cannot be more happy that this scene won. We had a really fun time working on it…thank you so much!”
A surprised Aiden Ward was also a winner along with former Trophy Boy Jacen Zhu. The two won Best Duo Sex Scene for their CockyBoys pairing. “This is actually a huge surprise,” shared the performer. “I missed this one—I thought I was only nominated for Favorite Dick, so thank you all for this. I really appreciate it, and I’m super thrilled and excited.”
A whopping 12 men—Boomer Banks, Damaged Bottom, Romeo Davis, Drew Dixon, Sean Duran, Owen Hawk, Jake Nicola, Vince Parker, Chandler Scott, Tyler Roberts, Aaron Trainer and Zario Travezz—won for Best Group Scene with “All Star Orgy.” While Hawk’s Dark Alley Media picked up GayVN statues from 2006 through 2008, this is the first win for his RawFuckClub label.
“Oh my gosh, I don’t know what to say,” shared Travezz, also in the studio as a presenter. “This is my very first GayVN! Thank you so much Owen Hawk and David (Eck) for letting me be part of this group scene, and I’m definitely proud to accept this award for all the cast.” Also chiming in remotely were handsome couple Nicola (“Thanks Owen! That was fun… thanks to all the whores out there”) and Parker (who afterward shared to “all the spectacular men on this list, thank you for consistently reminding me that I am one mother-fucking lucky 55-year-old daddy”).
Best Three-Way Sex Scene went to the trio of Trent King, Skyy Knox and Derek Thibeau for Falcon’s outdoor adventure Into the Woods. The award was accepted by veteran director Iza Elle, who also thanked co-director Raph North: “It’s been 12 years that I’ve worked in this industry, and this is the first time that we win, so thank you to Falcon for the opportunity to do this movie… I appreciate it.”
Co-directors Steve Cruz and Leo Forte won Best Director (Non-Feature) for Falcon’s Born to Porn (marking Forte’s first directing award, while Cruz has won the category three years running); while the BelAmi/TLAgay collaboration Fuck Me I’m Famous won Best All-Sex Movie (BelAmi’s third win in the last four years in the category).
Three in-studio presenters picked up wins in the fan categories, with 2020 GayVN Performer of the Year Cade Maddox repeating his win for Favorite Cock—and adding a Favorite Body statue to keep it company. Chris Damned won Social Media Star (“I wasn’t really expecting this… thank you!” he smiled, thanking agent Howard Andrew and his fellow performer friends), then presented Beau Butler with the Favorite Bear statue. “Thank you to everybody that voted for me, I appreciate all the love I get from my fans so much,” said the Trophy Boy. “All of my attention is due to Falcon Studios, all the hard work that they put in.”
Johnny Rapid won Favorite Cam Guy after a year that saw him jump into the live cam waters for the very first time in the NakedSword/Flirt4Free collaborative series Dear Johnny Live (“Well, I can’t say that I really deserve it,” chuckled the performer with a smile, “but I have been working really hard for it, so I appreciate it. Thank you!”). An elated Pablo and Sebas Cortés also joined in remotely, sharing a kiss when they were announced as Favorite Camming Couple (“Thanks so much to everyone who help us with the vote!”).
Like Maddox, Felix Fox picked up two fan award wins (Hottest Newcomer and Favorite Butt), while Devin Franco won Favorite Bottom. Rhyheim Shabazz won Favorite Top; one year after winning Social Media Star, Joey Mills picked up Favorite Twink; Legrand Wolf was the Favorite Daddy; Austin Wolf, last year’s Favorite Top, picked up Favorite Dom this year; while Noah Way won Favorite FTM Star.
The night also featured a new inductee into the GayVN Hall of Fame, with AVN CEO Tony Rios introducing FabScout Entertainment founder Howard Andrew to accept the honor in the studio one year after the talent management company celebrated its 20th anniversary. The entire room full of performers applauded, including Damned—who gave his agent a hug.
“I am so incredibly honored and humbled… thank you AVN/GayVN for your years of support,” said Andrew, who also thanked his parents “for their total love and support. To have parents that fully accepted me—as well as my business—is a true blessing. Their support is a large factor in the continued success of FabScout after all these years of working in adult entertainment. I also want to dedicate this to the memory of my father, who at 90 years old passed away two months ago. Thanks, Dad!"
Andrew also singled out Gio Caruso, Matthew Lock, Steven Ponce, John Bruno, Chi Chi LaRue and Adam Q. Robinson. “Most importantly, I must say ‘thank you’ to the over 7,500 models—my family—that in the past 20 years have shaped us into who we are. It is the models who have created the most lasting impression on the legacy of FabScout Entertainment. Whether it was a model who worked one time or a model who has been part of FabScout for their long career, they all hold a special place in my heart.”
The agent also shared how it was a gay porn legend who was responsible for his start in the business.
“I remember when I was managing Cupids, which was an all-nude male nightclub in Miami, and Rick Ford—who is also Dirk Yates—came in and asked me about hiring a model. And I said, ‘You have got to be crazy.’ And that was the start of a business that I never thought was possible. He stayed in Miami for a few days, taught me how to do it, guided me on how to cultivate talent and become a manager. Most importantly, he guided me on how to do things the right way,” Andrew said.
Ever since, Andrew has received a never-ending string of calls both good and bad—but noted it has all been worth it.
“Parents have called me over the years—some to call me names, some to thank me, and some that have become friends for many years,” he said. “After placing models in thousands of scenes over the past 20 years, I can honestly say that I am most grateful for the strong friendships that I have developed within this industry. Many of the models have become lifelong friends, and for that I am extremely grateful. Thank you again, everybody. I appreciate all of you.”
To see the full winners list, click here.
To see a photo gallery, click here.
Photography by KogaFoto
