This interview with Jason Brown ran in the November issue of AVN magazine as part of a cover story on African American men working in the adult industry. Click here to see the whole issue online. Photo by Greg Lansky/Blacked.com.
Home State: California | Age: 34 | Started in 2005 | Twitter: @JBrownXXX
What inspired you to pursue a career in adult film?
I actually just got into the industry to supplement my income. I didn’t expect to be in the industry as long (12 years) as I have, to be honest!
What are the most challenging aspects of your job?
The stigma that anybody can be a male performer. It takes time and skill to be able to do scene after scene and still bring the same intensity and passion. And the biases that come with being a black performer and how I don’t feel like we’ve been allowed the same opportunities as some of our other counterparts.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
I’m a simple guy but at the end of the day, I’m someone’s fantasy. And that’s awesome, to be able to provide people with some type of enjoyment or release ... It’s something that keeps me going. I genuinely love people ’cause everybody’s got a story.
Who are your biggest influences?
Well, let me start by saying that if it wasn’t for performers Shane Diesel, the late Sledgehammer and Sean Michaels—I wouldn’t be here! They took me under their wings and showed me the ropes when I first started in 2004 working for a few different companies.
But Greg Lansky, by way of Blacked.com, was really able to get me to the next level and get people to see that I was a good performer. I can’t thank him enough for that!
What is the most common misconception about adult?
That we have issues ... family, mental [issues] or when it comes to addiction. And we are no different the general public; we just see life and our bodies differently.
What do you think of the way IR product (black male/white female) is marketed?
I think for a long time it was stereotype driven. It allowed the male performers to be pigeonholed and a stigma was placed on us—that we’re too aggressive or that we were a higher risk than our other counterparts. Companies didn’t want to make stylistic porn that was up to par with some of the white-on-white scenes. I feel like it’s changed in the last couple years and I like to think that Blacked.com had a lot to do with it.
What barriers, if any, have you encountered working in the adult industry?
Mainly that people don’t really know me. I’ve been in for twelve years and worked for a lot of companies but people think it’s an overnight success story. I’m professional and I treat this industry as such. Obviously the IR pay issue, when I know girls in the past (a long while ago) that said they wanted to work with me but couldn’t ’cause the company wasn’t willing to pay their IR rate. I also feel like there’s a disconnect between some talent and the rest of the industry sometimes. I went to AVN in my ninth year in the biz ... Nobody knew who I was, except the girls on the floor during the Expo. And I had people looking at me like, “Who the F... is this dude?!” And I’ll never forget it, Lisa Ann said ... “That’s Jason Brown.” I was ecstatic! That was one of the first times I felt a part of the industry.
