This interview with Moe Johnson 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.
Home State: New York | Age: 35 | Started in 2009 | Twitter: @Moe_the_Monster
What inspired you to pursue a career in adult film?
One of my friends was interning for a small ethnic company in New York [WhoaBoyz.com]. He introduced me. The guy didn’t put me on camera right away. I started as help at these underground parties. ... They’d have these contests for the girls and do these live shows and they would ask for audience participation. The guys would say, “I can do it, I can do it” and they’d get there and they would fail. So they said, “Moe, you’re going to go up there this time and act like a fan.” I would come in and look like a regular businessman. That was my niche. They used to call me ‘The Suit.” ... My very first real scene was [shot] on the subway. And it went viral. ...
I came out [to the West Coast in] January 2013. It was hard the first two or three weeks—I came to L.A. straight after the AVN show—and I shot a lot of content to get my name around. Rest in peace, Ron Ellis actually plugged me into Dogfart because he was very friendly with the director there, Billy Watson. ... He gave me a chance—we did two gloryholes before he was confident enough to give me a gangbang scene. ... I think my first scene was with Lucas Stone, before he had his stroke, and Jack Napier—it was five of us on one girl, and I held my own. And Billy Watson was shocked—“Who’s this kid? He’s able to perform.” They gave me a shot. I think my first boy/girl was with Riley Reid, and I was able to deliver on that scene.
Who are your biggest influences?
Jack Napier, he’s a good guy. ... I spent some time with him and his mother when he was in the hospital. He’s very genuine. Shane [Diesel], Sean [Michaels]. They’ve always been the motivation. ... And Wesley Pipes, he told me, ‘Keep going. If you want to do this you’ve got to keep the look, stay focused.’”
What are the most challenging aspects of your job?
Certain companies want us to be more rough or more dominating because that’s what type of scene it is. But I obviously have respect for women—I don’t abuse people in my personal life. Sometime that’s what the scene may call for, but it’s always something that’s mutual—it’s something that the girls want or something that they’re comfortable with.
What scenes do you like to shoot best?
Crazy enough, I would say the gangbang scenes. Mainly because it’s more like an alpha male thing. Mostly women are always being judged by men, but now you have one woman with a line full of men and she can judge who she likes or who’s pleasing her the best. ... It’s more of kind of a competition thing. As a man I want to make sure every scene I left an impressionable memory on her so she’s going to want to shoot a boy/girl or another scene for another company.
With the gangbang scenes I get to meet a lot of the newer guys and try to mentor them—tell them the kind of mistakes I made. Trying to push them to keep going. My first year was very rough but I was fortunate I had people around me. My second year was rough [because] after breaking up with my girlfriend, I had to start from scratch all over. Now I don’t chase every event, chase every party.”
What are some accomplishments you’re most proud of?
I spent a lot of time with APAC. I went to San Diego recently and earlier this year to San Francisco to speak up on the condom laws. That brought me into seeing the full scope of the industry. ... That experience, I think, was good. I was kind of proud being the only African American male performer to speak up and represent us—not just us as an industry but us as African Americans. ... The work is always going to come and go, there’s always new guys—but to be able to be involved with something that you care so much about, that’s always been the thing for me. ...
I have the cartoon that I’m also working on. ... I’m just figuring out the best way to get it out to everybody. There are two versions of it: It’s MoeTheMonster.com and that will send you to a Wordpress site where you can see everything and get a sample. And if you want to purchase anything, it will send you to Clips4Sale. I utilize all the different avenues. ...
It’s something I want to continue to do because I see the longevity in it and it’s original ... with virtual reality being something that a lot of companies are putting a lot of money into doing now. And before that it was the 3D that a lot of people were after. So to be on a wave that no one else is really actively pursuing makes it more of a challenge for me and something that I’m more interested to do because nobody else is really competing. Once it’s perfected and done the right way, hopefully it’s received the right way.
