I AM: STEVEN DAIGLE

Steven Daigle answered the phone for this interview, and I could tell from the tone of his voice that this was a man who loved people. He reminded me of a puppy over the phone, eager and ready to play, or — in our case — talk.

Julian: Hey Steven, how are you?

Steven: I’m great, thanks for asking. I’m excited for this!

J: Good, I’m glad to hear that. A lot of people are nervous going into an interview. Let’s get started. I think that a lot of people have a stereotype of a porn performer as someone who lacks intelligence or has no other way of making a living. You have a master’s degree and you displayed a high level of intelligence on Big Brother. What influenced your decision to do porn?

S: It was a couple of reasons. Around Big Brother, I was becoming friends with Chi Chi, going to a lot of porn events with her, meeting a lot of interesting people from the industry who turned out to be very nice people with their own strong set of morals. I was getting a few offers but I didn’t think that I could do it because of my job. Then around that time I got laid off, and I figured that I had the opportunity to do it, so why not? I tend to take things as they come.

You know, I did the whole 9-5 thing, I got the education, but in the end I’m really adventurous. It was a new chapter for me.

J: What about your decision to do bareback?

S: I was a fan of Treasure Island for a long time before I even started doing porn. When I started performing I was doing a lot of porn that was was really pretty, but was so overproduced. I love the grittiness of the Treasure Island feel. I decided it was time for me to make a more realistic type of porn. I reached out to Treasure Island, not really expecting to hear back, but I was pleasantly surprised!

J: Do you bareback in your everyday sex life?

S: In my personal life with my boyfriend, yea, I do. I don’t have a lot of sex outside of that relationship.

J: There have been a couple of big leaps in your life. You went from gay rodeo star to reality star, from reality T.V. to gay porn, a quick dip into straight porn, and now into bareback. Were you nervous about the reaction you would be getting from Cum Whore? Has that reaction been better or worse than any of the other leaps? 

S: As soon as it was settled that I would be working with Treasure Island, I began to prepare myself for the worst. I went into this thing with my eyes wide open. Over the years I’ve learned to ignore the negativity. In this case I looked at this as a test; had I grown enough as a person to to get a lot of negative publicity and come through on the other side unphased and still sure of myself and my decisions? In all reality, though, I have gotten relatively little negativity. The positive response has been much greater than I was anticipating, and I choose to concentrate on that. I’m happy with what I’ve done. I’m glad that people are responding the way they are. I choose to ignore the people who choose to judge. It’s all about choices. People are going to have opinions but they don’t walk in my shoes.

I couldn’t have gotten a worse reaction from this than I did with the straight scene. Basically I was crucified for that. Ironically, people were upset that I did that scene bareback but chose to use condoms with men up to that point. “Oh, it’s okay to fuck a girl without a condom, but it’s dirty for a man,” was something I heard a lot.

J: Max Sohl was telling me that when you guys were working out the details of the shoot, that you felt like you wouldn’t fit in with TIM, but obviously those concerns were unfounded. What was your biggest concern about working with us? 

S: Like I said earlier, I have been watching Treasure Island porn for such a long time, and I have a lot of respect for the performers who work with you guys. The bottoms are such great power bottoms who just relish in getting the hardest they can get, and the tops have huge dicks, and I was so intimidated by everything that I was seeing! Would the performers accept me? It was a little like the first day of school for me. But then I got there, and everyone was so nice. Max was really welcoming, my co-performers were very relaxed and made me feel comfortable. I walked in and in a few minutes I felt like I had been filming with TIM since the beginning.

J: You started in porn with Chi Chi LaRue, who is an outspoken advocate for condoms in porn. How is your relationship with her now that you have made a film with TIM?

S: To be honest, I’m wondering the same thing. Since I’ve filmed Cum Whore, we’ve texted once or twice off the topic of porn. I think that my relationship with Chi Chi has been the toughest part of this whole thing. I feel like in some way I let her down, but that’s me holding myself up to someone else’s standard or expectations. This is my life and I’m living it my way. I wanted to do this so I did it. I value her friendship, I love her, I always have, and I always will. I hope that she still respects me. We have a good relationship outside of the porn world, so I hope that it’s made of strong enough stuff to weather any disagreements we might have.

J: You were well known before entering porn and you use your real name instead of a pseudonym, which is very unusual in this industry. How has that recognition affected you currently, and do you expect that it will impede any future moves you might try to make?

S: That has definitely crossed my mind. I haven’t felt any repercussions yet, but as I get older I’m starting to look into making my way back into the corporate world. I can see it being an issue, though. It’s funny, if they just ran a standard background check I’d be golden, but if anyone googled my name, there would be a lot to see.

J: What do you think is the biggest misconception about you?

S: That’s a hard question. Probably that I’m an attention whore. I see a lot that people think that everything I do is for attention: porn scenes or twitter meltdowns or whatever. It’s not the case. I just live my life on my sleeve. I never hide anything, I don’t have a filter. What’s going on on the inside is exactly what comes out.

J: Do people on the street recognize you now more because of your work in porn or for Big Brother?

S: I’m rarely recognized. I don’t think I’m quite popular enough to be recognized just on a street corner. Also, I feel like there’s a disconnect between what I look like in person and what I look like on screen. I’ve been on a couch with my porn playing and the guy next to me won’t recognize that it’s me. I think that’s fine. I want to get off on the right foot rather than be recognized as a public persona. I want to be recognized for being me.

J: You kind of answered this following question earlier. Reading through comments over the years, there seems to be a lot of hate coming your way, and yet you seems to let it roll off your back. That can’t be an easy thing. How do you deal with all the judgement in your everyday life?

S: Basically, I had to learn. It did not come easy and it did not come fast, believe me. It was Chi Chi who got me through. Pretty early on she said that people are jealous. 99% of the time, negative comments are jealousy, and she was right. It’s a conceited way of thinking, but to not think that like that will drive you crazy. The thoughts of “why do people hate me so much” will take their toll. You’ll start to think like them. I did for a long time.

J: What are your future goals for porn and for life?

S: If I stay in porn, I’d like to get behind the camera. Otherwise, I’ll keep taking things as they come.

J: Is there anything you want people to know about you that I didn’t ask?

S: Just that I’m happy.

You can contact Steven on Twitter. His handle is @stevenexposed.