“Red Light” Production Blog Part 2, Model Spotlight: Vince Ferelli

By admin on January 26, 2009

Straight from the desk of co-director Steve Cruz..

Hey guys…
There has been some controversy around the issue of ‘gay for pay’ models in the business. I myself had developed an attitude about gay for pay based on a personal experience as a performer… but as a director I am exposed to a different perspective. I recently learned one of my models might be gay for pay- and knowing you porn fans can be so passionate about the subject I decided to let him tell his story. It’s easy to judge until you realize there is a human being involved in every situation. I found Vince, who’s actually bisexual, to be intelligent and more open minded than I expected. He didn’t shy away from some pretty tough questions, either. His sensitive and thoughtful responses force me to challenge my previous attitudes and judge each person on a case by case basis. He’s also a strong advocate for safer sex so now I am a huge fan of the person beneath the sexual persona. I’m proud to have cast him in Red Light, releasing March 3rd.

1. Vince Ferelli on Vince Ferelli:
Q: How did you get into the business? and why gay porn?
A: A lot of people are curious as to how I got into this business. I was just bored at work one day and was killing time on Craig’s List. I was browsing through the “adult gigs” section and found a post from a scout looking for “18-20something year old males, muscular physique” that want to get into the adult entertainment industry. I emailed a few pictures that I had on my cell phone and my contact info. I was contacted about 30min later by my now-former scout. We sat up an appointment for me to come in so he could take some test photos. That is where it started. I told him I would do straight and gay porn. The gay porn jobs lined up immediately, so that is why I initially went that direction. I knew that it would be easier to build a name for myself, since no one really watches straight porn to see the guys. Men are just props in straight porn. I had messed around with a few guys in my past, so it wasn’t a big stretch [pardon the pun] to get into gay porn. I would be lying if I said the money wasn’t a factor.

Q: You must be an exhibitionist? How do you feel about thousands and thousands of male fans jerking off to you having sex? Is it a turn on for you or have you thought much about it?
A: I guess I would consider myself an exhibitionist. I am very comfortable with my body now and love being naked. I grew up a fat kid, so the way I look now is a complete change for me. I guess I am a bit of an attention whore too. I still have fat-kid mentality. I know anyone who grew up a husky kid can relate. There is still that fat little shy kid deep down inside of us that feels like they don’t fit in, so it feels good to get all of these compliments from so many people all over the country. I feel that men appreciate a man’s physique more than women do. Even straight guys appreciate a man’s physique more than a woman does, because he knows what another guy has to go through to look good. I definitely take it as a compliment when a guy tells me that he has “used” my movies before. I don’t find it creepy when they tell me. I am still trying to learn how to take compliments, though, so it may seem like I am embarrassed when someone compliments me in any way. And, yes, it is a turn-on to know that someone finds me so sexually attractive. I would get off so fast if I was giving a personal performance for someone. So I guess by definition, that makes me an exhibitionist.

Q: You have an amazing body. How many years have you been body building? Do you want to get much bigger? Have you ever competed professionally?
A: Thank you. I have been working out since I was a freshman in high school, but I didn’t start hitting it hardcore until I was a freshman in college(that was 6 or 7 years ago). It has been a steady progress. I have gained a lot of knowledge along the way from fitness magazines, internet forums, fellow gym rats, and my own trial & error. I want to get a little bit bigger. I know that there is a certain point where I will look stupid if I get too big. Hopefully I will recognize that point. The bodybuilder mentality is to always strive to get bigger. There is no such thing as “maintaining” when it comes to bodybuilding. I know I have a little ways before I will hit that point. Zeb Atlas is much, much bigger than I am and he still looks great…not too big in my opinion. I have trained to compete a few times, but have never stepped on stage. I have never felt like I was at my full potential, so I didn’t want to waste my time competing until I felt I was there. I am a bit of a perfectionist. I want to compete in the near future, though.

2. Vince Ferelli on Sex, Sexuality and Gay For Pay?:
Q: You have a girlfriend back home right? So how do you identify yourself, are you straight and just gay for pay? Bisexual?
A: Ya, I have someone back home in Indiana that I have been on and off with for a year and a half. When I first got in the industry, I didn’t know what to consider myself. I have never liked lables, because everyone falls along a spectrum anywhere from 100% straight to 100% gay. I have always considered myself more on the straight half, but I have always fantasized about messing around with guys. I had several encounters even before I was in high school. It was fun, but I never considered it anything that identified me yet. As I got to college, I was more open to experimenting. My good friend, James, was the first guy I made out with. It was a nice change from making out with girls, who were often not aggressive enough. That was when I first felt it was identifying me a little more. Through my experiences before I got into porn, including the one guy I had full sex with, I realized that I was more bisexual than just a straight guy who didn’t mind messing around with guys. It was described to me by Patrick Wu of LustCorp.com that we are identified by what actually turns us on. If we are only turned on my the opposite sex, then we are straight. If we are only turned on by the same sex, then we are gay. But if we are actually turned on by both sexes, then we are bisexual. And let me tell you, I definitely get turned on giving head and having a dick in my hand now…so I am pretty sure that I am bisexual.

Q; Had you had many sexual experiences with men before the industry? Do you hook up with guys for fun?
A: I guess I answered this first part in the previous question. I used to hook up with guys for fun, but now I am with guys so much for work (on and off camera) that most of the rest of my time is spent with women. Like I said, I have been with my ex on and off for a year and a half, so I spend my sexual freetime with her. I am not against hooking up with guys, though. It is always hot and is a nice change. Sometimes I actually crave sucking a dick. It honestly gets me off so fast.

Q: On camera you mostly bottom. Is that your preferred role?
A: I have only topped once off camera. I actually prefer to do everything but actual penetration with guys. I love making out and mutual oral and cuddling. With the right guy, I would top or bottom. I guess I am pretty versitile.

Q: Do you think more and more younger guys are freer with their sexuality? Do you think labels like gay and straight, bisexual are important?
A: I do think that younger guys feel that they can more openly admit their sexual tendencies, whether they be gay or straight. Our culture still has a long way to go to get out of the victorian era conservative mindset, but it has gotten much better over the years. I don’t know that I have experiences a true sample of our population, because most of my good friends are gay, and our whole crowd is very open with their sexuality. I feel that everyone should be able to talk about their sexuality and be able to fully discover themselves, whether they find out they are definitely straight, gay, bi, or somewhere along the spectrum.

Q: Some gay men resent gay for pay guys, or straight identified men posing as gay guys. Others feel gay for pay guys are closeted queers not ready to come out.
Do you think they have a right to be angry? What would you tell the porn fans on the subject?
A: First off, I don’t think that it is right to lump all of the “gay for pay” models into one category. I can only speak for myself and what I have seen in other models when I answer this question, so please don’t take my observations and opinions as something that can encompass everything there is to know about the gay-for-pay mentality. With that being said, I do feel that gay men have a right to resent some gay-for-pay models. There are some models out there that are only in this to make money and would never touch another guy if it weren’t for the money. These models are very painfully and obviously straight and awkward when on set. Some of these models feel that they need to constantly talk about the all the girls that they hook up with and how every woman wants them. I take it as these guys are very insecure with the fact that they actually do have quite a significant gay side to them and they are afraid to admit it. There are some models who will outright say that they are against any male-to-male touching unless they are getting paid. These are the models that I feel deserve resentment. These are the same models that I can’t stand to be around on set. They always seem to have a superiority complex over everyone else.

That being said, there are some models who are labeled as “gay-for-pay” that are very comfortable with their sexuality and very comfortable with the fact that they are doing gay porn. I feel that most gay-for-pay models (including myself) have always had a significant gay side to them, but they just needed a little extra push for them to act on it. In comes gay porn…and they don’t feel so awkward. Just because these models label themselves as straight doesn’t mean that they are against being gay or even that they are denying that they have a gay side to them. They just know that they are turned on more by females than they are by males, so they feel that they have to choose the label of “straight”. Some gay-for-pay models start out as labeling themselves as straight, but eventually realize how much they actually enjoy being with a guy. These are the gay-for-pay guys that eventually realize and admit that they are bi (This is where I fall into place). You have to realize that these guys who actually do realize that they are, in fact, bi will need the same time to feel comfortable coming out as many people in the real world do.

So I guess to sum all of this up, I would have to say that not all gay-for-pay models are the same. Some do deserve the resentment, but others entered the market as one thing and have become something else. Another wide-spread problem that is compounding all of this is our societies obsession with labels. Why do we have to have labels?

3. Vince Ferelli on Bareback Sex:
Q: So I misread on one of the porn blogs that you recently made a statement about a porn producer who offered you work a Bareback film. What I didn’t realize is that you turned them down.
How do you feel about doing a bareback film?
A: I have never and will never do a bareback film. I believe in safe sex and that is the image that I want to portray. I believe that by promoting safe sex even in the fantasy world of porn that we can have an impact on the real world. From how I see it (and I very well could be wrong), porn stars and porn movies help shape the culture and ideals of the community. I parallel it to rappers having an influence on the hip-hop community. Whatever is portrayed on screen (and in music, in this example), becomes the emulated culture. I may just be rambling at this point, but my goal has always been to have a positive influence on every person who I touch in my life.

Q: How do you feel about young guys barebacking in their private life?
A: I am all for people living their lives as they wish, and I will never try to change who people are, but I feel that safe sex should be practiced by everyone, straight or gay. Young guys may feel that they have a lower chance of becoming infected by young partners, but the fact remains that there is still a chance. I would hope that young guys would make the smart choice for their future instead of risking it for something so short-term

Q: If you had a queer younger brother and you found out he was barebacking, what would you tell him?
A: I would first tell him that what I was about to tell him was coming from me as a friend and not as someone trying to be a parent to him. I would tell him that I believe to strongly in safe sex not to be harsh on someone that I love for being unsafe. I would do my best to not be too “parental” to him, because we all know how we just tune out anyone trying to lecture us about anything. I would point out to him how even porn stars who bareback are completely shunned by some and greatly looked down on my most. I would point out to him that even in our fantasy world of gay porn, we strive to promote the positive image of safe sex.