Queerying Leo Giamani

Queerying Leo Giamani 1
What can we say? We love Leo! His amazing body, rugged good looks, and enormous cock! No wonder we chose him as the QueerClick 2008 Man of the Year and no wonder that our very own QColumnist Steve Prince fell in love when they met at the Cybersocket Awards.
Leo actually seemed a bit agitated during our interview, possibly because he’d just gotten back from NYC and felt tired. If you’ve been following the porn mega-star, you can appreciate why. Though he’s a Randy Blue exclusive who became a star seemingly overnight, Leo considers himself a bit over-exposed and his fame a double-edged sword. We discussed the biz, barebacking, bisexuality, and his possible retirement over the phone. He’s a quick talker and his voice made us melt into a gooey puddle. Hot!
You won QueerClick 2009 Man of the Year. What do you think contributed most to your rapid rise to fame in the porn industry? There are other handsome musclemen out there with big dicks, so while that’s certainly helpful, that can’t be the only reason you’re so popular, right?
It’s probably my personality, I’m humble and just so down-to-earth, I try to have a good attitude. Take the cover for Mustang’s Red Light, for instance. They had to choose a cover model and they went for me, even though there were other guys who had been around longer who wanted it, they decided to give it to me. I also won Best New Web Performer of the Year at the GayVN Awards. At QueerClick, there was a couple things said after I got Man of the Year about me doing bareback. Y’know, some movies I did. I actually got on there and said nothing’s been done in over six months. Though I also had some fan response that was pretty positive as well.
To be honest, what most people don’t wanna hear, what no one can believe is that I applied a year ago to Corbin Fisher, Sean Cody, and some other places, and the only one who wanted me at the time was Jake Cruise. Nobody wanted me at the time but they did a month later. But doing bareback on Jake Cruise got my foot in the door. I did it, and in all honesty, the bad comments are from people who always have negative things to say if they see any star.
There’s a lot of people that do bareback and a lot of people that don’t and who are very partial on the fact they’ll look down upon you. Some people in the biz won’t work with you if you’ve done bareback. I’m exclusive now, so now there’s a little interest from other studios. It’s a numbers thing to be honest. I generate so much revenue now that a lot of studios wanna work with me, but they don’t all wanna pay.
Rumor is that you used to be a fireman or a policeman before you got your start in porn. Is there any truth to that rumor? And what do you think about the whole “men in uniform” fetish, especially since firemen and policemen have been idolized so much after 9-11?
I guess I’ll say yes. To be honest I’ve never been a cop, but I was a fireman for six months. It’s idolized, but they dont make that much. It’s hard to live in NYC and be a fireman.
Did you ever rescue anybody or get a cat out of a tree?
I did a couple of rescues, but no major fires. I never had to put my life in danger unfortunately. (Laughs)
What are your feelings about sex versus intimacy in your work? Are you always acting in your scenes or do you feel like some of your work has genuine intimacy? What creates chemistry between you and another male actor?
It’s not always very intimate because there’s hundreds of people in the room, cameras, and often you have to pay attention to angles and positioning. There is some intimacy, but all the positions and everyone involved, it reduces it. And you can’t just go off and do anything on your own. There’s directors that have a way they want to see it, so you can’t always do what you want.
And chemistry… it can vary because of the person or the setting.
Can you think of a particular scene that was more intimate or not so much?
Nah, I don’t know. I did a movie called “Burning Desire” where there was a bathrub and champagne. It was a lot more involved than just a couch. That felt more intimate, I guess. [As for bad scenes,] to be honest, I dunno. I guess I’ve been fortunate to work with good actors so I’ve never come across any bad scene.
Would you fuck the hell out of our QC columnist Steve Prince if he promised to write a column about it the week after?
No. I don’t wanna do pro-bono work.
We’ve raised money…
I’m also under contract and I don’t know if he’s gonna be filming with cameras or anything. If he’s writing about it, I’ll probably get sued.
More bisexuality, Randy Blue, and butt sex after the jump!


Queerying Leo Giamani 2
What do you love about being a gay porn actor, besides the money?
I guess the exposure. I’ve gotten a lot of gigs with clubs and bars and a lot of modeling gigs. I was able to get a couple of underwear ads and a couple of clubs events doing signings. It’s nice to see how much you’re appreciated by fans. When people come up and say “You’ve helped me through some hard times.” At the same time, people can stalk you. On one end you’re a fantasy and on the other, a role model. I also might have screwed myself. Some modeling jobs, once they find out what you’re doing, they’ll let you go. But the average porn career is about 3 to 4 months. So I’ve been fortunate the way I’ve marketed myself.
How has doing gay porn changed your perception of gay men?
I’ve been bi for a while and I’m not stereotyping, but maybe I wasn’t as feminine as I am now. I mean, about enjoying it. But I can feel… y’know, I never had a negative opinion about being gay, but now I’d say I’m more open.
You are unlike other gay porn stars in that you’ve at least acknowledged your own bisexuality while others doggedly contend that they are strictly “gay-for-pay” (despite their rampant knob-slobbing and butt sex). Why do you think your peers are so adamant about sticking to the “gay-for-pay” label instead of being more flexible with their sexual identity?
Probably because they’re not comfortable with their own sexual identity or comfortable enough to admit it or they’re afraid of being frowned down upon by other people. I can’t really judge other people but that’s probably it. It’s hard to judge what other people are thinking.
You have a BA in science, have been accepted into med school, and have expressed interest in getting an MBA, though you’ve also said you don’t have time for additional studies right now. What do you see yourself doing after porn?
I don’t know. In a way it’s actually limited some of the things I can do. In some ways porn’s not good because it’s affected my future. I don’t know yet.
When would you personally decide that it’s time to quit?
I think about it from time to time because I don’t want to get overexposed. I honestly think it might be in 3 months. I’m already at the point where companies use me less than they used to. It’s the reality of the situation. There are some guys who can go longer and that works for them, but I think it’s good I separate myself from other guys. But on the same end, there’s not a lot of guys who can go for that long. A lot of guys do behind the scenes and I could build my own company or site, but I dunno if I’ll explore it.
It seems like no celebrities have come out saying “I have HIV” since Magic Johnson. Improved HIV treatment has even mislead young men into thinking it’s a manageable illness like diabetes, yet we know there are porn actors living and performing with HIV. Can you tell us a little bit about how HIV factors into gay porn (how strict are studios and actors about testing, safety, disclosure and paperwork both before, during, and after a scene)? Would or have you ever done a scene with an HIV+ actor? If not, why and if so, how was the experience? Would you do it again?
I have heard things. A friend of mine has done untested bareback before and I think it’s crazy. The last time I did bareback was either late August and the last week of September last year. It was a money thing for me to be honest. I was tested, but how good is a test with the three month incubation period?
The great thing about Randy Blue is guys are tested and they wear condoms. But I’ve never worked with another studio… so I don’t know if that level of safety is the same in all studios. If the guy I’m working with is untested, I won’t do it. I’ve heard that some studios will go ahead and it’s sad but they still wanna shoot it. Bt there are some positive guys still making porn for a living. If you’re positive, hell, I guess you gotta make money some way. But some guys have got more money than god and can afford treatment. But most people can’t. I think it’s scary that are some are positive and unaware.
The only tests I’ve seen were negative. With Randy Blue if you haven’t been tested they won’t let you shoot. I haven’t seen anyone positive, but I haven’t worked with many studios. I know a couple of positive guys who have worked before.
Lastly, we gotta know. How do you stay in such great shape?
Mostly diet. also I work out every day, sometimes twice a day and I run sometimes in the morning. There is some genetics but I have pretty rigorous training and diet.

May 30, 2009 By paperbagwriter 25 Comments

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