Gay porn star reveals what it’s really like to work in adult film industry
Ashley Ryder in The Sex Business (Channel 5)
One of Britain’s top gay porn stars is revealing what it’s really like to work in the adult film business.
Ashley Ryder appears in Channel 5’s The Sex Business – a three-part docuseries about people in the business of using their bodies for professional purposes – which begins on Monday night.
Each episode looks at the different facets of the sex business, from porn, to escorting, to working on the streets.
In Monday’s episode, Ryder, a porn veteran for 15 years, opens up about how he loves his job and is keen to dispel the myth that people who work in porn are in some way damaged – perhaps because they had an unpleasant childhood.
“I guess [people] think working in the porn industry is a bit sleazy, a bit grimy, and people take advantage of you. But isn’t that the same for every industry?” Ryder tells PinkNews ahead of The Sex Business’ first episode. “It’s not sleazy.”
Nor is Ryder in the porn business because he’s desperate for money.
Ryder’s porn calling card is fisting scenes. In the documentary, he is open about his enjoyment of filming fisting scenes and also showing off his large collection of anal sex toys.
“No one’s forcing me to take a fist in my ass because I have to do that to make ends meet. I’m actually doing the job I enjoy personally,” says Ryder.
“I don’t think it’s a taboo anymore. In the gay scene, it’s very mainstream to be into fisting,” he says. “When I talk to people about fisting, they’re like, ‘How does that work? What do you have to do?’ They’re very much interested rather than dismissing it. It’s a curiosity-based intrigue.”
As well as the taboo around porn, there are also people who fetishise what they see in adult films or think of it as a dream job.
(Ashley Ryder/Instagram)
Ryder says that filming porn isn’t as glamorous as it looks.
“People don’t consider the things we have to do. It might not be the sexual experience that you see portrayed within the final edit of the film,” he says.
“It’s a performance, also—you don’t necessarily get to work with people you’re emotionally connected with.
“Sometimes you have to be on set for eight hours a day, maybe more. It’s not like you walk onto a set, have sex, and walk off again. There’s a lot more to it.”
Ryder has won numerous awards for his porn work over the last 15 years. But it wasn’t until 2010 that he revealed the true nature of his career to his parents.
(Ashley Ryder/Instagram)
“I always wanted to go into porn. I’d been asked a few times when I was a lot younger. I started doing porn properly when I was 24,” he says
“I didn’t tell my parents straightaway. My sister knew. I’d won a few awards and in 2010 I told my parents.
“I did a mainstream movie and it was all over the Guardian that it featured an international porn star. So I decided to tell my parents because I could prove to them, ‘Here is my career.’ They were super supportive.”
The Sex Business airs on Channel 5 Monday to Wednesday at 10pm
